First beer to blow your mind.

It was two beers on the same night from the same brewer, so it's hard for me to name one above the other: Alesmith Grand Cru and Horny Devil. The Cru was technically first, so I guess I have to give it to that one. It was February 2005 in Holland, Michigan, so they had come a long way, and they were so much better than anything I'd had even in Michigan that my eyes shot out of my head. Of course, I hadn't had anything rare from Founder's or Bell's yet, just the regular, really good stuff they offered.

I mean, the way the Devil smells like Froot Loops! How was that possible!?

 

Lagunitas Maximus.

 

2009 Dark Lord. I tried it less than a year after getting into craft beer, turned my world upside down.

 

I would have to say St. Bernardus abt. 12 and Stone IRS. Both still remain as two of my all time favorite beers.

 

For me it's Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. When I was first starting to get into craft beer in Baltimore I had this and was like what is this magnificient creation! Since then Heady Topper had a similiar effect recently.

 

La Fin Du Monde...

 

Rolling Rock. Blew my mind in a bad way. That was the first beer I ever had and I didn't drink another beer for a year and a half.

 

I was a pretty experienced with smoked beers by the time I had my first Schlenkerla. Surprisingly it wasn't my first- I was drinking a lot of Rauchenfels, Alaskan Smoked Porter, that Rogue Chipotle thing, and my own smoked beers by then. Still...that first Urbock exceeded expectations and then some. I still get it regularly to this day, and it knocks my socks off every time. And I rarely look elsewhere for the smoke fix anymore.

 

First one was SA Summer Ale. But most recently was this past Wednesday, on my birthday. Bear Republic Altered Beast. My mind was blown.

 

The Beast. I had no idea beer could taste like that until then.

 

Hopslam.

 

HF Edward

 

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisen

It was the first non-North American beer I sampled when I got stationed in Hanau, Germany (West Germany at the time). I remember it very well as it was amazingly different from what I was used to.

 

DFH 90 and Burton Baton!

 

Oaked Arrogant Bastard on draft really opened my eyes and brought me fully on board the craft beer train (I had been dabbling for a while with Fat Tire/Boston Lager/SN Pale Ale).

First beer to really blow my mind and make me think "Wow I didn't know beer could be this good" was Black Tuesday.

 

Maredsous 8. I didn't even know what a Belgian beer was at the time.

 

The very first was probably PtE.

 

HOTD Adam. No beer has blown my mind like that one did

 

Chimay Grand Reserve, complex yet clean. Still one of my top 3 (KBS / Short's AA)