Beer Habits: Then and Now

Then: Would go to the store after work and grab a Cantillon Gueuze
Now: Would do the same if I could find it.

 

Shut up.

Then: IPA DIPA more DIPA's and I'd snobbily only look for rarer beers constantly
Now: I enjoy most styles and can always, always kick back some SN Torpedo/Bigfoot/Narwhal

 

i am slightly ashamed to say the exact opposite applies to me.

 

Damn, I've always loved beer; good beer, bad beer on occasion, but never no beer. We drank copiously in high school and college, drank like fish in the 70s and 80s, and drank really wisely as the kids were growing up. I drink very nice beer now and have no care for rare or highly sought after brews. People bring them to me, I taste them at work, but honestly SNPA works as a standard very well. I drink a Foothills Jade draft every week day after work. In case no one has noticed there is a beer revolution all around us and I'm afraid lots of folks take it for granted.

 

I was a beer drinker before I officially came of age. In the early days, I tended toward Becks, Hofbrau, St Pauli Girl, Molson Ale, etc.

Eventually migrated to primarily Budweiser and had my share of late nights.

In the late 90's, I shifted toward German, Belgian, English and Czech beers, along with, American Craft beers like Sierra Nevada, Anchor, Stone, Rogue, etc.

Around that time my motto became "Quality over quantity", which still holds true today.

Eventually got married which brought more changes, "no more than two beers per day or 10 per week".
So I make them count

These days I find myself amazed at the ever improving quality of American beer. These are good times for the beer drinker.

I don't think I've had a Budweiser almost 20 years. I'm not one of those BMC haters. There are just to many better options available. Although one of the days I do want to revisit them, just out of curiosity.

Having watched the American craft industry grow from nothing to what it is today. All I can say is I've enjoyed the ride.

 

Always loved German, Belgian, and British beers. Mostly German. Tried everything I could find at first until I settled into favorites.

Late 90's started to get into IPAs, especially as the american ipa became a distinct style. Bell's Two-Hearted in late 90's really got me into it.

Nothing new preference wise since then, except far more reluctance to try new breweries unless they have a decent reputation already. Too many mediocre examples on shelves these days. Only exception is new local breweries, because my metro is desperate for just one to put our state on the map. One home run. No singles. No stealing second or third base by hyped up social media. A real home run brewery.

 

This isn't far off.

 

Support Ithaca then flower power fails.

Support Victory then Dirt Wolf Dies.

I'm not sure what is next...

 

SNPA is my go-to session brew. I love it!

 

Then: I would slam a six-pack of Bud 16 oz cans
Now: Consume mostly stouts, from oatmeal to imperials to BA. I haven't had a Bud in over 12 years.

 

Hello, my name is Marvin and I haven't had a bud in 12 years. It's the "Then" I'm noticing. Had you said "I might slam a six-pack of Bud 16 oz cans", I might have just let it go. Nah, I'm joking! 3 quarts also fixes me up!

 

Then: drank bmc every day with friends, no days off
Now: found a thing called work. Drink once a week.

 

Then: Drink Bud Lite/Miller Lite very quickly with little enjoyment with the sole intent to get drunk
Now: Sip/casually drink high end, world class beer to enjoy the liquid itself and getting drunk is a welcomed side effect

 

I am still quite young, but I never really had beer that wasn't craft. I used to drink Coor's Banquet before I was 21, but now I drink stouts, IPAs, pales, belgiums, and all the rest. I really think it was my dad. He was into craft beer before it was trendy. I remember back in the late 90's him being an early adopter of Alpha King when 3F's was a small upstart brewery.

 

Then - Get drunk on BMC of course. One-Dimensional experience.
Now - Explore flavors and aromas, travel, rate, write, read about, discuss, trade, seek...etc. etc. Multi-dimensional experience.

 

Then - Drank Golden Monkey out of the bottle.
Now - Drink Cantillons out of the bottle.

Shit, I hate change!

 

Then- miller lite pitcher for $5 heck yes

Now- miller lite pitcher is how much?!!? Ok I'll take 2.

 

Used to drink macro brews out of necessity, then I found the light. Now I drink for taste over getting 'fucked up'

 

Then: 30 packs of Natural Light/Milwaukees Best Light/Miller Lite, drink as much as possible
Now: Hardly ever have the same beer back to back, drink less quantity but more quality