Blazing new beer trails

The store I was in yesterday had 3 years to pull some out of date product, but there it still sat... and they didn't even have a packed store.

 

Chris, I am thinking I need to travel to Randy's area to do my beer shopping. It is a bit of a drive (a little under an hour depending on traffic) but maybe it would be worth it?

Cheers!

 

Then you are in for a treat: the Eternal Tap!



http://uncoveringpa.com/touring-straub-brewery

Cheers!

 

Maybe so....I rarely spot out of date beer at my local distributor. I know from talking to the owner that they check and pull out of date product from shelves. I find most Wegman's are pretty reliable too, not perfect, but above average, probably more more due to turnover than any store practices.

 

Go to a craft beer bar, tap room or brewpub and order a flight. Do that over and over again until you find beers that you like. Eventually you will have a bunch of new beers that you like and will have met a lot of interesting people in the process.

 

I'm seeing people suggest imperial stouts and SNPA and thinking they're crazy, but then I thought back on the moment I realized I liked craft beer...

I hated beer, and actually started drinking (after my 21st birthday... seriously) hard cider first. I would only drink light beers very rarely. My cousin is an investor in a large brewery local to where I grew up. He used to bring their beer to our family gatherings. I tried the cream ale and wasn't impressed. Another time, I got brave and grabbed an American pale ale. I'm not going to say it was love at first sip; it probably took me a few hours to get through the (pint) can. After only a few sips, though, I knew this was something I could grow to love. The intensity of the hops was a little strong for my virgin palate, but I knew that I liked the flavors I was getting.

Maybe for some people, coming on too strong can be off-putting, but for others it can be eye-opening. I guess you just need to decide which type of person you are, @Billybeer21

 

I think you hit the nail on the head recommending something completely different!

 

I was contemplating making a post using a swimming pool analogy: some folks would prefer to first enter the shallow end while some folks are more bold and would just jump into the deep end.

As you wisely mentioned: "I guess you just need to decide which type of person you are".

Cheers

P.S. And it doesn't have to be an either/or. To use your post's examples he could buy a Cream Ale and buy an APA.

 

Start with something like Victory's Prima Pils. That will introduce you to hops. Depending on how you like Prima, drop back or go more hoppy. If you're willing to up your hop game, go to APAs then IPAs.