What was your gateway craft beer?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by not2quick, Jul 25, 2016.

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  1. JoePasko

    JoePasko Zealot (529) Mar 10, 2018 New York

    I grew up in, and went to college, in upstate NY. Road trips north to the Canadian border, just to buy some high-ABV Molson Brador were a common thing in the 70's.
     
    #221 JoePasko, Sep 23, 2018
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  2. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    come on Cavedave...that is an @Squire's type a response. Your stealing his thunder! :-)
     
    #222 bubseymour, Sep 23, 2018
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  3. Dew1016

    Dew1016 Devotee (394) Nov 19, 2008 Virginia
    Trader

    Victory HopDevil was mine...
     
    #223 Dew1016, Sep 23, 2018
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  4. WVUbrew

    WVUbrew Initiate (0) Oct 12, 2013 North Carolina
    Trader

    For me these five beers in temporal order all over a decade ago now.
    1. Boston Lager
    2. Arrogant Bastard
    3. Founders Breakfast Stout (tie)
    4. Old Rasputin (tie)
    5. Nugget Nectar
     
    #224 WVUbrew, Sep 23, 2018
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  5. rtrasr

    rtrasr Savant (1,032) Feb 16, 2009 Arkansas

    No doubt Sam Adams Boston Lager in 1989. Then Shiner Bock. The one that sealed the deal was Boulevard Pale Ale and Boulevard Wheat.
     
    #225 rtrasr, Sep 24, 2018
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  6. rolltide8425

    rolltide8425 Pooh-Bah (2,470) Feb 18, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    For me it was Blanche de Chambly from Unibroue. Stumbled on a 4 pack at grocery store in college at a time when 5% was the abv limit in Alabama and craft beer didn't exist in the state. Really opened my eyes to what beer could be. Moved to NYC shortly after and began trying everything I could get my hands on.
     
    #226 rolltide8425, Sep 24, 2018
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  7. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I've dabbled with stuff like Petes Wicked and British Ales back around 1980 or so. I went on a serious run after I moved to NC for Fullers beers, back then I could get a mixed case for a bit over $21. Then one day I bought a sixer of Hop Devil, and it was on big time.
     
    #227 nc41, Sep 24, 2018
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  8. pjbear05

    pjbear05 Pundit (806) May 28, 2008 Florida

    Drank Pete's, Guinness, SNPA, the rest of the usual suspects.

    Bell's Two Hearted.

    Ho
    Lee
    Shit!
     
    #228 pjbear05, Sep 24, 2018
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  9. deleted_user_995920

    deleted_user_995920 Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2015

    I would say Sam Adams when they first opened. Was truly a micro-brewery then.
     
    #229 deleted_user_995920, Sep 24, 2018
  10. thesherrybomber

    thesherrybomber Initiate (0) Jun 13, 2017 California

    Was the beer different then?
     
    #230 thesherrybomber, Sep 24, 2018
  11. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,701) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    Me too. But Bass Ale, Watney's Red Barrel, Red Cap Ale, National Premium, Andeker, Encore, and a summer in Europe when I was 19 (I think), my life journey in beer was on for good..
     
    #231 rgordon, Sep 24, 2018
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  12. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Like many others I suspect, SNPA.

    Up until then, the only beers I had ever tried that I thought had significant flavor in them were British Ales, German lagers and I guess Heineken. It always puzzled me that there didn't seem to be any interest in making ales or lagers comparable to what one can find without much effort in Germany and Britain, despite the explanation I received from bartenders and beer distributors (everything from "American consumer tastes are different," to "it's just too expensive to make beers like that, and no one would be willing to pay that kind of money for beer - so it doesn't make economic sense to make beers like that.").

    Once I tried SNPA and saw how popular it was, it quickly became apparent that both explanations were BS. After sampling SNPA, I pretty much gave up drinking AAL's any more, and have never looked back.
     
    #232 John_M, Sep 24, 2018
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  13. IPAExpert69

    IPAExpert69 Savant (1,065) Aug 2, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Magic Hat #9 and Corona being so gross I had to try craft!
     
    #233 IPAExpert69, Sep 24, 2018
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  14. beerluvr

    beerluvr Pooh-Bah (1,900) Jan 2, 2001 Canada (ON)
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Mine was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It became available in NJ around 1985-86 if I remember correctly. Opened the door to a whole new world, beer-wise, to me.
     
    #234 beerluvr, Sep 24, 2018
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  15. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just to throw in an observation from a consumer standpoint...

    I was stationed in Germany from 1973 to 1976, and tried to take full advantage of what was then viewed as the outstanding German beer culture. That's a long time back, but I do remember getting glasses of Carlsberg and I think Tuborg from time to time, especially in many of the English pubs I visited during a few quick trips to London. I found both Tuborg and Carlsberg to be very Heineken like (to my young and not very sophisticated palate), with both beers coming across as fairly rich, malty and sweet lagers. I thought they were both terrific.

    A few years later I'm now back in the states, going to college in Santa Cruz California. Keg parties are extremely popular, with the sponsor typically furnishing whatever the cheapest keg available at the local grocery or liquor store (back in my college days, it was considered a pretty big treat to go to a party where a keg of bud was available). Much to my shock (and initially my delight), we started seeing kegs of Tuborg on campus in 1977. I even told fellow classmates about the beer (based on my experiences in Europe), and what an incredible treat we were in for. On the other hand, I was more than a bit puzzled by it's appearance, as I figured a keg of imported Tuborg would have to be very expensive. I didn't know anything about licensing or contract brewing back then, so as you can imagine, I was pretty surprised (and disappointed) when I actually drank a glass of Tuborg (flavor-wise, it was probably on a par with Shaefers or Schmidt's).

    Of course after reading over your posts and those from @Crusader, my unfortunate experience is now much more understandable.
     
    #235 John_M, Sep 24, 2018
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  16. tillmac62

    tillmac62 Pooh-Bah (2,859) Oct 2, 2013 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    Sam Adams. That beer opened my eyes and lead to home brewing.
     
    #236 tillmac62, Sep 24, 2018
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  17. hottenot

    hottenot Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2018 North Carolina

    My avatar, my first real bier. Than goodness that I joined the Army and spent 30 months in Germany. Many great biers, ja!
     
    #237 hottenot, Sep 24, 2018
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  18. AmeriCanadian

    AmeriCanadian Pooh-Bah (1,982) Jul 5, 2014 Tennessee
    Pooh-Bah

    I lived on Yazoo Dos Perros here in Nashville for years, so give them/it credit for keeping me interested in beer in a state that had almost zero distribution of "good stuff" for years.

    Then a couple trips with old college buddies (who lived in cities with fantastic distribution) exposed me to things like SN Torpedo, OB Dale's Pale Ale and G'Knight, Lefthand Milk Stout, and Odell 90 Schilling, opening my eyes to what else was actually out there.

    But my first Lagunitas Sucks is really what changed everything for me, beer-wise, and there's been no turning back.
     
    #238 AmeriCanadian, Sep 24, 2018
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  19. Crusader

    Crusader Pooh-Bah (1,725) Feb 4, 2011 Sweden
    Pooh-Bah

    Right. Nowadays you find 3.5% Carlsberg on Swedish grocery store shelves, and not long ago Tuborg Gold (I haven't seen it in quite some time), and 4.2% Carlsberg Hof and Tuborg Grøn (the pilsner variant of each is 4.6% in Denmark). Furthermore Carlsberg Sort Guld is 5.5% whereas the Danish version is 5.8%, and Tuborg Gold is 5.3%, while the Danish version is 5.6%. All of which are brewed in Sweden, and so adjusted for the Swedish system of taxation which is punitive towards high abvs. The 5% Carlsberg Export is the one beer which isn't adjusted abv-wise. Meanwhile in Germany Tuborg is 4.9% abv to take as just one example.
     
    #239 Crusader, Sep 24, 2018
  20. Crusader

    Crusader Pooh-Bah (1,725) Feb 4, 2011 Sweden
    Pooh-Bah

    At least they seem to have been fans of truth in advertising.

    [​IMG]

    That seems like a really curious marketing strategy to me, of saying "here's a beer with the branding of a European beer but altered for American tastes". But I guess if they priced it like a domestic beer who cares. It's not a bad looking can of beer either (or glass of beer for that matter).
     
    #240 Crusader, Sep 24, 2018
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