What were you drinking in the 90s (i.e. before hops got big)?

It's true that I was drinking less hoppy beer then, but it was definitely during this time that I was trying to identify that taste that I liked so much in certain beers. Once I figured out it was the hops, I started seeking out more. So, the seeds of my hop addiction were being planted, even back in the 90's... I was living in Missoula, MT at the time and I remember really enjoying:

Moose drool and Slow elk stout
Grant's perfect porter (I loved this one and am sad to see it's gone now)
Full sail amber
A lot of dechutes ales, most of which I can't remember by name.
Red Hook

Man, this is bringing me back to olden days in The Rhino, downtown Missoula. What a bar that was!

 

Well...there was most definitely a hoppy thing going on- especially if you lived on the west coast- but even in the east we had access to Liberty, Bigfoot, Celebration, Alimony, heck, even Pete's Wicked Ale was hoppy for a while there, plus a bunch of others for sure. Some of the breweries you mentioned had a hoppy offering (Grant's IPA, Catamount Christmas), and Harpoon introduced their IPA around 1994. Certainly enough to keep a hop head happy.

There definitely were more stylistic choices to offset that, though. However, what I used to complain about was how too many similar English Pale Ales dominated the tap handles around town. Bass, Fuller's, Whitbred, Courage, etc- sometimes 75% of the taps were something like that, and not enough porters, bocks, whatever. Things seem to have changed but stayed the same, though- now those handles are all IPAs Damn unimaginative tavern owners!

Stuff that was popular with my group definitely included-
Celis White (which was huuuuge at the time)
Catamount (all of them, but mostly the Porter)
Grants (Scottish, Imperial Stout, IPA)
Brooklyn (Lager, Brown)
Paulaner (Hefeweizen, Marzen)
Anchor (Liberty, Porter)
Sierra Nevada (all of them)
Samuel Adams (Boston Lager, Boston Ale)

that's the stuff we'd buy by the case, to accompany darts, cards, etc. pretty regularly.

 

Newcastle Brown, Bass, SA Boston Lager, Guinness, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Saranac. Basically in that order from the mid-90's to late 90's.

 

Grant's Imperial Stout (God, I miss that beer!)
Belle Dock Barleywine
Catamount Porter
Bigfoot
Duvel
Orval
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus
Liefman's Goudenbond
Old Foghorn
Sam Adams Doublebock
Prior Double Dark
Optimator
Anchor Porter
Saison Dupont
Boon Gueuze and Kriek Marriage Parfait
Young's Old Nick
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

and many, many more

 

Elm City golden & blackwell stout
New England Brewing (the old one in So Norwalk) Amber, Stout, IPA
Anchor Steam, Liberty, Porter
Sierra Nevada all of em
Pete's Wicked
Sam Adams Boston Ale
Shipyard
Northampton Brewery on Tap
McNeill's Brattleboro (lots of hops there)
Cambridge Brewing on tap
Ipswich brewing, light ale, dark ale, and esp the porter sold in the 1l. grolsch top bottles
Union Station in Providence (before it was sold to John Harvards and ruined)
Lots of different Rogue
Corsendonk
Catamount
Lowenbrau Zurich
etc.....

 

I was sneaking sips of my dad's favorite of the time


...I was 11 in 1999

 

A lot of beers which I still drink today and still greatly enjoy.I see the hoppy and very hoppy beers as an addition, an extra choice and dimension but not as a replacement.

 

SA Boston Lager
Pete's Wicked Ale
Brooklyn Brown Ale
SNPA
SN Stout
SN Celebration
Yuengling Lager
Yuengling Porter
Yuengling Black & Tan
Redhook ESB
Sammy Smith Oatmeal Stout
Anchor Chistmas Ale
Saranac Black & Tan
Saranac Adirondack Lager
Guiness

How's that for a late '80s - mid '90s flashback?

 

I recall drinking plenty of other beers mentioned, but for the Midwestern crowd, I must recall Summit EPA and Boulder's Cliffhanger Amber. Still love to drink the former when I'm visiting home, and while I never had later iterations of the latter before it was retired, I remember buying a case of it at the brewery in the mid-90s and just loving the nose from the "big" dry hop. Skol!

 

My early craft beer 'career' was in the mid-90s drinking the offerings of Arcadia, my newly-born hometown brewery. I remember my reaction back then when drinking their IPA for the first time -- why would anyone want a beer that tastes like grapefruit juice? Shortly after that joy ride I added Bell's, Founders, Michigan Brewing, Boulevard, Summit, and Pete's to my experience. Then I kept on going on this marvelous trip.

 

hmm.
Sam Adams: Cherry Wheat, Boston Lager, Doublebock, Old Fezziweg
Anchor Steam: LIberty
Bells, SolSun, Two Hearted
Dragon Stout
Bert Grant
Pete's Wicked Ale
Summit
Three Floyds Alpha King
Guinness
Celi's White
among others

 

La Fin Du Monde
Okanagan Spring Pale Ale
Sleemans Cream Ale
Guinness
New Castle Brown
Holsten Festbock
Pilsner Urquell
and most new European Brews that I came across.

 

A lot of the previous mentioned beers with an emphasis on-
SNPA & Bigfoot
Red Hook ESB
Anchor
Newcastle
Paulaner Salvator.

Also, beer from the Steamboat Brewery and Tavern often on Sundays, since liquor stores were closed and growlers were legally sold.

 

Not 35 but was drinking, mostly liquor up until about 99. But I did start drinking beer with some buddies at the local sports bar, and it was always pitchers of Ice House. Then moved on to bud ice cause that was a big improvement right? Then because I was in college it was the cheapest I could find...whatever was on sale, Red Dog, Bud, etc. Disheartening I know, but we've all got to start somewhere.

 

I remember taking some folks out who wanted to be "introduced" to good beer back around 1991. We had a nice meal accompanied by the following:

Orval (as an aperitif)
Pilsner Urquell (pre-1996, while it was still fermented in the oak with the main course)
Lindemann's Framboise (dessert, kinda the weak link, but hey...)
Celebrator Doppelbock (nightcap)

Other than those, I drank a lot of Maisel's Hefeweizen (and Kristallweizen). This was in South Carolina, mind you. Life as a beer drinker wasn't that terrible back then.

 

Petes Wicked Ale
Petes Strawberry Blonde (I know)
Guinness
Mad Dog 20/20

 

A lot of Guinness...a lot of Bass...and yes, unfortunately, a lotta Bud Light.

 

New England Atlantic Amber (in bottles,way back then)
Sam Smith's
Magic Hat #9 etc.
Sam Adams
Pete's Wicked
Guinness
Bass

Cheers