Your biggest epiphany in craft beer

That I really don't like imperialized beers or anything really over the top in alcohol. i just want flavor, and good tastes, and not to feel like death the next morning.

 

My gripe with craft beer and higher percentage IPAs/Stouts and heavier stuff was that it was tough to drink in hot weather.....but finding all sorts of refreshing beers for the summer that do not include just the domestic garbage or just lager/kolsch/pilsner styles was my biggest "AHA" moment a few years ago.

Good german hefeweizen (Weinstephaner), Vitus....>Farmhouse styles (saison dupont), sours, light belgians, etc. etc. are all perfect for hot weather, and actually have some ABV as well!

 

Try it twice. This happened with Sucks and Green Flash West Coast IPA (both just seemed too bitter at first) not too long ago. Now two of my favorites. Just this week, Founders Breakfast Stout for the first time. First beer: not for me. Three days later, the second beer made me see the light. Of course the results are not always so positive.

 

Travelling about Europe as a young guy; England, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and more. The beer was WAY better than American fizz. I loved the out of the way places all over England, Scotland, and Wales. I met fantastic people that treated us like sons, bought us beer, fed us, put us up and drove us around- we spent 5 days with 2 guys on vacation, camping, climbing Ben Nevis, meeting girls, gaining a life-long love of Great Britain and Ireland. Young's Oatmeal Stout I miss dearly.

 

In college I started brewing with friends. We'd get together every Wednesday to barbeque and brew. I was already drinking better beer than BMC, but by brewing two new beers every week we explored new styles and found stuff that wasn't commercially available at the time at a very rapid rate.

More Recently - My first taste of Orval kicked off a new obsession with Brett and Belgians in general.

 

I'm pretty happy with what I can get.

 

After drinking IPAs, Stouts, Farmhouse Ales etc for the past few years, I stopped into a local bar and had a Bud draft, wow, how my palate has changed, tasted like water.
There's no going back now......

 

the first time i had BCBS, it was like the second coming in my glass

i then realized i must seek out more of these barrel aged beauties, it was a good day

 

My epiphany: Judge the beer your drinking according to the style. Then, say f*ck it, it's just a beer and enjoy it.

 

Recognizing the variety of beer. Not simply variety in style, but also differing characteristic of hop varieties and variety in the flavors put off by different yeasts. There are so many different flavors and combinations that the experiences are endless.

It really helped me discover beers I enjoy drinking as well as what I really enjoy brewing.

**Also, beer is much more enjoyable with good fellowship.

 

Sours are awesome! I want to drink them every day. Unfortunately my wallet doesn't agree.

 

had a couple of these.

sierra nevada pale, early on in college. 'hey, beer can kinda taste good'

'08 dark lord while i was in grad school. 'what the fuck this beer is so ridiculous it tastes like roasted syrup and it's so good i've never had anything like this before'

ommegang zuur in about 2010. 'holy shit i've never had a beer that tastes like this i didn't know beer could be sour'

today i've got a closet overflowing with lambics and stouts.

 

...that having watched the craft brewing movement grow over the last 30 years, this might be the best time in the history of the world to really enjoy hand-crafted, high-quality, flavorful, take-no-prisoners beer.

Could it be possible that the next decade brings even more choices? At competitive prices?

 

IPA's and IIPA's.
It was an epiphany for a former "lite" beer drinker!

 

My epiphany is not so much about any particular beer, but about the beer industry itself. I have come to realize that the craft beer revolution in this country is something uniquely and wholly American; an exercise in free enterprise that the lovers of fine brews will appreciate and benefit from for years to come. Nowhere in the world can you find more variety in beer or find more small business owners taking up the calling of selling and/or making great, American craft beer. It has inspired me to take part by brewing my own beer and see what I can create. Cheers, U.S.A.

 

Rogue is WAY overpriced.

 

when i learned that pouring a beer into a glass from a bottle changed the taste.

 

Hops are good.

I was so not into it, until one day I was at the beer store and saw Hoponius Union and decided that for $2.95 I'd give it a shot.

Mind blown. Just the smell alone hooked me. I don't even mean when I poured it into the glass and studied the aroma. I mean as soon as I cracked the bottle, the smell flew right out and stunned me. Beautiful.

 

1 - Hop Devil - introduction to ipa's away from English brews
2- Hopslam - was my 1st really wow beer
3- BCBS - my first really wow, BS stout.

 

Absolute biggest epiphany (among several others that I've had, most already stated above):
Aging beer is absolute nonsense - period. None of them get better - they all just get different.

(And, yes....I know.....I'm the biggest violator! I wish this epiphany had come several thousand dollars ago. I have a huge cellar and I'm likely ruining more beer than most of you!)