What was your first craft beer?

New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale or Four Peaks Kilt Lifter

 

Sam Adams before I knew what "craft beer" really was, since that's so ubiquitous to New England. First one knowing what it was and why it was different than a macro adjunct, probably Fat Tire, living in Colorado at the time.

 

typical sam adams stuff, some sierra nevada, bass etc...the usual suspects. two beers soon after that prob around 2001ish that i distinctly remember blowing my mind were eddy fitz and westmalle tripel. good memories!

 

I'm with you. My Dad kept Lowenbrau in the fridge growing up and they mysteriously disappeared, especially on weekends. Then a trip to Europe as a very young fellow opened my eyes to regional beers of very high quality- Germany, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Austria..... The Shepherd Neames, Watneys, Youngs, Flensburger, Carlsberg- it's endless. Back in the states in the 70s friends would bring Anchor Steam back from San Fran, and we always loaded up on National Premium, Ringnes (Norway), Red Cap Ale, Ballantine IPA. The beers available now are truly amazing and we are lucky as Hell!

 

had some SN and SA stuff but Snake dog IPA by flying dog is where it really started for me.

 

Goose Island's IPA in like 2001 when the lable still had the Union Jack on it. I was 18 and it was the best thing I'd ever tasted.

 

Long Trail Hefeweizen or Sam Adams White Ale (now the noble pils or latitude 48)

 

Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat.

 

i second that.

 

first non American good beer was the old lions brew,
Löwenbräu DARK

Then once over in the Mother country of mine. I had BASS Pale ale on CASK, then the usually assortment found in 1971 in Portsmouth, England.

FWIW the term craft is meaningless. YMMV

 

Me too, early seventies, when it was made in Germany. Vaguely remember a party where I bought a half keg of Lowenbrau Dark. Been a long strange beer trip from that starting point.

 

oh yea I not talking Canada made or wherever it ended up at. yea 1971 was the beer dessert, I though remember the mecca of beer in San Francisco that has a sign saying they had over 400 imported beers! Sadly I do not remember the name of that liquor store, and I am sure its gone now, it was near the wharf I think...
not to mention Tower records is gone, so sad,,,,

 

Like a lot of Michiganders it was Oberon...it's the gateway beer here for a lot of people

 

I guess it would have been Anchor Steam in the 80s or maybe Lucky Bock in the 70's (if you consider that a craft beer - probably not). It's hard to say because I pursued good beers WAY before the terms craft beer or even micro-brewery were popularized. I started home brewing when I was a teenager in the eighties. Actually, back then we thought most the best beers were imports, but those companies would not technically considered "craft" by most definitions I've seen.

 

As a freshman at The University of Richmond (69), we would wander down to Lums, between Grace and Broad at VCU and get regular Lowenbrau draft. Still one of the best beers that I recall.

 

Sam Adams Boston Lager in the 90's.

 

Fat Tire and Moose Drool (I'm from WY so that was what we had available)

 

Bluepoint toasted lager, first "craft" beer was SA boston lager and i hated it.

 

I have no idea really. My first craft beer could have very well also been my first beer.

 

Bitburger in Europe.

If that doesn't count it would be Sierra Nevada Pale Ale