How long have you been drinking craft beer and....

Booneville Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout shared with me by some work colleagues in 1989 when I was in high school. Pete's Wicked Ale (original recipe) was my favorite beer my senior year (1990-91).

 

I've been drinking craft for about ten years. Here's how it began: 2003-Sam Adams Light, Boston Lager, Squatter's American Hefeweizen, and Uinta Pale Ale. Been drinking craft ever since.

 

2001 when I was 19 there was only really Belgian and German around in those days ; also cask ale but most of that was either terrible and macro made or terrible and micro made : things have improved.

 

12 years ago, started with the usual cheap BMC. Then I got a job at a small studio where the boss stocked only SNPA and I hated it at first but since that was all he had, I kept drinking it and then fell in love with it yet still never heard of the term "craft beer". Fast forward, a little over a year ago, not quite sure exactly the details but I started watching beer reviews on YouTube and watching how deliciously they described stouts and porters made me wanna grab a mix and match 6 pack of any stouts the beer store guy recommended and try it out. Had my first ever FBS last year, fell in love and never looked back since. SNPA was my first ever craft beer that got me introduced but the FBS is what got me hooked and reeled in.

 

If you consider the original Lowenbrau back in the day craft, then it's more years than I will admit.

If it has to be American Craft, since '86. One of the advantages of being a Deadhead back then were the top quality American enjoyables available in lot.

 

Magic hat #9

about 7 years

 

My brother got me into craft beers about three years ago or so, but some of my first experiences with them were trying local micro-brews that you couldn't get anywhere but in the place it was brewed. From there I started expanding and some of my earliest experiences were with Abita beers (my wife is from Louisiana so it was "local" for her) and various Sierra Nevada offerings.

It just kind of spiraled into borderline obsession from there.

 

I'd say it was about 12 years or so ago when I started drinking the Sam Adams mixed 12 packs and I was a big fan of guinness which gatewayed me in to Young's Double Chocolate stout and finally this bomber with a gargoyle on it stared me in the eye and told me I wasn't worthy and then there was no turning back.

 

SNPA around 2000. It was so different from my cheap college beers and really drew me in*. Still being somewhat poor, I mixed in BMC for a lot of social functions, and viewed craft beer as a treat. I drank a lot of #9 in the aughts as well. I knew what I liked, but was totally ignorant as to style distinctions and the like.

I've been 100% craft since early 2010. I wish I could say the streak was longer.

*You younger BAs would have been shocked at the limited selection available in most stores (at least in Ohio) during this time.

 

Sam Adams Boston Lager when it first came - introduced me to hops in beer. No turning back.

 

Kuhnhenns Penetration Porter. I had no idea what I was drinking but I knew I loved it and it's been on like Donkey Kong ever since. This was in 2006ish?

 

Ithaca Cascazilla 5 or 6 years ago. I kept checking the label and couldn't believe they weren't adding grapefruit juice. Hello IPA. Was drinking whiskey and Keystone Light before that.

 

Since 09 or 10, there were beers before these but I remember that the variety packs from Goose and Sam Adams are what got me really curious to try more beers.

 

Since New Amsterdam Amber Lager

 

I was the usual BMC drinker in the early days then around 2005-6 I discovered selections like Newcastle Brown Ale and Blue Moon. I really enjoyed those and they they were my "expensive beer" for when I had money and wanted something different. 2010-2011 I started noticing all the other options, but never really gave it much thought. I was happy with my 30 packs of Milwaukee's Best and PBR and by that time Yuengling had made its way to Ohio, so that became my go to. Towards the end of 2011 ventured in to the local "beer snob" bar/bottle shop. I was hoping to find Newcastle or something similar on tap. Instead I became instantly hooked on Weihenstephaner Heffe. I quickly worked my way through every hefeweizen they had and moved on to stouts and IPAS and so forth. Never looked back since then. I have converted all of my closest friends to the light (dark?) Side and about a year ago I met my beautiful fiancé who at the time drank exclusively Mich Ultra, thinking Yuengling Light was the most flavorful beer in the world. She quickly saw how wrong she was and I can now proudly say she is just as in to it as I am. Hell, for Christmas she got me 3 mix 6 packs of beer we haven't had before as well as a home brew kit!

 

Thirty years.

The first U.S. "craft" beer I ever had was probably Anchor Steam, but back in 1984 there were a lot of small regional breweries in the Midwest making great beers that tasted nothing like the big 3. One of them was August Schell who is still going strong today.

Merchant DuVin was also a key player in bringing better imports to those who wanted to try well-brewed, traditional style beers. Then the ball started rolling...

 

Since '92. Rogue Dead Guy Ale was the first "micro-brew" I remember back then that just tasted so much better than the BMC stuff and got my interest in trying craft.

 

Sometime in the early 80's, as for the beer? Dunno, probably Sam Smith's

 

One of the MANY advantages...

Alpine '88, I mean, "since '88" here....