How long have you been drinking craft beer?

I remember when San Miguel Dark was the "talk" of the town for imports when I lived in California.

 

Do you consider German (non-industrial) beers as craft beer?

 

I personally consider a German PIlsner brewed by a US craft brewery as being craft beer. I would imagine that German's would have a differing opinion here. Does "craft beer"in Germany mean beers like American style IPAs?

Cheers!

 

If you just mean good beer instead of BMC, since about 1982. A lot of my college team-mates hailed from the UK and Ireland, and they introduced me to the few available good imports. Drank Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams and Boulder as soon as they appeared on the shelves.

 

A quart of Bud Light.

 

Forgot about Rainier Ale! Great stuff in its day.

 

Pretty sure German monks were brewing NEIPA's in the 1200's Well, maybe not.

 

For instances please.

 

My first craft beer and First beer ever was a dry Irish homebrew stout that I snuck from my dad's stash. I was just shy of 12. Not long after I had a bud light and I remember thinking how gross it was compared to the stout- that was nearly 30 years ago. I find Bud light to be more palpable now, but I will always choose a craft beer if I can.

 

My old man had stopped home brewing long before I started drinking. I was wandering soon after high school ad would drink "local" beers wherever I was but I didn't know a thing about beer. In '92 I wound up in the East Bay and Andronicos grocery that boasted 900 beers from around the world. That was my start into learning of new beer styles etc. I've been moseying along ever since, did my Certified Cicerone for personal interest, started a beer of the month club that changed the world of beer in my province, started a draft service company that got every single bar in the province on monthly cleaning for the first time ever. It's been an interesting road of beer for me.

 

Yeah, if I remember correctly, Ron Pattinson said that most new innovative beers of today have been done in the past in some form.

 

In the pursuit of quality beers since the early 1970s, I'm almost 66, 18 year old drinking law, early craft brewery in Jacksonville Florida 1970s, do the math.
I've been chasing down good quality beer ever since.

 

Somewhere between not long enough and too long, depending on who you ask.

 

Good point regarding 'regularly', and I can see how that could make a difference. For my own group, it still goes right back to the beginning. We saw all those different kinds of beers and couldn't wait to start exploring what they had to offer.

 

I don't know if it was called craft brew at the time but I got my start with it while I was in the Navy and visiting pubs in Scotland and Norway. Some of those brews may not have been "craft" but it definitely started me on my drinking ways...

 

It’s interesting that the majority have been drinking longer than the internet has been around.
It actually explains a lot.

 

I'll be 70 very soon and have always been adventurous about beer, wine, and food. I spent a good deal of time in Europe in 1970/71 and truly learned our American beer needed help. National Premium, Erlanger, Encore, and Red Cap Ale were actually quite good. But we wanted more, like fresh tasting malty and dry English ales, the fine array of German beers and basically whatever we could find. Ringnes out of Norway was cheap, tasty, and different. My Dad kept REAL Lowenbrau at the house and the industrial Schlitz. All of these sweet and high alcohol beers have 0 appeal to my palate, you know like a 16% Zinfandel. I have a simple and defined palate that I take with me everywhere!

 

21-30 years if the Belgium classics count as craft beer. Otherwise a bit over 5 i guess.