Your story

I was graduating High School and my aunt bought me a 12pk of Fat Tire since she knew i really liked it when i had during family get together. Fast forward a 3 years later when i was 21 i then started to get into more heavily. GOing to different shops and trying different things and expanding my palate. Around the time i was 18 i made an account here and never really used it...but now i am on this site every day and i wouldnt even think about grabbing a coors or a miller or a bud. If i cant drink good i just dont drink.


However i am one of the most moderate drinkers i know. One maybe 2 a night....sometimes this is bad when i had a fridge filled with IPAs lol



THat was my incredibly boring story.

 

Only in this community would nightly drinking of 1 or 2 beers allow you to remotely consider yourself "the most moderate drinker" you know, haha.

 

For me, it started when I was 22. I drank the standard macro lagers and the occasional imported pale lager before I tried Samuel Adams Boston Lager for the first time. Abita is local, so I also got into drinking that as well. I still consume macro lagers, but I'm glad I got into craft beer.

 

Was drinking BMC in HS, then when I moved in with GF, she was older so asked her to buy others. Went the Fat Tire route then more Sam Adams mix packs, then a Bevmo opened and I could buy anything at that point so went with Euros, then Belgian Strongs, German. Then found BA, then trading....then its all she wrote.

Cheers!

 

The USDA in it's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" define moderation "...as the consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men".

 

On my 21st birthday I had a bud...hated it, thought it was awful and didn't understand how people could drink the stuff (beer in general at that point, for my shield of ignorance knew of no other styles). Then I went to a wedding with my now wife and her father and uncle wanted me to try a guiness. Now I didn't like the idea of trying another beer, but you don't say no to the future inlaws at that point so I drank it. Felt like my eyes were opened. Got back and tried some of the "macro-craft" stuff like blue moon and things like that, then I think I just randomly picked up a few DFH brews; I tried 60 minute and it was like sam calagione came down from beer heaven and said "come my son, there is much to learn". From that point on it's been great, expensive, but great. Cheers!

 

touche

 

My parents use to bring my sister and I many years ago to the Woodstock Inn & Brewery after skiing in NH. Use to watch my parents drink beers with names like "Pigs Ear, Loon Golden, Pemi Pale, Old Man Oatmeal Stout" and so on. Always thought these names were really cool for beers (now this is 10 years ago). When I turned 21 my dad asked what I wanted for my birthday. I said lets go to the Woodstock Inn in N.Woodstock NH. We drove up in late July on a beautiful day. That changed the way I looked at beer. Never looked back.

 

It was my 28th birthday(I got a late start) and a buddy of mine at work knew that I like stouts(Guinness). He walks into the office with a bottle of DFH worldwide stout and Alesmith Speedway. He said watch Beer Wars and try these. I found myself watching Beer Wars just to pause it half way through, going to the closest store with craft beer, and going back to finish the movie with beer in hand. A 4 pack of DFH 90 min IPA and a Rogue Chocolate stout later I was hooked. Thoroughly enjoy wws by the way. Cant force myself to try it fresh though. Ive been campaigning for all of my beer drinking buddies to try the good stuff since.

 

My story: I was abused as a child--by having parents that drank Olympia Gold and Coors Light in front of me. Thanks to craft brews, I am fully rehabilitated now.

 

About 5 years ago myself and 4-5 friends packed into 1 car and went to this small gathering at this dudes house that only 1 person in our group knew who these ppl were. We get to this house and there was a small crowd of less than 10 ppl hangin out drinking havin a good time and were very friendly and laid back. So, while my friends and I r drinking our piss water beer I notice a few of the ppl at the house drinking this beer with cool ass label artwork (yes, they were drinking it straight from the bottle). I asked "what the hell r u drinking?" One of them replied, "It's called Pinstripe made by Ska Brewing." they told me I could have one so I did and tens of thousands of dollars spent on craft beer later here I am. Never saw those ppl again but thank you for opening the floodgates.

 

I didn't really get into craft beer until my junior year of undergrad in 2004. Before that I thought Amber Bock, Boulevard Wheat and Blue Moon were the best things out there. When I transferred to the University of Northern Iowa there was a local store that sold local food products (Roots) and in the back of the store there was a wall of probably 60 or so different bottles of beer. At that time Iowa got Three Floyds and their labels caught my eye so I picked up a bottle each of Pride and Joy, Robert the Bruce and Alpha King. I also picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head 60 Minute that same day because I thought the brewery's name was funny. Needless to say after trying those beers I was sold. I still had no idea they were "craft" beer, only that they were much better than Amber Bock, Boulevard Wheat and Blue Moon. After that I kept going back and trying as many beers as I could until I had tried everything in the store. After I graduated I moved to the Twin Cities and began attending tastings at local liquor stores which lead to meeting other beer enthusiasts who opened up the world of craft beer and imports to me along with this and other beer sites. Now my neighbor and I host a tasting once a week and homebrew!

 

I grew up drinking (in University) the cheap stuff. I was in a fraternity, and Molson was our go-to as we had a deal with the company. In Japan as an English teacher, it was Sapporo. Then, I came home to Montreal and moved in with my girlfriend on Laurier street... 5 minutes away from Dieu du Ciel's brewpub. A friend of mine introduced me to the place and I was hooked. How in the hell had I spent all those years drinking cheap swill when Quebec had so much to offer? I had never even tried Unibroue before, though needless to say it is a staple in my home now! I'll never go back to macro, and I am a firm believer in supporting quality local brews.

 

Love your avatar by the way! Were you in Elaine's linen closet as well?

 

I grew up brewing beer with my Dad. By the age of 14, I understood and could do a full mash by myself. We toured breweries every summer and I had a passion for craft beer at an early age. The only problem was that I hadnt actually drank any. He was pretty strict about that. I had my first drink of alcohol on my 21st birthday. It was a Dead Guy Ale, becasue Rogue was an annual trip for my family. I loved that beer and started drinking craft from that point on. I think the beer that really changed it all for me came about 6 months after that; it was Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. Absolute game changer for me. I feel very blessed to have grown up in a home that never had any BMC it it, and always smelled like hops. It made me respect beer and created a passion for me, that I am so happy to have and share with friends.

Thanks Mom and Dad

 

I mostly drank Natty Light over 4 years ago. I told my friends it tasted the same as the Bud or Miller they were drinking and was cheaper so that's what I bought. They insisted it was crap compared to Bud Light or Miller Lite.

I was interested to find out what "experts" thought because I couldn't taste a difference... I came to this site to check out the beer ratings, only to find out that every BMC beer I could think of was rated horribly.

I thought to myself "well then what in the world is good beer with an A rating?" I looked up dark beers Newcastle and Guinness, a little bit better. Then I looked up "that bastard beer" finally an A rating!

After cruising BA for a couple more days I went and grabbed a Stone IPA and Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, I haven't looked back since.

 

For me, I was always interested in "better beers" during my late teens, but didn't have much opportunity to try them. Me and a buddy shared a 4 pack of guinness draught cans and that got me very interested in the world of beer. But it wasn't until about 1-2 years later I REALLY dove in....I was living in AZ and my buddy who was 22 would shop for me. I distinctly remember a few beers that blew us away: Arrogant Bastard ($3 a bomber at that point), Maudite, and Nimbus Monkeyshine.

 

Very true!

My friends: Oh you only had one beer tonight!? Wussy! I had 5 coors!

Me:...i had a BCBS, dude