Beers of Your Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

PAST - For a meaningful beer for me that’s only in my past and not my present, I’ll go with Riggwelter. Looking at the bottle below really takes me back. Would I even like the beer if I had it today?



PRESENT - The beer I had tonight was Obadiah Poundage. Here’s a pic. This was bottled 2.5 years ago, but when it comes to opening an old beer, there’s no time like the present. This beer is just amazing to me. Is it wrong to pick a beer for my “present” that was designed as a recreation of the past?



YET TO COME - The year on the neck label says it all. This is what will be on my shopping list in the very near future.

 

The quick answer is PBR, PBR, PBR.
Past: PBR, Guinness, Ballantine XXX and IPA, DAB/DAB Dark
Present: Centennial Ale, Celebration, Mad Elf, Utopias aged WW Stout (I'm pretty nice tonight)
Future: All of the above if only I could get DAB Dark and Ballantine IPA. Have a Samichlaus 2021 and some lambic for tomorrow.

 

OG Sculpin in those big old bomber bottles.

Oxbow Crossfade has been a beer I’ve been loving in the present.

One day I’ll find West Ashley. One day.

 

Past: Schlitz, Genessee, Rheingold, Schmidts, Molson, Moosehead

Present: Ommegang, Jackie O's, Great Lakes, Fat Heads, Santé Adairius when I'm in Santa Cruz

Future: Try to visit some bucket list breweries.

 

I have to admit, after over 40 years of beer drinking, I can't wrap my head around what I'd dredge up; too many ups and downs, backs and forths -- lots of living and learning.

I will say, there are many classics from my early days, and the early days of the brewing renaissance, that remain constant and I hope will be so in the future.

Spaten Oktoberfest, Guinness Stout (of all ilks), Pilsner Urquell, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Steam.

To which I'll add, the current rediscovery of classic lager brewing is exciting -- especially by some very adept local brewers, and has me looking forward to what may be on the horizon.

 

*Bell's Oberon. Not sure how I forgot that one, since it's such spring-like weather here in Chicagoland.

 

Past - Old Style, Special Export, PBR Bock (yes it was a thing) Hamms, High Life and Lowenbrau

Present - lots of local Pilsners, Lagers, IPAs and never turn down good national craft breweries or German beers. Still have the occasional macro lager (heavy please)

Future - anxious to see where the beer journey will take me.

 

Past was Bud, Miller Hi-Life, Miller Lite and Bud Lite (pretty much all you could get on keg when I was in college)
Present: A mix of things, bigger on Pilsners (including American Pilsner), IPA (West and East-West)
Future: As of now don't see much changing, chasing has curtailed off. I still like a good BA beer, but not willing to buy a 4 pack and power thru it and not wanting to add to my cellar. The only thing I really plan for the future is to get up to Great Raft when they release this years The Company I Keep and grab a couple of cases. Digging in my beer fridge for Christmas beers and found one wedged in the back with a year on it and was still probably one of the better beers I had over the weekend.

 

Ha, I love this!

Past: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Magic Hat #9, Hoegaarden White, Ommegang Hennepin, Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier, Bells Oberon, Troegs Nugget Nectar, and Anchor Steam.

Present: Other Half, Source, KCBC, Greenpoint, Interboro, Icarus, Equilibrium, Tin Barn, Icarus, District 96, Nightmare, and anything else good from these parts that I can get my hands on.

Future: Who knows? That's why I keep pushing...

 

Before I discovered craft beer and Beer Advocate, there were intimations of a greater interest in beer than I realized. I would always try anything new on the beer shelf. Remember Miller Reserve Velvet Stout?

Present: This dates from the point that I discovered craft beer and BeerAdvocate, some twenty years ago. At first, it was anything craft I could find, when, in Central Texas, craft beer was hard to find. If, in the course of a month, a heretofore unseen beer appeared, that was cause for celebration. Now, of course, there is an embarrassment of riches, with even the local HEB grocery featuring a good selection of craft beer. Present tastes tend toward stouts and porters and dark German styles, mostly from Texas craft brewers.

Future: I hope to take up home brewing again, with an emphasis on imperial styles, porters, stouts, doppelbocks, and seasonal beers. And of course, to scour the shelves of local retail for that latest unseen gem of the craft brewer's art.

Many thanks to Todd for making us all feel welcome on BeerAdvocate, as well as to everyone who contributes their time here.

 

Ghosts of beers past... started out drinking microbrews I stole from my step-dad, realized then I didn't like AAL. Moved on quickly, drank a lot of Newcastle, honey brown, fat tire etc. I took off a few years after realizing drugs and alcohol were part of my self destructive way, did the straightedge thing and came back to a beer scene that was insane. I settled in to a run of drinking big everything. Ipas, imperial stouts, Belgians, Avery gold tops were my best friend.

Presently I find myself hoarding all those big beers still. Like Pokémon to me, gotta catch them all, but when I actually DRINK a beer I find myself sitting down with a well made example of something lower in alcohol than those beers of old. Daisy cutter, anything from bierstadt, some of the lower abv ipas from Cerebral and those foeder fermented saisons from outer range really trip my trigger right now.

For the future, drink through the cellar before its too late, and continue down this road I'm on now. These beers are really something else and I'd hate to let them go too soon.

 

Past: Icehouse; Miller Genuine Draft; Rolling Rock; Heineken; Sam Adams Boston Lager; Smithwick's Irish Ale; Guinness; Newcastle Brown Ale; Boddington's Pub Ale; Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale; Stone IPAs; Green Flash IPAs; Sculpins; Lagunitas IPAs; Hop Butcher IPAs

Present: Revolution Deep Wood beers; any Side Project dark beers I can get my mitts on; the occasional Hop Butcher IPA (some habits are hard to break); rediscovering lagers through stellar local craft options such as Goldfinger; the occasional Half Acre release

Future: still dabbling with sours; more Rev Deep Wood beers; further exploring just about any style I'm not fully familiar with, except for hard seltzers.

 

this is more beer styles of past, present & future but…

past: German Hefeweizens (Tucher, Franziskaner, Hacker Pschorr)

present: farmhouse ales / saisons and lagers with the occasional BA imperial stout or barleywine

future: would like to get into some styles i’ve been neglecting (Esibocks, Lambic, Old Ale)

 

Past: Champaign, St Louis, New Orleans
Present: Chicago
Future: California here we come

 

So, over in the thread Where did you drink before the emergence of craft beer bars/gastropubs? lots of people kept mentioning beer brands, and as I read many of those replies I kept thinking:
"Not 'what'. Where!"

So, I guess - this reply is a subtle poke at all those replies?

 

Past: Gee, i guess cans of tuborg, whatever was the cheapest available lager in the shop. I still have a penchant for cheap european lagers to be fair…

Present: Just finished my beer advent calendar, lots of big IPA’s and imperial stouts, sours are what are giving me the most joy at the moment, particularly gueuzes.

Future: I’m moving to the Netherlands in three weeks time, and i plan to spend probably too much of my time travelling to breweries in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany trying everything I can get my hands on. I think Westy XII might be first on the list…

Good luck with your drive across the atlantic ocean . Greetings from Baile Átha Cliath

 

My past was in England drinking the likes of Fullers, Wadsworth, Brakespeares, etc.

My present is currently seeking out ignored or harder to find beer styles. Had a Biere de Champagne with Christmas dinner.

My future? Well, I'd like to get down to Philly one day and try both of the Plinys.

 

OK. Portland, OR; San Diego, Chicago, Long Island, NY. Or should I stretch the definition of craft beer bar / gastropub to include McDini's in National City, CA (73) or Quencher's in Chicago (76) or Mr. Fadeley's Patchogue, NY (77)???

 

What's the name/where in PA?

 

I think you meant to post this in the thread @jesskidden linked to.

Didn't you?

 

Shoot, sorry this was just wishful thinking on my part. The "here's hoping" part was meant to convey that this is just a fantasy on my part. Didn't mean to get your hopes up!

 

Past--Schaeffer..the first beer I really enjoyed. Drunk a bunch at my first job.

Present: Tree House Snow and Brew Dog Nutcracker AF. Tree House is now a 20 minute drive and non alcoholic beer ships straight to me. I am less about driving around to see what is available these days.

Yet to come: Pinta Kwas Tao. I keep on promising myself I will return to Poland for the cuisine and the great, underrated beer scene.

 

Past: Yuengling IPL (rest in peace sweet prince )

Present: The myriad of Bourbon Barrel Stouts I recieved as Christmas gifts.

Future: Whatever looks interesting at the liquor store next time I go

 

I've had lots of beers of course over the past 50 years, but for me the memories that stand out are of particular beers in individual settings. When the setting is just right, the beer is fantastic: Three examples: on a hot day, 1971, a PBR with a visiting Dutch friend in front of the Gambrinus statue at the brewery in Milwaukee (PBR in those days was premium, and to my youthful palate tasted it); with my son and wife in Brussels, 2013, at the Mort Subite, a delicious white sour beer, served apparently only at the restaurant/pub; with my wife, 2015, at Russian River brewery-- by a miracle got in (around 3pm), got a table, and had a superb flight of sour beers, the best I've ever had, along with pizza. Beer to come? In Brussels we missed Cantillon; I very much look forward to touring and having a beer (after Covid is over, and that day, I'm sure, will come).