I knew my answer to this thread would be complex. I'll start by eliminating any "free beer" as the best because in my line of work alcohol is everywhere on & off stage and I seldom have to pay for it. I've plenty of short stories similar to the OPs: Walking in the desert, driving 9 hrs straight with no air-conditioning in my truck then I recall getting an icy cold 4 pk of Destihl Tourbus HDIPA from Binny's in Bloomington, IL and with every sip I roared out OMG! That was only a couple of years ago. And about 32 hrs ago I got home from a 3.5 hr drumming gig and cracked two SN Bigfoot Barleywines. OMG! Over & over again. Watching the sun rise in Ireland with pints of Murphy's...Ice cold Miller High Life while taking a break from sunny yard work. O M G!! It's come to a point now that the best beer I've ever had happens about every week or so. Cheers!
2015. I had scored 2 bottles of 2012 Black Note at a Black Friday sale. When I muled up and took both bottles the guy behind me was like "awww man!" but he was also sick and coughing on us without covering his mouth the whole time in line so fuck 'em. The first one tasted like wet cardboard when I opened it that weekend. But the second bottle when opened a month later was absolutely the most unforgettable beer I have ever had. Every flavor was popping and the aroma was exquisite decadence defined. If I hadn't had this one beer I may never have gotten into BA stouts the way I did. Second place on this list would have to be a New Year's Eve beer from 2022. I was on about 4 grams of mushrooms and the only one awake at my place. It was midnight and I decided I HAD to to have me a beer on NYE so I grabbed the easiest drinking thing I had which was a Miller Lite. Poured the fizzy yellow water ceremoniously into an antique pokal glass and took a sip. And another sip. And another. I cannot describe what those mushrooms did to that cheap watery mass-produced beverage but it's a moment I've never come close to replicating. It was ice cold dry finishing and my mind was telling me I somehow tasted hoppiness. It was refreshing and delicious in its simplicity amd I'm not afraid to admit one of the finest beers I've ever had was this one particular Miller Lite. https://untp.beer/4bLeV
Quite possibly the Skull Splitter I drank from the bottle in the cafeteria at Arcosanti (why they were selling it there, I'll never know) in August 2001. Blew my mind likely unlike any other beer before or since. Inspired me to take a two-week trip to Scotland a few years later, in search of more Scotch Ale. Second-to-last day of the trip, I found myself in Edinburgh at the Guildford Arms with my brother and, lo and behold, they were having an Orkney tap takeover. I remember the bartender being alarmed that I urgently asked for a full pint of Skull Splitter, telling me they couldn't serve it in anything larger than a half-pint. Had five of their other ales on draft too. Felt like some kind of reward for my pursuit.
Easily the best beer I had was ZyF batch three when it was released. I ordered a glass, sat down, and had the absolute best beer ever. I followed it up the next time I was there with another glass to see if I remembered it correctly. It was definitely amazing. Nothing has come close since.
I liked the Brickhouse in Patchogue (RIP), where they brewed or brought in some Keegans, including Mothers Milk. Until Covid, they brewed a few traditional styles in addition to the newer things.
Was in Marco Island fishing with my brother and brother in law it was June it was humid and hot. My sister pack a sixer of ice cold Corona , to this day the was the best and memorable beer I’ve had . Now the setting and the beauty of the gulf with my siblings certainly helped .
Fought a brutal snow storm traffic to get to the airport to just barely make my flight back west. Landed. It was only 9:45 am PST. I was starving and in need of a breakfast taco. It was a long and stressful 12 hours. Popped into my favorite hole in the wall for food. "Anything to drink?" Can I have a Modelo? Best beer of my life.
For me it was when I was 16. Middle of summer, Saturdays were work with Dad day on the lawn, changing oil in the cars, whatever needed to be done. Can't remember what we all did that day, but a buddy of mine came over about 4:00 or so and we still had a few things to finish up so he kind of helped. As was our tradition, Dad and I would go to the local liquor store and each of us get a single and sit in the parking lot and drink our beer. My buddies parents were "tee-totalers" so he never got to have that experience with his Dad. When we went to the liquor store I told him to pick out a single, he looked at me like, really? I said yeah. We all got our singles (can't remember what) and sat in the parking lot in my Dads old pickup truck and drank our beers. After that my buddy and I headed out for whatever we were doing that night and he kept telling me how cool my dad was. I look back on that and have to say, he was really cool. It was only a couple years later that my buddy was killed in a car accident, and now my Dad is experiencing dementia so this memory is really hitting home. It's OK, Life is Good!!!
Definitely a memorable ghost whale drank with the few folks in my circle who still geek out over these old $ brews.
What a great thread! A few come to mind, so I might have to make multiple posts over time for this one! One beer I will never forget came on my first of now 40+ treks up to Hill Farmstead (it's a ~6hr drive for me). it was late February, and I had driven part of the way up solo to then drop my ~10mpg lifted Jeep at my buddy's place where he was in school near Albany, and we took his '80s Volvo wagon the rest of the way. This thing's odometer was broken, and we were using printed Mapquest directions (yes, it was that long ago!), so we missed a turn or two and had to double back, but didn't lose much time. There was light snow for a while though, so we took it slow and were just taking in the beautiful scenery. It was kind of a miracle that this old station wagon made it up the snow-covered, hilly, dirt road that is the last 2ish miles leading to Beer Mecca! We arrived maybe 30min before closing, but back then they could only serve you 4 tasters for $5 anyways. I was thoroughly impressed with everything I tasted that day, but what I'll never forget is that first taster of Everett! The night before I had just had what was to that point the best porter I'd ever tasted, Victory At Sea, and Everett just blew it out of the water! I was utterly floored by how perfectly balanced, round, and easy drinking that beer was! I ended up buying like three 2L growlers of it, going through one that night with my buddy and a couple other friends, and the other two were gone within 2-3 more days! That beer played a huge role in me making multiple trips a year (for a while every 2 months!) up to Hill Farmstead, and I'll forever be seeking more transcendent experiences like that one!
Mmm love Mother's Milk, and its big brother too, Joe Mama's. Hopefully they also brought in Hurricane Kitty, since the beer is named after Tommy's mom's reputation and speeding ticket(s) in Patchogue.
One of my most memorable was the very first Black Tuesday from the Bruery. Of course there is quite the story of the brewing process going sideways on that first batch (lost a good portion of the batch onto the floor of the brewery) that adds to the myth. I always enjoyed imperial stouts but for me, this was mind blowing. I remember being in their simple, no frills, brewery/tasting room. I swirled that bad boy in the glass, it was like burnt mahogany in hue. The nose was sublime. I paused before that first sip, the nose was that alluring. Then I sipped. Epiphany.
Back when I was underage, my friend and I went into this dark and seedy-looking dive bar in south Columbus to see if we could get some beer. I went up to the bar and ordered three bottles of PBR to go (which should have been a clue that I didn't know what the hell I was doing). The barkeep didn't card me. I got the beer, went home, and snuck it into the house through a bedroom window. I don't if it was because we put one over on everybody or what, but that was a damn good beer. I still have a soft spot in my heart for PBR.
Mid-80's, wife and I were in Ashland, Or to see a show at the Shakespeare festival. Was bloody hot out. We saw a show in the indoor theater. When we went in, they had draft Henry Weinhard's. We ordered and it was so cold and refreshing. was perfect on the hot day. The performance of The Tempest was pretty good as well.
Great thread!! And so many to choose from! Playing professional basketball in Japan year 1999-2000. Won a hard fought and grueling championship series. Made two free throws to seal the deal...had a last second dunk that had my team going crazy and celebrating. Get back to the locker room and instead of spraying champagne, we sprayed (and drank of course!) beer! It was ice cold Kirin Ichiban (league sponsor! Ha!) and it was one of the best beer experiences I ever had! Still gives me chills thinking about it 24 years later! Highlight Link
Lets see...a handful of experiences, mostly revolving around traveling... It was 2003, working in Antarctica, for 2 months on a research grant when I was in college. Was working on a research vessel up and down the peninsula for a while, then after going back and forth crossing the Drakes Passage to Punta Arenas, Chile. Getting back to Chile and having a big party at the local bar all the ship hands would go to. If memory serves, we drank a local lager all the time called Austrel Lager? But yeah that was great ha. I wasn't really "into" craft beer at the time, though I would drink Goose Island or Bells back home. That same year, just a month or so after I got back from Antarctica. I did my Geology field course in Montana. Staying at the YBRA (Yellowstone, Bighorn, Research Association) camp just outside Red Lodge. Hiking, looking at rocks, making geologic maps, camping for six weeks, and drinking Red Lodge Ales, Moose Drool, and Fat Tire at the top of the Bighorn and Beartooth Mountains. That was when I really started to get into this. That was a crazy year ha. Then I could move into my later traveling years, and get into having cask for the first time in the UK, or drinking some Guinness Nigerian Export rip off while working in Mauritania ha. Maybe later for those
The best beer for me was the one I had after a powerlifting meet. I competed for 35 years and usually had to lose weight for my weight class. Three months prior to the meet I would stop drinking and train harder. After the competition the beers always tasted the best, no matter what beer it was.
