Do you remember what got you into craft beer?

Blue Moon, Sam Maple Porter, KBS...done.

 

Smuttynose IPA and Ommegang Hennepin on draft at Redbones in Somerville MA. Got em for free cause my sister worked the bar. Used to go in daily when I was ummm...21, yeah 21, and eat a pulled pork sandwich and one of those guys.

 

Growing up in WI, Spotted Cow started it for me but. A few thanksgivings back my brother brought some Surly Coffee Bender. Being a poor college student Beer and Coffee, in a can? Jackpot. I of course then went on to Furious and the rest is history.

 

Magic Hat #9

 

What year was that?




Anyways, when I was stationed in Okinawa Rogue started to sell there products in the BX/PX. One day I saw a growler of Yellow Snow IPA and bought it for as a joke (I always hated beer). Mind blown over how much I loved that drink.

 

Natural Light Ice. Not like that, of course. I never really drank before college. Sometime in my freshman year, someone was having a party and gave me one of those (sealed can, everyone else was drinking from that case). Barely choked down half and I felt so sick. Went to bed and woke up with crushing headache. Decided that would only go for 'good' beer after that, reinforced by a ski trip to Quebec City later that year. Found some little place with all these 'weird' beers. Wow, beer actually has flavor?
For my 21st birthday, instead of going to the local and getting plastered on Bud Light, me and some friends went to a brewpub for a couple flights.

 

This is pretty far out there but believe it or not, it was DFH 120 minute that propelled me into the world of craft. This dude I used to work with would talk to me about craft beer and recommended it to me, I barely drank any beer at the time.

I remember asking for it at a distributor by my house and being astounded by how much it was for a single bottle (little did I know that in a year I'd be happily shelling out $40 bucks for beers like Bois and Fruet) and just thinking, damn I hope this is worth it.

I hated it for the first 10 minutes or so, mostly because this should have been the last recommendation to someone who barely drinks beer.. but I was intrigued that there was actually beer that had texture, tastes and effort put into it. It kick started my interest and then from there I began to try anything and everything I saw, now I'm a proud beer geek.

 

SN Celebration!

 

I dabbled about 4 years ago with great lakes brewing co and kept trying different things from there joined this site about a year ago and continue to try new things although GLBC is still my favorite brewery

 

Odells IPA, i had tried others like sierra nevada pale ale and brewdog IPA before the odells and i wasnt fussed and never tried again for a while after but it just clicked with the Odells IPA, havent looked back since.. By the way i Love SN pale ale and brewdog now and drink them more regularly.. anybody else dismiss Beers only to go back and find they are actually really good?

 

Bell's Oberon and Goose Island 312. Then it was on!!!

 

In the mid to late 80s I tried an Ayinger Celebrator, that got me started on German beer, moved on to English beers, joined a beer of the month club, got my first taste of West Coast IPAs, end of story.

 

Id have to say Spotted Cow as my dad used to live in Madison...huge craft beer scene even in the mid 90's...loved the micro brews there

 

Oberon 1998

 

This wasn't the first, but it definitely made the biggest impact at the time:

Tim Taylor Landlord (cask)

 

Guinness Extra Stout...early 90's.

 

When we lived in Belgium, a guy have me a Stone Smoked Porter before he moved back stateside. I loved it and it prepared me for my craft love when we moved back to the states the following year.

 

I went to Boston for the first time in 1997 and tried Boston Lager on tap. I never touched Coors Extra Gold.

 

Before there were so many choices I was into the domestic "Super Premium" brands like Eau Claire All Malt, Erlanger, Christian Morlein and the like though my first real "eye-opening" beer that made me want to expand my horizons was Pilsner Urquell back in 1982 when it was sold in the 4 pack of brown glass bottles...just really showed me how good a beer could be. Also at that same time I discovered Monchshof Pilsner from Germany and Tolly Ale from the UK. Also remember when Sierra Nevada Pale Ale made it's debut on the east coast in 1986 so I guess that would be the one. The rest is history

 

Soon after college (around 2000) I went to a Belgium beer bar in the West Village called Vol de Nuit. I saw an advert on the wall with 2 dancing pink elephants and thought I needed to try it. That was my first taste of Delirium Tremens. But at $9 a glass I couldn't enjoy much of it. That was until I found a bar in Brooklyn called Mug's Alehouse and they had all their craft beers priced at $4, including Delirium. So I drank my body weight in DT and got hooked on good tasting beer.