First "Good Beer" Experience!

I travelled to Europe in the summer of 1989. Bitters, IPAs and Brown Ales in England. Euro Lagers in the Netherlands. Alt in Dusseldorf. That trip completely changed my understanding of what beer could (and should) be.

 

Mine have all been pretty damn good!

 

I am gonna get torn apart by this but I randomly had rogue imperial red. Now I drink mostly only monsters. I still remeber my roots though

 

Oberon at Ashley's in Ann Arbor. Clear and warm summer day. That day, I heard angels sing.

 

I'd guess I would say Newcastle in the mid 90s. But a good beer experience wasn't until the late 90s when I was drinking Chimays.

 

If I put a few days in between each beer encounter, every beer, is a "Good Beer" experience.

 

This original Blackstar got me re-interested in beer around 1995. The Blackstar of today however has devolved into useless swill.

 

Delerium Tremens. Almost made me cry it was so good.

 

I never enjoyed pisswater and Yuengling was the only other beer available at most bars. It didn't quite change my life but helped me get through college. Brewer's Alley in Frederick showed me that there was a world beyond lagers as they brewed a full lineup of beer.

 

My first good beer was my first beer.

I was a little boy and my dad was outside with me doing heavy yard work. I remember him taking off his dusty gloves and drinking some easy drinker from a green bottle. When he let me have a swig, I thought I was super lucky. That wasn't just good... it was the best beer. It was probably a cheap German beer.

The beer that kicked off my passion was a Schlenkerla beer in Bamberg.

 

Mackeson XXX around 1980 or so.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9/19/

I know, what a fossil : )

 

I remember my first Two-Hearted Ale, which subsequently was the first IPA I ever liked. That first sip had my face beaming

 

I honestly can't remember the first "good" one. I do remember having my first Samuel Smith Oatmeal stout and being blown away.

 

A locally brewed Bock, just outside of Munich. I was 2 yrs old. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I remember that beer.

 

I had been sampling various different styles and exploring a bit just after college. I was drinking things like Leinenkugel and Shiner and SA variety packs. After a few times of wandering into my local bottle shop and just looking around for awhile, the owner came up and recommended a beer. I had never purchased a bomber before, but she handed me a bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale. I remember the first sip hit me pretty hard. I had never tasted anything with that much flavor. It was certainly profound. I was hooked at that point. It kicked off my passion for beer and it has been a wild ride ever since. I still have that bottle sitting on the shelf.

 

Magic Hat #9 when I was 21 made me say, "Wow, I didn't know beer could taste good." I dabbled in somewhat decent beer from there on out, but still stuck to a lot of Rolling Rock because it was cheap.

Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball when I was about 25 made me obsessed with craft.

 

I think it's pretty typical for most

I'm 28 years old now

I started drinking at 16 or 17 drinking whatever (Bud, Miller, Coors, Natty, Keystone, etc...)

When I got up to college I tried a few different beers outside of the American adjunct lagers like Heineken, Amstel, etc...

When I was legally able to drink I started buying things like Sam Adams and beer from the local brewpubs in my town. Occasionally I would have something "crazy" (to a 22 year old) like an Arrogant Bastard

When I was 25 I started visiting a local bottle shop and trying beers like Chimay and anything European that sounded expensive. And that eventually led me to checking out this site and other reviews on the internet, and now I drink whatever I can find of a different style.

 

My first taste of what I would consider a good beer was when I was about 18 and had my first Samuel Adams (it really is the beginner go to craft beer)

My first taste of a beer that blew my mind was at a brewpub where they had a coffee stout on tap when I was about 22 going out watching a band play. I had no idea coffee and beer would go together so well

 

Bud & Coors Light = College
Newcastle & Guinness = Right after graduating college
Racer 5 & a varierty of Imperial Stouts = around 24-25 years old, eyes opened and now I want to try everything
Pliny the Elder = GAME OVER. Hello Beer Advocate!

 

DIPA was probably the last kind of beer I liked oddly enough. I'm more of a fan of stouts and porters but I like IPAs now.