How and When Did You Become a BA?

Saw a mag in 2009, subscribed to the mag and joined. Never really posted till a couple weeks ago when Beerchitect asked me to message him a the Beer Trappe. Now I check it all the time.

 

I first created an account back in 2005, although I started browsing the site in 2003'ish. When I first got to CO I was pretty much overwhelmed with everything on the shelf and this site was the best way to make sense of it all.

 

Mostly a lurker here- I became a craft beer girl when I hit my early 30's. I just couldn't drink piss anymore. Sam Adams and Guinness were gateway beers, and suddenly just weren't enough. I first spent my days sucking down stouts, and then fell in love with so many IPA's I can't remember their names. I have no memory of how I ended up on this site.

 

I became a craft beer enthusiast upon moving to NYC from Alabama about 5 years ago. I had gotten a tiny taste in Alabama but, due to the neanderthal laws there at the time, a tiny taste was all I could get. As I broadened my horizons more and more in NY I began craving more and more. Joined BA about 2 years ago, moved to the Philly suburbs this summer and have never looked back. Now I enjoy trying new beers so much I almost never drink the same beer twice.

 

Once you realize how good lambic can be, you will kick yourself for going to Belgium and not bringing any home

 

I was drawn to BA because it had some pretty good coverage of the Rock Art Vermonster case. August or September 2009 IIRC. I'd been into beer before that but the idea of joining a beer related website had frankly never occurred to me. It's been a fun ride.

 

My eye opening to good beer was in college when I went to a workshop on beer styles and fell for Pilsner Urquell and a number of others. After college, my best memories are touring Catamount Brewing and drinking a lot of Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter and Oatmeal Stout on my grandmother's porch. I got majorly into Belgians when I worked for a Belgian company about 10 years ago and one of my colleagues (who lived next to the Duvel plant) and I got into a beer tour and exchange program.

I lurked on this site a bit and joined in 2009, but I still wasn't a BA or a beer collector but just a guy who appreciated good beer. It wasn't until about 2 years ago when I looked at the list of top 100 beers and I realized I had barely had any of them and had never heard of half of them. So I started taking it more seriously and now I've had almost all the beers of fame and about 75% of the top list. And I still think Taddy Porter and Duvel are the bomb.

 

July 1, 2012. I was trying to find out which beers were hoppy and which were malty. I didn't like hoppy (or so I thought). Once I started reading about the flavors that were in hoppy beers (some bitter, ton of citrus and grapefruit) I realized I would probably like them and DO I EVER!

 

I first got into craft beer back in college (UW-Madison), when I had a good friend who's parents were involved with Capital Brewery, and we were able to get very good deals on their half barrels for our parties. I've been using this site to lookup different beer reviews for the last few years. I finally decided to join earlier this year after I read that some BA's got a special area at the Central Waters 15th anniversary party, and that some bottles of 15 seem to be available for trade. I'm hoping that CW will have a special area for BA's at the 16th anniversary party next year too, maybe.

 

The turning point came over 25 years when I first had Theakstons Old Peculier. After that beer truly became a lifestyle.

 

By clicking on the box titled 'Sign Up Now' on the 15th September 2008.

 

Hop Rod Rye and Racer 5. Thank you Bear Republic!

 

A trip to Wiesbaden Germany when I was 17 years old to return my good friend who was here on a foreign exchange program, up until then I had only had Natty Ice, Bud, ETC.... I hated beer in the states, but when I went there I got converted by this stuff.... Funny thing, when I drink it now I find it too sweet, but there was no other beverage I wanted drink after that.

 

I had my first "This is beer?" moment in '92 when someone at a Phish show sold me a Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout. Since I was 15 I couldn't really go into the liquor stores, so my experiences with good beer were obviously few and far between until a few years later, but I'll never forget that first Oatie.

I created my first BA account back in 2002 or so, but got banned for being a snarky asshole (surprise surprise), so I started using ratebeer instead. In early 2005 I got a job as a beer buyer, so my time spent on beer sites increased tremendously in the name of research. At some point I realized that the "East Coast centric" nature of BA meant that beers coming from the east coast were often posted and reviewed here before they hit RB (and vice versa with West Coast beer). IIRC, you needed an account at the time in order to search the dB, so I was forced to create a new one.

Fast forward 8 years and I'm still here, though I don't think I'm as snarky as I used to be.

 

Saw an article about craft beer in some men's magazine. I was drawn to the beer by the name of Monk's Blood. Googled it and found BA as one of the top sites. Explored around a bit and realized there was a whole culture I never knew about. Decided to make an account and give beer a shot.

Interestingly enough, I wasn't able to try Monk's Blood until 2+ years after I signed up.

 

My dad was into craft before me, and when I was well into drinking the "tastier" beer and "starting my beer journey" my old man recognized it. He recommended this site to me, true to form always spoiling his son ; )


He's never posted or reviewed, but he created a monster in me!

 

My two friends and fellow BA's (smutty33 and Tomdee74) told me about it I believe after we got up and had a few beers. It took two months but I finally did and I'm glad I did. Trading and trying new beers whether it's my boys or me who did the trade is something I always look forward to...CHEERS to my boys and thank you

 

In 1990, I had an Orval and a Duvel at The Old Toad in Rochester. I've been a beer enthusiast ever since. Cheers!

 

I took a wine appreciation series of classes in like 1985- and the last class was actually dedicated to beer. That's when it all came into focus for me, about appreciating the different styles out there and how they are all made. It also turned me onto beers that I never heard of until then (such as Taddy Porter), and eventually led me to find the beer bars in my area (yes- we had beer bars in the 1980s ). But it was as you said- one moment I am just enjoying some unusual beers, and in the next one I had changed my whole lifestyle. And haven't looked back since!