How to get started with craft

It's not necessarily the "process" people make it out to be. While we all know somethings in this world take some getting used to, drinking craft beer isn't necessarily one of them. My wife went from drinking nothing but Stella to nothing by double IPA's in an hour. Seriously. While I would imagine her experience is atypical, it is still quite possible. So when you jokingly say making the leap from Yuengling to Dirt Wolf could be tough, I think to myself, "Not as tough as you would think!"

 

Some good suggestions. I think that if Total Wine has singles at a slightly marked up price, or a "make your own six pack", then you can easily grab 12 brews with a wide range of styles, from various breweries and countries and get a quick feel for what you like and don't. The rule when starting is along the lines of "never drink the same beer twice". Just dive in, knowing you are going to buy some beers you don't enjoy. Try to drink half of them at least.

 

About four years back, my family, myself, and friends went to every brewery or brewpub in a 45 mile radius of where we were vacationing. Flights upon flights and samples. I soon started to ignore certain styles and focus on a select few. By the last stop, I was ordering full beers straight up of certain styles. It's not an exact science. But it got my feet wet 100%. No going back after that

Single bottle sales or variety packs won't hurt either.

 

You are going to be just fine. Don't shy away from English beers, all kinds of German offerings, work slowly through the Belgians, learn about the history of American brewing, and stay as open-minded as you now are. That's about it.

 

I did this my first Christmas season on the sight, sampling holiday ales. I'm doing it again almost two years later, this time, for Oktoberfest. It's a great way to explore a new style. You can always go back and get a six of your favorite. Welcome, fellow advocate. Enjoy the journey!

 

Best advice is to not follow any rules or worry abou what you are supposed to like. I understand the question, but most of the fun is figuring it out for yourself.

 

I did not read all the posts but I had to laugh when you sad cigar city. Go through all their beers one by one. Dirt wolf is a very popular beeer. It is for a reason. It's darn good. I would start with what you see, any and all of it and keep going back until you don't see anything anymore. ( PS - that has never happened )

 

Yeah, limited availability/distribution can be a kick in the pants!

I started out trying what was readily available first, then much later I started making road trips just for beer. This helped me judge time and effort vs. worth. Sure, I love Gandhi-Bot and wish it was more available, but if it's scarce then I can think of at least 5 other IPAs I enjoy that have a good chance of being on the shelf of my favorite packie any given day (e.g. Resin, Ruination, Sculpin, Dirtwolf, Sea Hag). So you can decide for yourself if you want instant gratification or make a day-trip to acquire some high-hanging fruit.

 

Since you live in Florida, support your own and get to know one of the greatest breweries in the world, Cigar City

IDK where you live in retrospect to Cigar City but you should just find a place or the brewery itself that carries a lot of their beers and uses flights and just try everything they have to offer....

I love supporting my local Brews: Victory, Carton, Kane, Troeggs, Lancaster Brewing Company EXC.....

 

This thread has been very helpful. I too got laughed out of a store when I asked about BCBS :/ Noob.

 

It's my mantra...there is only one rule....drink fearlessly and objectively...it is the tao of beer

 

When I first got started into craft beers, I would buy one six pack of something I knew I liked and one of something I've never had. (regardless of style) For the most part, every new beer I came across was good. The beers that I didn't like I've since gone back and revisited them and learned that my palate had changed and found I enjoyed the beers I once thought was not so great. Only one beer to this day still haunts my dreams....Sam Adams Triple Bock...yikes.

 

open mind open mouth

 

2 good starters to try that represent their catagory well and I believe are widely available:
IPA - Racer 5
Russian Imperial Stout - Old Rasputin

 

Beer Camp is a terrible idea, honestly. So many strong flavors. It would turn off a novice.

If you wanna turn on a newbie, I always recommend these:
Straight BMC: recommend a local Kolsch (locally I go Big Boss Angry Angel, Mother Earth Endless River, and the beer that this brewery uses for people that ask for BMC in their little college town: Carolina Brewery Sky Blue.

If the person likes Blue Moon, hit them with something local. Locality normally means freshness which normally translates to a much better version of BM. Nationally I use SA alot for this, but I always go local with Natty Greene's Wildflower, Deep River twisted river, and Triangle.

if they want a lager, thats honestly easy. Great Lakes Dortmunder and Victory Lager are killer in that category.

Fat Tire is an easy sell too.

 

I would amend it to :

1. Purchase
2. pour
3. drink
4. repeat

seriously there is no path no yellow brick road in your beer journey. Buy something that looks interesting, if you don't enjoy try it again in 6-12 months your palate might evolve and something you didn't enjoy may be your new favorite.