Most Nostalgic Beer

My nostalgia beer is Heineken. For a few years preceding turning 21, I pretty much drank Heineken exclusively. That along with just trying random adjunct lager's (which set the stage for trying new stuff in general). As such, Heineken has a special place in my heart and I tend to feel 18 again whenever I drink it.

 

I have two.. Both by Southern Tier:

Krampus Imperial Helles Lager. 3 years ago around Xmas is when I was introduced to craft beer. We were at a restaurant with a huge craft beer menu (that I didn't understand at the time). So I told the waiter that I liked Boston Lager and asked him to give me a better version of it. He brought out Krampus which mopped the floor with Boston Lager, and so started my beer journey.

My second is Choklat, also by Southern Tier. I tried Choklat about a month after he Krampus story above. Prior to Choklat, I was one of those "I don't like dark beer" people. Choklat changed that and now I love the whole spectrum of dark beers, from straight porters to all of the 15% BA variants.

Cool thread OP!

 

GULDEN DRAAK, it's like...no! it is an old friend, one of the first good beers I ever had and still the best that I've ever had.

 

Heineken is nostalgic for me because i remember my father always had this in the fridge when i was young. He would drink things like Guinness, red stripe and Boston Lager but Heineken sticks out the most for me. High Life is another because of my grandfather.


For myself i have two beers ill never forget..

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. A little info, i was a fireman for several years. The guys at the station were all beer drinkers and would always talk about Sam Adams and the seasonal releases especially Oktoberfest. Somebody had brought up Dogfish Head so i figured next weekend ill hit the store. The first ipa i ever had and the experience of sitting on my back deck was like magic. It was early afternoon. Someone just got the bonfire going. I thought the beer smelt like a ton of flowers so i poured it into a glass. I remember the soapy head, the (at the time) thick feel and extremely floral taste that has never been duplicated for me, it was like a once in a lifetime experience lol. I didnt like it at first but i ended up curious from it enough to seek out others that were like it. By the time i finish the 6 pack, i really dug it.

My second is Carton Boat. Firstly, its brewed in a town i used to live in as a young child so it reminds me of those times, although the brewery was not there at that time. Second, it was a few days after the 60 minute IPA experience and i was looking for "a toned down version of 60 minute" i see Boat. It says "Pale Ale" so im thinking ok, the beer is light in color, lol, so i grabbed it. Not knowing what it was, when i opened it later that afternoon, same situation at the bonfire, i noticed the similar bitter yet sweet floral smell and got excited. It reminded me of grapefruit a lot and was dry and i think i drank all four that afternoon because i enjoyed it so much.


Those beers got me into craft because before that, i drank Pabst and Newcastle, and now IPAs are my favorite style, 3 years later and no way id stop drinking them.

 

Rochefort 10.

This beer came into my life early in my "Beer Ventures". I was skeptical at first because of the bottle, but one day I purchased it. I poured it in a Wine Glass (I follow directions when it comes to beer), and smelled that Aroma! This is what I was missing in life! That toffee and vinous quality reminded me of a wine instead of Beer! This brew gave me the understanding of the complexity that Malts, Yeast and Hops can bring to a beverage. Also this beer is special to me, for its the first beer my Dad said that "Didn't Suck". I'll take from him for he isn't a fan of Beer. I like those moments when I can share a brew with him and we both enjoy the beverage and the time spent just talking about things.

Writing this now makes me wish I can drink one. Maybe after the Ice Melts.

 

Young's Oatmeal Stout was the ones my friends were all like "you have to try this" when I was 22 or 23.

The two that really opened my eyes are Hair of the Dog Fred and Cascade's Sang Noir. For someone whose experiences were mostly stouts, a few ambers and a couple mediocre IPAs, those are some absolutely mind-blowing beers. I mean, those are some impressive and unique beers ANYWAY, but I had both within a short timeframe and they really opened my eyes to how incredible beer could be.

 

Castel Lager, the Queen of Beers! Brewed in Ethiopia, it was one of the two most ubiquitous beers you could find in West Africa when I did Peace Corps in Mali, besides Flag from Senegal. Seriously, 90% of places only served those two beers, especially out in the rural areas like where I lived. One look at the gold foil over the caps of both the 12 and 24 oz bottles (smaller is better since you can drink it before it warms in the 100 degree air) and you knew the fun was about to start.

Flag had a slightly funky quality that made it the more interesting of the two beers, though not always the better. Castel was basically liquid corn. It wasn't very good tasting but it was easy to drink and bland enough that it didn't get too gross when it warmed up, which in African heat, it always did. Sometimes, there were other import beer options like 33 or Beaufort, or cheap liquor like JW Red and Pastise, but Castel was always around.

Years later, when I moved to Washington, DC, I walked into an Ethiopian corner store near my house and saw those gold foil wrappers poking out of the bottom of the fridge. I took some home (they cost a lot more than a dollar per bottle here, btw), invited over some of my Peace Corps buddies, popped it open, and were immediately transported back to the days of village dances by the generator, lounging by the river with monkeys swinging overhead, local hooker bars, expat house parties in the capital, shooting the breeze with a neighbor after a day of farming, oppressive heat, and all the other memories, good and bad, that we had left in that other world. It was one of the most magical beer moments of my life.

 

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.

The weekend I turned 21, my uncle went to the liquor store and picked us up some bombers of beer. One of the big bottles was of Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. I opened it and was blown away by its complexity (up until that point I was drinking adjunct lagers like Busch and Coors.) I will seek it out over and over again.

 

I may have been drinking jacket-hidden Coors waiting in line to see the Alarm outside the Riviera in Chicago back in high school. I remember that beer tasting great for many reasons, not one of those reasons being the product itself.

 

Lindemans Kriek Lambic. The beer that made my wife become a beer drinker.

 

Lowenbrau...it was the first European beer I ever had, loved the TV commercials in the 70s and thought the beer was pretty damn good. Made me feel high class compared to the Genny Cream Ale & Schmidts that I normally drank

 

Schaefer is what I thought of. Was the first beer I drank a bunch of during my first real job. Still like it more than most beers of the style.

 

Miller High Life many, many moons (decades) ago. In present day, it would have to be Sweetwater 420 on draft at a bar in SC. At the time, I did not really know what an IPA or Pale Ale was so decided to try it. It got me hooked on this style of beer and I have not looked back since.

 

Westmalle Tripel. I only really started getting into beer when I lived in Belgium, and this was the go-to beer among my friends there. It reminds me of my time in Brussels, my introduction to good beer, my friends and many great nights out. Hard to beat for me.

 

I had my share of those when I lived in NJ. Also Ballentine, Rheingold, Slitz, and others I cannot remember.

 

Boulder Mojo IPA and Yazoo Dos Perros. Mojo was the first IPA I really loved back in 2007. DP with lime just makes me think of college days in Nashville.

 

Busch and Trois Pistoles

 

I have four that stick out for me:

- Natty Boh: Quite simply, this was the preferred cheap beer of my friends and I during the college years so it brings back many interesting memories.

- Hop Devil: First IPA and true craft beer that I ever had. I had a college roommate who worked at the Hyatt near school and he served me this one night and I remember thinking, "Good God, this is bitter!". It's funny to think back and put this into perspective because at the time I thought that beers couldn't get much hoppier.

Golden Monkey: Another roommate and I would grab a pack of Golden Monkey to get our night started before switching to Natty Boh (or Wild Turkey 101, depending on the type of night). At 9.5% we could drink a few of these and be well on our way to a satisfying evening. Again, putting this into perspective I drink 9.5% brews all the time now and think nothing of it.

Hoegaarden: This is the beer that I would get at "high-end" bars in Wayne, PA and think I was fancy because it was an import. I also liked it so much with a lemon that it became my go-to beer to put down when I woke up with a wicked hangover.

 

Ringnes from Norway. Back in the day it was cheap and a really decent fresh lager. We were at Columbia in New York City and planned to head to Southwest Va. to meet up with friends. We bought 3 cases of Ringnes and drove directly to Woolwine, Va, down I-95, then across Virginia, way down in the corner. It's Rock Castle Gorge, the site of an abandoned state park, on a trail that goes up top to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then back down. Two of us hauled those 3 cases up to the camp site, a steep climb, and we were real heroes. It is a great memory.