New to craft. Where should I start?

no, I say start with variety packs. That way you get a few different types. Here are some other pointers.

1: Go look for specials at case places. Sometimes they offer the best gems at lower prices.
2: specials at bars: often bars do dollar off drafts or all booze for $3.00, that way you can sample beers.
3: Try different non-craft beer: Not all adjuncts are created equal. Fine one that if you wallet it tight, buying that is not the end of the world.

 

A lot of 'top 250' beers are very hoppy or very high ABV, you might not enjoy them jumping straight from mainstream beers. I'd agree you should start with a variety of styles, but definitely go to moderately strong beers before going to the really strong beers.

 

Ignore the top 2 posts, and GO FOR THE TOP 250!!!

 

If you have a shop near you that offers mix-a-six or single bottles for sale pick up a few different styles and try to figure out what you like and go from there.

 

Mix packs are definitely a good idea. Bell's was some of the first craft beer I had, and I'd say that's a great place to start. Make sure to grab Two-Hearted Ale and Best Brown. Both are top notch beers.

 

Sierra Nevada is a great starter kit to craft beer, it was for me at least.
Start with the Pale Ale and sky's the limit from there.
There's something for everyone in that line and their distribution and price really make them a staple in the craft beer world.

 

Don't stick to one or two styles. Force your self to rotate. IPA and Imperial stouts are not the end all.
Not saying if you come across something in the top 25 don't pick it up but expand your pallet.
If you don't like it don't disregard it, your palette changes.
oh and HOARD!!!!!

 

You're in Massachusetts. Start with Sam Adams and go from there. Any of their stuff will give you a good idea of what you like and don't like. Move onto a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, then try some Jacks Abby Hoponious Union.

 

To be honest as a new craft fellow myself I haven't even looked at the top 250 beers. I took the 2 beers that I drank before (Blue Moon and Guinness) and started by drinking similar styles. Then found breweries that I liked based on those styles and started branching out to some of their other styles.

 

Stay away from the top 250 for now. You can't appreciate it nearly as much at this point. Start with some fun, possibly less expensive, but very tasty stuff. These were some of my starters that I remember fondly and still like to this day, along with some simple ones that I've liked a lot lately. There's a decent mix of styles in there, though I'm admittedly much more informed about American styles than European styles:

Sierra Nevada Pale (pale ale)
any of the year-round Goose Island stuff
New Belgium Fat Tire (amber ale)
New Belgium Abbey (belgian dubbel)
Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout (sweet stout)
Founders Dirty Bastard (scotch ale)
Spaten Optimator (doppelbock)
Southampton Double White (witbier)
Southern Tier Harvest (ESB)
Lagunitas IPA (IPA...duh!)
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (russian imperial stout)
Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde (belgian style tripel)
Unibroue's Trois Pistoles (belgian strong dark ale)
Great Divide's Hibernation Ale (old ale)
Full Sail's Wassail (winter warmer)
Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter (porter with a sweet finish)
Great Lakes' Porter (much smokier/bitter porter)
Narraganset lager (cheap american lager that isn't piss in a can)
Stone's Arrogant Bastard (american strong ale)
Keystone Light (totally super duper imperial pentuple hopped bourbon barrel aged nectar from the gods)
Founders' Red's Rye (rye beer)
Smuttynose Pumpkin (pumpkin beer)

 

Dont do it. Your wallet will thank you in a few years. JK (kinda)

Mix 6s and places that offer flights are a good way to start. Try all styles and dont write them off if you dont like them the first time. I started with IPA and went to stouts and now sours. Hated all three at first

 

You're missing Weihenstephaner anything from that list. I'd say to avoid the top 250 list except that their Hefe is an extremely approachable, cheap, and easy to find beer that is currently sitting in the top 50. Their other stuff is similarly cheap, available, and awesome.

 

Because I haven't had it yet...

But I will soon. That's on my "to drink" list.

 

I think I had my first Weihenstephaner Hefe the day after I turned 21. I had already known I liked the style, so when I saw that this was the highest rated example of that style, I knew I had to find it. And as it turns out, it was literally everywhere.

 

Whatever you do, don't drink Bell's Two Hearted! You'll start thinking that that's how an IPA should taste, and you wouldn't ever truely understand what an IPA could/should be. It's a fine Pale Ale, but somehow snuck into somewhere it never belonged. Actually... it's not even that good of a Pale Ale now that I'm thinking about it. Yeah, pretty shitty brewery over all. Mediocre at best over all. A few decent brews but those are the "Limited"/"Seasonal" brews.

 

Locate your nearest high end craft beer bar with knowlegeable bartenders and pick their brains. The top 250...fist pump, but assuming you tapped all of those, what's next to conquer? With two popular styles for example, there's alot of great stouts or IPA's out there but if you go for the "mac daddy's" first and not experience the others you are robbing yourself of the total experience. Start less agressive, learn (and take notes if needed...I still do), appreciate the nuances and work your way up. Nothing wrong with jumping in the top beers out of the gate but from experience (which I'm no expert), give the others a chance, view it as an education and journey to enjoy along the way, then form your own opinions.

 

.....what

 

Research, locate, visit, and drink at your local breweries.

 

Sam Adams Boston Lager...it was one of the first of the craft beer movement and is a good stepping stone beer. Then, depending on what is available in your area, I'd go with a sampler pack...probably New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Founders, or Summit.