The first beer that you loved

Pete's Wicked Ale was one of my early craft favorites back in the early 90s along with Goose Island Honkers Ale.

 

Hah, sounds similar to my first experiences. Except I was in high school when I had my first beers. Man I thought I was so cool drinking Keystones and Natty light. I joined the Army right out of highschool though, and thats where my experience really went next level. My first duty station was Fort Lewis, so close to Seattle and Portland. I got turned onto all kinda of delicious beers. The first one I remember liking was Fat Tire. A lot of the higher gravity and hoppier beers I tried I didn't quite enjoy yet though. My wife is actually the one who turned me onto Rogue's Dead Guy Ale. At first I didn't like it but it really grew on me. I love the complexity of flavors in really happy beers now. But I'm not a maniac for hoppy beers though, I still appreciate lagers and stouts etc.

Cheers,

Logan

 

Arrogant Bastard was probably the one that I couldn't get enough of. It was easy to get, fairly cheap for a bomber. It really showed me what the possibilities of beer could be. I got a second love for Abrasive Ale, that stuff give me beer wood.

 

Victory Headwaters

 

Grant's Perfect Porter.

 

Sam Adams Oktoberfest

 

Founders Breakfast Stout... and i still love it to this day.

 

Good thread OP.

I knew that I liked IPAs, and would go to my local shop and trust the owner to pick out a mixed six for me -- learning what beers I liked by trial and error.

Sculpin and Flower Power were the two that really stuck with me. Their juiciness was what defined beer for me for a year at least -- always seeking out the hoppiest option.

 

This was definitely my stout awakening.

 

DogFish 60minute. This beer started my exploring craft beer habits!

 

First beer I loved was Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.

 

My first beer ever..With my dad, grandfather & great uncle..I was in 7th grade.......after a day of fishing in Henderson harbor on Lake Ontario we moored in a little cove for a shore dinner of fresh caught bass & perch. May dad gave me my first beer, a Shlitz....And I drank it like a grown up with the 3 men I admired most. You can never go back.....

 

Molson Golden Ale. This was in the late 70's mind you.

 

Guinness. I didn't like the bland water beers that AB makes. Say what you will about Guinness, but it's a hell of a lot more flavorful than that shit.

I still like a pint now and then, but nowhere near as much as I did in college.

 

Watney's Cream Stout, an English beer ....which is not brewed anymore, I understand.

I had it in Massachsetts (maybe in 1991), while staying at a B&B with my wife while we were visiting her aunt.

The beer was a real eye opener, in that it showed me that beer could be something more than Macro lager.

I drank it almost exclusively for a year or so, but then moved on to other craft beers available in central Illinois, circa 1993, e. g., SNPA, Samuel Smith ales, and Guinness in a can (with its vaunted nitro widget...... woohoo!!! ).

 

Molson Golden, back in the '70's. Another was John Courage. I remember ordering a case of it in college from the local distributor and picking it up right after my last final exam.

 

Founders Breakfast Stout. Such amazing coffee and chocolatey goodness for a 21 year old college kid.

 

The two beers that I credit for really getting me into craft beer and that I still think incredibly fond of are:

- Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch
- Boulevard's Imperial Stout X Coffee Ale

While I've had numerous beers since then that would crush the above two in ratings, those were the first two beers that gave me a sense of what an imperial stout, and beer in general, could really taste and feel like. Plus, the coffee notes in both were absolutely delightful - and that's what I wanted out of my beer. They were also the first beers I specifically paired with food, which heightened the experience. The meals were the same for the two of them, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and local, thick cut bacon. The only difference being the beer and the flavor of bacon I used (if I recall one was a "sweet and sassy", and the other was "jalapeno" cured bacon). So delightful. I want them to bring that Boulevard back.

 

That was my go-to cask beer (my first) at a pub I frequented in Camberwell about 15 years ago. Upon returning to the states I cracked open my first Speckled Hen bottle and was sorely disappointed.

 

First beer I seemingly loved was Killian's Red. From there it was a short hop to Guinness, where I remained for a few years.