What beer got you into craft beer?

Kiwanda Cream Ale from Pelican. First time I ever said, 'I want to go back and have another beer.'

 

Goose Island Bourbon County stout.

 

Bought a six pack of alpha King on my 21st birthday cause the label was cool never looked back

 

Sam Adams, Petes and Bass PA when it was still brewed in the UK. I remember splurging on the Sam Triple Bock and drinking it and hating it but it still opened up that idea to keep trying new beers

 

Shortly after college I decided I would start drinking better beer. After a few 6/12 packs of things like Abita and New Belgium I stumbled across something called "Hopslam". The rest is history. 800+ Beer Advocate reviews later and here we are....

 

I have to say that the beer that got me into being a craft beer snob (perhaps craft beer asshole) was a home brew I had when meeting some of my wife's good high school friends. That was nearly 20 plus years ago. Ever since then I kept saying that I will start brewing my own and finally this year I started (growing hops too) an now I am hooked. Cheers to Deb and Dave for getting me into this hobby/obsession, sorry it took so long. Thank you.

 

Born and raised in Detroit, so saw my share of Bell's there.Lager mostly, until vacations and trips took me into the Eccentric. Then it was Two-Hearted, Dopplebock, and Special Double Cream Stout.

Thanks to TW we get Oberon and Two Heart year round, and the seasonal when they come out. This year's batch of Double Cream Stout is good as always!

Now, if we could only get Larry and the boys down here forJCBF, that would be EPIC!

 

Shiner Bock then Celis Pale Bock, early 90s..

 

All the crappy beers that were all you could find 35 years ago.

Pretty much nowhere to go but up...

 

Yuengling

 

Initially, all the amazing beers I had while traveling the world in the Navy, but here in the homeland, 1995ish Aviator Ales Brewery in Woodinville, WA. Great line of brews. Couldn't drink a commercial domestic with the exception of Sam Adams from that point on.

 

The first craft beer I had (if they called it "craft" back then) was the original Red Hook ale, back in 1984. It was a weird beer with banana esters quite prevalent. The late Michael Jackson described it as "Belgian" in nature, probably a polite way to say that the yeast management got screwed up. Red Hook introduced Ballard Bitter ESB later on, which was much better, sold a lot, and got the company really moving forward. I also preferred the Ballard Bitter, now called Red Hook ESB.

 

I'd say Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo (big time!), Widmeier Heffe, and Avery's Maharaja... but it wasn't until I spent a summer in Boulder in 2012 that the world of beer opened up to me!

 

I saw big bottles of beer at the local Giant and thought I'd try them. Something different than the normal Sam Adams seasonal packs. It was Oomegang Three Philosophers and Boulevard Tank 7 that did it for me. There's been no going back, although I still like the Sam Adams seasonal packs.

 

Sam Adams, '85 or so, Boston. JK had us fumbling around researching this Reinheitsgebot thingy, getting revolutionary in beer drinking. It was an easy concept to embrace.
Got so psyched I packed a case worth of Boston Lager to CA around then in my check-in luggage. Bad idea. Well, they didn't *all* explode. Pretty sure it was the 1st time anyone tried BL in So. Cal, dunno tho.

 

Sam A Octoberfest from a cold keg poured into a flute glass. Smooth and tasty. First time i tried it from a bottle it had a nasty bitter taste.

 

I was already interested in drinking craft beer before I even started drinking anything, because my internet friends via Facebook were always posting pictures of Belgian beers and imperial stouts and that got me curious in the world of beer outside of BMC AALs/lite beer. However, in my personal experience, Guinness and Yuengling were my first favorite beers, and then when I first tried and loved Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I knew I was hooked on craft beer for good.

 

1980 in Okinawa with some Japanese lagers that I had never seen in the US. MigHt have been Kirin or Orion but they also had Sapporo which I had seen, I believe. It was beer with fresher, fuller flavors then I'd been used to.

 

I think it was Guinness and almost in an instant the blinds fell from my eyes and a unknown universe of beer suddenly appeared before me, one that is full of numerous styles provided by an abundance of skilled craftsman whom are very talented at relieving my wallet of its money hauling burden.

 

Never cared much for the big macros, but over the years, these showed me that beer can be 'good'.

NB Fat Tire
SA cherry wheat
Longs Peak Raspberry Wheat
Mix 6's of New Glarus
Bells Oberon
Founders Breakfast Stout
Pliny
And on from there...