What beer got you into craft beer?

drank craft back in my college days (mid 90's), and into my 20's but stopped for whatever reason...got re-introduced a few years back when Stone had their Espresso RIS..was blown away..never realized a beer could be that tasty..been back on the CB train since..

 

Probably about 10 years ago in college, started with Blue Moon. From there, got into Delirium Tremens and Chimay, which led me to explore Belgian beers in depth...

 

Russian River Supplication added the next dimension to my love for beer.

 

SA Boston Lager

 

Good friend of mine kept trying to get me into crafts. He then showed me sour ales... and this was the beginning of the rabbit hole.

I then stopped smoking cigs about 2 years ago, my taste buds revived after a couple months, and I could taste notes I could never taste before. This changed my perspective entirely.

 

Me too. When I quit smoking about 10 years ago that was a new begining for my love of food and beer. congrats on not smoking and may you try all the beer!

 

almost 10 years ago now - anchor liberty, quickly followed by stone ipa

 

Six years ago as a college freshman I thought shitty frat-house piss was all there was to the beer world. Then I tried Sierra Nevada Pale on draft at a bar and thought it was the freshest and best-tasting stuff I've ever had. Next someone gave me a Deschutes Black Butte and I was amazed at how drinkable a dark beer could be.

After that I made the mistake of trying to fly before I learned to walk and went on a craze of looking for highly acclaimed beers. I poured them sloppily and basically chugged them.

I remember trying Unibroue's Trois Pistoles and thinking that it was some foul shit. But after a long pause in my "beer tasting adventure" I've come back to it. Taking my time when drinking beers has helped me appreciate their subtle characteristics and I can really say today that it has greatly enriched my (otherwise stale and boring) life.

 

I think black butte got me into the possibilities of craft, and the allure of Black Tuesday and Utopias garnered my attention and when I started trying stuff I became fascinated. The culture is also appealing. Now I have both of those bottles and am content with my position in the community! Cheers!

 

Delirium Tremens

 

In college I always preferred a Sam Adams, Fat Tire, or Blue Moon over the light beer that was everywhere. Still struggled with more flavorful beers and didn't have the money to go much further than that. After I graduated and got a "real" salaried job near Chicago I started to splurge on local stuff - Daisy Cutter, Revolution cans, etc.

I was living in Logan Square at the time and frequented Revolution's brewpub. I made a comment to my girlfriend about how I really liked Revolution Coffee Eugene. While looking for a Christmas gift that year she found Bean Gene (BBA coffee Eugene). I had no clue this existed, and had never had a barrel aged beer. It was amazing.

Alas, it was expensive and not something I could find year round. So I sought out alternatives. Landed on Dragon's Milk and was a pretty big fan for a few months. Around this time my work hired a guy who was into craft beer and became a friend of mine. He mentioned that Dragon's Milk was okay but there were better BBA stouts out there, like Bourbon County. So, of course, I needed to land some. That was the true start of the rabbit hole, when I was no longer content to just pick up something at the grocery store and started hunting for top rated stuff...

 

Heavy Sea's loose cannon that a friend gave me. Never looked back!

 

In high school during the mid-eighties in west-central Pennsylvania, my friends were a group of non-conformists who liked to listen to music that was on the fringes and our beer tastes followed suit. We drank beers that were not the mainstream Bud/Miller (no Coors on East Coast yet!), initially because they weren't as common - but we quickly found out that we preferred them. They were beers like Chesterfield Ale, Molson Export Ale, Michelob Dark, Genessee 12 Horse...This habit of experimenting with beers set me up nicely for going off to college in 1986 when I had access to more imports, Anchor, Sierra, and the introduction of Sam Adams.

There are people in this world who like to try new things and embrace change, and those who always want the status quo. It's pretty easy to figure out which group craft beer drinkers fall into and it doesn't matter what particular beer got them into craft as they would get there eventually, as craft beer is just one aspect of their lives in which they embrace getting out of their comfort zone.

 

Mirror pond pale ale - deschutes

 

1997 Boston Lager.

 

I probably already replied on this thread but:

1st, Arrogant Bastard. Drank this in my early 20's and then mostly steered clear of BMC stuff after that.

2nd, Gulden Draak. Had this in 2007 and from then on really got into big belgian beers.

3rd, Stone Ruination 1.0. I had this in 2011 for the 1st time. I was not an IPA fan prior. Now a huge fan, and I like every style now for the most part, and now am enjoying sours for the first time.

Cheers to great beer!

 

Dont believe it.

 

bourbon county 2012

 

A trip to Belgium in the mid 90s. Not sure of the particular beer but I absolutely remember Duvel. I had no idea that beer could taste so good.

 

Definitely Lagunitas IPA, circa 2006. I think about a year went by, though, before I realized IPA was a style and not just the name of that particular beer. That revelation led me to Racer 5, and eventually, to PTE.