What was you first Craft Brew?

Probably would be a Sam Adams back in the early days of craft beerdom

Cape Cod Beer was the first brewery I visited

 

Does honey brown count? But really prob sierra, Brooklyn brown or magic hat fat angel around 97ish

 

Ballantine XXX Ale at McGovern's in Newark, NJ in January 1973

Anchor Steam Beer purchased in Highland Park NJ in 1974/75 while I was at Rutgers.

 

1. Dixie Blackened Voodoo (brewery closed due to hurricane Katrina, now contract brewed in Wisconsin)
   
2. Sioux Falls Brewing Co., Sioux Falls, SD (long gone now)

 

In a restaurant in San Francisco in 1970 I took the waiter's advice and tried something called Anchor Steam Beer. Told him if they reduced the bitterness it might be a winner.

 

Same Adams, 1987.

 

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA was the first craft beer that opened my eyes to the wide world of flavor, namely hops.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company out of Houston was the first brewery I ever visited. Brock Wagner, the owner, gave us a personal tour. I was enthralled by the warming smell of wet grain and hops. An intimate relationship with craft beer and homebrewing soon followed. A life changing experience.

Cheers to American Craft Beer!

 

Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Lager.
Ham's Brewpub in Greenville NC. Long since defunct, but the brewmaster landed on his feet at Foothills.

 

Grolsch lager around 1995 and thought it was disgusting as hell. It wasn't my good ol Bud Light. Man, how my tastes have changed. I never revisited it either but looks like the reviews here tell me to stay away.
First Brewery was Bosco's Memphis

 

New Belgium Shift I think. My first "legal" craft brew was an Oberon.
First brewery was the Ann Arbor Jolly Pumpkin location.

 

Anchor Steam, mid 70's, maybe 1976.
Yakima Brewing and Malting Co, (Bert Grant's Brewpub) 1983 or 1984.

 

Sunshine wheat in 96.
First brewery visited, probably rockyard as a kid.

 

New Belgium Snapshot
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

1. Moose Drool 2. Sprechers

 

My Dad slid a Boston Lager over to me, at the lake, probably in '86. Before that Michelob Dark was my fave. I don't think I tried it again for a few years. In high school it was all about getting gas money, smokes, and Busch; and using the double entendre, in clever ways.
Souris River Brewing. Late bloomer for breweries.

 

Founders Dirty Bastard, in the fall of 2013. I was former wine drinker turned scotch drinker, and this beer caught my eye for a couple reasons: name, style, and ABV.

 

Golden Monkey by Victory was the first craft beer I ever had when i was a freshman in highschool. I'd say this happened in 09 because of an old neighbor I had (rip). I hated the taste of it (I still avoid beer styles with coriander) but I wanted to impress the older guys so I kept drinking it.

 

I lived in Sacto from 1976-1999, I remember drinking Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, ESB, a few others, this is where it started for craft brews, basically, in the 70s, easily in the 80s. We could get the shit in the grocery store, some even had spirits, easily wine. Saw my first huge warehouse liquour store on Elcamino across the street from Jack LaLannes, use to be a K-Mart. Tons, and tons of fuckn' beer, spirits, wine, early 80s. CA was the place to live, believe me, fuckn' awesome.

Cheers!