What was your gateway craft beer?

Sam Adams Imperial Stout...

 

Boulevard wheat was my first craft beer that I drank often. Pseudosue showed me a whole new level of beer.

 

Ommegang Abbey Ale

I was tired of the usual party beers (MGD/Corona/whatever) and figured there had to be something else out there. Grabbed something off the shelf that cost as much as a 12-pack (for one bottle!) and was immediately converted .

 

First I tasted some random beers in a local pub, each one was by recommendation of the bartender.

We started with Sixpoint Resin, Brewdog Punk and Três Lobos, all ipas, a hardcore start for newbies like me, and all very different of my usual american adjunct lagers.
I didn't like too much of IPAs in the beginning because the bitterness, at this point I wasn't used with strong bitter beers such IPAs.

But the beer that opened up my eyes was Westmalle Trippel, in the first sip I knew that it was a different "breed" of beer with it rich complex taste and full body. Since that day I became a real beer lover, and never stopped to try new beers and styles.

 

Every time I reply to a thread like this my answer is different because I simply eased into it rather than having that one awesome epiphany. I started with Coors Light, then got fascinated by Grolsch (????), and Fat Tire came soon after. Breckenridge Brewery was the first craft brewery that I became obsessed with, so I would say Breck Oatmeal Stout or Avalanche Ale would be my craft epiphany beers if I had to pinpoint it.

 

When I was still young I drank mostly Coors light and other similar beers, but I made friends with a few guys that were older when I moved out of my parent's house and they drank a variety of micro brews. I remember trying Lagunitas IPA, Red Tail, and SN which over time got me branching out from macro beers,

 

Not really craft beers but Boddingtons/Kilkenny were my first two gateway beers! Still enjoy them from time to time as a reminder!!

 

When I was in Dublin, I visited an astounding bar called L. Mulligan Grocer a bit north of the river, and a block away from my air bnb. I had a fleadh ale (an Irish IPA) by The White Hag brewery. I suppose now it would be called a red IPA, but lord did that beer change me. I had loathed IPAs up until that moment.

When I got back, new Belgium snapshot and ranger caught my attention, as they were fairly new and upcoming, and still hold a lot of sentimental value to me. Ranger has such a unique taste that I have yet to find anyone able to replicate it. Although there are tons of more flavorful and explosive IPAs out there, that one still remains unique in my eyes.

 

Fat Tire was one of the first few beers I had, and the first one that wasn't a from major domestic brand. I was 17-18. I always bought the 750ml Smokestack bottles from Boulevard to get drunk on at parties when I was in my early 20's. I would just take 1-2 of them to a party and drink it from the bottle. Long Strange Tripel was my favorite. And then around 2010-2011 I found hops, and IPAs. And now I'm here.

 

Sam Adams BL. I remember it vividly, a July 4th cookout in 2006. I had it before, but that day it was different in a great way. That got the ball rolling. Then one December(a little over a year later) I tried something called Celebration Ale...wow....From there Bud Light et al. never tasted the same. And for that, I am grateful.

 

My Gateway Craft Beer was SixPoint Resin!

I continue to drink them till this day.

 

SNPA

But what took me to geekdom was Lagunitas Waldo's Special Ale

 

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown was the first beer I was introduced to that made me question whether there might be more to the whole "beer" thing than the common yellow lagers plus Guinness lineup. From that, I expanded to the Taddy Porter, and eventually picked up a couple beers from GLBC by the names Edmund Fitzgerald and Eliot Ness.

It's been malty, yeasty bliss from then on.

 

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale..my brother, who is 6 years older than me, handed me one of those. That green labeled gem, combined with our first conversation about Great Divide Old Ruffian (that day, he had just bought a case of it), and I had a new obsession..er, hobby.

Cheers!

 

My gateway beer was Blue Moon. It moved me away from Budweiser and taught me to try other beer. I transitioned to real craft beer quickly after my Blue Moon phase.

 

Went from Miller Lite to Sam Adams to Torpedo and Two Hearted Ale. That made me get the bug. Now this will sound crazy, but when I was really getting into craft beer in 2010 or so I found a bottle of BCBS and decided to pick it up. This is when I realized that beer can fit about every need. If I remember correctly that was the first time I had a St Bernardus Abt 12 and realized Belgium made some great beer. The best part of this story. For 3 solid weeks I walked in and found more BCBS on the shelf. Now I gotta fight to get a couple overpriced bottles.

Oh, and that spring I got my hands on 2 cases of KBS and realize I liked it even more than BCBS.

 

Very initial gateway (2005 for me): Smithwick's and Hoegaarden
Get serious gateway (2006): La Fin Du Monde and Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout
Obsession gateway (also 2006): Old Rasputin

 

Schell's Deer Brand. Moving from rural MO to rural MN a long time back. One could argue that Schell's is not 'craft' but it's better than Busch. (Pre-dates Miller Lite, that's how long ago. ) Then, on a business trip to San Francisco, my collegues came up with Anchor Steam Beer, fresh from its new home. That is what did it for me.

 

Not sure how to answer this, I think Red Dog, Red Wolf and Killian's. Then came Heineken, Becks, Hofbrau and some Leinie's Berry Weiss. They each blew me away at the time. I think my biggest revelation was bourbon barrel beers though I can't remember my first. Aging a beer in a barrel? That's some wizardry right there.

 

The first sort of unusual beer I had was a malt liquor - Molson Brador in 1978. To me it was unusual. I went to college in Northern Vermont and we would do beer runs to the Canadian border and come back with cases of Brador. Drinking age was 18 then.

During the 80's I mostly drank British imports such as Bass, Watney's Red Barrel, Samuel Smith's, Young's (original), and Newcastle.

My first actual craft beer was Catamount Pale Ale from Vermont in 1987. After that I drank mostly Sam Adams, Harpoon, and Pete's Wicked Ale.

 

Mid Nineties: Leinie Red, Sam Adams Honey Porter and Boston Ale.

Mid-late Nineties: Great Lakes flagships Dortmunder Gold and Edmund Fitzgerald, Sam Smith's Taddy Porter and Nut Brown, and Goose Island's Oatmeal Stout.

Late Nineties: Chimay Red.

It's evolution, baby.

 

I basically just went through the beer aisle and bought everything that looked interesting a little at a time, I never really drank a lot of big beer though there was a lot of stella for a short (Very short) period

 

I only bought this beer for a laugh when I saw it about 12 years ago . Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale. Said I wasn't Worthy on the Bottle but tried it any way and glad I did.

 

Victory Golden Monkey. First thing that caught my eye was the ABV. I thought to myself " theres no way beer can get that high" I was so naive

 

Stone Arrogant Bastard

 

I was drinking Bud Light, then found Sam Lager and eventually stumbled upon Lights On on draft. Now I buy most of my beer from various breweries.

 

I'm going to credit Dogfish 60 minute for truly blowing the lid off. It was an aha moment, though I had had reasonable beer in the past (Sam Adams, etc.). Sadly my palate has shifted and I no longer enjoy the malt profile in 60 and 90 minute.

 

Pete's was probably my first, but it didn't hook me. Same with Honey Brown. Also dabbled in Summit Extra Pale, Sierra Nevada Pale, Sam Boston Lager and Goose Island Honker's. Liked them but didn't catch the fever. The turning point for me was one December about 12 or so years ago, when I bought sixers of Leffe and Goose Christmas Ale. Haven't looked back.

 

Anchor Steam. '73

 

Got me interested in beers potential: Yuengling Black and Tan
Interested in the craft brewery movement: Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager
Obsessed with craft beers: Blue Mountain Kolsch 151

 

My gateway progression:
Extremely skunked /old St. Pauli Girl 1989 - hated it
West End Export - college party 1992..thought it was amazing (but was probably cheap Austrailian swill crap looking back)
SA Boston Lager/Boston Ale 1993 - ok but pretty bitter and chewy at that time for me.
Dundee's Honey Brown 1993ish was ok

SA Cherry Wheat/Pete's Strawberry Blonde/New Amsterdam/Blue Ridge Wheat/Blue Moon Nut Brown Ale ....all in 1994-1996 timeframe. Really liked all these listed at the time. I'd say this era was truly when I became interested in craft beers....started my bottle cap collection which I continue to this day.

Intro to a couple Sam Smith beers late 90's..liked them

Late 90's/early 2000's tried a few IPAs/Pale Ales (SNPA as one I recall)...pretty much didn't like the bitterness at all. Remember a friend gave me a Victory Hop Wallop and thought it was the most bitter and chewy beer I've ever had and drainpoured it.

2010 - Discovered Beer Advocate website, had a Sam Smith Imperial Stout as my first review...1,839 beers sampled later here I am in 2016!

 

Bell's Two Hearted. Went to a friend's bday part and there were a few 6 packs of this in the fridge. Had one and thought that it tasted/smelled like a bouquet of flowers (I have a very discerning palate). First few sips were tough but thoroughly enjoyed the beer by the end of the bottle. Had a few more that night and that's all she wrote.

 

Red hook in the mid to late 80s made me dismiss corporate lagers like Grunge and alternative rock made me dismiss my hair metal. Now I drink craft and listen to everything under the sun.

 

Resurrecting this thread because it's awesome!

I was in the Navy and stationed in Pensacola for the first time in early 1987. Back then, you could drink on base even if you were under 21 (the way it still damn well should be). The beer machines had all the standard macros but even then I didn't care much for standard AAL even though it was all that was available. We used to get Busch or Keystone and put it in our mini fridges turned all the way down.

Two years later I was again stationed in Pensacola in early 1989. I went with a group to McGuire's Irish Pub. The brewery was brand new in 88 (oldest in FLA) and we met the brewmaster there. It was then when I discovered what "real beer" was! This was my enlightened moment when I realized that beer didn't have to be this tasteless frozen swill I had been drinking.
They had an awesome sign on the wall next to the brewery:

No Chemists Allowed
Nature & the old-time know-how of master brewers get the job done here. We brew w/ only the finest malted barley, hops, & yeast imported from the british isles, w/ no chemicals or additives. In america’s best selling beers, there are as many as 96 chemicals. Heineken actually uses formaldehyde as a preservative. These facts should be required on beer labels. We disdain synthetics, scientists & their accompanying apparatus. This is a brewery, not a beer factory!

After this, I started trying everything that wasn't tasteless yellow lagers!

 

After my Mcguire's trip, I started with dark German lagers, British ales and even Belgian trappist ales. Shortly after I tried the early beer revolution brews like Sam Adams and Pete's Wicked Ale. Everything was uphill after that!

 

Moved to the States 15 years ago and had the typical European impression of crappy piss weak American beer.

Guinness was the go to, and is still my favorite beer, but it just wasn't good enough here. Then a guy working behind a bar who I started talking to because of his Star Wars rebel alliance tattoo suggested I try a SNPA.

Blown away.

After that it was a hop odyssey. First sixer I remember picking up was Victory Hop Devil.

That led to umpteen years of trying to cripple my taste buds with hops.

I should probably take that trip again at some point.

 

Sam Adams variety packs in college. Their Oktoberfest was one of my favorites, but the variety only beers like chocolate boch and cherry rye showed me that beers could have more flavors other than "taste like pine needles" or "water"

 

Newcastle, blue moon, Guinness and Killian's Irish red were amongst the first non AALs. Then I tried Bell's two hearted and everything opened up from there.

 

Old Raspy popped my craft beer cherry back in 2002. I had one recently and it is still an amazing and delicious beer

 

Blue Moon Honey Wheat and Sierra Nevada Hefeweizen were mine