What was your gateway craft beer?

I'm newer to the craft beer community, but if I were to choose one 'gateway' beer for me it would be Boulevard Tank 7. By the time I had it for the first time I had actually been drinking craft for a while. Things such as Boulevard Wheat, some Sam Adams, some Southern Tier offerings (really enjoyed the 'Live' back then), and some other easy-to-find offerings in the Midwest (just moved up to the NW last year).

However, none of these really struck a cord with me until I tried Tank 7 randomly at some Mongolian-style grill restaurant in Kansas City. Couldn't even say why I decided to give it a whirl, but it really opened my eyes in terms of how much I could really enjoy drinking a beer. After this I was all about searching out and trying new beers and I realized just how much phenomenal beer there is out in the world if you know where to look. This was my jumping off point into the real craft beer world and the fun hasn't stopped since.

As an aside, I love seeing all of the mentions of Boulevard. Seems like they are the brewery that got a lot of us Midwest folks started. Really miss having easy access to some of their more limited offerings up here in the NW. @TheJermis -- you all are doing things right ... keep on converting people over to the good side!

 

Boston Lager
SA Octoberfest
Lagunitas A Little Sumpin' Sumpin'
Alaskan Amber

I still enjoy those beers!

 

Dragon's milk. My downfall into bourbon barrel aged stouts

 

Redhook ESB was my first craft. New Belgium Abbey opened my eyes to the variety of flavors that beer could hold.

 

Rapscallion Blessing.

A local packy in college (Allston) would occasionally get four packs.

 

Sam Adams and their seasonal variety packs opened me up to the different styles/flavors.

 

Back in 2007 when I turned 21 we used to go to a local brewpub that had bands play on Saturday nights and stay there until 2 or 3am. Their draft pitchers turned me on to craft beer.

 

The first time I really tried craft beer was something like 6-8 years ago at a tasting at my local liquor store. I was still aversed to hops and stouts, but I found a few I really liked. The standouts to me were Unibroue 17 Grand Reserve, Ommegang Bier de Garde and Avery The Reverand. I tried a few more from those breweries occasionally, but didn't really go crazy.

I was hooked for good when I discovered Three Floyds in late 2013/early 2014. I was actually trying to track down stuff like Jinx Proof and Pride and Joy but ended up liking Alpha King the most. Then of course I had to track down Zombie Dust, which took some effort of course, and I became nutty for hops.

I don't remember which beer finally got me to like stouts, probably something basic like Left Hand Milk Stout.

 

Beer of the Month Club back in the mid-80s. Can't say for certain what the first bottle was that I sampled from that first shipment, possibly Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Goose Island Honkers Ale but whatever they were, they were all so different from the MGD / Lowenbrau / Little Kings that I drank in college. Didn't get particularly serious about the concept for another ten years or so, started homebrewing in late '96 and it's been a series of mad love affairs and one-night stands ever since.

 

Young's Double Chocolate is a whole different category unto itself...

 

More likely just the dried grass that was stuck to you when you came to alongside the sidewalk...

 

Had Killian's for the first time on the Coors brewery tour in '85. It was actually an ale during early development and a really excellent beer in the taproom (I think I had three of them). By the time it finally came out commercially in Indiana two or three years later it was a lager and had lost a lot of the depth of character. I like the Killian's Irish Stout that they had a few years ago but it never came around in Pennsylvania this past year.

 

I started working in a liquor store in 1995 and have seen up close how the craft beer industry has grown to what it is today. Like many others, Pete's Wicked, Sam Adams, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale first got me interested. Also Breckenridge Christmas Ale when it was in the big bottle. One beer that really left an impression was Tabernash Weisse. First time I tasted the flavor of banana in a beer. Can't get it anymore since Left Hand acquired them years ago. First imported beer that caught my attention was Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter and Oatmeal Stout. There's really so many "gateway" beers. Which one introduced you to stouts? Or the hop bombs? Or the Trappist ales? Or barleywine?

 

Nothing. I've always drunk good beer.

 

no drunk like a good drunk

 

Tank 7

 

Harpoon Ale & IPA

 

i've said this many times here and it will never change

in college i drank, almost, exclusively Natty Light.

sophomore year, when i got my fake ID, i started to pick up better beers to try stuff out. i started with German Pils and other Euro Pils along with Blue Moon/HoeGaarden.

junior year, i found exactly what i needed. being a student at Ohio State meant tons of good local beer. GLBC Dortmunder Gold was exactly what I needed. i used to pick up 6packs all the time and power hour with them. it was a lager yet full of flavor.

 

Downtown Brown and Steelhead Pale Ale. Though with my fake ID when I was 15 I bought a sixer of Guinness.

 

Left Hand Milk Stout.