What was your gateway craft beer?

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