What's your most memorable beer experience?

It may not be the most memorable, but it had a profound impact on me.

I was in college and went to see the Dead in Buffalo in the early '90s. I bought a Sammy Smith oatmeal stout in the parking lot. While walking around and taking in the scenery (among other things), I realized I had finished about 3/4 of the bottle. Time was distorted for some reason that day.

I raised the bottle and took a good look at it. The thought I can remember was "wow, so this is real beer." At that point in my life, I hadn't had all that many "microbrews" (as we used to call them). Just some SN pale ale & porter and Yuengling porter (though that isn't really all that great).

But for some reason, that Sammy Smith oatmeal stout opened my mind to what good beer really could be. That experience from over 20 years ago still sticks with me.

 

Cantillon JF Vonck, because it was said the bottle will never be found

 

So many that stand out...

• My first Bells Amber back in the mid 90's...the one that got me hooked on better beer.
• Sharing a Goose Island Imperial Brown Goose with my brother during the hour leading up to my wedding.
• Drinking Dragon Stout in Jamaica on our honeymoon.
• My first Ephraim on a beautiful day in Vermont while chatting up Mr Hill.
• HOTD Fred Batch 1 shared with Gary Fish and Alan Sprints at the Deschutes/HOTD Collage release dinner.
• 2000 Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze...nuff said!

As for stories, here are two of my best...

Standing in the bottle line at DLD 2010, they pull out kegs and set them up next to us. A huge line forms for the kegs. I tap the guy pouring on the shoulder and ask "wow, what are you pouring that has such a long line?" He replies "Vanilla Bean" and offers to sell me a couple glasses. $20 later, I'm double fisting VBDL.

My wife and I make our first trip to San Diego. We visit Toronado on the first night. I have a little fun and tell her how the bartenders there are beer versions of the Seinfeld Soup **** fully knowing the SD place is more laid back than SF. I tell her to go in, look at the board, pick a beer and order it w/o looking at the bottle cooler. I'm secretly hoping they have T25 bottles (since it just came out) and I can surprise her with it. We get there and while waiting to order I spy a red labeled bottle in the cooler. Before she can order her beer, I cut-off the bartender and 2 minutes later we are drinking Cable Car Kriek to kick off a legendary beercation. Icing on the cake is another couple belly up to the bar next to us and it turns out I've done a few trades with the guy!

Beer's been good to me so far!

 

should be DFH palo santo marron.

 

Last summer for my 50th birthday I hiked a chunk of the Long Trail in Vermont. We went to The Alchemist, watched our Heady get canned, and that first beer was the most amazing beer I've ever had.

 

Wells Bombardier on tap in a pub (George V, as half of all pubs around the Bristol area seem to named) just outside Bath, England. Best beer experience of my life. Being on vacation and with my girl may have made it taste just a bit better, though.

 

Drank Heady Topper, to bless my marriage, from a glass that my wife's grandparents and parents blessed their marriage with. Great day!

 

Chimay Blue about seven years ago. I had been into craft beer for a few years at this point but the g/f hadn't. We walked into a college bar (albeit the best beer bar in the area) and she waned me to order something for her that she would like. One Chimay Blue later and I had her on board for enjoying a much wider variety of beer!

 

Having Goose Island Honkers Ale on tap at the Palmer House Hilton hotel after seeing Tool live in Chicago with my brother. It's not something I drink all that often anymore, but it was my gateway to craft beer so to speak; it opened my eyes to the fact that there was more to drink than Bud Light of (gasp) Miller Lite...I can still taste the Pulled Pork and Onion Rings I had paired with it. Not the best beer I've ever had, but my favorite memory.

 

Getting to split a few Zombie Dusts with a few friends the week before graduation. Phenomenal beer, I'm not sure if I would place it where it is on the top 250, but it is the best pale ale I have ever had, hands down. Hoping to try Psuedo Sue soon as well.

 

When I was 14 I went down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Nothing but muddy river water and cowboy coffee for 10 days. On the last morning a speedboat came out to meet us with cold drinks. I grabbed a Coors. Don't think anything has ever tasted worse, especially at 7 in the morning. My father pointed out the fact that there's a picture of the Coors 'factory' on the label, so I should have known better.

Live and learn...

 

Chugging BVDL out of the bottle at DLD.

 

Most memorable before I really got into craft beer - Nugget Nectar - holy shit, I remember it tasting like I was drinking liquefied hops. My palette at the time had never had anything super hoppy. Complete taste-bud shock.

Most memorable since: Flora B4. Seriously, I can remember the exact taste of it in my head 6 months later. The best beer I've ever had.

 

I was visiting friends in Montreal that I hadn't seen in ages. Both friends were into craft beer and I wasn't really aware of it. We went to Dieu du Ciel and I had a pint of Aphrodisiaque. I was absolutely floored. It really sparked my interest in great beer. Add to that the great times with great people over the rest of the weekend and you get my most memorable beer.

 

Central Waters One-Off Barrel-Aged Barleywine- the barrel was first used to age Whiskey, then maple syrup, then a cocktail(which we tried on the side w/the beer) and finally, the barleywine. Easily the most intense, flavorful, intricate, memorable experience I've ever had.

 

Love Buzz blew my mind the first time I had it. I couldn't believe a beer could be that complex. To this day, it is still my favorite beer. Just wish Anchorage would brew it again soon!!

 

The few sips of Stroh's Signature I had from my dad when I was 3 years old has stuck with me. Every time I drink a Stroh's (which is not very often), that flavor I remember is right there with me.

Bell's Black Note on draft, FW 17, Cantillon Vigneronne, Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel 4D, and Founder's CBS stick out as more recent ones, but I can't pick which of those is the most memorable. They were all dynamite brews.

 

I'm trying to think of something else, because Heady Topper is something of a stock answer to these questions. But it earned it's spot for me. My wife and I were returning from our honeymoon in Stowe and stopped at a place for lunch. I ordered a Heady having only really heard the name mentioned once, and with no hype behind it. It made a huge impact on me. My fondness for hops has mellowed somewhat in the couple years since, but I never have to hesitate when someone asks me what my favorite beer is.

 

Taste-wise would be the first time I had Sahati... mind blowing.

Experience-wise would be fairly recently when I showed up to the house I would be staying at for the weekend of the HF anniversary festivities. My host hands me a day old Heady Topper, unsolicited. I then proceeded to enjoy the hell out of it while sitting on the front porch and taking in the incredible scenery in front of me consisting of a tree covered mountain range in the distance with Waterbury in the valley below. Amazing.

 

Drinking my first Belgian beer in Belgium, an Orval in a sidewalk café in Brussels.