What beer would you describe as the beer that 'awakened' you...?

Ever since my trip through Europe, I've always appreciated the finer beers this world has to offer. It wasn't, however, until about 6 months ago that I tried a Hitachino Nest White Ale, and realized that good beer can not only be enjoyed, but truly appreciated. It was that experience that got me to begin brewing, as well as, for lack of a better word, worshipping beer of all varieties.

I think a lot of you can look back and realize there was some beer in your past that turned you from the BMC dark-side, and 'enlightened' or 'awakened' you to the wonderful brews out there.

Please.... share....

Years ago....Chimay Blue.... picked up a bottle on a whim at the liquour store while picking up MGD Lite...(I know...I know...even though it's still a goto lawn mower for me...). Love at first sip....

Mine would be Weyerbacher's Simcoe IIPA. It was the IPA that turned me into the hophead I am today. I am working on making the perfect IPA for me!!!

For me, it was watching Michael Jackson's The Beer Hunter films that truly awakened me and first sparked my desire to brew. A few years later, an Anchor Liberty Ale fanned the flames.


TL

Chimay Grand Reserve. The best Stout ( ) I had ever had at the time.

And, ironically, I drank enough that it also put me to sleep.






We really should be allowed more smilies per post.

Mine was a gradual slide. I pretty much started out making a Light Lager from a kit and my desire to make homebrew caused me to read up on beermaking and styles of beer.

I'd say that Charlie Papazian probably had the most to do with my change in beer tastes than any one person. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing was infectious in it's enthusiasm for beers and brewing.

I'm a bit on the reverse side of this topic. I grew up in the UK during the early days of CAMRA. Real ale was already at the fore, and the crappy BMC stuff they opposed was being forced out by them. In consequence I grew up drinking good quality bitter.

Fast forward to when I moved to the US....All I could see in the bars and supermarkets at first was BMC, so I drank it. I could not afford to buy craft beer or imports in the copious amounts that I required, so I continued to drink crap until one Christmas my SWMBO bought me a MrBeer kit.....The rest is history.

So, astounding as it may seem, MrBeer was the re-birth for myself and my terrible addiction.

For me, it was Anchor Steam and Red Hook that first fanned my craft beer flames. Mind you, this was the 'old' Red Hook.

I would have to say Troegs Mad Elf and Flying Dog Gonzo Porter; Two beers that really made me go "wow".

Long Hammer IPA, and a variety of Belgian trappist beers at the same time.
A few hangovers later and I was waving the white flag to craft brewers.

2004 Staghorn Oktoberfest from New Glarus.

For me it was a beer named "Perfect Porter" and it was exactly that. To this day I have not found a better porter and I have certainly searched. Sadly the owner "Bert Grant" has passed away now but his legacy lives on in the beginnings of the micro brewery and brew pub history.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Chimay Grand Reserve. The best Stout ( ) I had ever had at the time.

And, ironically, I drank enough that it also put me to sleep.
We really should be allowed more smilies per post.

Click to expand...

Who says you're Not??


Flying Dog Road Dog Porter was my first beer to show me beer can taste good as well as be fun.

Orval and Delirium Noel however were the two beers (had them both in one awesome "right place-right time" night of tasting with a pub owner in SC) that really showed me what beer has the ability to be. Had several others, but I am Belgian obsessed ever since.

For me it was a long process of drinking whatever was put in my hand. When I turned 21 I began buying whatever was on sale that I had not had. My first beer in a bar was Red Hook ESB and was the first time I had a beer that was the least bit challenging that I enjoyed. Since then finding beers like Bigfoot and Ruination have been the most memorable.

Victory Golden Monkey (Belgian Tripel)

Stone IPA. My dad got me a sixxer of it when I was 16. I choked down the first one, then forced down the second one. The third one was a charm and after that I have been craving hops and pepperocinis.

First Saison I ever had was at the first homebrew club meeting in Austin a few months after I had already started homebrewing... blew me away, I had never had a Belgian beer before that, other than Chimay Red. Never looked back.

"1837" from Unibroue. This is a belgian style beer and coming from molson export, this beer came as a complete shock when I tasted it for the first time. It grew on me quickly though and opened the door to all the other wonders of beers that are brewed around the world.

My dad is big into the slow food movement so we only ever had craft brews around. Astoundingly, I actually got into beer after having a Busch Lite in a party in college and then realizing the RANGE in types of beer (including beer that tastes like crap) which made me really think about the different flavors in my dad's fridge. I still drink cheap swill every so often, its a good reminder for the taste buds.

Like Mr Gnome I grew up on hand pulled real ales from casks, though it was a while after the Camra movement got going. Obviously that isn't a guarantee of a decent pint, but I spent ages after moving from the arse end of nowhere and its old man's pubs to the big city and wondering why the beer was so pish. And took so little effort to pour...

Really my beer odyssey has been learning what to avoid!

Mine wasn't as much a 'craft brew' awakening, as it was a realisation of what was out there.

For me, it was Pilsner Urquell that I tried in my late teens (the drinking age in B.C. is 19). I had been drinking Molson Canadian, Old Style Pilsner and even Extra Old Stock (the Canadians will understand the significance of this). I was blown away with Urquell (and still really like it today). I put me on the path of being far more adventurous in my beer drinking. There are still a lot of styles that I'm not terribly fond of, but I truly love beer as a beverage and for its complexities.

Worked at a 'paint store' in college. Someone convinced me to try this Chimay's Pale Ale. What's with the crap in the bottom of this double fermented, champaign capped bottle? After following the directions to open and let it set for a few minutes, I slowly (or at least at that time slowly meant not chugged) sipped the radically different tasting beer. Holy Chitake Mushrooms Batman!!!

Mmmmm, GOOD Beer.

Belgian tripels. Specifically, St. Bernardus Tripel

Three Philosopher's flipped the switch for me. I was given a beer making kit (a real one, not Mr. Beer) for my wedding four years prior to trying Three Philosopher's (the kit did nothing but gather dust). After I drank that beer I decided it was time to dust off the kit, get over my apprehension and give it a shot. I've been hooked on homebrewing since (still have yet to make a Belgian though).

It was Anchor Steam for me as well.

danlad said:

Really my beer odyssey has been learning what to avoid!

Click to expand...

I couldn't have put that better myself!

My vote goes to Mr. Koch and Samuel Adams Boston Lager... I was pretty much an MGD/Corona guy before then. Had one draft SABL put in my hand at a company meeting/open bar situation, and about 3 more succeeded it. I remember thinking "there's stuff IN this beer!", and I've been trying everything I could buy, beg, or borrow since...

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I couldn't have put that better myself!

Click to expand...

We've obviously been spoiled in some weird way with our warm, weak, flat British beers. Don't know if it was thanks to Camra, thanks to local tastes persisting longer or just thanks to local breweries not quite getting into the takeover-maximise-profits-make-cheap-lager game, but am immensely glad of it.

Chimay Blue, some years ago, and It's still one of the beers I like the most.

danlad said:

We've obviously been spoiled in some weird way with our warm, weak, flat British beers. Don't know if it was thanks to Camra, thanks to local tastes persisting longer or just thanks to local breweries not quite getting into the takeover-maximise-profits-make-cheap-lager game, but am immensely glad of it.

Click to expand...

Once you go warm and flat, you never go back!

St. Ambroise pale ale for me....was the first "microbrewery" available in my neck of the woods... still enjoy it today.

Anything Sierra Nevada...that was kind of the first "good" beer I started drinking with Red Hook as a close second. After diving into those 2 breweries and what they had to offer really opened my eyes...THERE IS A LOT OF AWESOME BEER OUT THERE that I have yet to drink.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Once you go warm and flat, you never go back!

Click to expand...

Amen.

Boulevard Pale Ale got me into craft beer.

Hoegaarden. Some guys on a subaru forum were raving about it so I decided to find out what the fuss was about.

My first awesome beer experience was a Hobgoblin about 2 years ago, it is still my favourite beer, with Hoegaarden coming in a close second.

Ommegang - Three Philosophers.

In my home town it is a choice of Guinness, Heineken, Amstel Light, Corona, and BMC. So my leap to Beer snobbery was in college when I had SNPA and Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. NYC was not really hip to micros and quality beer back then. I remember paying $16 for a 4 pack of SS Oaties in 1993. We also had to drive to Long Island to the good beer distributor to pay $40 for a case of SNPA. That prompted my leap into the obsession

DRoyLenz said:

Ever since my trip through Europe, I've always appreciated the finer beers this world has to offer. It wasn't, however, until about 6 months ago that I tried a Hitachino Nest White Ale, and realized that good beer can not only be enjoyed, but truly appreciated. It was that experience that got me to begin brewing, as well as, for lack of a better word, worshipping beer of all varieties.

I think a lot of you can look back and realize there was some beer in your past that turned you from the BMC dark-side, and 'enlightened' or 'awakened' you to the wonderful brews out there.

Please.... share....

Click to expand...

Hofbrauhaus helles in the late '70's

Negro Modelo (Vienna Lager) and Sam Adams made me aware that beer didn't have to taste like fermented Cheerios (I'm looking at you, Busch Light!). Bellhaven Scotch Ale came next. And I finished the leftover Caracole of a friend in a beer pub who couldn't stomach it and got hooked on Belgian's instantly.