What Beer...

What Beer opened your eyes to true, good beer?

If anyone here is like me, I grew up in high school and most of college thinking Bud Lite was the best stuff in the world but kept Miller Lite in the cooler just cause Bud Lite fanboys wouldn't touch it as it wasn't a Budweiser product. (I have a friend who keeps Keystone in his cooler just because no one will touch it)

But my question is, what beer opened your eyes to see that there was more to beer than the typical BMC?

Mine personally was Boulevard Wheat and Boulevard Pale Ale, first time I had one of each I was like WOW!?!??? What is this? But I loved it, and it brought me down a long darker, hoppier road... I'll always have a soft spot for those two beers too.

mine went back decades to labatts blue and moosepiss.. i mean moosehead. i traveled around the world for many years, and realized then, as americans, we had sucky beers

Mine was when I got stationed in San Francisco and had my first Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Im so glad it was the only type of beer in my uncles fridge that day!

gennius was the first beer I had with flavor. I started brewing two years later

Deschutes' Black Butte busted my Craft Beer cherry.

Harpoon IPA! And it remains a favorite to this day.

SNPA for me too. Started me on a long hoppy journey.

Emersons pilsner. learnt to love the hops

I was going to start a thread with a similar question--which beer got you liking the taste and not just drinking for alcohol?

The answer to either question for me is Edelweiss

Sierra Nevada and Guinness. I still love both, although if I'm drinking a irish dry stout I'm kinda partial to Murphy's these days.

I was in Rome with my wife and got a draft Guinness......my first thought after that first sip was "Hey, this doesn't taste like beer at all". My second thought was "This tastes great!"

When I was first getting into brewing, I went to Beer School at Desert Edge in SLC, Utah. It consisted of a brewery tour and discussion of the brewing process, then a four course meal and sampling six different beers. Before this, my idea of something adventurous was a heffeweizen, so I credit Desert Edge for opening my eyes to the possibilities. Plus it was a total bargain at $25 (the price is a bit higher now but still a bargain).

Paulaner Oktoberfest/Märzen. I still buy a couple of six packs in the autumn just for old time's sake.

St Bernardus abt 12. One taste and I was changed forever.

Three Philospohers, followed up by loose cannon set me on my craft beer adventure

Shiner Bock, while only about one step above BMC, was my first love. Then I moved onto the other styles Shiner was making, like hefeweizen, black lager, etc. I fell in love with hefeweizens and tried every single one I could find. Sam Adams mixed 12 packs also helped me find other styles I really enjoy, and allowed me to branch out into breweries.

Honestly, I started on pretty decent beer, drinking Blue Moon and Bell's Oberon, and while I enjoyed those, the beer that I distinctly remember lighting a spark in me was Ommegang's Hennepin. After I first had that, I was infatuated. I swear I dreamt about that beer for weeks on end.

I was in college and thought Yeungling was the best beer ever. A friend took me to a local brewpub and had me try the IPA. Until then I didn't know you could have so much flavor in beer.

It took living in England for me to really branch out, but that IPA is what pushed me towards the sweet nectar of Guiness, SNPA, bitters, and more.

I still enjoy the occasional Yeungling though.

Probably Shiner and Blue Moon. I know these don't necessarily say a whole lot, but these beers tasted different, and great, compared to keystone and BMC beers I had been drinking up to that point. They got me branching out to different styles, opening up the magical kingdom of beer to me.

Boulevard Pale Ale.

Hoffbrau Oktoberfest. That was too long ago.

Been drinking good German beer forever as it's part of my heritage but that first Corsendonk Abbey Brown at Gramercy Tavern in the mid 90's put me onto Belgian beer and I haven't looked back since...

When I got stationed in Germany and had my first real German Hefe. I say I acquired my taste for beer that day and went around Germany trying different types. But that first Hefe opened my eyes

Disclaimer: Half the time I can't remember what I had for breakfast, so asking to remember something from over 20 years ago is a big stretch.

It probably was a Bell's Amber or a Chimay.

pottsville porter senior year of high school, then VA brewing gold cup and dark horse in 91... now i'm depressed at how old i am

Pete's wicked ale was pretty advanced for its day back in the 90's

my progression went yuengling, guinness, sam adams, and then a DFH 60 Minute I swiped from my dad. The Dogfish Head really got me to branch out the most

I work at a liquor store and i had never even heard of big beers. I asked my manager what his favorite of our selection was and he pointed me to Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde.... Mind = blown. From then on ive been on a mission to try all our beers (some 100 odd different kinds). La Fin Du Monde is still my favorite. Love the 9% ABV too. Abita's Vanilla Double Dog is a close second. I just love big flavorful beers now. Im spoiled. This past january i decided to start brewing my own and here i am today. Pickin' up Abita Andygator tonight, which will be a new one to add to the list. Im pretty excited.

Corsendonk Monk's Pale Ale as a "graduation celebration" when I got out of college way back in the mid '80s.

And then the original Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale by Old Dominion Brewery in the mid-'90s turned me into a hophead.

I'd guess it was a New Glarus Spotted Cow. Never really liked beer much, but decided to join the rest of the group in ordering one. Only the good stuff from then on... Of course, I never got into beer period until then, either. I've only had part of a Miller Lite, a Corona or two, and (sadly) some Red Dog to avoid offending a new hunting partner. Other than that, it's been all craft beer for me. If I'm gonna drink beer, I'm doin' it right, dammit!

Olympia Dark Lager back in 1973. I miss that beer.

NRS