What was your Gatewaybeer to craft beer?

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Being in the military and doing a lot of traveling over my 26 year career and still counting, I've had the opportunity to drink flavors all over the world. From my first tour at Clark AB in the 80's far east flavors such as San Miguel and Red Horse in the Philippine and OB an QB in Korea were my daily choices. Traveling to Germany and UK in 1987 was probably the defining time when my taste buds changed forever. Sampling the Hefe's and Pils from Germany and local British Ales from round Mildenhall area there was no turning back to the standard American fare of the time. During the 80's and early 90's most US beer in my opinion was watered down flavorless lite beer, with the exception of a few. Back then personally enjoyed Canadian beer and the occasional Harp, Bass, etc back then when drinking beer back home. I agree with others that Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada probably opened the door to the flavor and the variety world here in the US. Boston Lager is still one of my favorites when I venture somewhere that has only Lite beers on tap and has Sam Adams listed as an Import. Being from Pennsylvania Yuengling Lager back in the 80's and early 90's was also a favorite but ever since their boom and expansion in my opinion the quality and taste has suffered. I am thankful that south central PA has a host of Craft breweries (Troegs, ABC, Lancaster, Selingsgove) just to name a few of the over 20+ I traveled to within 2 hours of Harrisburg, PA. In my opinion Troegs is my favorite local brewery their brews enticed my appetite for more flavor in beer and also to dive into brewing my own. I love the Hoppy seasonal Nugget Neckar and their now yearly Perpetual IPA, I think the Troegenator Double Bock was the first microbrew I consistently kept on tap. Any time I travel stateside I always make it a priority to seek out the areas craft beers hoping they have a restaurant brewery combo nearby the hotel. I'm currently in Africa where the Castel, Brakina, Flag, 33 Export to name a few all mimic the light beers from Europe with the exception of one standout...Guinness Extra Foreign Stout is my beer of choice for flavor in this part of Africa, with Pelforth Lager a close second. With other recent trips to throughout Europe to include Germany, CZ Republic, Italy, etc. I love the beers and their distinct regional flavors but after a few months abroad I can't wait to return home for the local craft breweries from the US. No where I've been can you find the variety of flavors, varieties such as Stouts, IPA, Cask beer limited runs, Abby's, APA, etc than from the small breweries back home. I think of myself and a few of my buddies as Beer Missionaries converting the Beer Infidels from the bland Big Breweries Lite beers to something you drink and appreciate. Yeah I know for the folks that like to throw down a thirty pack at a Concert, Nascar race or Football tailgating event the Lite flavorless beer still has it's place. I've even converted a few who despised IPA's to now loving them, it look a while and they still revert back to the light swill from time to time but they now appreciated what good beer is. I always say Life's to short to drink **** beer and weak coffee!
 
Nice post Bighops. My beer that got me into beer was also by shiner, the Hefeweizen. The interesting thing is that I cant get that in MN. I first had it in texas, where my wife is from.
 
Tclub said:
Hangar 24 Pale Ale was my first actual craft beer....but craftish would be Sam Adams BL.

chillin on my throne
Click to expand...

Anything that exposes you to the world beyond BMC qualifies. Sam Adams is absolutely craft beer. Look how they support home brewing with their Longshot competition.
 
Although by definition it is not craft beer, Yeungling was my first detour from mainstream beers, but I would only consider it a distraction. The beer that totally crushed pretty much all of the competition was Cigar City's Jai Alai. It is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind drink. Years after totally diverting to the craft brew scene, I still consider it one of the best beers I have ever tasted. It truly is amazing!
 
It seems like a lot of us started the same way with Sierra Nevada. Had someone not mentioned it earlier, I would have totally forgotten about Pete's Wicked Ale. I remember having Pete's back in college, around '93. I remember it tasting unlike any other beer I'd had. I didn't know what it was but I knew I was on to something. From there I found SNPA and a whole new world opened up.

Sent from my MB855 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Boulevard Pale Ale planted the seeds on my palate.
 
SABRES32 said:
Being in the military and doing a lot of traveling over my 26 year career and still counting, I've had the opportunity to drink flavors all over the world. From my first tour at Clark AB in the 80's far east flavors such as San Miguel and Red Horse in the Philippine and OB an QB in Korea were my daily choices. Traveling to Germany and UK in 1987 was probably the defining time when my taste buds changed forever. Sampling the Hefe's and Pils from Germany and local British Ales from round Mildenhall area there was no turning back to the standard American fare of the time. During the 80's and early 90's most US beer in my opinion was watered down flavorless lite beer, with the exception of a few. Back then personally enjoyed Canadian beer and the occasional Harp, Bass, etc back then when drinking beer back home. I agree with others that Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada probably opened the door to the flavor and the variety world here in the US. Boston Lager is still one of my favorites when I venture somewhere that has only Lite beers on tap and has Sam Adams listed as an Import. Being from Pennsylvania Yuengling Lager back in the 80's and early 90's was also a favorite but ever since their boom and expansion in my opinion the quality and taste has suffered. I am thankful that south central PA has a host of Craft breweries (Troegs, ABC, Lancaster, Selingsgove) just to name a few of the over 20+ I traveled to within 2 hours of Harrisburg, PA. In my opinion Troegs is my favorite local brewery their brews enticed my appetite for more flavor in beer and also to dive into brewing my own. I love the Hoppy seasonal Nugget Neckar and their now yearly Perpetual IPA, I think the Troegenator Double Bock was the first microbrew I consistently kept on tap. Any time I travel stateside I always make it a priority to seek out the areas craft beers hoping they have a restaurant brewery combo nearby the hotel. I'm currently in Africa where the Castel, Brakina, Flag, 33 Export to name a few all mimic the light beers from Europe with the exception of one standout...Guinness Extra Foreign Stout is my beer of choice for flavor in this part of Africa, with Pelforth Lager a close second. With other recent trips to throughout Europe to include Germany, CZ Republic, Italy, etc. I love the beers and their distinct regional flavors but after a few months abroad I can't wait to return home for the local craft breweries from the US. No where I've been can you find the variety of flavors, varieties such as Stouts, IPA, Cask beer limited runs, Abby's, APA, etc than from the small breweries back home. I think of myself and a few of my buddies as Beer Missionaries converting the Beer Infidels from the bland Big Breweries Lite beers to something you drink and appreciate. Yeah I know for the folks that like to throw down a thirty pack at a Concert, Nascar race or Football tailgating event the Lite flavorless beer still has it's place. I've even converted a few who despised IPA's to now loving them, it look a while and they still revert back to the light swill from time to time but they now appreciated what good beer is. I always say Life's to short to drink **** beer and weak coffee!
Click to expand...

Good post; I enjoyed it. But it would have been easier to read, had you broken it up into paragraphs....
 
My first beer was a Labatt's Blue. I actually liked it the first time I had one. I never cared for the BMC beers that everyone drank when I was a kid. Even when I was 21 and went to buy beer in a store I never went for the yellow fizzy stuff. I always went craft. I remember liking Sam Adam Cherry Wheat (which I now find disgusting) but I can't really say what turned me on to the scene. I also drank Pete's Wicked something-or-other but I just never cared for BMC type stuff.
 
1993. Cambridge, England. Old pub in a 400 year old building right on a creek; The Anchor. First time I ever saw more than 4 taps at a bar and there were 16-20 beer engines... it was a kid in a candy store experience. Started with an ordinary bitters, a couple milds, and ended with robust porters.

Came home and tracked down one of only a few bars that I heard had import beers. Chimay on tap, amongst other things. And those guys knew their stuff.
 
Gasthauses and Hausbrauerei in Germany in '87 got me into good beer. Especially Woinemer Hausbrauerei: http://www.woinemer-hausbrauerei.de/

Traveling around Europe for three years reinforced the love. In Europe drinking beer is a social medium.

Upon my return to the states in '90 I couldn't find the same great beers so started brewing my own.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Grew up only drinking the BMC junk when someone I liked offered me one and I took it just to be sociable. I tried to like Killians just after college, but it had a twang that was disagreeable to me.

A trip to merry 'ol England in 1991 to visit my best buddy from high school (working at Barclay's) introduced me to some of the excellent country pub local brews. I gravitated towards the bitters and brown ales.

It was several years after returning from that trip that I began to see real beers slowly trickle into "dry" East Texas. Now we have long aisles at our local grocers dedicated to a nice selection of craft and import beers. I'm not sure that my sons (both craft beer fans in their 20's) fully realize just how good they now have it.
 
I drank mostly Coors Light in high school, then a variety of cheap "beers" in college, like Milwaukee's Best and Keystone Light. After college it was Bud Light and then Miller Lite. During that whole time, though, there was always Shiner Bock. For high school graduation, we had a keg of Shiner. In college, my first legal beer purchase was Shiner. After college, I really started trying more and more new stuff, but it was my love of Shiner Bock that got me started on the road away from BMC.
 
Hoegaarden Original White Ale, did it for me. I went from not drinking beer at all to somehow drinking Modelo Especial and Heineken. My friend brought over 6pk of beers that his office mates were drinking at a Christmas party. My Taste buds exploded and my beer drinking experience would forever be changed. I have never purchased a modelo or a heineken ever again!

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Home Brew mobile app
 
te-wa said:
first (") craft i ever had was franziskaner hefe. after that i had some anchor Steam and then a few other imports. guiness was on rotation, oak creek amber, kiltlifter.. i didnt even like ipa's until about 6 years ago.
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Franzis are still my fav hefes. I grew up in Germany and every town has a local brewery. Nuns make wines, monks make beer (not all the beer if course) I had great exposure to fantastic beer and wine. I was ruined for beer when I moved back to the US. The craft scene didn't exist yet and the choices were dismal. But about 15 years back I happened to be in the UK and they were doing a Belgian beers tasting. I already was in love with the fresh pulled ales I was getting but that day was magic. They served in small snifters and I believe they may have had 5 or 6. When I got back to the states I bought a Coursendonk, a Troublette and a Delirium Tremens. That was when my appreciation turned into a strong fascination. Beer for me is a thousand times more complex than wine. I love beer!
 
I too was a child of BMC. it wasn't until I started brewing that I realized there was real beer out there. I started buying craft beer of all sorts. I've never looked back

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app
 
I grew up just outside St. Louis so growing up all I drank was AB beers in highschool and my dad only drank Budlight. When I was in college I went to the Schlafly brewery with my brother and fell in love with No. 15. Even today I really like this beer, but I can not get it here, but every time I go home I have to get it. That was the beer that started me trying every beer I see.
 
Jwerner23 said:
I grew up just outside St. Louis so growing up all I drank was AB beers in highschool and my dad only drank Budlight. When I was in college I went to the Schlafly brewery with my brother and fell in love with No. 15. Even today I really like this beer, but I can not get it here, but every time I go home I have to get it. That was the beer that started me trying every beer I see.
Click to expand...

Thanks for contributing. My best friend lives in Champagne, Ill and a few years ago we decided to meet up in St. Louis for some golfing and beer drinking. I discovered Schlafly online and looked forward to checking them out. Really awesome brew pub! I especially like their APA and have been back several more time when I go back up there to visit family and friends. I think there is a Schlafly APA clone recipe on here somewhere that I will brew one day.
 
It's tough to pin down the gateway beer because it's a slippery slope. That is to say, if you define point A as natty light and point B as a local craft beer, there's some midpoints that are essential but not craft. Craft is a vague term but St Pauli Girl Dark, for example, probably isn't craft. Blue moon isn't craft. Shock Top isn't craft. All played important roles in luring me from the light beer world.

To directly answer the question:
Paulaner hefe
four peaks kilt lifter
 
eatmorefrogs said:
It's tough to pin down the gateway beer because it's a slippery slope. That is to say, if you define point A as natty light and point B as a local craft beer, there's some midpoints that are essential but not craft. Craft is a vague term but St Pauli Girl Dark, for example, probably isn't craft. Blue moon isn't craft. Shock Top isn't craft. All played important roles in luring me from the light beer world.

To directly answer the question:
Paulaner hefe
four peaks kilt lifter
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, the Gateway beer doesn't itself necessarily have to be a craft beer. It's the beer that introduced you to the idea that there is more to the beer world than BMC. Once you become aware of that fact, you can then extend your curiosity to the point where you do discover true craft beer nirvana. A couple of us have discussed Pete's Wicked Ale. I think Pete's is (was?) actually brewed by one of the BMCs. But it's not fizzy yellow beer and therefore clearly qualifies as a Gateway beer. Really the whole point of this is that the Gateway beer very often is not craft beer. It's just better than BMC.
 
Easy, the year was 1987, the place Mountain View, CA. I was stationed at NAS Moffett Field. The place was a gas station converted to a microbrewery (Whaaa? They make beer here!!! In this same building?, Crazy!!!) called the "Tied House", brochures explained it was a tribute to places of the same name in England, where pubs were "tied" to local breweries because beer couldn't travel long distances.


Wow, looking at Google, place is still in business. Havent been to the Bay Area since I left there in 1990.
 
Bill837 said:
Easy, the year was 1987, the place Mountain View, CA. I was stationed at NAS Moffett Field. The place was a gas station converted to a microbrewery (Whaaa? They make beer here!!! In this same building?, Crazy!!!) called the "Tied House", brochures explained it was a tribute to places of the same name in England, where pubs were "tied" to local breweries because beer couldn't travel long distances.


Wow, looking at Google, place is still in business. Havent been to the Bay Area since I left there in 1990.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bill! So do you remember the actual beer? How did it change your opinion of beer in general, and your subsequent beer drinking habits?
 
TxBigHops said:
Thanks Bill! So do you remember the actual beer? How did it change your opinion of beer in general, and your subsequent beer drinking habits?
Click to expand...

Nope, it was too long ago for that, but I know I had a sampler of six types, I can clearly remember being amazed at the different colors and flavors, washing down some Cajun Blackened Catfish with swallows from each glass.
 
A combo of Dos Equis and Amberbock. A tiny blonde girl I knew told me that the Dos Equis was better than Busch Light. And it was.

Then I had Amberbock and really liked that. A year or two later, went to a local brewpub and come home with a growler of their Raccoon Red
 
Fat Tire about 10 years ago. Drank Miller, Mich, Corona etc, never cared for them but still drank. Then Fat Tire opened my eyes, then too Sierra Nevada, Avery, Tommyknocker etc and dozens of others created the monster I am today lol :D
 
For me it was Boston Lager. I had tried the BMC beers and didn't care for them at all. I went on for years thinking that I just didn't like beer. Then a friend got me to try a BL and I loved it! It had flavor! From there I was up for pretty much anything that wasn't an IPA. Eventually though I progressed as most do through a hophead phase, then to sours.

/ :off:
Now I like pretty much everything, but prefer session beers most of all. Most of what I brew falls between 2.5%-5% ABV. I like being able to have a few pints and still function normally. Best bitter, 60 schilling, Berliner Weisse, mild, dry stout, kolsch, weizen, etc. Anything I can drink a liter of and not get sauced. :mug:
/end :off:
 
Going north of Boston quite a bit when I was in my early 20's up to Vermont is what made me aware of the Micro brews. Had quite a bit of Trout river, shed, otter creek, Magic hat etc. Being from Boston Sam Adams and Harpoon were everywhere. Harpoon IPA and Sierra Nevada pale ale were my intro to hoppy beers.
 
The first time i drank any craft beer... On a whim a friend of mine bought me a growler of Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Neither of us had ever had anything like it before. Usually before that we drank Heinekin, Yeungling, Rolling Rock (before they changed over). It was like a kick in the teeth but we drank every bit of it. Granted i was underage at the time many many years ago. But until that point I never knew anything like it existed. I still love a good growler of Dead Guy. Every once in a while my local super market will do a shelf reset and have Rogue Growlers listed for $4.00!!! and of course we grab all of them and proceed to argue with the staff about the listed price. Surprisingly we have won multiple times! Good Stuff, good stuff.
 
l1714-10072001-6833.gif


I started going to the Pittsburgh location when I was 19 with my Dad & Uncle, probably around 2000 and would get served because I was with "The old guys". I went there with them frequently enough that the Bartenders/Servers got to know me and would serve me on my own too after a while. No questions asked. It was awesome. They didnt know and never cared enough to check me.

I started working there in 04/2005 as a cook. After 3 years of doing that they were going to promote me to Assistant Brewer. 2 weeks later after that, they closed the place. What a kick in the nuts.

I still miss that place like crazy. :(
 
I used to drink whatever was in a can and came in a 30 pack and didn't have lite in the name. I had expressed with an old neighbor of mine that I wanted to know more about beer and how to make it so I could explore different kinds of beer without buying a case of something and not liking it (I live in Pa and didn't know bottle shops existed).

For Christmas that year I was gifted a Mr Beer with 3 more refill packs, that was my gateway into craft beer AND home brewing.
 
I always remembered my family drinking SN and Guinness, so when I started buying beer that's what I picked up. I can remember what my gateways were to particular styles, but probably the first craft beer that really blew me away was Old Rasputin.
 
Though I've never been a BMC guy I've always had a reasonable variety of commerical brews. Rickards was a long time favourite, Guinness and Kilkenny near the top of my preference. I suppose the first time I really "got" the craft beer would be picking up a Mill Street 6 sampler pack from the liquor store and that great things can be made between work and home. Things quickly spiraled out of control.
 
I made the transition in the early 90s with drinking Shiner and Celis White.
 

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