What turned you on to the good stuff?

[Ize]

The one that really turned me around was an Anchor Steam at an outdoor table on the Landing in St. Louis during a Blues festival in 1990... Beer has never been the same since...

Ize

 

[MrBulldogg]

I grew up in Sweden and I soon learned to appreciate Danish and German beers like Carlsberg Hof, Warsteiner, Tuborg and other lighter but flavorful beers. Then I got married to an American and eventually moved to the US some 8 years ago, only to discover just how terrible the domestic beers really are here (Budweiser/Coors/Miller) so I had to spend an arm and a leg on expensive imports or microbrews from Whole Foods and the like. Then my wife got me a brewing kit along with a book on how to brew 100 different European beers (including the kinds mentioned earlier). Simple as that.

 

[chillHayze]

Going out to Phoenix of all places for work. There are some good local breweries out there and the locals had me hooked on Four Peaks Kiltlifter (and everything else, for that matter) and Gordon Biersch. Four Peaks Brewery has the best fish and chips ever, and you eat right next to the fermenters. I think I gained 15 lbs out there just by switching to dark beer.

 

[sause]

I know most people hate this but for me it was Lieine's Berry Wise. Before that I would only drink hard liquior, because the BMC just tasted like crap.

 

[Desert_Sky]

Four Peaks Brewery has the best fish and chips ever, and you eat right next to the fermenters. I think I gained 15 lbs out there just by switching to dark beer.

Yea I love that place. My brother is a doorman there, and my soon to be sister and law is a waitress/bartender.

 

[vanman250]

I thought I was drinking good beer until I went to Austria and Germany and drank real beer. After returning to the United States I tried to drink the beers I drank before going to Europe and it all tasted awful, that sent me on a search for a good beer and I found a few that were acceptable but nothing as good. Thats when I started brewing my own and yes I just started but I think my beer is better then anything store bought and one day I will brew a beer as good as the worst beer I had in Europe I hope.

vanman250

 

[S.T. Out]

I was always on the good stuff I never once tried Bud, Coors, Miller, etc. (thank God). I'm 22 and I've been drinking all kinds of different brews ever since I was 15.

The first really good brew I remember drinking was Chimay Bleu :cross: It was then that I fell in love with Belgian beers. Other beers that come to mind that really got me hooked on quality brew are Fullers, Samuel Smith, and Rogue.

Life is too short to drink mediocre beer. So if you can't afford the good stuff then homebrew and if you can't afford that then you'd better reconsider what you're doing.

~S.T. Out

 

[Quaffer]

I grew up in Sweden and I soon learned to appreciate Danish and German beers like Carlsberg Hof, Warsteiner, Tuborg and other lighter but flavorful beers. Then I got married to an American and eventually moved to the US some 8 years ago, only to discover just how terrible the domestic beers really are here (Budweiser/Coors/Miller) so I had to spend an arm and a leg on expensive imports or microbrews from Whole Foods and the like. Then my wife got me a brewing kit along with a book on how to brew 100 different European beers (including the kinds mentioned earlier). Simple as that.

Hey MrBulldogg, a fellow expatriate Swede here. I found your post after searching for Tuborg. I know this thread is getting a little old.

My story is similar to yours (20+ years), but I have not yet figured out how to brew those lovely Danish pilsners. My current project is to try to duplicate Tuborg Green. Any ideas, recipes you could share? The name of that book would be great!

Oh, and the tall Miller Highlife is not bad, especially after a hot day in the yard. I find that an open mind allows me to find some gems where I don't expect to. For me, there are beers for quaffing and beers for sipping, usually not the same ones. Sipping here means only having two or three.

To stay on the thread topic, discovering Redhook ESB was the turning point for me. It started me off on craft beers and eventually home brewing.

 

[Keim]

Henry Weinhards was my first "better beer." I'd had Bud, etc before, I hated it. One day I had to buy the beer for the party. I said to myself "I wonder if spending an extra buck or two for this 12 pack will get me a better beer?" It did...

 

[theonecynic]

Well I'm in the UK and at first all I had (other than Guinness, which I'm not massively fond of but is a good fallback option) was Young's bitter (I'm from Wandsworth originally, just down the road from the old brewery)... it was pleasant enough, not amazing but got me off the lager... and then I had Adnam's (which was brewed in the town we sometimes went on holiday in - I remember eating happy pigs! Pork from pigs fed on spent grain), which was a heck of a lot better and I really enjoyed, it got me hooked on ale. Then I started going out with workmates... I think the first ales that really blew my head off were Fuller's ESB and Hobgoblin (I can't remember the order, they were very drunken years) and the first continental beers I tried were Duvel, Chimay red and Leffe... all good stuff. Since then I haven't looked back!

 

[bradjoiner]

I am from Texas so Shinner got me off of the beaten path. Then St. Arnold. Now just about any thing over about 5% and a ton of hops really makes me cream myself.

 

[mrkristofo]

Guinness. At the time, I could have someone buy me a 6er and nobody else would touch the stuff.

 

[zac]

I can't believe nobody else has said Fat Tire. Fat tire turned me away from Bud Lite earlier on in my drinking days.

I still love Fat Tire.

 

[BrewBrain]

Spanish Peaks, Bozeman MT about 1993ish. Their signature Black Dog Ale can still be found in bottles.

 

[IanIanBoBian]

My girlfriend at the time... her mom bought me a 12 pack sampler of Great Lakes Brewing Company's beers for my 21st birthday. Loved all of them, and that was that. Until then, I had always liked Rolling Rock, since that's what just about everyone in my family drinks.

I still have a special place in my heart for Rolling Rock. Best ice cold cheap summer beer around.

 

[billy915]

I'm going to have to say Kilians did it for me. There's a bar here in town and for some reason Kilians draught is just so good there. Don't really know what it is but that is definitely the beer that took me into a different realm.

 

[Jaybird]

Cellis White. I was screw... uh I mean dating a chick in Athens and she turned me on.....................to the stuff and I have never looked back!

 

[GunnerMan]

I have to say Guinness, I never did drink much cheap bmc beer, I was introduced to good beer early on. Not sure why I got hooked on Guinness but it is def. a beer that got me into craft brews.
I take it to parties and no one drinks it, but college parties what can you expect, although some people have warmed up to it. Maybe I can get em to play some beer pong with Apfelwine...

 

[Cheeto]

Would have to have been Pete's Wicked Ale which was the first ale I drank in any great quantities (and frequently on special at my local poolhall back in those days). I eventually became a big fan of microbrews and various styles of ale.

To be honest though, I had a relatively narrow scope until ~5 years ago when some friends I decided to get 'plates' at the Flying Saucer and drank 200 different beers. I definitely broadened my horizons that summer.

My younger years (under 21) it was Olde English, Mickey's and anything that I could just get drunk from, I think there were a few gallons if gut rot wine in there as well, around my 21st birthday the local store had a few different sixers of Pete's. Then I started my world tour (thanks to the Army)

Spokane, Wa ~~~~ Pete's ales and Lagers
Columbia, SC. ~~~~ Shiner Bock
Lawton, Ok. ~~~~ Flying Dog brews
Ft Irwin, Ca. ~~~~ Seirra Navada and my first book on homebrewing
Uijeongbu, South Korea ~~~~ Diebel's, Hite, Cass, Soju <~ Bad stuff, but in a good way
Spokane Wa. ~~~~ The eye opening offerings of Stone Brewing
Seattle-Tacoma, Wa ~~~~ micro brews of many different types
Ireland ~~~~ Guinness fresh from the tap while watching "football"
Iraq ~~~~................
Tomah, WI. ~~~~ New Glarus, City Brewery, Leinenkugel, I hope to go and see a few more!
I am sure there are a few places that I forgot Germany, Japan, Guam,

but over I can thank Pete's Wicked ale...

-Jason

 

[Ceedubya]

I think that i have always drank plenty of beer. I've always drank good beer, Favorite is still newcastle.

Its funny cuz my beer used to be Bud Light, one time a friend gave me a drinkn of his Newcastle and I thought I was gonna puke. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. If I was drinking a New Castle which I have come to love, and someone offered me a drink of bud light, I would probably get a serious case of the dry heaves.

I'm not sure what the beer that actually made me completely turn the corner was maybe Fat Tire, but I would say Moose Drool is the one that cemented the deal.

 

[tspilker]

I always thought domestics were disgusting.

Black Butte Porter is when I saw the light.

 

[jacketsfans]

Couldn't tell you the exact "taste train," but I can tell you SA Boston Lager really opened my eyes to the fact that American Beer didn't have to suck. Jim Koch is the man.

 

[Budzu]

What turned me onto good/better/best beer... I lived in Brno, Czech Republic for almost 8 months, and then a couple more 2 month visits. The average beer over there was just delicious. The one beer in my life I remember most was an 8 oz. can of Budvar that I picked up from some little bus station. The weather was as usual disgusting , the streets were smeared with dirty slushy mess and it was cold. My girlfriend and I stood there on the sidewalk waiting for a bus and shared that little can of Budvar. I remember everything about that moment, and as ugly as the day was, every sip of that amazing nectar made the world just seem beautiful All my senses came together and those moments were crystallized.

I was fortunate enough to study classical guitar in Prague with Stepan Rak, and once while visiting his home in a small village outside Prague he brought out a pitcher of some great lager that he was incredibly happy about.. evidently a friend of his had brewed it in that very village. It was a wonderful beer, I think it was a Marzen but then I didn't know the style back then. I was more than a bit concerned to drink it and play my guitar for him Otherwise I would've enjoyed it much more.

Eventually I felt very sad that I would not be drinking beer like this upon returning home. I decided then that I would start learning to homebrew. That was about 6 years ago. I love beer more every day now. Even living here in Tennessee

Cheers to good beer and good memories!

 

[KatoBaggins]

For me it was working for a liquor store in my early twenties. I got to try all kinds of beer that I had never heard of. Later I would lean toward Canadian and German lagers with the occasional Bass Ale, Guiness Draft, or a Black and Tan thrown in.

The beer that started my road down homebrew lane was Pete's Wicked Ale. I thought the price was outrageous at the time, but I really liked it. I started looking for a cheaper way to drink great beer and found Williams brewing online back in 1993. Their beer Lt. Ale kit with equipment was my first ever online purchase. Then I moved to Oregon and found a boat-load of really good micro brews. It's taken me a long time to go through all of them , but now I'm back brewing my own.

 

[blakey971]

When I was about 18, the family was out hitting the slopes in Big Sky, MT.

After touring the brewery my parents bought a sixer of Moose Drool.
I forced the first 2 down, but after the next 4, I was hooked.