I actually never liked beer!

[Grinder12000]

I'm 57 and for 45 years of my life I HATED beer. Had a gag reflex when I drank a Miller of Bud! Thus - I never drank been.

Then bowling a guy had a Guiness and I tried some - WOW - that's beer?

And thus - I started looking for other non Miller beer. I now have 60 batches of home beer under my belt and 120 different craft brews on my wall of beer that I have tried, I work at a Craft Beer store and am the homebrew consultant and am proudly on my way to alcoholism!

Pray for me!

 

[MarzBock]

Heh... I was the same way. I'm only 35, but I never liked beer either. My dad drank the most disgusting swill.. usually the cheapest beer they sold. I thought "why in the world would anyone drink this stuff?!".

I think my first "likable" beer was Killian's Irish Red.

Now that I'm a brewer, I really only like craft beer. I can handle Sam Adams, and any microbrew will do, but keep that commercial american CRAP away from me! If it ain't got live yeast, it prolly ain't gonna be too good!

 

[BendBrewer]

Alcoholism is underrated.

 

[dlester]

I want to chime in here. I loved wine because it was complex vs. beer, which often times seemed too empty. In fact I started out making wine. Then, I got a "Mr. Beer" and tried brewing a budweiser, LOL! to no avail. I still had a difficult time with beer. Then, I went to the Home Beer Wine and Cheese shop in Woodland Hills CA and "mine eyes was a opened!" Between tasting some really fantastic beer at the maltose falcons club , trying micro brews and brewing new tasty recipes, I was a convert! Now I own Blichman pots on a Brutus 10 stand, own a Kegorator and enter competitions. I LOVE BEER, "and that's all I've got to say about that" (quote from Forest Gump).

 

[BierMuncher]

I'm still on the fence.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I remember actually arguing with people over which was better, Bud or Miller.

I too then discovered real BEER and the rest has been history. Wanna see my BEER SNOB CARD!????!!!

 

[Revvy]

When I was underaged I had my first taste of bud, spat it out and made my decision that beer sucked...and drank other things in the interum, mostly wine, and bourbon...in fact the first legal drink I ever bought was a bottle of calvados. Yet, since I loved to read, I always heard about beers like guiness, and other things...so I kept hearing that there was "good beer" out there.

Then I turned 21 and shortly after, I began to see these OTHER beers around in bars and better beer/wine stores around my college campus. Plus the first micro brewery was in a resteraunt near campus as well.

I think my first non BMC beer I tried in a bar, was a guiness....And, as much as I think little of it NOW, it was a soul changing moment...I truly found out that there was something better than a budlight out there.

The craft beer industry has existed since right around the time I turned 21, about 24 years ago...at least that's when I first noticed there were OTHER beers around besides BMC....there was snpa, and bell's and sam adams starting to pop up in a few stores in Metro Detroit at that time, as well as imports like Guiness, Bredore's and Double Diamond (from England- the first non bmc bottled beer I ever bought)...This stuff was first in my awareness in the mid to late 80's...

So I guess I'm a beersnob from the get go....But I can relate to hating beer when I was younger....

 

[gtpro]

Couple summers ago I toured the Sam Adams brewery in Boston, sampling their entry-level craft beers while having somebody point out the flavors to look for made all the difference. Now I'm at about 10 batches over the past year and I never turn down the chance to try a new beer.

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

I didn't like beer until someone handed me a Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Seriously. I should do their commercials.

 

[Ben_Persitz]

I was never a huge fan of beer when I was younger. When I was 17 I worked as a cook in a restaurant and we drank hard a. All my co-workers really enjoyed beer (terminal gravity ipa, henrys, arrogant bastard etc.) but I just couldn't get into it. When I turned 19 I started to enjoy beer more and I have no idea why. I think it's because I started trying new beer that I saw my mom drinking. My mom likes a good micro and it is something we sort of bonded over. At first I could only drink certain beers.

My mom told me grandpa used to make beer and I decided I wanted to do it too, so I set about learning how. Ever since I started making beer I started trying more beers to understand the things I was reading, and my palate has really expanded.

Once I understood beer it was much easier to appreciate it.

 

[Altayre]

I was never a fan of beer either, actually I quite hated it.....a lot

Never understood why anyone in their right mind would drink nasty piss flavored water to get drunk when you could simply drink liquor for a better effect, and it tasted so much better.

The extent of my knowledge towards beer was always the BMC all my friends would go crazy over drinking and trying to get me to drink.

Then along came my wife's uncle, who had brought some home brew Cream Stout from someone he knew.

Being curious, as I had never really paid enough attention to beer to know there were more kinds than BMC, I tried it. I **LOVED** it, I simply could not get enough of it.

I was 24 at the time, ever since I have been hooked completely, and my appreciation for beers has grown daily.

It was also the driving force for me to start brewing too.

 

[scrambledegg81]

Alcoholism is underrated.

Only a cop-out. We're connoisseurs. Imbibers, if you will. Quaffers of the giggle-juice.

 

[Grinder12000]

The craft beer industry has existed since right around the time I turned 21,

When I was in my formative years Craft beer was as futuristic as a computer. it was all slide rulers and Millers. Now it's Rogue and Ipads!

 

[Proetus]

I'm not an alcoholic, i stop drinking....every night. I don't attend meetings either.

All kidding aside, that stuff is no joke.

 

[Dkmount721]

Heh I grew up in NE Texas, land of swill swilling swillers.

It was Guiness that opened my eyes to the idea that beer could be complex and enjoyable.

 

[kornbread]

I guess I'm just the opposite. My dad used to drink Shlitz with salt. I was probably 7 or 8 and I would sneak around behind his chair and steal a sip from time to time. I loved the stuff.

 

[juslod]

At first I didn't like beer until I tried different kinds. Killians Irish Red was the first one I really enjoyed. Slowly my tastes have evolved and I have enjoyed more complex beer and couldn't be happier or more drunk.

 

[sensibull]

I can't say I ever hated beer, but my wife and I laugh all the time about that fact that a few years ago I would state out loud to anyone who would listen that I was done drinking beer, that I didn't enjoy it anymore, and I was only drinking liquor. Then I somehow fell into this hobby and I don't think I've talked about anything but beer since.

 

[KurtB]

First beer was my Dad's Old Style that he always had in the fridge, talk about a bad introduction to beer.

Spent most of my High School and College days (yes I was underage for some of them) drinking mostly whiskey and bourbon. When that got too expensive in college I naturally migrated to BMC as it was cheap for Monday Night Football.

Now, I still drink quality bourbon on occasion, but my heart (and stomach), craves good craft beers.

Thought I would try to making it myself, and just found out 2 "friends of friends" that I run into at parties also brew their own beer. I just put batch #2 in the fermenter last weekend. Still waiting on batch #1 to carb. Should be ready by Christmas, which will hopefully make spending two weeks with my in-laws living in my house more bearable.

 

[evilhomer]

Same here, I would occasionally drink for the purpose of getting drunk and could understand the logic behind that. But I could never figure out how someone could pick up a Bud or Natural light and say mmmm this is good.

So I didn't drink much beer because as far as I knew it was all gross. Then my employer sent me to DC and I went to the hotel bar with coworkers to be sociable. I somehow ended up with a Sam's Octoberfest and was amazed that beer could actually have flavor.

 

[jonp9576]

i never liked beer till i made my own. college was rough, i would force down whatever swill was available, but i would prefer rum.

my uncle makes wine. i thought it would be cool to make something, so i went to the home brew store thinking i was going to buy a wine kit, and came home with a beer kit. my fiance said while we were in the store. "you drink beer sometimes, and you hate wine...why dont you make beer?" the rest is history.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

I drank a Miller of Bud!

Lol! I know you meant to type 'or' but it sounds like a Miller is a unit of measurement. Or else mistype for a million haha!

I work at a Craft Beer store and am the homebrew consultant and am proudly on my way to alcoholism!

How did you get that sweet gig, does it pay okay, and congrats on your accomplishments hehehe!

 

[Grinder12000]

LOL I'll take a Miller of Bud!! no seriously I am LOLing!

Our Brew Club meets at the Store and since I'm retiring early I asked if they could use some part time help! I make really good beer and am outspoken and an idea man so . . . . I now work a few nights a week with all my little 12 ounce friends.

It's TOTALLY sweet - surrounded by craft beer and Home Brew equipment!

 

[wildwest450]

I remember actually arguing with people over which was better, Bud or Miller.

Bud pwns Miller.


______

 

[malkore]

its not alcoholism

its alcohol enthusiasm!

 

[SeaBass512]

I was a late-bloomer when it came to drinking...I had my first drink at the end of my freshman year of college. After drinking once or twice at my brother's apt at CMU, he said it was time to learn to like beer. He said if you sit down and drink 3 in a row, you'll be a fan forever. I wish I remember what kind we drank (probably Busch light...possibly Heineken) but boy was he right, and I've been a convert since. I can do wine or mixed drinks at the right occasion, but beer is of course my fav.

 

[daniels]

made my first home brew about 17-18 years ago. it tought me many things bud was garbage and you could wake up without a headach and diearea after drinking beer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

My epiphany came from Chimay Grand Reserve.

 

[devilishprune]

I thought that I would hate beer because as a kid, my mom always drank Corona light, which I still think is terrible. When I was like 19, I got my first taste of craft brews, and I think the eye opener was Pyramid Apricot.

Now, I'm drinking all sorts of different beers and I am only confused by those who say that they "don't like beer".

 

[lroog]

I have always liked beer, my dad would let me have a sip of his High Life as a kid. But I really didn't drink anything till I was 21 and I wanted to find some good beer. Newcastle was my first good beer and that was really all I drank for several years. THen as the American Craft Beers became more available I became a connisiure. What led me to brewing is my love of cooking. I looked at brewing as an extension of cooking and I thought it would be fun. Two years later and over a 150 gallons brewed, I am a lifer.

good thread btw

 

[biochemedic]

I want to chime in here. I loved wine because it was complex vs. beer, which often times seemed too empty.

Yeah...once you realize the full beer spectrum, beer is *way* more complex and varied than wine...

To answer the OP...as with many, I didn't like beer for a while after I started drinking (stuck to mixed drinks), and believe it or not the first beer I kind of liked and tolerated was Molson Ice! Also like many, my next love was Guinness (it must be a "gateway beer!"... at one of my local bars I became known as "Guinness Dave," and was easily chosen to give the Guinness toast that year...) It rapidly expanded from there as I discovered the burgeoning craft brew scene. For a couple years after college every time I went the beer store I came home with a case of different six packs of every kind of beer I could try. Homebrewing was the natural progression...

 

[rocketman768]

My awakening happened at a Gordon Biersch. Was having a plate of garlic/cheese/cilantro fries and took a swig of Marzen...wow, it was kinda sweet, rich, aromatic, and had a silky mouthfeel. Damn, some beer must be good!

 

[rjwhite41]

I hated beer in high school. Everyone drank Natural Light and I couldn't stomach it. I drank whiskey. My freshman year in college my roommate gave me a Guinness (must be the gateway beer) and I've been drinking beer ever since! I still drink Scotch on occasion though. Mmmmm Scotch

Edit: I remember people saying beer was an acquired taste. Now I know what they meant. If you acquire some good beer it will have taste!

 

[coastwx]

Similar here, up until a few years ago in NC you did not have the access to craft brews, so Coors light was the go to beer. I started taking annual trips to Colorado for work and a co-worker got me hooked on going to the local brewpubs for dinner where I started experimenting with craft brews. That got me into the Newcastles and Sam Adams back at home, so those became more and more regular. The Coors light just did not cut it anymore. I think it was 2007 when NC raised the ABV limit and all the sudden stores like Lowes Food started carrying a real nice selection of craft brews. An Ale House opened right down the street around the same time as the ABV was raised and they not only carry all the games on Sunday, they have a great selection of craft brews.

 

[rycov]

thats awesome how everyone sorta transitioned the same way. i would write my story but you can just pick any of the previous posts and it pretty much applies. although i do still drink piss beer sometimes. i don't really look at it as beer in the sense that its well made and crafted and delicious and all that. i more look at bmc as a vehicle to get me drunk. its kinda like... barley soda, definatley not beer. i really like to eat delicious food too. but sometimes i just eat spaghetti-o's.... mmm spaghettios and beer... i got to go.