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

[Bru]

It goes like this : SAB used to brew Amstel under license from Heinikin. Then Heinikin took the license away and now supplies Amstel themselves. To replace the lost brand SAB launched Hansa Marzen Gold which is really a lager and not anything like a Marzen.
Trouble is SAB has crushed all competition here so very few people know what a marzen is.

 

[DRoyLenz]

It goes like this : SAB used to brew Amstel under license from Heinikin. Then Heinikin took the license away and now supplies Amstel themselves. To replace the lost brand SAB launched Hansa Marzen Gold which is really a lager and not anything like a Marzen.
Trouble is SAB has crushed all competition here so very few people know what a marzen is.

I'm not familiar with this Hansa Marzen Gold, that must be something they serve primarily in Africa (or at least outside the US). Just about everything SABMiller makes that claims a "style" is really not. Miller Lite is not a pilsner, let alone "The True Pilsner."

I'd love to try a South African beer, if for no other reason than because that's definitely one of the few regions I have not ventured to taste.

 

[Bru]

Depends how you define "South African beer" - beer from South African Breweries (SABMiller) is BMC stuff and terrible. But we have a few micro breweries that make some nice beer of various styles.
A certain beer critic tried a "Hansa Pilsener" and described it like this :
"This beer doesn't have much flavour, which, for a beer from SAB is somewhat of a moral victory"

 

[Tonedef131]

To replace the lost brand SAB launched Hansa Marzen Gold which is really a lager and not anything like a Marzen.

All Marzens are lagers though.

 

[Bru]

True, thanks for pointing that out - I meant lager in the broader sense
Marzen is sweet and malty - nothing like the fizzy yellow stuff in a Hansa Marzen can.

 

[Dubcut]

Sam Adams probably started the train of thought leading to craft brewing for me, but it wasn't until I had a delirium tremens where I was like, whoa.

 

[bonzombiekitty]

Victory makes incredible beers. The brewery tour is highly recommended. They have about 30 different beers on tap at the brewpub.

If you're in the general vicinity of Victory, I'd also suggest Yards and Philadelphia Brewing Company. They don't have 30 beers on tap but they usually have all their standards plus a seasonal to try.

PBC has a cool tasting room that's nice to just chill out in and you can sometimes get some cool random beers on tap (room mate went there once and they had some Pynk on tap, which was brewed a few years ago when they were Yards*).

Toby at Yards is a really nice guy, he used to work for Flying Fish (try their Exit series) and he gave a tour there that my girlfriend and I were on. A year later, gf and I went to Yards' new place to see what it looked like and he was there and recognized us. I was shocked he remembered us from over a year previously. The Yards brewery is brand new and the tasting room is still under construction. Should be done in a couple weeks and it'll be cool. They've set up a temporary tasting area until construction is done.

*background for those who aren't aware: It just used to be Yards until the owners had a falling out and PBC split from Yards. Yards got the name and recipes, PBC got the brewery and equipment. They're both less than a 20 minute walk from my house

 

[MrVagabond]

I grew up in Russia and the beer there is nothing special. That probably has to do with the cheap cost of vodka. Why drink beer when you can get drunk off vodka? So, through my teenage years I was a mix drink guy. After I moved back to the States, I went out with a buddy of mine to the bars and he made me try a glass of Fat Tire. That was an immediate "wow" moment when I realized that beer could be something savored and could have depth of flavor. It was all downhill from there!

 

[mhermetz]

My Contiki Trip through all of Europe this time last year.

Every small pub we hit, when not on tours, I would ask for the Local crafted beer..not because i wanted good beer...but because I was on Vacation and didn't want the "Same ol'Stuff". I was pleasently delighted with all of them....many of which I cannot remember the name of.

 

[lazybean]

i had done a few extract brews with my dad growing up, nothing serious, just a kit ever few years, never really got into it. Then about 4 years ago had an Ale Smith "the Anvil" and fell in love. Dug out the old brewing gear did a batch every other month for a bit, Now building my first AG setup.

 

[Stoopidwon]

I got the bug drinking Newcastle, then moved to Guiness (still really enjoy Guiness off tap)

 

[uechikid]

For me it was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. With my first sip my taste buds went WOW. It wasn't long before I was brewing my own.

 

[jpb5151]

It was a progression for me, very slowly realizing that beer could be an outright explosion of great flavor.

Black Forest Lager (microbrew in New Orleans, mid 90's)
IPAII (microbrew in San Diego a couple years ago)
Boundary Bay IPA in Seattle this year -- this made me search out the best IPAs at the local stores, then the price tags got me into home brewing.

 

[passedpawn]

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

Well, this morning it was one of my own. It was next to the bed, half gone, from the night before.

 

[Sum1Stu]

lol passedpawn!!

Ive gotta say hobgoblin!! Then again I'll most likely be awaked again in my journeys...

 

[Handle]

My awakening came courtesy of an Oatmeal Porter made by Highland Brewing, which is headquartered in Asheville, N.C. I spent three years going to school there, and before that I had never really had "craft-brewed" beer. I had tried some better beers than the typical BMC offerings, like Dos Equis and Newcastle, but the Oatmeal Porter was the first porter I tried, and the first beer to really impress me. Later, while writing for the school paper, I was asked to write an article on Asheville's microbrewery scene. I hopped aboard the Brews Cruise, which shuttled drinkers to three of the city's microbreweries for samples.

Highland was one of the stops, and I once again had the Oatmeal Porter and several other great beers. I still believe Highland makes some really great beers.

It's funny -- when I first got to Asheville, my friends and I stopped into a bar to have some local brews. We had highly-hopped Asheville Pizza's Shiva IPA. I was, quite frankly, disgusted. I thought it was one of the worst beers I had ever had, and I couldn't believe anyone would like this beer that the waitress said was one of the city's most loved.

Now I'm actually starting to appreciate IPAs, though I'm still more partial to the stouts and porters. I've come a long way in appreciating beer, but I've got an even longer way to go.

 

[metaltim]

mine was fat tire, first had it around 2001-2002ish (turned 21 in 2001).. starting trying more micros from there.. still drank bud light frequently up until about 3-4 years ago, no strictly micros. Started homebrewing this year.. on batch 5!

 

[tmoney1224]

Translated into "English" English, you were once a 420 pound girl? Did you ever lose that weight?

Ha ha, thank god that is not what I'm talking about.

Keystone 30 packs = 30 stone

I thought everyone knew that, maybe just from where I'm from.

 

[beerjunky828]

Well I started off in high school drinking schwag beer and then started to drink newcastle and heine and red stripe. and then when I became a much older high schooler my friends and I would love to drink Sammy Smiths Taddy Porter. But the beer that made me start to drink other beers and go and look for good brew was Saranac Caramel Porter. I thought whoa!! This is beer? You are damn right it is!!!!

 

[hammer1]

that would be pilsner uriquell for me . about 7 years ago the wife &i went on a 10 day cruise in the Bahamas that is all i drank { ran up a huge bar tab} from then on i started looking at beer in a new way

 

[Famou55TAR]

I think it would have to be Surly Furious.

 

[fireantz]

A long while back I decided I didn't like hoppy beers. A few weeks ago I tried Drifter PA from Widmer and I think it really helped open my beer palate.

 

[cobalt60]

Bridgeport IPA. I took a trip with a buddy to Portland and had it on tap... I've never looked at beer the same way since.

 

[SkiGladys]

Theakston's Old Peculier was the first beer that got me to really understand that beer could taste better than yellow water. I'm fermenting an "Old Pecilierish" clone right now.

 

[trashman]

Several years ago while vacationing in Leavenworth, WA. we ate lunch at the Leavenworth Brewery. First time I had ever tasted beer that was so fresh and not mass produced lager. Unfortunatly they sold out and are no longer in the town. Another brewery bought them out and some of the beers are still available locally. They probably are not as good as others I have had since, but I can still remember how I didn't really drink beer before that day.

 

[FlashRedGLS18T]

My brother-in-law worked at Anderson's through college and law school. He worked in the specialty foods / wine / beer department.
I occasionally took trips there to get some cheap beer, MGD...crap like that.
For whatever reason I decided I wanted to try a stout, so I bought a pack of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout. My wife was shocked, I'm a pretty cheap guy when it comes to spending money on myself for anything.

I loved it! The flavor was not like anything I had tasted in a beer to that point. I was amazed!
Since I don't drink heavy quantities of alcohol at a sitting, I've been drinking premium beers ever since.

 

[LOUBrew]

Definitely Three Floyd's Alpha King. I never realized that beer could be so delicious before that fateful day...

 

[DavidSteel]

The first beer that I drank that wasn't standard store-bought stuff was a Weihenstephaner Hefe and Original. Ever since I had those, I've always went for micro's. I only buy macro's for parties or something of the like. But the two beers that surprised me by far were Southern Tiers Imperial Pumpking and Buffalo Bills Blueberry Oatmeal Stout. Totally didn't expect what was about to make love to my pallet and taste buds.

 

[Cheaton]

A pint of Old Speckled Hen at a pub in Hitchin, Herts, UK.

 

[Brummbar]

In 1992 I turned 21.

A friend had transfers to San Fransisco State, and lived near the Haight-Ashbury area, and one day while visiting him we walked into this bar... actually a beer house....

I sometimes still wonder if it's still there...


It was called Toranados ( sp )

I tried a really bitter beer called Red Tail Ale.... the rest in history...

I also, way back then, fell in love Samual Smiths Oatmeal Stout...,, but the bitter beers seems to call to me a strange way...



Holy Cow... Google is an amazing thing... http://www.toronado.com/

 

[bernerbrau]

An IPA whose name I no longer remember that they were serving samples of at Whole Foods.

Before that I pretty much drank wine and hard liquor, and SABL if beer was the only thing available.

 

[Crayfish]

Berghoff Dark-1993 in Madison, WI. I was a freshman and up unitl then had only had BMC. Not the best beer but a lot more flavor than I was used to then. Started brewing the next year.

 

[MBasile]

Bud Light, it made me appreciate good beer so much more!

 

[Orfy]

I've never been a yellow fizzy beer drinker.

I think it was the world of brewing that opened things up a little more for me rather than commercial beers.

 

[Pluto035]

St. Pauli Girl was the first non-BMC beer I had and changed my mind about what beer had to taste like. It's not one of my favorite beers today but it was a hell of a lot better than Old Milwaukee's Best.

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

i went to Colorado for 4-5 weeks when i was 19 to mess around. fell in love with fat tire and O'dell's easy street wheat. started brewing a few years later because i wanted fat tire all the time and couldn't get it on the east coast. 11 years later and i still haven't perfected it, though i am close.

 

[malc]

I was never a drinker. Not until I was about 25. At that point I tried a Killian's and wondered why I had not been drinking all those years. I have since moved on to other styles, but I still like Killian's, even though it is technically a lager and not an Irish Red Ale. (See, I know that now). I was given a Mr. Beer kit for Christmas one year. It came out really bad, so I went to a local HBS to see if I could make it any better. The rest is history, I guess.

 

[Ksosh]

McEwan's Scottish Ale on tap at a local Albany, NY restaurant.

(F*ck Henniken and their f*cking stupid f*cking not-importing-into-the-USA-anymore f*cking policy... f*ckers.)


Other top beers that came later on:
Sinebrychoff Porter
Kasteelbier Brune-Bruin (Bruin-Brune? Whatever's 11 percent and tasty, I think it's their triple)
Baltika Porter #6
Brooklyn's Black (Double?) Chocolate Stout

Before the McEwans, the only beer I'd ever tasted was BMC (including crap like rolling rock) or IPAs that were bitter and horrible. Then I found the magical world of stouts, porters, and belgian strong ales.

 

[peripatetic]

Although it is no longer my favorite beer (somewhere between 11 and 15, probably), Rogue Dead Guy Ale was a beer that completely turned upside-down my definition of "beer." I thought Sam Adams was pretty much the best beer there was until that point. All of a sudden, I realized there was stuff out there will complexity and flavors that I'd never considered possible.

Then I had a second awakening several years later when I had an evening of Belgian beer with a buddy. Duvel, Orval, and Chimay Blue, all in one night. It was a revelation.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

Samuel Adams Ocktoberfest (04?) and Hacker-Pschorr. About the same time.