What turned you on to the good stuff?

[bitsmith2k]

growing up my pops would drink OV, which may explain why he doesn't drink much anymore.. i used to swipe a few bottles here and there.. but i still remember my first two pints in a pub came when i was 16 years old..after a rugby game, my coach bought me a pint of Guinness, after that my buddy's dad bought me a smithwicks (in doing so schooling me on the proper pronounciation) that got me on to good beers.. my old roomates dad brews, after having one of those i was hooked on the homebrew..

 

[Walker]

my buddy's dad bought me a smithwicks (in doing so schooling me on the proper pronounciation)

???

Can you enlighten me?

-walker

 

[bitsmith2k]

???

Can you enlighten me?

-walker

smith-icks
or with his irish accent 'smidicks'..

the only reason i brought that up was last night we overheard a guy ordering a smith-wicks..

 

[Walker]

thanks. I never ever knew that the "W" was silent.

Interesting....

-walker

 

[Caplan]

thanks. I never ever knew that the "W" was silent.

Interesting....

-walker

?????! Greenwich mean time? Surely you don't say 'green witch' or 'gren witch'!

it's 'gren itch'!

 

[Walker]

Yeah, I know how to pronouce Greenwich, but I didn't know Smithwicks was similar.

-walker

PS: That's pronouced "Alk Er"

 

[kornkob]

My first beer was a home brew my old man made. A stout he had aging in the basement.

 

[Caplan]

PS: That's pronouced "Alk Er"

Did you miss 'whole wick' of the end of that?

 

[Glibbidy]

While in High school our marching band went over to the UK to play some concerts. The locals in Bristol hosted us, and this jolly english fellow turned me and my buddies onto his homebrew out of a beer ball/party pig contraption.

Then a few years later in college We used to drink beer at russells restaurant in bloomsburg, PA. They had this thing called the passport & visa. You would basically drink your way thru the states, and countries they had on these documents. Fullers ESB and Voodoo lager come to mind as well as the Sam Smith's products. In retrospect I guess I also took Yuengling for granted as really drinkable beer

For me it all started with Sierra, then I went to the Goathill Tavern (140 beers on tap) My buddy had just started bartending there, I proceeded to try every beer I could.

Henry & Harry’s Goat Hill Tavern rocks.

 

[opqdan]

Im only 22 (almost 22.5 ) so my real beer tasting days are ahead of me rather than behind me. Like most people, I would partake in the occasional alcoholic drink when the mood set in, but I was never a big fan of drinking just to get drunk. Right from the get go, I could not stand Bud/Miller/Coors lights. They were just fizzy, yellow water with almost no taste at all. I wanted something with substance.

Eventually, I tried Guinness. The first time I had it, I was disgusted. Not knowing how a 'real' beer tasted, I though it was way to strong for my liking. I ended up finding Hoegardden and fell in love. Since then, I have re-tried Guiness and gound that I love it almost as much as my fiance. Not only that bu I moved onto other stouts. My current favorite beer of all time is Sam Smith's Oatmeal stou, but I haven't tried a whole variety of different beers. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

My first homebrew experience has yet to happen (we'll begin brewing an Irish stout next weekend), so wish me luck. After that, who knows. I really really want to make a chile beer, but I need to find one to try first.

 

[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.