What was your Gatewaybeer to craft beer?

[littletommy]

I had always been fascinated with the brewing of beer, but I also only thought of Bud and Miller light when I wanted to drink a few. I always would drink Bud if I had my choice. About 4 years ago we were on vacation in Gatlinburg TN, and decided to check out the Smoky Mt. Brewery (they have great burgers and pizza there, too), and I had their Cherokee Red Ale. I didn't like it at first, but for several days afterward, I kept thinking about that beer. It led me to try Sierra Nevada PA, a few Sam Adams varieties, and numerous other craft type beers. Now every time we go to Gatlinburg, I get at least 1 growler of red ale.

 

[schematix]

Sam Adams BL, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

I remember the first time i had a BL I was 19 and attempted to use a fake ID at a bar. The bartender called me on it, I kept my cool, they said they were going to check into it, and came back and said sorry you're beer will be right up! Whew. I was a fan from the first sip.

About a year later a Costco in central California was selling cases of SNPA for $20 (long time ago) so I bought it. Wow that was pure f'in malty hop juice and I could barely get through the first one. By the end of the case I was hooked though. Tastes like bud light to me now though.

I bought a 4 pack of DFH 90 minute a few weeks ago and I couldn't taste much either. Home brewing has distorted my palette!

 

[FatDragon]

Although I come from Chico, my first craft beer, although a Sierra Nevada pale, was at Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock, Arkansas. I thought if I tried something a step up from the Bud, Coors, and Miller friends had tried to get me drinking I might actually start to like beer. Nope*.

A year or so later, while in Michigan, I determined to get into beer, so naturally I started drinking LaBatt Blue, since it was the beer in the house at the time. Although I didn't like it, I found that after pushing through a can at a time over the first week or two, I could at least stomach some beer. From there, I had a couple black and tans that were the first beers I actually enjoyed. A few months later, again in Little Rock, I decided to try my second craft beer at the Flying Saucer. Again going for the hometown flavor, I got a snifter of Bigfoot on draft, and the rest is history.

*Once I actually learned to enjoy beer, I quickly realized that SNPA is quite good, albeit a bit on the pedestrian side for my tastes.

 

[savannahbrew]

Blvd .

 

[BeastMaster]

Either Schlafly Pale Ale or Sierra Nevada. I cant remember which was first.

 

[nunyafnb]

For me, I think it was some of the Pete's Wicked Ale's. I remember really liking Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde, and that being kind of the main one after Rolling Rock being my regular beer.

Funny thing though, how your tastes really change over time. Back then, I used to really hate beers with any distinguishable hop presence (hence the Pete's Strawberry) but now I am really starting to love beers with lots of hops.

About 5 years ago, I saw some Strawberry Blonde on the shelf at a store. I was stoked, since I really hadn't seen it in a long time. Bought some for nostalgic reasons, and I found it to be overly sweet, and I couldn't even drink the whole six pack.

 

[TxBigHops]

For me, I think it was some of the Pete's Wicked Ale's. I remember really liking Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde, and that being kind of the main one after Rolling Rock being my regular beer.

Funny thing though, how your tastes really change over time. Back then, I used to really hate beers with any distinguishable hop presence (hence the Pete's Strawberry) but now I am really starting to love beers with lots of hops.

About 5 years ago, I saw some Strawberry Blonde on the shelf at a store. I was stoked, since I really hadn't seen it in a long time. Bought some for nostalgic reasons, and I found it to be overly sweet, and I couldn't even drink the whole six pack.

OMG, Pete's Wicked Ale - I had totally forgotten about that beer. Back in the early days when I only bought beer at the grocery store, and their craft beer selection was highly limited, that one was in my fridge along with Shiner Bock and Bud light.

Glad everyone is enjoying this. Keep those stories coming!

 

[firestem4]

In a funny way, for me the beer is Blue Moon. When I turned 21 I didn't have a taste for any beers. In the past I couldn't ever finish a can of Coors or Bud, I just didn't know anything about beer and thought those were pretty representative of the whole beer market. This was only a few years ago but I didn't even know about the craft market.

I was over at a friends house and he picked up a case of blue moon for us to drink while we were hanging out. I was surprised it tasted pretty good and it was the only bottle I had managed to finish drinking. Blue Moon became my first drinking beer, I enjoyed it a lot. After that I started checking out other types of beers and quickly developed a fondness for IPA's and Hefe's. Everything just kept going from there. These days I like pretty much any style, and I even still like an occasional Blue Moon.

Edit: Oh ya! Spaten Oktoberfest and Spaten Optimator were also really big in garnering my interest in different beers. There is a german pub a little whiles away that has Optimator on tap. Sooooo good.

 

[JohnGonk]

Gateway to craft for me was actually Sam Adams cherry wheat and Newcastle brown ale. And my wife's uncle always bought smuttynose.

 

[Tclub]

Hangar 24 Pale Ale was my first actual craft beer....but craftish would be Sam Adams BL.

chillin on my throne

 

[SABRES32]

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!

 

[ThatOneGuy]

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.

 

[TxBigHops]

Hangar 24 Pale Ale was my first actual craft beer....but craftish would be Sam Adams BL.

chillin on my throne

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.

 

[TxBigHops]

Bump. I want to hear some more stories.

 

[MrNic]

New Belgium. Specifically, Mothership Wit.

 

[Dunedin_Draught]

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!

 

[mbach72]

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.

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[rbwduece]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Boulevard Pale Ale planted the seeds on my palate.

 

[troy2000]

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!

Good post; I enjoyed it. But it would have been easier to read, had you broken it up into paragraphs....

 

[NWMushroom]

George Killian's Irish Red.

Hey, we've all got to start somewhere!

 

[LovesIPA]

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.

 

[jafo28]

Mine would be Fat Tire, I first tried it on my honeymoon in Estes Park Colorado.

 

[Weezy]

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.

 

[brewbama]

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.


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[blues_N_beer]

Was big into MGD in college before one of my professors turned me on to Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter :fro:

 

[BigFloyd]

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.

 

[knelson13A]

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.

 

[JaYsOuL]

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!

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[Beergnomes]

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.

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!

 

[cjgenever]

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

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