What was your Gatewaybeer to craft beer?

[Carllous]

Just like the majority of most "amature" beer drinkers, I thought Budweiser was the end all be all of beers, truly the king of beers. Around 2003, I was stationed in Montana and heard of a bar that sold growlers of whatever they had on tap. The bar was about a 20 minute drive in a tiny little town called Belt. A few buddies and myself would drive out and get a few of our growlers filled to stock up on some "diesel" (since Budweiser was so hardcore :smack: ).
Fast forward a few weeks. We make our usual trip out to Belt. When we got to the bar, they informed us that they were all out of Budweiser, but they told us that they had a few beers that they brewed in house. I was skeptical, but I decided to get my growlers filled with what they told me was their most popular. Beltian White. That beer singlehandedly opened my eyes to the world of craft beers and changed my perspective on all major beer companies.

 

[Hopinista]

Just like the majority of most "amature" beer drinkers, I thought Budweiser was the end all be all of beers, truly the king of beers. Around 2003, I was stationed in Montana and heard of a bar that sold growlers of whatever they had on tap. The bar was about a 20 minute drive in a tiny little town called Belt. A few buddies and myself would drive out and get a few of our growlers filled to stock up on some "diesel" (since Budweiser was so hardcore :smack: ).
Fast forward a few weeks. We make our usual trip out to Belt. When we got to the bar, they informed us that they were all out of Budweiser, but they told us that they had a few beers that they brewed in house. I was skeptical, but I decided to get my growlers filled with what they told me was their most popular. Beltian White. That beer singlehandedly opened my eyes to the world of craft beers and changed my perspective on all major beer companies.

That's a good story, but could you imagine buying a Growler of Budweiser now? Lol

 

[Carllous]

That's a good story, but could you imagine buying a Growler of Budweiser now? Lol

Definitely not! Not to say that I wouldn't drink a growler of Bud if somebody bought me one, but I wouldn't drink one on purpose.

 

[NickTheGreat]

Definitely not! Not to say that I wouldn't drink a growler of Bud if somebody bought me one, but I wouldn't drink one on purpose.

We used to call it "diesel" too in college. Have no idea why; really makes no sense whatsoever. It's not dark, hoppy, thick, creamy, bitter, tasty. No adjective one would associate with a fuel

 

[brandonman]

We used to call it "diesel" too in college. Have no idea why; really makes no sense whatsoever. It's not dark, hoppy, thick, creamy, bitter, tasty. No adjective one would associate with a fuel

What about Gasoline?

 

[SurfChris]

That's a good story, but could you imagine buying a Growler of Budweiser now? Lol

The thought of that makes me gag lol. Even before I got into craft beer I always though Bud was nasty haha. That and Bud Ice, I remember buying a case of that for my sister and her friends when I turned 21 and thought hey this will be awesome b/c the bottles look cool. Nope, was pry the worst beer I ever had lol.

 

[Staylow]

Michelob Amber Bock was the beer that opened my eyes. Before that, I swore all "dark" beers were crap due to trying a Guinness Extra Stout in my teen years and hating it. From there, I found Shiner Bock, Blue Moon, several from Leinenkugels, and Boulevard Wheat. Of those, I still drink Boulevard, mostly because it's so readily available around here when presented with a limited selection. I've also come to like the Guinness Extra over the years. The beers that turned me into a fanatic though were Odells Cutthroat Porter, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, and New Belgiums Fat Tire.

 

[Falcon3]

$5 pitchers of Fat Tire. Then $1 pints at the local micro in town.


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[zbbfreak19]

As a Canadian, my first beers molson Canadian and export, first beer that went beyond that was a Guinness, which i didn't like at all at first, but tried it a few times and got used to it having some flavour, this was 20 years ago, so ontario brewing was very different, we had some independent brewers , creemore, upper Canada, Algonquin, sleemans, but they have all been bought out now. My first American non macro was likely either killians Irish red, or Pete's wicked ale. In Ontario alone there are 35 breweries that are part of the Ontario craft brewers, and likely that many that are not part yet, I do pick up some American stuff. ( just tried anchor steam about 2 months ago), but we don't see much of it, so I do enjoy kona long board, or yeungling when I can find it


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[Spelaeus]

I legitimately thought I disliked beer for a good chunk of my life having only tried mostly BMC-esque stuff. Then in college a buddy had me try Unibroue La Fin du Monde and it was all downhill from there.

 

[uncleben113]

My gateway beer was Abita Amber. I had always thought that all beer tasted like BMC and was blown away at how different from the rest this was and how delicious it was. It's crazy to think that great beer has been out there my whole life and I didn't know it existed until I was about 20

 

[Yreval]

I legitimately thought I disliked beer for a good chunk of my life having only tried mostly BMC-esque stuff. Then in college a buddy had me try Unibroue La Fin du Monde and it was all downhill from there.

I felt pretty much the same way. I was willing to *swallow* the Keystone Light and other kegwash at parties if it was cold enough, and I knew I *preferred* Yuengling or PBR, but I didn't really think I *liked* any beer.

Fast forward to my sophomore year when my first Guinness Extra Stout helped me realize that I can enjoy what I drink. A year later and my first brown ale—Smuttynose Old Brown Dog—opened up the world of craft beer for me, and I haven't looked back since.

And while OBD still has a soft spot in my heart, I think either my tastes have changed since, or the beer has changed since (maybe both.) I still like it, but it doesn't hold up to my first impressions. That's okay, though. There's a lot out there.

 

[bford]

Shiner Bock and Abita TurboDog... I live in Texas and both are easily available.

Shiner from the bottle... first beer I actually enjoyed drinking.... and then shortly after TurboDog on draft.. which really was the eye opener..

 

[Gareth68]

I think the gateway would have been Lowenbrau.

For years in NY in the 90's it was a staple in convenience stores at $6.99 a twelve pack.

It was a step up from the other swill.

Although, I guess the winter kegs of Yuengling Porter could also have been considered a step in the craft beer direction.

Some people bitched about the dark beer on tap, but they were always welcome to bring whatever else they wanted to drink.

 

[jdm61]

Imported beer night at the Rathskellar at University of Miami in the early 80's was when I first discovered a lot of new beers. That is when I realized that there was more to imported beer than Heineken, Becks or Fosters oil cans. I then discovered some of the stuff from the British Isles like Bass, Watneys, Guiness and Harp. My REAL education started the first time I went to Europe and discovered that even the "mass market" beer in places like the UK and Germany such as Carlsberg, Lowenbrau and even Kronenbourg 1669 was a bit different than what we had n the US. Stuff like drink what they serve bitter as the hotel bar in London was a revelation as were the local pilsners and such in Germany. My first taste of an American craft beer was probably Anchor Steam and I too was introduced to Shiner Bock and Leinie Red like many others on here I am sure. For me, premium brew "graduate school" was when I darted going back to Eruope in 2005 after not having been for 17 years. By 2007-08, I had discovered Belgium.:rockin:

 

[CyberBob]

Shiner bock, still one of my very favorites.

 

[Zekk]

Firestone DBA. We would get a keg of it for special parties in college. Talk about a treat when you've been drinking natty light for months. Still has to be one of my favorite beers.

 

[SuliBrew]

Like many, it was ....Sam Adams BL. but not quite. would have a few then revert back to mgd. Then I came upon a squat little brown bottle and it was Pete's Wicked Ale. Really liked it except for the price. Then found that a particular store, it was coded incorrectly and they charged the same as bud light for a six pack. went to that store for 2 years. Then Pete's did the unthinkable. sold the company and parent company changed the recipe. I was done at that point. But that led to many others like Dinklauker Dark, SN pale ale. Trying to clone Pete's is what got me into home brewing, that and my neighbor's summer brew fest. Still haven't been able to brew a perfect clone after 5 attempts, but I have some delicious browns to show for my effort.

Thank you Petes Wicked.

 

[TxBigHops]

It's crazy to think that great beer has been out there my whole life and I didn't know it existed until I was about 20

Sorry, I gotta ask. Is that a typo, or an attempt at humor?

 

[jiggs_casey]

I was almost completely turned off by craft beer early on. 1992, stationed at Ft. Bragg. Stopped in to a place for lunch and decided on a sampler serving of some of the beers they brewed there. Every single one of them tasted like bleach. At that time, not only did I not know anything about craft beer, I knew nothing about beer except that it got ya' drunk.

Five years later, I house sat for a friend who took a weekend trip to Saranac Lake, NY and brought me a case of 'Raspberry Wheat' from Saranac brewery and a couple of two liters of homebrew from his trip. His trip completely changed how I viewed beer.

 

[mozart4898]

Depends what you'd really consider a gateway to craft beer...I mean, when I was in college I pretty much hated beer until I discovered J.W. Dundee's Honey Brown, by no means a craft beer but good enough that I drank quite a bit of it. Killian's and Sam Adams Boston Lager convinced me that not all beer tastes like ice cold piss, but I didn't really experience what I'd call "craft beer" until one night at a bar when I was about 26 (8 years ago), I said to the bartender "what might I like that's not this Sam Adams I always drink?" He asked me something like "have you ever had a pale ale?" Of course I didn't know what that meant at all and I told him so. He pulled a couple oz taste of Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale...and the rest was history. (At the time that beer was crazy intense to me, but I loved it.)

GL's Burning River is still a favorite of mine to this day if I see it, but I've definitely moved on to explore most of the craft beer spectrum.

 

[Brickman]

New Belgium Fat Tire circa 1993. Sold in a 22 ounce bomber and bottle conditioned. Then came Sunshine Wheat, Abbey, and Odell's 90 Schilling. This may anger a bunch but New Belgium is a shell of what it used to be. They used to make great beer. Today I pass on most if it.

But New Belgium did get me started in homebrewing. They had a program where homebrewers could get empty used bombers and grain from them. I remember how disgusting it was washing those bottles after they came back from a bar but I was poor and they were free. In an interview Jeff Lebesch mentioned the book Belgian Ale by Pierre Rajotte. I picked it up and a book called the Joy of Homebrewing. I made some pretty awful beer back then but that is what got me started in homebrewing.

 

[jigtwins]

Blue Moon was my gateway to craft. Then I started brewing. The rest is history.

 

[smcinco]

My buddy brought me some Mad River Steelhead Pale Ale on a trip home from Humboldt in 91. Was still a shock to my tastebuds after having had Sam Adams. I can still taste it...

 

[uncleben113]

Sorry, I gotta ask. Is that a typo, or an attempt at humor?

Nope. I grew up in north east Louisiana and everyone drank BMC beers. I had barely heard of craft beer for most of my life, and I knew literally nothing of it. It was a craft beer desert until a few years ago.

 

[Mad4sax]

I drank only Coors Light until my son brought me a Dogfish Head 60 minute. Now I look back and think "What the hell was I thinking!"

My wife will still only drink Coors Light!

 

[TxBigHops]

My gateway beer was Abita Amber. I had always thought that all beer tasted like BMC and was blown away at how different from the rest this was and how delicious it was. It's crazy to think that great beer has been out there my whole life and I didn't know it existed until I was about 20

Sorry, I gotta ask. Is that a typo, or an attempt at humor?

Nope. I grew up in north east Louisiana and everyone drank BMC beers. I had barely heard of craft beer for most of my life, and I knew literally nothing of it. It was a craft beer desert until a few years ago.

My point was that you stated "great beer has been out there my whole life and I didn't know it existed until I was about 20." The humorous part was that by age 20, your "whole life" of drinking beer is not likely more than 3-4 years. You really haven't experienced that much in regards to drinking of any kind. I would expect that very few of us growing up in the US has truly experienced craft beer by age 20.

 

[OhCrap]

Late teens, 20's and most of my 30's were spent drinking Harp, Smithwicks, guiness, Budweiser, then Heineken as I got fed up of bud.... Then for some unknown reason I bought a bottle of paulaner at a birthday party and drank it all night.....since then I started looking at what was available and where. Then everything got f'd up as there was nowhere beside me that sold anything g other then bmc, guiness etc.... Started making my own and opened a pub selling at least 3 draft alternatives to the usual.....

 

[ShockedHop]

I grew up in an Anhiser Bush drinking family so early on I drank pretty much bud light. For me it was Sam Adams. Although I don't really consider a craft beer, I know it is but being from Boston it may as well be a beer conglomerate because it is everywhere. After that was Stone Ruination, and dogfish 90 min ipa. As well as Arrogant Bastard. From there on out I drank primarily craft beers with bud light mixed in here and there. And now primarily homebrew with commercial beers mixed in if the kegs all kick which isn't often. 😁

 

[metanoia]

Don't have a real gateway, I grew up in a household that drank Sam Adams at the bare minimum and my dad did some homebrewing of his own back in the 90s. I certainly drank plenty of the BMC crap once I got to college and during hard times since then, but I've always known the joys of craft beer.