How I learned to appreciate beer...
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
I figured this story should be told. I discovered and learned to love beer because of PirateNinja.com (Gravite2090 on Icrontic - and {IC}Hammercock in TF2).
How did you discover beer?
How did you discover beer?
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mmmmmmm beeeeeeeeeer
...and it is delicious. Om nom nom.
Then, I started to find the good beers. Anytime I had an opportunity to hit a microbrewery, I would. Once Icrontic started talking about various beers, I would try to find it.
Man, I love beer.
I find a good stout or hefe to be absolutely delicious. The German Purity Law of 1516 is one of the best things that ever happened to humanity.
my first sam adams was in JFK airport when my flight got delayed. Fresh off the tap, it was heaven in a glass. had just turned 21. before that during the army days is was all hard liquor. jack, jim, sothern comfort, captain morgan. usually mixed with coke or mountain dew. after the army was bourbon bourbon bourbon. i learn which kentucky bourbons were the best with my good friend scott.
married years was rolling rock, molsen, or labatts. it was until I got divorced that I got on the correct train. the bell's, boulevard, k-brew. it was IC that got me to where I am today
I grew up with the OMFW I'M NEVER DRINKING ALCOHOL mindset. This came from my youth group upbringing and faith - though I didn't really know what I was talking about. I swore I would NEVER drink the stuff, no matter what. Not even champagne on my wedding night. It simply wasn't happening.
Then I got an internship at WNDU-TV, and turned 21. And these guys I worked with, well, they liked the drink. I would go to bars with them weekly and just enjoy the company and atmosphere. But I wouldn't drink anything, just water.
Finally, I started to really think about alcohol and it's implications. I had grown up, and matured in my spirituality. I did lots of reading and research with the Bible, talked to a lot of friends about it, and I realized that drinking isn't bad. CONTROLLED drinking, nothing wrong. Biblically, there's nothing against that. (Drunkeness, different story). But in the end, this NO ALCOHOL mentality helped me develop a strong personal control with alcohol, and I'm glad I can be entirely responsible with the stuff.
So I decided I'd try a drink. The first one was a captain and coke. Liqueur became my taste. I loved rum, whiskey, some vodkas. I loved the expensive stuff. But beer, no. I hated beer. I knew I hated beer before I even tried it.
My first beer was coors light. And it sucked. There was no taste to it, bitter after flavor. There was simply nothing good about this beer. I knew I'd continue to find favor in rum, so I stayed away from beer.
Then I go to the Dream Theater/Opeth concert in Detroit, and crash at ICHQ for my first time. Prime and Keebler are showing me around the house, and we stayed up until the early hours of the morning just talking around the table. They ask if I want a beer, I explain my disdain for the stuff. I remember Keebler pretty much dragging me out to the fridge saying trust me, and he hands me an Oberon by Bell's. We poured a glass, I drank it, and I had awoken.
Beer sucks. Real beer is incredible. I drank up that Oberon, and I loved it. That night I also had my first Sam Adams, and sampled a few other win beers. My tastes changed.
Then I went home, and was pissed to find out how impossible it was to find any of these great beers at home. No local bars stock the stuff. But I've learned to buy my own stuff at party shops.
I still favor rum. But man, I love me a good beer.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/icrontic/2816253389/" title="Icrontic.com Oktoberfest 2007 beer fridge #1 by Icrontic.com, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/2816253389_2a815f089c_b.jpg" width="683" height="1024" alt="Icrontic.com Oktoberfest 2007 beer fridge #1" /></a>
Agreed.
The first beer I ever had was in 8th grade at some end of the year party. Not sure who invited me (considered a nerd...I know wtf, I'm so cool). I got there with my friend and some kid who now serves me burritos at a restaurant was like, who invited these nerds?
Well, I didn't say anything then ... but shortly later I tried my first beer! A bud-light. It tasted like bananas. I was thoroughly unimpressed, but after drinking the whole thing I mustered up the balls to take my shirt off and throw it in the face of the kid who called me a nerd. He got mad and threw my shirt in fire, ending the conflict.
I kindly asked the parents at the house if I could use their phone, called my parents to come pick me up that night and explained that I had lost my shirt and had no idea where it was. Oh to be 12/13. Later that night I probably logged on to a BBS and played some 4 player Doom2, ya get off it.
Now...many more stories later, and a whole ton of Corona, Bud, etc later ... my Dad found out I was drinking and told me if I am going to drink beer then I should stop drinking piss. He taught me the ways and he did it well. And now, with a tear in my eye, I feel as if I have done the same for many others :o I literally have a trophy for my beer knowledge that was won by skunking many another in a beer trivia contest. It sits high on my shelves, but not as high as the Westvleteren.
I haven't tried it yet, it is resting and waiting for me in my cabinets. It has to be the right moment, and it is the 12.
How did you acquire it? A pilgrimage to the heart of Belgium?
Nothing beats Founder's, though. Favorite beers ever. Love that place, and love that it is in my hometown, Grand Rapids, 10 minutes from my apartment.
Of course, it started when I turned 18, and started college. Drinking party beer (aka Coors Light) is what I started on. Then I was gradually introduced to some darker beers and fruity beers, such as Guiness and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat.
Since dating Andrew (Magic), we have explored so many different beers together. We frequent Founders, our favorite brewery, try different microbrews and imports, and I am now a huge fan of dark and thick beers like stouts and porters. Delicious. I also still love my fruity beers, and love a Belgian White or Celis Raspberry. I love exploring new beers, and seeing what is out there. Now that Magic has started brewing, I can't wait to try some of his! So much fun.
I love beer.
When I got my big-boy job I found that I was being sent around the globe and travelling business class most of the time. One of the perks of business class is the unlimited free alcohol! However, I still didn't like beer all that much at this time, so I started to experiment with wines. There would typically be about 4-6 wines per flight (3 whites, 3 reds) and I eventually found my taste for it. To this day I prefer dry wines to any other types, but my wife and I are branching out from this (with the help of Michigan wineries)...
Appreciation of beer is a much more recent event for me. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I really started to branch out and find good tasting beers. It started with my first trip to Ireland and while I didn't have a Guiness (I know, blasphemy) I did try a Smithwicks. I remember that it was the first beer that I liked and not just tolerated til drunkeness. In fact, I found that I would drink slower and less because I wanted to appreciate the beer rather than use it for a quick route to debaucheristic craziness. Much to my chagrin, Smithwicks wasn't being exported to the US in any great degree at that time so it took a couple years until I found it again.
But in recent years, my business trips have been more domestic and with that comes a great opportunity in trying more local brews. The problem is that most of the beers that I find are hard to come by when I get home, but I've found a few that I like. Also, Binny's (a large alcohol retailer near me) has a fantastic selection of non-standard beers available in fractional barrels and for the last 3 years, my wife and I would purchase a keg for our kegerator at the beginning of summer. This year's selection was Goose Island Summertime Ale...
I'm sure I'll be chiming in again next year around April/May to get some suggestions for the 2012 Kegerator Selection... Until that time!