Bob T. on "The Evolution of Drinking Beer"
Sipping on my glass of Springfield She Monster Mango IPA, I started to think back to my first beer I had.
Around junior year in high school, a couple of friends and I were hanging out at my buddyās house when his parents werenāt home. We were all downstairs in the basement playing 007 on Nintendo 64 when down walks my buddy with a six-pack of Coors Light in his hand. Apparently, his parents had some leftover beer from a party a few weeks back. We quickly put the game on pause, gathered around in a circle, twisted off the caps, and celebrated our very first beers.
Having not been accustomed to drinking beer, most of us thought it tasted like horse piss. But, being the āmenā we were, we quickly chugged it down and patted ourselves on the back for being rebellious and drinking a beer. At that fleeting moment in time, we felt like we were gods.
A few years later, in college, I started to go out a couple of nights a week with my friends to a few parties on campus. As Iām sure most are familiar with, these parties never really served anything of quality. It was mainly a way to socialize and get wasted. So, the beer typically served was Natty Ice (Natural Ice) with some of the higher end parties going above and beyond and serving Bud, Miller, or Coors. Those are the parties people really tried to get into. Looking back, I always get a chuckle at that. But, back then, I wasnāt familiar with anything other than Natty Ice (what I considered shit beer) and Bud, Miller, Coors (BMC - the high-end stuff).
I took a detour from college after my junior year and enlisted in the Marine Corps. It was during this four-year stint that I started to evolve a bit. While Coors Light was my staple beer at the time, a few friends introduced me to Yuengling. I credit this beer as my gateway beer to craft. After my first sip of Yuengling, I never looked at Coors the same. The BMC stuff seemed so watered down compared to Yuengling. From that point on, I made it a point to only drink Yuengling whenever possible. After my service, I went back to college to finish off my last year. I still went to a couple parties here and there but I always brought my own beer. There wasnāt a chance in hell I was going to drink crap beer when I had Yuengling readily accessible.
My eventual transition to actual craft beer came a few years later. A good friend of mine that I worked with was big into craft beer. Close to where we worked is a place called Farnsworth House which always has 22 different types of craft beer on tap. One day, after work, he decided to hold a happy hour with a group of friends at Farnsworth House. We showed up a bit early to grab a bite to eat. As we were waiting for our food, I decided to browse through the tap list in hopes of seeing my staple beer, Yuengling, on tap. Lo and behold, Yuengling was nowhere to be found. I started to get nervous because all the other beers were so unfamiliar. The list had 22 names with their styles and ABV listed next to each but I had no clue how to decipher it based off of style. I looked to my buddy for some help since he had already ordered a glass for himself. He had an IPA from a local brewery, Flying Fish, and offered me a sip. Having only been accustomed to American Adjunct Lagers up until that point, the bitterness of the hops threw me for a loop and I had a hard time swallowing it. At this point I was nervous because I figured all of the beers on the list must be the same. I scanned through the list and decided to pick one at random. My beer of choice? New Hollandās Dragons Milk. The bartender slowly poured the beer into a New Holland Snifter glass and slid it in front of me. After paying for the beer, I lifted the glass to my face to take a sniff. The smell of booze overwhelmed my senses but after a few seconds, some other fragrances came out that called for me to give it a try. So, down it went and damn it tasted so good. I quickly finished that beer off and began to order others of a similar style, Imperial Stout.
I will never forget that day. That was my introduction to craft beer. Sure, I still go back to having an occasional Yuengling if nothing else is available. But I always make it a point to seek out craft whenever and wherever itās available.
My journey within the craft beer world has just begun though. As has been the case throughout my experience with beer, my taste for beer has constantly evolved. It originally began with the BMC beers, slowly evolved to Yuengling and eventually developed a desire for craft beer. But, within the craft beer realm, I started out only liking porters and stouts. The bitterness of IPAs turned me off for quite some time. But, after having the opportunity to try The Alchemistās Heady Topper, my opinions of IPAs and DIPAs completely changed and now Iām a huge fan. And the progression will surely continue on. Iām still not a huge fan of sours and wild ales but New Glarus seems to be trying itās best to change my mind.
No matter who I talk to within the craft beer community, the evolutionary path through the world of beer seems to be similar. The only thing that changes is the types of beers that acted as the gateway into craft.
Myself and many others will continue to change our opinions on various styles over the years. Fortunately, I have Stout by my side to help guide me along the way. With its fine-tuned recommendation and prediction engine powering it, Stout has introduced me to beers I wouldnāt have given a second thought. In nearly every case, when I search for a beer I havenāt tried, Stout has accurately guessed what I will think of the beer. And, as it continues to be my beer companion through the years, it will continue to learn my preferences and palette, evolving alongside me.
Iām looking forward to what the craft beer world has in store for all of us. And Iām confident Iāll be able to navigate it with Stout by my side.
