Beer A Day - Topic: First Good Beer

corbinsa on First Good Beer

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:18:56 +0000

don't know what my first "good" beer was, or even my first microbrew, but i would wager i didn't get into anything too sexy until at least a couple years after college. The good stuff in college for me was bud light. i'd have the occasional non-lager, and enjoyed them, but I didn't get into anything out there until my buddy Bean turned me on to his homebrews. Now, i search out anything obscure on tap. Cheap domestics still have their place on a hot day mowing the yard though!

John D on First Good Beer

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:52:21 +0000

I didn't drink poorly in college, but we played with the hand we were dealt. I too frequented the upland, but was more likely to be found at the Video Saloon. It was closer and cheaper. I still have a taste for Miller High Life on tap when confronted with a choice of mass-produced beers. I had a PBR phase too, but I'm past that.

The deciding factor was in 2004 when I moved to a different part of Portland, just down the street from a super-micro Amnesia Brewing. (Pic from Dieselboi's photostream)

Their Desolation and Copacetic IPA's are always tasty, the staff is awesome, especially Adrian.They've almost all worked there since the place opened five years ago, that says a lot about a place. I don't make it there a lot anymore, the neighborhood has changed and Amnesia is full of douchebags more often than not. The whole neighborhood draws in the “Bridge and Tunnel” crowd because its so “Bohemian” and “Funky.” I still sneak in for a lunch-time pint every now and then. They really opened my eyes to good beer.

Not too much later I met the other half, who was also beer-curious. Since then we've been on Brew-cations, making sure to hit new breweries everywhere we happen to travel.

Andy Murphy on First Good Beer

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:19:54 +0000

Was it the ShoreLine? I've never been there, just googled to try and find out the name... I have plenty of Chicago area readers who might check out the ShoreLine on your recommendation.

I think I'm one of the only craft beer lovers who enjoys cheap, mass-marketed beer. True, I'm not a big fan of lagers -- but when I'm in the mood for one, few people do that better and more consistently than the big boys.

Nothing wrong with skipping the "frat party" brews. They give beer a bad name. There's a world of difference between Keystone Light and Rolling Rock, but neither of them have a richness or complexity on par with ales you'll find in any given local brew pub.

Besides, ales complement food better than lagers, in my opinion.

scottfoto on First Good Beer

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:48:06 +0000

I didn't grow up drinking, so I never got used to the Bud Lights, the Keystone Lights, and the other low grade domestics that everyone else seems to drink constantly. I started drinking in pubs and local breweries on business trips with clients. I'd say I was a little spoiled. I can't tell you what the first beer “good” beer I had was, but I know it was in a little microbrewery in Michigan City, Indiana.

I still would rather have water over drinking a cheap domestic.

Andy Murphy on First Good Beer

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:00:52 +0000

The first beer that really got me thinking about what I was drinking was Dogfish Head's Raison D'Etre. I think that's saying a lot, since I spent several of my college years living next to a brewpub (The Upland in Bloomington, IN). That's not to knock the Upland, whose beers I still love dearly. Rather, I guess I just took those great beers for granted.

So while I can attribute my love of porters to the Upland's Bad Elmer's Porter, I have to thank Dogfish Head for pushing me over the edge by challenging my assumptions about beer. Which in turn made me appreciate microbrews like the Upland even more.

What was your first "good" beer -- and did it create a paradigm shift, change the type of beer you drank, or maybe even a new tradition with friends?