What was your "gateway beer?"

July 2, 2017

I think anyone that is into craft beer can think back to one beer that made it all click. That beer that made you realize that beer is more than corn filled pilsners? We share our "gateway beers" that started it all. Please feel free to share your gateway beers in the comments!

Here is a pull from a podcast recording we did on this subject but never aired it. You will hear some stock music in there that I didn't feel like taking out but we still love this recording. Recorded in February 2017.

Otto - Dead Guy for this guy

It was just before my buddy Josh (before he was head brewer at Hidden Springs Ale Works) started home brewing. He introduced me to this beer he was wanting to do a copy cat recipe for, Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

It was like nothing else I've ever had before.

You have to think back to this time, about 2010/2011 - you couldn't really find craft beer in many stores, only really Whole Foods or Fresh Market.
With some hesitation I tried it.
It was like nothing else I've ever had before. I was drinking Newcastle and Bud Light and Bud Heavy at that time and this flavor was so different - so rich and robust. Clearly I needed to explore the world of craft beer more and Rogue Dead Guy showed me that.

Erin - The Pale Ale found its way to my mouth

Back in 2004, Publix (a grocer chain) started selling verity packs of Sam Adams that had 4 or 6 different styles of beer in them. There wasn't a whole lot of craft beer out there at the time.  I had had the Boston Lager, of course but didn't really like it too too much. However, when I tried the Winter Lager in that variety pack, it helped me realize that there are more flavors of beer out there, which was exciting.
But that was just the beer that awakened me, the beer that converted me found me through a night of drinking in Ybor City.

I was hooked.

A few years later after finding the Winter Ale, I was going through a heavy liquor stage in my 20s and kinda gravitated toward that more and more, beer was not something I craved. But one night for whatever reason I was going to drink beer and remembered that Winter Lager and decided to experiment a bit. Bone Yard, a bar I frequented, started offering Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was bold and in your face, and ahead of its time really. This was the gateway beer for me. I was hooked.