Sierra Nevada Kellerweis - i had in Sydney, Australia and it started my beer journey. Because I looked on the menu and saw there was a Hefeweizen from Germany. I was a big Hefeweizen fan at this time and all I knew about American beers was that they are shit (still many Germans believe this) but this openend up my mind and since then I didnt stop exploring.
Hogs Back T.E.A. as it as the first non-macro I started to see regularly.
Then the likes of Hoegaarden and Erdinger Hefe which made me realise there was more to beer than bitters and lager.
It was the going to a Craft Beer Co that really opened my eyes and my wife giving me the Protz 300 book that activated the trainspotter genes Iāve inherited from my Dad. Non-league football, gigs and horror films soon got put on the back burner.
Chimay White was another one that opened my palate.
Probably I should answer the first beer that opened my eyes about the greatness of the beer world, and that beer was the Westmalle Dubbel. I still drink it with a particular pleasure, probably because of this
Then another beer that opened my eyes about another amazing world, the sour beers: Rodenbach Grand Cru.
And the beer that made me understand that there are also some very nice bottom fermentation beers: Ayinger Jahrhundert.
Iām also particularly āin loveā with Rochefort 10, St. Bernardus Abt 12, Achel Blonde, Orval and Pannepot, when I find them I use to re-buy every time.
For me it has to be Judas, back in the day when any good beers were hard to come by in SE Spain, for some odd reason this one managed to find its place in quite a number of bars. A percussionist whose ex-girlfriend was very into beer convinced us all to order one of these. All other beers I had tried until then (pale lagers) suddenly paled in comparison.
I then looked the beer up online and was OUTRAGED at the mediocre scoresā¦ which led me to try some Tripels and other Belgian strong ales, and then I realised what beer was.
Guinness, Heineken, Budweiser and Smithwickās was the extent of my beer range until around a decade ago. I preferred whiskey, beer was really for summertime outdoor outings, Saint Patrickās Day,and when there wasnāt anything available.
Then one year (about a decade ago), my brother brought home a Goose Island Bourbon County. This was right up my alley, being a fan of whiskey, and this stout was outstanding. I looked forward to the following year release, and at that point I began exploring other beers, getting really into the craft scene in early 2015 when I began rating beers here and Beer Advocate. The rest is history, I now try to go to a brewery 1-2 a week, and have a decent amount of stouts on hand (and fresh pours) to keep letting the good times roll.
Cheers!
Early age: Tou Bayer, JuleĆøl (strong version) and Export - none of them exist any more.
A bit later: Whitbread Bitter and Bass (both on cask in England) - and Guinness (both nitro and regular).
Later: Oakham JHB (cask) and Orkney Dark Island (cask). Cantillon Gueuze. Westmalle Tripel. Chimay Bleu.
Even later: NĆøgne Ć #100. Orkney Dark Island Reserve.
Late 90s. Killians Irish Red was an early gateway beer. Mississippi Mud. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Sam Smiths Nut Brown. Saranac mixed 12 packs, Black and Tan, Black Forest. Stoudts 750ml bottles, at that time 2.99-4.99. Lindemans.
Mine was the plain Mousel, since it was the first beer I ever emptied a whole glass of, back in the early 90s.
Maybe one reason why I still like pils and lagers to this day.
Unfortunately this beer isnāt available anymore. Now I drink mainly Simon Pils, another local beer.
When it comes to tripels, the style I chose as my favourite on Ratebeer, itās clearly the one by Westmalle.
Do you remember when Killians was an Ale?
Yeahā¦it is a lager now? I donāt see it around in any form. I also remember Killians Honey Ale. Killians Brown was a few years before my time.
Iām referring to the one brewed by Coors. They switched over from Ale to Lager many years ago. I loved the Ale so imagine my surprise when I bought a 6pack and popped the cap on the first bottle. All watery and lacking the flavours that I was used to.
Do they still brew Henri Funck?
Itās nowhere to be found. No wonder the original Funck brewery was shut down before the Mousel brewery was.
Closed many years ago, however I seem to remember seeing the name being used by another brewery in Luxembourg once. Most likely whoever bought them out and closed the brewery down, Simon, Bofferding or Mousel-Diekirch.
I actually used to like the Henri Funck Pils.
<*))))))><
Henri Funck got bought by Mousel, then Mousel by Diekirch and finally Diekirch by Interbrew which became later AB InBev.
2005 it was Mackeson XXX
But I have to say the whole Saranac thing prior to that set me off. I was into finding the alternative dark beers in the 1970ās.