My Love/Hate Journey with Craft Beer
“But, I don’t like IPA’s” I overheard someone tell the bartender after asking “what beer do you recommend?” as they look around the room hoping nobody heard them.
As a craft beer lover, I subscribe to a few beer blogs, scroll through reddit beer threads daily, and find myself at a brewery having a drink at least twice a week. So, I’ve heard it all it feels like.
Some people feel the need to be judgmental when someone doesn’t like a certain style of beer. But, not every beer is for every person… and honestly there’s nothing wrong with not liking IPA’s. Whether it’s the taste, aroma, presentation or ABV. There are so many different styles and variations of beer that you are bound to find something you enjoy, or dont enjoy. Right?
My journey with craft beer wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows. It took a while for my love of craft beer to develop. While I loved the vibe breweries and craft beer bars had to offer, I didn’t always like the craft beer. As a matter of fact, I used to hate beer all together.
I started out not liking beer at all. Literally, none. I absolutely hated the taste, smell, and all of the above. In college, I would dread the walk to the local hang out on thursday’s for $1 beer night. My friends would pound back 5 or 6 Miller Lite’s, or whatever the beer was that night. Not me, I was drinking $2 Redd’s Hard Apple Cider trying to pretend I was enjoying the beer like everyone else.
One day, a good friend of mine asked me to meet her at this new brewery that just opened for a drink. She knew I didn’t drink beer, so I was a little hesitant, but with a little peer pressure of course I said yes anyway. When I got there, I was immediately intimidated by how different and frankly how “cool” the crowd was. Cool people everywhere, drinking beer and playing games. It was so different from the typical college dive bar, $1 beer kinda place.
So, we sit at the bar, and are greeted by a bartender with some coasters. She was so sweet and welcoming, her demeanor took away any anxiety I had about being there. She proceeded to ask us what we would like to drink… My immediate response was to ask what ciders they had. I felt embarrassed at even the thought of asking. So, I told my friend to order while I still contemplated. When it came back to me, the bartender suggested I try a flight. Where I can choose three different styles of beer in small 5 oz glasses to sample. That sounded like a win to me. Three tiny glasses of beer I was bound to dislike. How hard could it be to drink 5oz worth of terrible beer? I told her I was sold and to choose for me, as I had no idea what any of these styles were at the time. When she handed me the flight, I was so intrigued by the presentation of it. A mini paddle holding three small glasses of beer with the name of the beer written in chalk next to each one. I thought to myself, how creative! This made the beer look more appetizing than it was.
The flight consisted of the non-beerest tasting beers they had, a sour, a milk stout and a wheat beer. None of which tasted like any beer I had ever tasted, and I was all for it! It’s like she knew exactly what I didn’t want. Come to find out, that is craft beer in a nutshell.
The first one I tried was the sour. It was not what I expected, it was way more sour than I thought it would be. I was really surprised to find out that people actually drank sours regularly. The second was the milk stout, which at the time was way better than the sour. It was creamy yet bitter, kind of like a melted dark chocolate bar with a hint of sugar and carbonation. Though, it took me forever to drink that 5oz. The thickness had me a little full, and I was concerned I wasn’t even going to even be able to try the last beer at this rate. Once I finished the stout, I moved on to the wheat beer. This was by far my least favorite of the three. For one, it tasted like beer, and the aftertaste of every sip had me feeling nauseous.
Even though I wasn’t sold on any of the beers that day, I didn’t hate them either. The whole experience for me was new, something different. I enjoyed every sip of that beer that day just for the simple fact that I was out of my comfort zone, trying something new and it felt good.
When I left the brewery that day, I made plans to come back the next weekend. After that, I was hooked! I realized there were a ton more breweries in and around where I lived. I made plans to visit them all over time. I eventually stopped ordering flights after finally honing in on the styles I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed experimenting with the seasonal flavors, and I realized I am a sucker for a nitro beer.
But, through the years I have had my fair share of bad craft beer as well. And yes i’ll say it, I am one of those people who don’t generally drink IPA’s. Not saying I haven’t had a few tasty ones, but usually the IPA’s I end up liking are the ones IPA drinkers don’t like. Too fruity or juicy, but to each his own. That’s what’s great about craft beer.
Looking back, craft beer has brought me on an amazing journey. Being a craft beer enthusiast, I’ve met some great friends, and it has provided me with a career that I enjoy (not a lot of people can say that). I am still enjoying more and more styles over time as the industry changes. So I guess you can say, my craft beer journey is continuous.
My advice to anyone out there struggling to like craft beer, or is hesitant to give it a try like I was. I say have fun with it and be daring. Continue to try new styles of beer with the goal of expanding what you like and enjoy the experience.
