The Gateway to Craft Beer
It is commonplace for us to discover the “big guys” before we discover “craft.” It’s all too easy, right? It’s what’s “affordable,” it’s what people know. The first choices are often what we are led to believe are the safest choices.
Nevertheless, the most interesting part of a story begins when someone decides to step out of their boundaries and try something different.
I’d like to explore the beers that changed your mind about what beer should be. For most craft beer drinkers, we started more or less in the same place – with sub-par product. Many were fortunate to have a “Beer Buddy” who introduced us to the finer side of things – one we could liken to a chef teaching us about intricate differences between two similar dishes.
I was lucky to have a brother who was ahead of the game, and was fortunate enough to introduce me to the next tier of product. The beer he passed on was a Magic Hat #9, which after much discussion with craft beer aficionados, is a pretty common “transitional beer” to the craft beer world.
In a nutshell, I was shocked by the stark contrast in flavor. After a wellspring of watered-down cheap yellow beers, I was amazed to find such an accessible, affordable beer with such a huge deviation in taste.
Magic Hat #9 then led me to their other varieties, such as Blind Faith. IPAs? Sure, I’ll explore IPAs! This other brewery has a hefeweizen. “What the hell is a hefeweizen? Guess I’d better try it!” It was a snowball of beer discovery.
So I suppose the point is, one beer can change it all. What was it for you? Write to us at info@philly.thedrinknation.com with the subject "Craft Beer" and tell us all about the craft beer that changed your opinion of what a good beer should be.
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