Eye Openers

[stakka82]

The recent thread about Octoberfest beers at Aldi make me think of the first time I had Paulaner Octoberfest. It was one of those moments in the beer journey where you think to yourself, wow, I didn't know a beer could taste like that... You love it right off the bat and discover a style unknown to you at the same time.

There are a few beers that come to mind which have done this for me over the last 5 or 10 years:

Paulaner Octoberfest - Got one of those 1l cans in a stein as a christmas present. When I opened it I didn't know what an octoberfest/marzen was and never knew a lager could be so flavoursome and be malty like that. Loved it!

Chimay Red - When I started doing all extract beers I went through a phase of doing a few red ales. I'd never tried a commercial example and I was out in the city one night and saw the red label in the bar's fridge. Thought it might be a red ale so ordered it. It was a typically shitty and cold Melbourne winter night. Just got in from the rain, and the complexity of flavour and alcohol warmth was amazing. Started me on belgian beers.

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale/Draft - A fresh bottle bought on a whim in the middle of summer. Insane aroma, crazy passion fruit. Years later I'm still trying to cram that much aroma into my american ales.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo - I had never had an IPA I liked before this one. It might have just been my palette wasn't ready, the ones I had attempted to brew were shit, or I hadn't had a fresh example... or all 3. Either way when I had this I finally understood what the IPA fuss was all about.

Weihenstephaner Vitus - Didn't even know weizenbock was a style when I had one of these. Loved it.

What's been a revelation along your beer journey?

 

[manticle]

Duvel and delerium tremens when I was 18 yr old kitchenhand in the early 90s. Beer till then was VB and I generally thought it was horrid.

Schneider aventinus weizeneisbock long before I started brewing or knew anything about the process.

Cidre d'anneville (breton cider, not beer). Blue cheese, wine cellar and floury apples all combined in the lap of a pretty french farm girl called Collette.

Rodenbach grand cru. Like sweet balsamic vinegar with layers of complexity. Tail end of a boozy evening but still loved every mouthful.

Rochefort 10 the second time I had it. First time I found it a bit rich/full on but now I could drink it by the litre.

Young's special london ale at beer deluxe about 5 or 6 years ago. Loved the hoppy citrus character, immediately wanted to brew one.

 

[Liam_snorkel]

JS Golden Ale, back when there was a substantial whiff of amarillo when you crack open the lid. That beer got me interested in... beer.

Prior to that, I thought all beer was fizzy yellow liquid to be fed through a beer bong.

 

[Mardoo]

Orval. First beer that I didn't want to pour down the sink. Opened my eyes. Complex!

First beer in a brewpub in Portland Oregon in 1993. It wasn't the beer so much as realizing that this beer. Was brewed. Right here. Right. Here. Another eye opener.

Last beer in a brewpub in Portland Oregon. I realized I finally understood what a pub could be.

 

[Bribie G]

In 1972 I lived in Cardiff UK - I didn't really like beer but of course you had to appear to like the stuff, so I would drink keg beers such as Worthington E or Watneys Red Barrel because they were cool, fizzy and inoffensive. I thought Brains real ales (the word Real Ale hadn't been invented yet) were disgusting flat warm bitter slop.

Ist Wife and I drove over to Oxford to a wedding and on the way home the next day we stopped off for a drink at a little half timbered pub serving Wadworths beer. No M4 Motorway in those days so you passed through a few villages.

I got a pint of Wadworths 6x from the hand pump and sipped.



And yes I did have long hair and a beard back then, as we did.

 

[Tilt]

La Chouffe - perfumy, spicy, complex, crisp sweet and luscious all at the same time - the first Belgian I fell for.
Rodenbach Grand Cru +1 - beautiful layers of sweet, earthy and acidity all wrapped together
Pils Urquell - by the litre to rehydrate after half a summer morning's cycling from campground to café in the Czech republic. Pillows of maltiness and cut hay served by gorgeous Czech barmaids - So that's what a good lager tastes like.
Coopers Stout - to wash down half a stick of Linkes mettwurst on sourdough from Adelaide central market. An early student days beer luxury. I've been searching for an equivalent roast malt epiphany ever since. The closest I've come is a Three Boys oyster stout - but nothings the same as the first time...

 

[mwd]

Ballast Point Bigeye IPA also SN Torpedo I just love those West Coast IPAs. Can't visit Dan's without grabbing some Bigeye.

 

[mje1980]

Been plenty of them over the years. The latest would have to be trois monts and jenlain Or.

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Schneider Aventinus really opened my eyes to what a wheat beer could be. Love the stuff.

BrewDog Hardcore IPA. Awesome beer.

Rodenbach Grand Cru. Love at first sip. First sour beer too.

 

[adryargument]

Running through a few styles here, best of each:

1987 Kriek - Elysian Brewery @ Kulminatorm, Antwerp - Amazing quality for such an old beer that was found years later in left over barrels after the brewery closed in 1991/1992??

Saison IV (Dryhopped in the keg) - Brasserie de Jandrain @ Moeder Lambic, Brussels - Holy ****.. Best beer i have ever had. It smelt like pure fresh barley and wheat that were coated in the essence of rainbows that were plucked out of a unicorns ass.

Invarcargill Red Hot Chilli Stout @ The local taphouse, Sydney - Such a well balanced beer that the chilli hits the spot without ever becoming *to much*. Like a hot green curry, keeps you on your toes without pushing the limits.

Crosendork Pater Double @ Pongu, Estonia - Such a well balanced double loaded with vanilla with a creamy texture

Leave it with those four. To many IPA's that they all taste like pine needles now. :lol: :lol:

 

[pk.sax]

Aventinus

Prickly Moses' saison

LC Rogers

Hargreaves hill ESB

S&W pacific ale

Schneider Weiss

But the best ever, was a halb mass of helles. I don't remember what brewery, I would barely be able to point the pub out. But after a desert of piss to cross, I was back in love with beer.

 

[Dave70]

Golden Wheat beer from the long gone Pumphouse at Darling Harbor. I was an apprentice working on Dixon St (China town) and I can remember dashing down for a couple of pints from those long sexy glasses.
At first i was like, 'wheat? how the **** do you make beer from that?'. I was still just another VB ignoramus in those days.

Coopers stout.

Gauge Roads IPA, the original one, not sleeping giant.

Squires beers when they actually gave a ****. In particular, the Four Wives when it was brimming with saaz. The first beer that opened my eyes to hops.

Pilsner Urquell I drank whilst in Czech pretty much kicked off my (re-kindled) interest in homebrewing. 'Fully imported' when used to describe delicate Euro larger is more a warning than a boast in my book.

 

[eungaibitter1]

I stopped smoking cigarettes and my taste buds came back. Started to really taste the rot I'd been pouring down. Attended my grandfather's 90th birthday and drank his homebrew stout.

 

[WarmBeer]

Soooo many NSFW comments could be added to this thread title, but I will restrain myself.

For me, it was the ol' school JS Golden Ale, back when they used real hops in it. Mmmmm, Amarillo.

That, and Rochefort 10. Will probably always be my PBB (Personal Best Beer).

 

[lukiferj]

Pretty boring for me.

First time I tried Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, then Torpedo.
Pliny the Elder
Stone Ruination Ale

Starting to see a theme here...

 

[Dave70]

Starting to see a theme here...

Yeah, me to.

Woah...wrong slide..

 

[user 26576]

This thread is well timed for me. My "eye opener" was Alpha Pale Ale, brewed by Brad Rogers at Masthead Brewery at Sanctuary Cove circa 2003. Hop flavour and aroma, bitterness, and balanced malt profile opened my eyes to beer. Before Alpha (and Beez Neez, which was beautiful) I was drinking megaswill lagers (Carlton Cold, TEDs, Tooheys New, etc.) and not really enjoying them. I was just drinking beer because everyone else was, but never enjoying it. Then Alpha came along, and I've been chasing hops and bitterness balanced with complex malt profiles ever since!

I say this is well timed, because I have just today put down my first all grain brew, and the recipe is an Alpha Pale Ale clone (pale malt, crystal malt, cascade and amarillo hops to 5.2% abv and 55 IBU, although it was only 35 IBU when I first tried it, according to Scott Vincent in an interview on Australian Brews News). I am seriously over the moon already (I haven't pitched the yeast yet, still waiting for it to cool to pitch temp) as I hit my target OG of 1.050! I could only have done that because of all the information I have read on this forum, and the help of Ross and his team at Craftbrewer (Bacchus) who have always answered all my silly questions without making me feel like the n00b that I am. I also bought my second hand 3V system from this forum, which after a good clean and a water-only "dry" run, performed the job admirably.

Now I chase IPAs (Bridge Road Bling IPA), 2IPAs (Hopinator or Murray's Icon), BIPAs (Bacchus Obama and Mountain Goat seasonal releases), and big stouts (Coopers Best Extra still my favourite). I quite enjoy Wheat beers and Saisons now, but you can keep your sour beers! Any beer that has great balance and matches the food or mood at the time, has my appreciation.

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale (another great Brad Rogers beer) was also an eye opener for me, not only because of the "slap your face" hit of refreshing Galaxy hops, but the luscious malt profile that balances it so well. The cloudy yeastiness complements both to make a truly well-balanced brew. I'm so glad I live so close to Byron that it is on tap in every pub that I visit!

 

[yum beer]

Budvar, my feet still do a little dance with the first sip from a fresh bottle.....I can't get my hands on it very often so its special.

Sam Smith's India Ale, that shit is ******* good....

Home brewed chocolate porter....oh yeah.....you can't buy that shit...well you can but it ain't nowhere near as good. Chocolate in a beer, who'd av thunk it.

 

[Logman]

Coopers Sparkling Ale when it started popping up in Sydney (around 1983 I guess ?) - first time I realized everyone didn't drink Tooheys. Can't say I 'loved it right off the bat' but I always had a few when I went to the pubs in Surrey Hills that had it. I think I liked the higher abv, not for getting pissed, just the feel of stronger beer with fuller body.