Discovering Craft Beer

How I Discovered Craft Beer

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By Matt Cicalese

April/May 2012 | The Variety Pack

Reader Matt Cicalese describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com

When it comes to trends, I tend to be very late to the game. I didn’t have a Myspace page until after it was the cool thing to have. I was rocking a Discman well into the iPod years. I still don’t have a smartphone (soon to change). But one thing that I like to think I caught onto earlier than most anyone I know personally is craft beer, circa 1996.

How I Discovered Craft Beer

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By Kevin Dragone

February/March 2012 | The Variety Pack

Reader Kevin Dragone describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com.

This is my story of how I found true love with a great set of cans. My friends, I’m talking about craft beer.

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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By Tyler Flynn

December/January 2011-12

Reader Tyler Flynn describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com.

One hot summer Friday afternoon in the late 1990s, while visiting my uncle in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, he asked me if I wanted to go to “the brewery” to meet some friends of his for pizza and happy hour. This brewery turned out to be the Brooklyn Brewery and I soon had my first encounter with craft brew, beginning a journey that would lead to some unforeseen places. Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)

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By John Doherty

August/September 2011

Reader John Doherty describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com.

About 11 years ago, a co-worker of mine, Bill, and I got into a conversation about beer. He asked me if I had ever visited what he described as a “bar in Philly that had all these beers.” I responded that I hadn’t. Up until that time I had tried all the beers that 99% of people were drinking. With rare exceptions, I did not think much of these beers, nor did I care about trying a few more. Two months later, Bill walked into my office and asked me if I checked that same place out. I told him, “No!” Bill walked closer to me as I was sitting at my desk, his eyes lit up and and he said, “You’ve got to go.” “OK,” I replied. I said to myself, “Let’s get this guy off my back and go.” I asked Bill the name of the establishment. He said, “MONK’S!” Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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By Derek Vizzi

June/July 2011

Reader Derek Vizzi describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com

Back in the day, Molson and Heineken were fancy, “imported” beers, and Bud Ice was acquired only for special occasions because of its lofty 5.5% ABV. But even back then, I was never satisfied with this yellow, fizzy ambrosia. To me, there was something that just didn’t seem right. Namely- everything. I soon discovered Yuengling. This was more like it: it had color, flavor, a name that some people didn’t know how to pronounce… I was finally able to distinguish myself from the naive pale-lager chugging masses. But soon, even the fine Yuengling just wasn’t cutting it. Beer was boring, it lost its appeal, and I decided to go on hiatus. Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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By Henry Podlaszewski

April/May 2011

Reader Henry Podlaszewski describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com.

My love of most things brewed and fermented was established through unconventional means for a 20-something, I suppose. Being the good Catholic boy that I always have been and one of few with their own car, I seldom, if ever, had so much of a drop of beer (the term “beer” being used loosely). Most of that was the overarching disgust I had for macro-brews of my peers. After attaining legal drinking age, I began to enjoy wine, which gave me the unique taste I was searching for over beer-flavored water. Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Scott Sherwood

February/March 2011

Reader Scott Sherwood, describes his discovery of craft beer. If you have an interesting story about discovering craft beer, send it to us at discovery@beerscenemag.com

Natty. Beast. Lionshead. Genny. High Life. Coors Light. Bud Heavy. These were the only beers that I knew. Young undergrads in college live by the same rules I did: these are the beers supplied to you; and you are happy in your ignorance. I went through a year and a half of college strictly abiding by those rules, until something magical happened. Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer

(5 votes, average: 3.80 out of 5)

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By Matt Scheller

December/January 2010-11

Matt Scheller of Fork & Barrel and Tap & Table describes his discovery of craft beer.

Beer? The million-dollar question can be cracked with a simple proper noun: Lehigh University. Yes, amidst the fury of shot-gunning, funneling, bar rallying, keg standing, morning cocktail-ing, golf pros and tennis hoes-ing, (studying?), and beer pong-ing the crisp, decisive flavors of our nation’s finest pilsners, I was able to purge forward, rise above, and evolve, unlike most of my fraternal colleagues. I had grown fond of the mystique I associated with the beer world. My knowledge came from reading various texts, most notably, Michael Jackson’s dense, yet portable, “Great Beer Guide.” My ignorance propelled me to be overwhelmed by the dizzying variety of bottle shapes, bottle colors, and labels. I would find myself routinely reading this and other books by Jackson. This is what released my adrenaline: reading about beer. I suppose, in retrospect, I was exceptionally dorky, but this became one of my hobbies. Read more…

How I Discovered Craft Beer: Erin Wallace

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Erin Wallace

October/November 2010 | The Variety Pack

Erin Wallace, owner of Old Eagle Tavern & Devil’s Den, describes her discovery of craft beer.

How did I get into craft beer? That’s a question that I am frequently asked. There was not a specific occurrence that sparked my interest in craft beer, but rather an important lesson that I learned, which was to not be afraid to try new things.

How I Discovered Craft Beer: Stephen Mashington

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Stephen Mashington

August/September 2010 | The Variety Pack

Stephen Mashington describes his first taste of craft beer.

It’s 9pm on a Thursday night at the Deer Park in Newark, DE. The year is 1998, The Vybe is about to go on stage and I know we are going to be packed. I am working the main bar from 11pm-1am and I will be hustling. I’ll be pulling double duty as barback and bartender. I am sitting in the back beer storage room with some of the other floor guys, smoking cigarettes, discussing world politics, conversing about women and other intellectual flavor that is prevalent for the occasion. I’m 10 weeks past my 21st birthday and someone hands me a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s getting warm in the building and I would certainly enjoy a cold beer. I ask, “What’s this? I’ve never heard of it before.”