Drinking in Boston: Beer Epiphanies

When was your first time? And where? We all have a story. When was the first time you sipped a beer, held the glass up to the light reverentially, and said, “I kind of like this stuff”? Drinking in Boston’s survey of beer lovers last week also included this question: What changed your beer-drinking life? And then, what beer are you drinking now? For several of the surveyed, the change from decent beer to amazing beer was something of an epiphany. This Bostonist, for example, had a bottle of Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde in Canada and never looked back. Another beer lover announced Cambridge Brewing Company’s Charles River Porter as his life-changing beer, and continues to stick with it: “I’ve never enjoyed a better American porter than the CBC’s, ever.” Favorite beer now? Baby Tree from Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project . “If my fridge was full of that beer and nothing else until March that would be fine by me.” There were a number of people who had epiphanies when they simply stepped out of their beer comfort (or discomfort) zone. After a college career of choking down Natty Ice at parties, one beer drinker experienced a Blue Moon . “After dubiously inserting large slices [of orange] into my bottle, I drank it, and for the first time in my life, I thought, ‘this beer tastes good!’” Now his palate can handle “Anything being served in a beer hall in Munich.” More epiphanies after the jump! Photo courtesy

charlietphoto on Flickr using Creative Commons License. For others the change from not thinking about beer to loving the good stuff was more of an experience than a sudden realization. Again, college life ruins some people on beer, but not for life! One surveyed eased into the beer-drinking life with Bud Light, and “it wasn’t really until I moved to Boston and started going to places like The Publick House and Sunset Grill and Tap , where I was forced to think about what kind of beers I liked.” Nowadays she enjoys Lagunitas IPA and Rogue Chocolate Stout. Lastly, the backwards transformation. At one point in their young lives, a group of men tried Alpha King, a pale ale from Three Floyds Brewing Company . They spat it out in disgust. Five years later, trying the beer for posterity and no doubt in a test of masculinity of some sort, they downed the Alpha King again. And this time it was good: “hoppy, citrusy, delicious. The King had conquered.” Over the years their palates had changed. “The beer didn’t change our lives. Our lives changed the beer.” Stone Levitation Ale is the preferred beer of choice for this beer lover who can no longer access The King. The road to your own favorite beer may not be paved in Dortmunder Gold , and it may have a dubious start in Natty Ice kegs, but everyone finds their way.

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Drinking in Boston: Beer Epiphanies