I've had beer before. I like beer. I've been drinking beer probably since a young age when my father and his friends would give me a sip of their Michelob while they played poker at our house when I was young. I graduated to drinking Budweiser and cheap beer like Schaefer's in college. I was never a beer snob of any sort.
When I lived in California I would sometimes have Anchor Steam and when I moved back to Michigan it would be Bells. But those were rare moments. Normally it was the easy picks like Coors or Labatts or Molson Golden. Mainly I was a liquor guy and beer was just a distraction in public. Even moving to Texas I adopted Shiner but I wasn't very knowledgable about the product other than I liked the Bock.
I spent 2013 learning and sampling whiskey and 2014 learning and sampling vodka. Those years taught me lots about what I liked and didn't like in those liquors and gave me more of a palate to discern the differences. So 2015 it seemed time to do the same to beer. So I started a journey that I thought would be 200 beers. That goal came and wend and I'm looking to drink 500 different beers before the end of the year.
Methodology. I'm only counting bottles or cans I have at home. That way I slow down and really look at the product and take my time to read up on each beer. I still drink at the bars and restaurants but I'm using those venues as a way to sample product I might want to purchase or revisit beers that I really like. On June 30th I reached the halfway point and here are a few observations.
I've come a long way since that Shiner - Cheer on January 1st. I feel like such a beer novice looking back on the first few weeks. I was all over the board without any idea what I was drinking. I'm looking over a list and these are some unofficial stats.
Beers By Style
1. IPA
2. Pale Ale
3. Wheat
4. Amber Ale
5. Lager
I think this is influenced by the sheer numbers of different IPA's out there now. It's definitely a beer style of the day. And six months ago I wouldn't have necessarily known the difference between one style or another. But now I can smell and taste and most likely tell you the kind of beer I'm drinking.
That said, what really excites me is the hybrids that are happening out there. Not content to just make an IPA - there are brewers pushing the envelope and mixing different types and creating beers like the red or black IPAs that have really interested me.
Beers By Brewery
1. Ballast Point
2. Rahr
3. Samuel Adams
4. New Belgium
5. Green Flash
This is hard because some great breweries just don't have many beers. But what I've found is that once you find a brewery you like, it's usually a good idea to trust their other beers. The list is initially heavy on beers from Texas and California. Part of it is the availability of the beers in this area but also the two states are home to some great beers. As a region, there are some great beers to come from the Midwest and Northeast. Michigan and Wisconsin and Vermont have become areas of the country I've come to trust.
Let's get down to it. Here's a ranking of my Top Ten Beers out of the first half.
10. Kona Brewery - Big Wave Golden Ale
9. Sierra Nevada - 2015 Beer Camp
8. Magic Hat - #9 Pale Ale
7. Breckenridge - OPhelia Hoppy Wheat
6. Dogfish Head - Aprihop
5. Founders - All Day IPA. I had this one back on January 13th. This Michigan IPA was the first time I really discovered that I loved IPAs. It had a light fruity taste that I didn't expect from an IPA. And I discovered that this Grand Rapids, Michigan brewery makes some incredible beers.
4. Green Flash - Soul Style IPA. On April 20th I discovered this favorite from San Diego, California. There's a citrus taste to this that takes much of the hoppy taste off. I could see this being "my beer" for a long time.
3. Revolver - Blood & Honey. I had this beer for the first time last Summer. It was a favorite but I feel like I'm only learning why I like different beers. I made sure this was one of my first - January 2, 2015. This wheat ale from Granbury, Texas has great color and flavor. I wouldn't have even known before that it was a wheat. The beer smells wonderful and the blood orange just smooths out the taste.
2. Community - Mosaic IPA. Dallas, Texas represents. Why did I even wait until May 25th to have this? Smooth taste, great color. It's not a beer to hide the hops. There's a bitterness that I've learned to love. I wouldn't have liked this beer six months ago. But here's how I've changed - my tastes have evolved to love a little bit of bitter hops. This is a perfect combination and one I'll have for a long time.
1. Ballast Point - Grapefruit Sculpin. I'm not alone in loving this beer. In fact, almost every beer drinking that I've met has found that they love this beer. It's one of those "I don't like IPAs but . . . " beers. Mostly it's the perfect blend of the grapefruit with the IPA. This isn't a fruit beer - the citrus just takes the edge off the bitterness. This is a beer that will sneak up on you but one that you can drink all day too.
There are still a few that I've had and love but haven't made the list because I haven't had them at home yet. Leading the list of favorites are the Green Flash / Peticolas Collaboration IPA and Bell's Oberon. I'm learning more with each beer I've tried. And the best part is being able to talk beer intelligently with people. I've found so many more people who love their beer than when I was doing whiskey. Keep your recommendations coming - I write them all down and I've found some awesome beers through it. I can't wait to see what #215-500 bring.
Shawn
