How did you get into craft beer?

How did you get into craft beer?

That’s a question people often ask. I guess I’ve been a proper “beer geek” for around 10 years, but I’ve been drinking good beer for far longer. I was never a CAMRA real ale type, nor did I jump on some pseudo “hipster” bandwagon.

Back into time – I grew up, like most other youngsters of my era drinking generic lager. A pint of Tennents was one of life’s great pleasures, or an ice cold 4 pack from the fridge. Around the same time imported brands such as Becks and Budweiser were becoming big, they were seen as “cool” brands even though the beer itself was utter pish, but 18 year old me hadn’t realised that yet.
I started to broaden my horizons, I’d still sink several Tennents down the pub with mates, but over the coming years other things begin to catch my attention. With the distraction of Stella Artois and the like, I’d start to try other imported beers such as Leffe or Hoegaarden. I’d be that awkward twat who was ordering the pint of some overpriced foreign pish when the rest of the group were getting the red T in.
And it didn’t stop there. I’d head to local supermarkets and bottle shops, scanning the shelves for anything new that I hadn’t tried. German lager? In the trolley. Wheat beer? In the trolley. One day in the big Safeway over the road, there was a beer called Delirium Tremens. It came in a bottle that looked like it was made of clay. It had psychedelic colours and pink elephants on the label. And it was over 8%! I had to try this Belgian witchcraft for myself. On first taste, I got the booziness right away. It reminded me of once of those horrible Tennents Super type things you’d drink as a teen-ager to get hammered quickly. On the second taste though, there was something different. As well as being extremely strong, there was a flavour profile to it that was actually quite nice. On hindsight, buying the strong pink elephant beer for a laugh actually turned out to be quite an awakening. I still drink Delirium beers to this day, they’re classic Belgian strongs.
I continued down this route for the next few years. Anything Belgian was of interest. Anything that said Trappist on the bottle was a buy on sight.
I’d buy beers from local brewers, but nobody was brewing the kind of stuff I liked, it was all more traditional, twiggy type stuff that had no interest for me.
Then one day things changed. Around 2008, a couple of local guys called themselves Brewdog and I’d frequently bump into them selling their beers off the back of a van. The Brewdog story is long and well known, so I’m not going to retell it here, but safe to say their beer made me take notice. Bold, American style hoppy beers that tasted nothing like anything I’d had before were being presented to me to sample. I tried Hardcore IPA, my very first DIPA and had a major wtf moment. It hit me the same way the Delirium had years before, there was no getting away from the fact that it was strong, but it tasted amazing. And those hop aromas! I got given something called Paradox, which again was a game changer. Imperial stout aged in whisky barrels. I had seen the future. Fast forward ten years and it’s still one of my favourite styles ever.
I kept buying their beers, core stuff from local bottle shops that they had managed to persuade to range, small batch stuff direct from the brewery. I did the whole shareholder thing and felt like I was part of something new and exciting.
In 2010 they opened their first bar in Aberdeen. This place was like a church of beer to me. Suddenly all these breweries from around the world that I had never even heard of were being consumed: 3 Floyds, Mikkeller, Lost Abbey, Stone. I was addicted. I’d feel genuine anticipation going to the bar wondering what was going to be available, what amazing beer was I to discover next. Exciting times.
The next few years were spent sourcing these amazing beers online, meeting people who shared my passion, some of who I call close friends today. It hasn’t been easy on the wallet, but it’s been fun. May the journey continue.

Cheers.