After my daughter went to bed for the night, I pulled out the Bastard and popped it open, and I was immediately scared. I had never smelled anything like that before, and the taste absolutely blew me away. As I was reading the bottle, I noticed they had a website, so I pulled it up on the computer. Looking through the beers, I immediately was drawn to their Imperial Russian Stout, so I looked for it online. It was August or September, so they were already sold out for the year, but I found a store (Kahn’s in Indy) that had Old Guardian in stock. I went to Kahn’s the next day and grabbed Old Guardian, their 12th Anniversary, and Oak Aged Yeti. After that, the hook was firmly set.

I’ve had over 300 different beers in 11 months, and I average 7-10 beers a week, so it’s always something new. I went from a hard-core guzzler of mediocrity, to a mostly non-drinker, to a full-fledged beer nerd, and I’ll never look back.

But since I hadn’t drunk alcohol as a teen, I decided to take up coffee, so that by the time I was 15 or so I was drinking it black.

So having had big red wines, and having drunk black coffee, when I had my first beer I decided to have a Guiness. I have to admit that I have never once had a light beer of any kind. So I was born into the light, having never been a child of darkness. Except the darkness of a good thick stout!

Praise him!

Every time you respond it’s like reading a beer gospel story. I think it’s a lovely tale to tell.

Thanks for writing in and talking about this. I’m always gratified when I have an impact on someone. My enthusiasm for the subject has always propelled me to share with others. I’m glad to have met you and peaked more interest where it was already growing.

Second beer… a dorm-sponsored, off-campus “ice cream social.” Bud Light was the offering. Ok, it was a step up. I followed this modus operandi for a little while, until Jack and I acquired the favors of an older friend to buy us some brew. We walked into Albertson’s beer aisle, and to my astonishment, there was a multitude of malted barley beverages dosed with varying levels of hops. The various labels on display presented a glimpse of heaven. Oh, the colors! Oh, the flavors! Oh, the FLAVORS! From this point forward, I was hooked, albeit still a neophyte.

Each subsequent trip involved a purchase of a yet untasted beer. The sky was the limit! I began to find my niche in the German ales and lagers available. I became an expert on hefeweizen. I dappled in dopplebocks. I reveled in dunkel weizen. I marveled at the weizenbock. Indeed, German biers had reclaimed a long, lost son.

My emphasis on the German offerings, of course, was not to the exclusion of Belgian, Czech, English, Irish, and Scottish offerings. (I even tried to go Italian, but left with the impression that they ought to stick to wine.) I found that Guinness, while the ubiquitous stout, was over-rated in my opinion. I thought, why limit yourself to Irish dry stout? What about milk stout? What about chocolate stout? Oatmeal stout? Imperial stout. Russian Imperial Stout!

I don’t recall when my emphasis on imports began to make room for American craft brews. It just sort of happened. Now that I live in the northwest, American offerings (specifically NW brews) are typically the choice du jour. While I’ve been living up here, the hop has become an even better friend of mine. IPA anyone?

Beer. It does a body good.