I came to beer the easy way - Dad

I actually had to sit and think about it for a minute, and then I remembered!! My first beer I actually remember tasting was from my Dads cup at an "Anaheim Angels (Not California Angels)baseball game. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. I remembered I loved the taste, the texture, that smooth crisp taste. I don't remember what beer it was, probably Budweiser, I just remember that I liked it; and I wanted more of it.

As I grew older I didn't really didn't have another beer until I was about 12. After school my friend and I would go back to his Dads apartment in Fountain Valley, Ca. We would grab his Mickeys wide mouths that he bought for himself and we proceeded to get shit housed. I don't know what it is about being 12 and drinking Mickeys, but it felt soooo cool. Today, I realize that I don't like Mickeys very much at all. It could be because the few times that I went over to my friends house to drink, I would inevitably get drunk. My Mom would pick me up and like all good Mothers , would know that I was drunk. My mother would take me to get the Market Broiler, a fish restaurant (Bad Idea!!!!) or she would take me to get a chili burger. There were a few occasions that this would cause me to puke.
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In 1996 I joined the Marine Corps; this afforded me plenty of opportunities to experience beers from all of the world. It seems like Skye (the gentleman that I met at the Marine Corps Ball last week) I was fondly addicted to Petes wicked Ale. Man, that stuff was good. However on your low military pay in 1996 I would have to mostly settle for Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) and good ol' Budweiser, which I refer to as "Mudweiser". Because after you drink to much of that stuff, it gives you mud-butt.

Drinking beer overseas afforded me the ability to open my pallet to beers from different nations. Tasty beers like Tiger or SingHa - WOW!!! Now that's a beer; Tiger, not so much... Of course these far away locations always had the Heineken, the Bud and whatever else came from the US, but the cheap dropped off my radar overseas.

Now that I'm older, I find that I 'not' to drink the ordinary stuff. I will every once in a while, but I really try to stay away from it. I really like getting different beers from different places around the world, even just getting something from Stone Brewery out of Escondido, Ca. Stone is great because not only are they close, but they are a great local craft brewery. I am not fond of every beer they make, But I will definitely try what they have to offer. I like the fact that California and the west have so much to offer in the craft beer arena, not to mention all of the little local micro brews.

My brother-in-law Gregg will attest to this; you can make so many friends over a Pint. Gregg and I will try several different beers in one sitting and we're even going to start brewing together. He's actually a huge influence on my openness for trying new beers. So "cheers" to you G.

By no means am I a 'Beer Snob', but I know what I like and I enjoy a nice hoppy IPA (India Pale Ale) or a good Hef.

If anyone has anything to add I'm all ears. Tell me your stories, your beers that you like and what you don't like.
Me, Skye and the rest of the gang here at "Beer Fellows" look forward to pouring a tall one and telling some tales.