I don’t know what happened first…
Was I a foodie that became a beverage enthusiast, or was I already experimenting with beverages before I became an official foodie? Maybe it all happened at the same time, simultaneously? Did I know when I was ordering that first beer that wasn’t a Bud, Coors or Miller ‘Lite’ that I was embarking on a journey that would change my life?
The truth is, I think I have always been a bit of a foodie, as most foodies will admit, it started with just an interest in trying different food, or ordering the ‘chef’s special’ because it wasn’t always on the menu. My taste has evolved with age and experience and along with that comes less hesitation to try new things, in fact, most foodies will seek out new items to add to their bucket list.
In all fairness, the title of this blog may be “Beverage” Evolution, but my true passion is Craft Beer. As I write this blog, I have tried (and documented) over 1200 different beers, some are mainstream, or Macro Brewery beer as some say, others are Imports, but a vast, vast majority are Craft, crafted and brewed by small regional breweries.
I apologize for the timeline of this blog, I will be bouncing all over the place with regards to dates but please forgive me, and try to keep up… In the late fall of 2014 I was looking through my phone to show a friend a photo I had taken and at that point I realized, “I have a lot of beer pictures”… I did eventually find the picture I was looking for…but when I got home, later that night, I looked again and decided to count just how many individual (different) beer pictures I had taken. Going back to April 28, 2012 I had counted just over 325, that was when I thought, “I should see if I can get to 400” and that’s where this journey started…
-The first beer picture on my phone – April 28, 2012 – Me holding a BASS (The World’s First Pale Ale) –
And so it begins…
Although I say the adventure began the day I started counting the beer pictures on my phone, there were many factors that contributed to the start of this “hobby”. There are many memories that I have which I have to say were signs that this would be my path. So here is where the timeline gets fun, we are going back in time even further…
I’ll set the stage with what I believe to be a fair statement, which is the fact that although many, many breweries have been brewing Craft Beer for decades (and I would never try to take that away from them, as they are the pioneers), the “Craft Beer Revolution” just began to explode in the last 5 years.
My first experience that comes to mind with a beer outside of the usual mainstream and for which I contribute to my attraction to new beer was a beer from a small brewery, Windward & Leeward Brewing Limited in Saint Lucia called “Piton”. Named after the Piton Mountains near Soufriere, Saint Lucia. The day was HOT and the Beer was COLD (and really cheap…) so that may have contributed to my decision to try it as well as how much I enjoyed it. The Irony is, Piton is a Pilsner, and if you ask me which “style” of beer is my least favourite, I will always answer, Pilsner, in fact, I have been heard saying that if I have to have a Pilsner, I will just have water (sorry Pilsner Lovers). It’s to the point where I can say, I really don’t care for Pilsners.
-Piton Beer with the Mountains they are named after in the background. My first Piton was on April 12, 2008.
When I first started writing this, I didn’t know why I used the title “Beverage Evolution”, but now that I am wrapping up the 1st episode of my first ever blog, it comes full circle. To think that a Pilsner was once a mind blowing experience for me and the one that I contribute to my being affectionately known as a “Craft Beer Enthusiast” is now my least favourite style of beer, really does validate the idea of my experience being a “Beverage Evolution”.
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for episode 2 of my Beverage Evolution…
