From my childhood I have this vivid memory of what beer was: an oddly bitter drink that the sweaty, smelly, dirty workers kept chugging all the time. There was nothing desirable about this image, further more, it kept me away from beer for a very long time. In my early 20s I rather had a wine spritzer or a cocktail over one of those stinky and cheap lagers that were available in Hungary at the time.
And then I moved to the Netherlands in 2012.
If you're familiar with the concept of "Alcohol belts of Europe" then you know that Hungary is a wine country, the Netherlands is a beer country.
In the first few years I tried to keep my wine enthusiasm alive, but the lack of affordable selection of good wines made and end to it. In the supermarkets the shelves were stuffed with wines from Chile, Argentina, South-Africa, Australia for just a few euros. These bottles traveled around the world (literally) and still cost cheaper than the European ones?
Thanks, but no.
Luckily, a trip to Japan changed my life. 1st of April, 2014. Tokyo, Roppongi. I had just started discovering the wonders of Japan with 6 friends of mine. We were planning to have our first unforgettable karaoke night, but before that we walked into a cool beer bar, called Brewdog, to warm up, which had just opened in the area. I wasn't really a beer fan, and as I looked around on the tap board nothing really caught my eye. As I asked the bartender what was worth trying, they pointed out Cocoa Psycho... I said yes without thinking, as I'm a big chocolate fan and this option seemed to be the furthest from the typical beers that I wasn't really fond of.
It was heaven in a glass. I totally turned that sad little face into something different, and thus the beginning of my love for craft beer. I gotta tell, Cocoa Psycho put the bar very high. It got instant 5 starts on my Untappd. It's still a very elite group, only 14 more beers made it since. Out of over 1500 unique beers.
Ahh dear Untappd. It got me hooked. I downloaded it in 2015 after I kept seeing my friends using it, and after I went on a long trip to California where I was surrounded by all the innovative craft beers of the West Coast. I collected a decent 20 beers on my list and I was happy with it. Until I started dating a guy in January 2016 who had over 500 on his list. He was hardcore into collecting all the badges and his fridge was full of new beers just so he can reach the next level of the New Brew Thursday Badge.
My unique beer counter was around 120 when we got together and I got to 400 in the next 6 months before we broke up. With him I experienced so many good local craft beers that I just kept on discovering more and more, even after he wasn't there with me anymore.
The rest is history. Or at least it feels like. I became the craft beer lady. The world of beer is not exclusively belongs to the sweaty, smelly, dirty workers anymore. Just as beer is not only the product of mass production. The question of choice is not about the decision between Heineken or Budweiser, but the uncountable different styles of beers from sour berliner weisse to imperial stouts.
Ladies, the world of craft beer has opened to you as well. I'm sure you'll find the style that fits your delicate tastes. Follow me!
