It depends on the beer, but in general, yes. This past weekend I was talking about beers with a long-time employee at a local liquor store that really knows his shit (they sell more beer than any other liquor store in the state), and we both consider Bell's Two Hearted the IPA that we judge all other IPAs by. Bell's Oberon is pretty good too, although the recipe has changed slightly over the last few years and isn't quite as good as it once was. The breweries in upper Michigan (Bell's, Great Lakes, etc.) in general pump out good stuff. Focus: High school consisted of drinking whatever I could get my hands on. Booze was easier to obtain, transport and hide from my parents compared to beer, so I really only drank beer at parties or in special situations. Red Dog, Old Milwaukee Light, Busch Light, Hamm's, etc., it didn't really matter. As long as it contained alcohol and came in a can or a keg, I would drink it. College was definitely a formative period in my beer drinking years. It started out just like high school, where I would drink anything that contained alcohol. Typically that was Beast Ice if I was buying, or Busch Light and High Life Light if it was out of a keg. Things changed my sophomore year when a good friend of mine started working at a huge liquor store 45 minutes away. I would drive up and make massive beer runs thanks to my buddy's "store discount" (i.e., I didn't pay shit), and said buddy would load me up with beers that I would not have otherwise tried: EPAs, IPAs, Belgian Ales, Hefes, and so on. My other friends were still stuck drinking shit swill, so I was left to forge ahead on my own and develop my own preferences without input from others. This lasted through undergrad, and it is when I realized my love of Ales. It was around that time that I started drinking Summit EPA on a very regular basis, and to this day I still consider it my favorite all-around beer. Anyone traveling through Minnesota, you owe it to yourself to try it. Things stagnated in my twenties. I drank a lot of Miller Light, Coors Light, PBR, and other domestics when I got burned out on the microbrew/craftbrew offerings. I also attribute this to going to a lot of happy hours with my dad after work and hanging out with a lot of old guys that really appreciated no-fuss cheap beer. I still drank good stuff, just not as often. Now in my early thirties, I feel like I have reached a happy medium between cheap domestics and different Ales out of the midwest (Summit EPA, Lift Bridge Chestnut Brown, Surly Furious, Surly Cynic, Bell's Two Hearted to name a few). It really depends on what the situation calls for.
I remember being 14 years old, I promised myself I'd never drink or become an alcoholic. Well, I lied to myself! I started off with Kokanee at age 16, followed by Molson Canadian at 18, then back to Kokanee for a bit. At 20 I became a big fan of Unibroue's Trois Pistoles. Over the next several years, I never had a beer that I stuck around with, I would rotate my beer selection once in a while. Right now, I'm mainly drinking Unibroue's La Fin du Monde and various local microbrews.
I started out drinking Red Dog because that's what my dad always drank and, apparently, was most often on sale at the local Krogers. Coors was my adjunct lager of choice as a teenager but I started getting into craft beer in my early 20s. Huge fan of anything that Three Floyd's, Bell's & Great Lakes brew. I've traded beer for everything from Russian River to rare Founder's brews but I tend to buy great, local beer. Those of you outside of Ohio may have never heard of Jackie O's in Athens or The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, but they both brew some unique and mighty tasty beer. Brew Kettle's White Rajah is the best American IPA I've ever had. Only recently started getting into Belgians and I love a good tripel. I'm a lot more broke than this post may make me sound and still drink Coors or Yuengling usually when I'm with friends, so I'd never truly consider myself a beer snob. Why would I give a shit if you ordered a PBR on draft? I mean, they're only $1.
I am Chinese and for some reason my Dad along with everyone of his fellow 1st gen immigrant friends LOVE Budweiser. My guess is that they didn't have too many options back then. But anyways because of him and his "its okay to have a sip here and there even if you're 8" mentality, I will always have a nostalgic comforting feeling towards Budweiser. At the end of high school leaning into the first years of college, my go to beers were Natty, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miler Light. Basically because college students are poor and they care little more than using whatever works to get hammered. The taste never bothered me since it was all so watered down. The beers listed below are what I currently favor - Blue Moon. I discovered it when visiting a friend in New Jersey (4 years ago) and his Step Father brought out a pitcher that was topped off with bobbing orange slices. My first sip of blue moon is one of my fondest memories. I tried my first IPA at a brewing company and if I remember correctly, I ordered it because it had the highest alcohol content. Can't say that I am fan of most IPA's because I find them to be too bitter. But the Union Jack IPA from Firestone is absolutely amazing and I will order that at any place that has it. Guinness. Every guy needs a dark beer in their repertoire right? First tried it at an Irish pub and now it is definitely one of my favorites. Just wanted to mention that I hate Milwaukee's Best. That brew in no way deserves that title unless living in Milwaukee is anything but shitty. I would rather mix King Cobra and Steel Reserve than have another swill of 'The Beast'.
My beer evolution has only happened recently. I'm more of a cider/perry guy, but my go-to beer was always Rickards Red. Moving to the cottage a year ago (back in the city with a mortgage now; I could cry) we did the bulk of our shopping in Quebec where most places sell beer and wine. I kept seeing this big ominous looking dark bottle of beer at one of the stores, disturbingly named "La Fin du Monde". Translation: The End of the World. At 9%, this seemed entirely plausible. I kept deciding against buying it until I read a book entitled "Notes on a Beermat; Drinking and why its Necessary". The author is a bit of a beer snob who spends much of the book lamenting the state of beer in North America, but praised a number of these Unibroue beers. Decided to give it a whirl and its currently my favorite beer.