Remember that drink I invented yesterday? (oc)

[u/DaveKellett]

COME for the acrid taste, but STAY for the lack of caffeine!

[u/Jeanpuetz]

It's the same with alcohol. And I say that as someone who loves alcohol!

"Of course you don't like beer if you only ever tried Bud Light, try this locally brewed pale ale!"

Hate comments like these, because as much as I like craft beer, most craft beers are less likely to turn people into beer lovers since most supermarket beers are quite literally designed to taste mild and "beginner-friendly".

[u/Elite_AI → u/Jeanpuetz]

I don't really believe in the concept of beginner-friendly. I think you're either born with the tastebuds to enjoy a drink or you're not. It's not like spiciness where you start low and ramp it up. 

[u/Jeanpuetz → u/Elite_AI]

That's just absolutely wrong, and not really a matter of opinion. People's tastes develop and evolve all the time, even well into adulthood. And who in the world ever loved their first sip of alcohol? Developing a taste for alcohol is pretty much an experience that almost every person who likes to drink goes through as they grow up.

I'm a hobby bartender and I sample different types of rums & whiskeys all the time, and there's several bottles that I used to dislike just a few years ago that have since become home bar staples for me. It's the same with many beers and wines.

Doesn't even have to be about alcohol. You never try something you thought you didn't like years later and suddenly realize that it's actually tasty?

[u/Elite_AI → u/Jeanpuetz]

And who in the world ever loved their first sip of alcohol?

Me, thanks for asking. I have never acquired a taste for anything, and alcohol is no exception. I loved beer and red wine from the moment I drank it.

Listen, I worded myself badly. Of course our tastebuds change over time. I used to hate tomatoes, now I love them. I get that. But it's not as if I sat down and started with a bloody "beginner tomato" and worked my way up to the more difficult ones. I just randomly started liking tomatoes one day. It's part of puberty or something.

When I first started drinking beer, I hated macrolagers. I loved milds and smoked beer and stouts and porters. And I hated sours and IPAs. That's a fairly random jumble of beers I liked and disliked! It's not like there were beginner beers I was more likely to enjoy and difficult beers I was less likely to enjoy. I don't agree with your prediction that macrolagers are more likely to be enjoyed by someone who hasn't drunk beer before than, like, a mild, or a stout.

[u/Jeanpuetz → u/Elite_AI]

But it's not as if I sat down and started with a bloody "beginner tomato" and worked my way up to the more difficult ones. I just randomly started liking tomatoes one day. It's part of puberty or something.

Not trying to be an ass, but that really just sounds like a you thing. Working your way up to more "advanced" flavors is like, an incredibly common thing, and I'm genuinely surprised how someone can not "believe" in it.

Go to like, any food-related hobby subreddit and you'll find plenty of examples. I'm a rum-fiend, and developing a taste for increasingly funky Jamaican rums after getting started with something more mild is almost a rite of passage lol

Once you start to acquire a taste for a specific flavor, you often tend to want more of that. Many people who used to drink their coffee with milk & sugar start to gravitate more towards black as their tastes evolve, for example. Coffee, alcohol, chocolate, cheese... Do you think that everyone who likes super bitter chocolate, super stinky cheese, cask strength smoky Scotch, etc. etc. etc. liked those things from the very beginning?

Maybe you, but certainly not most people.

Edit: That's not to say that you can train yourself to like anything and everything of course. I agree with you that there's certain things that some people just seem to be hard-wired not to like (and vice versa), and no amount of "training" your taste buds will change that. There's that cilantro-soap gene thing, for example.