Ben Edmunds of Breakside in Portland, Oregon, gets nostalgic for mind-expanders in his picked sixer.

Like many beer enthusiasts who came of age in the late ’90s and early ’00s, first craft loves were strong and malty. In this six-pack of beers that played key roles in his own experiences, Edmunds recounts the pivotal points where specific beers broadened his idea of what beer could be.

THERE’S NOT A SINGLE

rubric for brewers who build a 6-pack for this column—all have the leeway to develop their own set of criteria, as well as the list itself. Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery chose to focus on six that broadened his vision of beer in the pre-breakside era of 1999–2010, with one exception at the end. In his own words, “Definitely a nostalgia pack for me.”

Edmunds, for those less familiar, has helmed the brewing at Breakside in Portland, Oregon, since its launch in 2010. Over that time, they’ve earned the respect of peers, including two dozen medals earned at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. Those medals have spanned a variety of profiles—from English and German styles to American sours and IPAS.

However, for Edmunds, the jumping-off point for his enthusiasm was big, malty, strong beers; interest in hop-forward ones was a later development.

Bell’s Expedition Stout

Bell’s Brewery (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

“The first craft beers that really caught my attention as a consumer were some higher-octane, bigger, and richer beers. I remember loving Scotch ales and doppelbocks—interestingly, those are styles that I really don’t gravitate toward anymore—but it was the big, obvious, and sweet flavors of these beers that opened up this new world to me. I grew up in Michigan, so Founders and Bell’s were the breweries I had most access to, and Bell’s Expedition Stout stood out. I still remember the crazy layers of flavor—red currant, rum, dark chocolate, raisin, black pepper, smoke, vanilla—and remember being amazed that a single beer could hold so much.”

New Belgium Biere de Mars

New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, Colorado) “I moved to Colorado in 2004 to teach high school in a small mountain town, and it was there that my interest in beer became obsessive. The beer scene in Colorado was amazing—i dove deep into homebrewing at the time. That was also where I developed a love and respect for the Great American Beer Festival—i went as a consumer for the first time in 2005, and I’ve only missed it twice since then.

“Colorado’s beers were really high quality, and no one was pushing boundaries—especially in terms of mixed-fermentation