Overwhelmed by so many beers...

I love it because I almost always would rather try new beers.

 

I'll admit it: as great as I think the vast variety is, I'll still get caught wasting over an hour of my life spinning indecisive circles in Total Wine when I'm not sure what I feel like drinking. Of course, much to my dismay, I could've been spending at least half of that hour actually drinking beer.

Ultimately, I think this conversation winds up in the oft discussed "To tick or not to tick?" dilemma. The brief summary: find your personal balance to attain harmony. Drink your go-to favorites, but fear no beer - you might find new favorites, and at very least you'll expand your knowledge and palate.

 

The past year or two I've been on a pretty solid ticking-spree, but have recently grown tired of trying tons of new, but ultimately forgettable beers and am now starting to focus on the ones I know I've enjoyed before.

 

I find that simply keeping on top of what's going on by regularly checking the BA forums keeps things nice and manageable for me. I have a few running lists in my head of 'things I want to try some day' and 'things that don't give me the warm fuzzies'. If I am shopping and see something that interests me, and it's at the right price and fresh enough, I'll add it to my purchase. If not, then there are plenty of other beers to choose from- usually one of the things that I actually came in to buy in the first place.

 

I'm always enjoying different beers. I have my goto IPAs , but those have changed, also. Variety is the spice of life!

 

If you mean getting to the store and not being able to decide, the yes. That happens to me all the time. I rarely have a plan, though. As much as I read here and elsewhere, I don't go out armed with a shopping list. Usually I buy something I know and something new to try. The new to try is the hard part, and I make more or less feeble attempts to keep that under control so I don't end up with a pile of old beer. Kiss of death for me is talking to people in the store...somehow makes me feel I should buy something...

Certainly is a lot of beer it there and that is great. Means your next potentially great beer is never too far away. It's whatever works. If you go brewery by brewery, style by style, or totally random it's all good. You never know when you try something. It may spark an interest in a style or unknown brewer, and sure...it could be total crap, but in my experience that is not typical. Some beers I have tried I wouldn't buy again, but they haven't been sink bait, either. Like good BBQ, keep it low and slow. Stay off the ticker train and enjoy.

Or just listen to TongoRad...

 

yeah I usually stick to a few old standards: Bell's, Founders, Pipeworks, Revolution, Great Lakes, Half Acre, Great Divide, FFF, Surly, Stone, Lagunitas, The Bruery, Dark Horse, Firestone...oh we have Maine Brewing now gotta try that...oh look a whole aisle of belgium quads and sours...Ooooo make your own six packs!

 

Hop_King being Hop_King. He's also overwhelmed by all of the breakfast cereal selections out there. And if he goes into an ice cream parlor? Forget about it...

 

I open up my beer fridge and state for about 3 minutes, close, and repeat before finally pulling one out. There may be a few too many choices but hey, it's America! That's what we do!

 

Thanks, man.

Just to clarify a bit about those 'running lists', though. It's not like it is something I have memorized; if you asked me to write down a bunch of beers I am interested in right now I probably couldn't do it. But as soon as I see something on the shelf or on a display it definitely will trigger an "oh yeah- I want to try that" response.

It just happened this past week when I saw the Blue Point Mosaic. I remember some Long Island BAs talking about it a month or two ago (probably on that InBev acquisition thread), giving it high marks, but never thought I'd see it this soon. All of a sudden it's available, and jumped to the top of the list.

The WBAYDN threads are great for getting a handle on what new stuff to lean towards, too, and I have picked up a number of beers based on those threads alone that I probably wouldn't have given a second look. Really good ones, too. It also helps to have an image in your head to trigger that reminder.

 

I love the variety that is available and enjoy seeing new products on the shelves. At this point, I have drank enough to know that I have avoid half of the breweries/beers out there and not be missing out on anything. The majority of the beers that I am interested in drinking will probably only be a one time or rarely reoccuring purchase anyways. I will stick to the mainstays and the rotating seasonals from breweries I know and love. It is just easier and more enjoyable that way. If there is ever a time I can't make up my mind, there is always Two Hearted.

 

Seriously??? Complaining for having so many good choices and varieties of beer? You might want to stick to Bud, Miller and Coors. Also, why are you on BA?

 

I don't think I've brought the same IPA more than once this year.

 

"Variety is the Spice of Life", try them all maybe you'll find a new favorite!

 

It's because most craft beers out there are Pale Ale and IPA. So, why not to try them all?

 

All of this variety is great I just wish there were more beers that aren't hop-focused. But hey, people like hops.

 

Must. Try. All.

 

Three question marks. This is serious.

 

Einstein's theory of general relativity can be a tad overwhelming.

A big selection of beers--not so much.

Glad to have so many new offerings to try and some phenomenal standbys to rely on.

 

I delve into regions to keep things fun. Or styles.