The Tickers Club

I don't consider myself a ticker (according to Hanzo's definition anyway), but I'm coming up on a full year of reviewing every new beer I try and as of last night I'm @ 412. I look at it this way. There are times when you're in the mood for something new and different, something you've never had before. Just like when you try a new restaurant or cuisine you've never had. And there are other times when you just want to have a good old reliable beer—your "comfort food" beer. Fried chicken and waffles in your underwear with the game on. You don't want to think about it, you just want to relax and enjoy it.

There's a time and a place for both modes, neither is better than the other. If I was always just ticking new beers without ever revisiting my favorites, I'd burn out and everything would start to blur together. I think I'd also lose sight of what's good and what's not. And if I only drank the same handful of beers without ever trying something new once in a while, I'd get bored. I do a little of both (OK, a lot of both). I review every new beer, so I have a detailed record of what I liked and didn't about every beer I try. And sometimes I just crack something I know I'm going to love and enjoy it thoroughly.

Cheers!

 

Well this is under the assumption that you were to only try a beer once.
Once again, can't speak for everyone, but I enjoy trying as many new beers as possible. If I come across something that I love, I will mark it to buy again. And as i previously mentioned, there are always beers that I make sure to keep stocked. For example, now that it's summer I ALWAYS have weihnestephaber hefe.

I also understand what your saying about 'enjoying' beer if someone tries so many. But, if they drink something that they really enjoy how are they not enjoying beer? Perhaps they don't enjoy A beer, but if they like trying new beers wouldn't that be enjoying beer?

 

At this stage in my drinking career I will often take a sure thing over something new.

 

i guess this has broken down to a semantic argument of the word enjoy.

it just seems like a ticker is not going to ever know if they are going to enjoy their beer before they drink it because they have never had it before. i certainly like trying as many new beers as possible, but when i go into my fridge tonight and pull out a reds rye, i know i am going to enjoy it.

 

As touched on I like a bit of ticking but agree - if I come across something I like I will go again (and again!)

I was at a beer festival around 2 years ago and they had a cask of Brew Dog 5am saint

This was the first beer I had that evening

I enjoyed the first pint (at a UK beer fest servings are usually 10oz or 20oz half pint / pint pours) so much I stayed on it until the barrel ran out so a good 5 pints of it, then I went on a little ticking mission around the venue!

 

And there's nothing wrong with that. Some people like grabbing a sure thing, others enjoy trying the unknown. That is the great thing about beer, to each their own

Cheers

 

^exactly.

happy drinking

 

i guess so, but do this for a few years about 1500 times and you might want something you know you love instead of another sub-par ipa from a brewery you've never heard of. i'm all for trying new beers when i have the opportunity, but i've been going back to favorites more often than not lately.

 

I do like trying new beers and every time I have a new one I try to review it. With that said I have beers that I enjoy consistently and I buy them in bulk and sometimes at beer bars. There is nothing wrong with "ticking" IMO just as there is nothing wrong in drinking what you like.

 

I'm new and I tick. I have some faves I will go back to, but I enjoy trying new things. As with all styles some brands are better than others. I won't know what I like if I don't try several.

 

Just occured to me...perhaps the beer fests should rename themselves as ticker fests, as all they give out are a few ounces.

 

935 reviews as of this post. also have several notebooks full and voice recordings full of ticks that need to be transcribed and input into this site. last year i caught things up over july 4th and would love to do it again this year (my guess is that i have north of 100 ticks in the backlog to add). i have gotten better and will only tick hard to come by's at festivals/releases or when out in the wild...but i am the guy with the notebook at a tasting. i've learned that phone voice recording is a great 1 to 2 minute way to capture your thoughts on a brew when out in the wild...but if you get caught doing it you will get funny looks and smirks, but hey...a ticker's gotta tick!

cheers to the tickers! at least we open our beers instead of just blindly hoarding and collecting...

 

i've been working hard running 5 miles a day and i'll take a medium...but yes...i agree, the average BA will probably be looking for something with an X in it.

 

A historical and factual point on ticking and beer festivals

As far as I'm aware ticking began in the UK in the 70's and grew in popularity during the 80's

Beer festivals in the UK are very different from the majority of those in the US

No 1oz/2oz measures, lining up etc

All beer festivals over here allow you to purchase 1 (imperial) pint or half pint at a time of any given beer so 20oz and 10oz servings

Very occasionally a strong beer (ie 9% ABV+) may be limited to a half pint serving

Some beer festivals (but the minority) also have one third pint servings (6.6oz)

So while you could still call them ticking fests the smallest serving you normally get is 10oz which is enough for me to judge the qualities of a beer

 

Interesting, a lot of tickers probably started as a medium but ticked their way into a Large or XL haha

 

I prefer the converse of that statement.

 

I like to try and review as many beers as possible but I still regularly buy some of my favorites. I've been to tastings were dudes have passed on amazing beers because they've had them once before. That just seems crazy to me.

 

That is just sad. Doesn't seem to meet the definition of a BA to me. Bypassing good beer at a tasting because you've had it once before is not a good direction to see. At the bottle shop, I can see the justification. I doubt most anyone who considers themselves a ticker would refuse to taste a beer twice.

Everyone is entitled to enjoy beer as they see fit. I'm happy to see that more and more are joining in the enjoyment. In my opinion that level of refusal is the opposite of enjoyment and kind of snubbing the art of brewing.

 

Yeah, I really don't understand that mentality. Sure, I've passed on samples before but usually when I'm at an event or release and just want to try what's on draft. I was once at a tasting where another guy and I practically drank and entire 2001 Lou Pepe Kriek and a 2005 Lou Pepe Framboise ourselves because everyone else had a small sample and wanted to tick a bunch of new beers from Montreal.