What's your bottle count and why?

Basically I have a zero bottle count. I generally buy beer as I drink it, even the fancy rare bottles. No will power, lol! So no saving, no aging, no collecting.

 

I agree that it is a mindset (not necessarily a mental problem, lol!). I equate it with any type of collector. My aunt collects tea cups, my friend collects concert posters, my dad collects old tractors. It's the hunt and the finding that is fun for the beer collectors, and the stories behind the hunt. Not so much the liquid inside the bottle.. Many are probably purchased simply because the bottle art is very cool!

 

What is your bottle count?

~400 - though as noted the increase in smaller formats makes this, I think comparable to ~250 if you'd asked me a couple years ago.

What is your optimal bottle count?

It's not a number, it's a state of mind. As long as bottles aren't going to waste, and as long as I don't look at things in the cellar and say, "ugh, I don't really want to drink that anymore" then I'm winning.

Are you headed in the that direction?

Yeah, I feel pretty damn good about my cellar. It's fun to share great beers with friends who otherwise wouldn't come across them or have access to them. Also, it means I've always got something on hand that I'm excited to drink, rather than being limited to what is in season. That's not to say there aren't always good beers out there, but if I really feel like a Parabola for example it doesn't matter if it's not April/May (when I might expect to find them on shelves).

 

It varies as I travel, but usually sits in the 26-50 range. Right after a vacation it may temporarily swell to 75 or so.

 

Living within walking distance of quite a lot of pubs I see little point in having a lot of bottles. Cask beer is so much better.
I am frankly surprised by how many bottles some BAs have. I rarely drink beer at home because the experience is greatly enhanced by the environment in which it is drunk ; much as I love my homes I do not wish to be a closet drinker. I like to meet people outside my normal circle and drink in company.
I also feel that choice is vastly overrated , as long as there are beers I enjoy that's fine. Although I can get beer from over 1000 breweries without going far for it I am also happy to settle for old favourites.

 

Under 10.

 

Too many and it's only going to get worse after a trip to Sante Adairius next weekend.

 

Haha same here. I think my absolute maximum "cellaring*" record was about two weeks. But it was a total outlier

*kitchen cupboard

 

This was how my whisky hobby started to look like. That's why I turned to NA beers instead. No problem "cellaring" them, if having a bigger haul.

 

Bottle count: way too many
Why: I join too many clubs

 

I currently have exactly 3 cans of Bitterroot Brewing Single Hop Pale Ale. Clearly it's time to go to the store.

 

I have about 50 bottles at the moment and I’m good with that general number. Sometimes it grows and others it shrinks. I have a spacious and cool cellar so conditions are ideal.

I’ve gotten to the place where I still love hunting and buying beer but my main cellaring motivation is to always have something nice on hand to enjoy on a special occasion such as a shitty Tuesday in the middle of the work week. Everyday is potentially one worth celebrating or at least worth opening up something great. So I have cultivated a cellar that’s full of great stuff and nothing (almost nothing) is off limits for drinking whenever I feel like it. I usually I have a very small (handful) of bottles that I might be keeping for trade ammo, if I want to swing a trade for something really rare or coveted.

I’ve also observed that most beer that is typically cellared doesn’t really improve with age anyway. Of course there are exceptions but I’d bet they are few and far between. In my experience that has been the case, even with massive BW or stouts. Super funky sour stuff, gueuze etc is cool to sit on, not sure I’d sit too long on fruited lambics (if I have them kind of hard not to drink those right)? If I have a vintage Lou Pepe framboise I’m not leaving it down there for my descendants to enjoy instead of me!

 

Addendum: drinking a bell’s BA expedition stout (still have 5-6 left in the cellar)....great beer, this one, much like the non/barreled version, seems a perfect candidate for cellaring. Would love to see how this develops over the next five years but doubtful I will be that patient. I think I know where a few more four packs are hanging out and will go scoop them up next week. Big imperial stout with a lot of hoppy bitterness, very assertive barrel character, no funky add-junks. Still likely the exception when it comes to cellaring rather than the rule.

 

I've got the bug too. Started collecting in '81 after I came back from an east coast visit to family (and an Octoberfest at Hunter Mountain, NY)... with my first few bottles. #DinkelAcker I was at 1055 in '93 and got busy so I didn't keep up with my record keeping. Certainly at well over 2000 (maybe closer to 3000) all these years later (including many more domestic as a percentage than back in the day)..., but I don't think I know where they all are anymore between the attic, garage, storage etc (that's a separate issue). Began logging in Word Perfect, then Word and Excel and Access - sorted by continent, country and brewery.here in HTML: http://noframes.com/rixlist I know their worth is probably limited to the price per lb. at the recycler... but of course I can't imagine going there.

 

Addendum (oops). Just figured out that this thread isn't so much about empties. Damn all that beer I've drunk. I have roughly a half-dozen Anchor Christmas magnums from each of the last half-dozen or so years - all aging nicely in a nice temp-constant dark place..

 

I’ve seen some impressive beer rooms, like multiple thousands of dollars of beers. Most age worthy some not, but he was trying to check on how age changes bigger DIPAS. Maybe it’s a bit compulsive.

 

What is your bottle count?

100-125

What is your optimal bottle count?

25 maybe? I don't know, but way less than I have now.

Are you headed in the that direction?

Nope, and I really should be.

I've seen a lot of you comment on how cellaring beers doesn't actually make them better, so I sit there and stare at them in my basement wondering why I'm not just drinking them. Then it's time for everyone's favorite game: Beer Dork Mental Gymnastics.

"Well, if you drink that one, you won't have it as potential bait anymore. How will you try to trade for <insert whalez bottle here>?"

"They look so cool on the shelf, plus if I drink this one the rows will be odd numbered and I'll have to buy three more just to make things right."

"What if it's not as good as that last batch?"

"Are Wednesdays in May REALLY the special occasion I envisioned for this saison?"

"Is this REALLY better than KBS?"

"What am I doing with my life?"

 

I usually have about 10 in my cellar. 10-15 new beers that I haven't tried and 10 or so "drinking" beers -- ones that I've had numerous times from local favorites.

 

Nope - "empties" would be discussed in threads in the "BREWERIANA" forum, stored full bottles thatare meant for cellaring and drinking at a later date would a topic in the "CELLARING/AGING" forum.

 

Just start drinking. You may find that the social occasion you're waiting for us the opening of that bottle