Getting over the "tasting everything" hump?

I am elbow deep in it right now knowing I have to stop as soon as the baby gets here.

Until then I am loading up for a couple of years of "special beer nights"

 

About 10 years ago, Summit EPA got me hooked on craft brews. Since then, the scene has exploded. I spent a good number of years tracking/hunting down special releases and rarities. My cellar grew, my tastes refined, and it all planed out eventually. Now I look forward to six to eight releases a year and spend very little time stressing about accumulation. Maybe its age or beer wisdom, but the fever will pass, my friend. Until then, ride it, baby!

 

I hear 'ya, I just don't understand why you included that your competitive. I don't get what that has to do with beer. Hence my comment.

 

i think there are two things you should try to keep in mind:
-rarity and hype drive ratings on this site (and others) like you wouldn't believe. the extent is debatable but if dark lord was made year round in quantity, people would get over it and find something else.
-a lot of people who review beers on here might not have the most refined palates. i say this not to bash my fellow beer advocates, but someone in the throes of a double ipa bender isn't going to be the greatest judge of subtlety in a german hefeweizen. it's natural for beer geeks--we've all been there--but just because a beer doesn't have a 100 doesn't mean it's not a flawless beer.

 

You will just have to wait and see.

 

This! It's impossible not to notice how badly biased BA ratings are to particular styles. There are a lot of other great beers to try even if it's not reflected in BA scores.

Also, when stop you chasing the whales you'll start discovering under-the-radar beers which are as good or better than the highly hyped beers, and they are probably cheaper/less hassle to get too.

 

Drinking random beer in a social situation and not talking about what is in your glass is the new ticking. No numbers, not pretension, no fuss.

 

Indeed. Sounds like your more passionate than competitive (that would describe me as well).

Cheers!

 

This is a good post. A beer doesn't need to be barrel aged, high ABV, hop-forward presence, expensive, rare, etc. to be great. If all brews were rated for style, then there should be just as many 95+ scoring Czech Pilsners as DIPAs or RIS. But they're not, and there's an obvious bias toward high-gravity and really hoppy brews on BA.

And as far as the OP, well, I personally can't understand not having a desire to revisit great beers. But it's your cash.

For me, I can't even really form much of an initial opinion about any brew until I've had at least 2 or 3 of them. And there's nothing like pouring a glass of an old favorite and thinking.."Ah, yes, it's good to see, smell, and taste you again."

 

This made me realize that my hoarding and cellar accumulation is a function of insatiable curiosity in the beer store, which isn't always matched by a dampening of the ardor once home... I'm not actually excited to try the latest new triple appearing on the Belgian scene every week. (Possibly I am. This is probably just a seasonal thing -- it's warming up and I'm going lighter. Anyway.) We're spoiled. I remember that for my dad, novelty was the case of Coors he'd stash in the overheard compartment of his plane back east from the occasional business trip out west.

 

I'm always down for trying something new so I don't think I will ever grow out of the desire to taste everything but I usually just buy what I can drink within a few days/few weeks at most, as I don't like to have a lot of beer laying around for too long and I hate wasting anything, so I try to buy just a single of a beer I have never had before or I have one on draft or at most, I buy a 6-pack.

Same here.

 

If you're a VERY competitive person, you should be brewing your own beer and entering it in competitions to see if you can beat those 4.28 beers (or higher).

I'd say you're more OCD than competitive... but, I've been wrong before.

 

I went through a "try everything" phase. Then I realized that most of these big beers are just poor examples of the style. It's really easy to brew a syrupy barrel aged beer or just add hops till your eyes bleed. it's much harder to make a high quality APA, Lager, or Porter. These big beers are just beers versions of the over the top american mindset. i.e. double stuff oreos, stuffed crust pizza, supersized fries, big gulp, etc. one day you'll realize bigger isn't better but rather that better is better. hopefully you realize this sooner rather than later.

 

It is a passion, indeed! Being fortunate enough to be surrounded by such local deliciousness as 3 Floyds, Pipeworks, and Two Brothers, I have never really taken the time to explore the crafts that are more national. Three years into this passion, and I am just now starting to really explore Lagunitas, Stone, Sierra Nevada and more. Some would say that is ticking. It probably was, in my first year on this wonderful sight. Now, I think it is more of a journey. You will find your go tos and always find something new to excite. I've found the pace to try new beers evens out after awhile, but never goes away. After years of being stuck with the same old offerings of beer, how can this be a bad thing? Enjoy the journey!

 

Pretty crazy right? I had this feeling pass me about two months ago, just using the Untappd App, and going over my bank statements. There will be a point where you will only buy six packs of your favorite beers, sometimes I don't even bat an eye at these new beers unless someone I know has been raving about them.

 

I myself have just started exploring. And it's awesome! I can see my bank account going into the negative. I have been just trying beers on tap, then buying the ones I really like