Tickers?

I guess I hadn't considered that area of tickage when writing my post above, but, yes, I do that too. Since I started ticking, I've had 445 beers, both on tap and in the bottle, ranging from gross (IMHO - Deschutes Jubelale - 1.8 rating, and Pivo Hoppy Pils - 2.25 rating) to incredible (BCBS, Black Note, Bomb!, Berserker, Uncle Jacob - all 5s). I have another 31 ready to be had and 71 in the cellar. I keep track of it all on my BA spreadsheet, where I store the brewer, name, style, size, ABV, price (if not acquired via trade), rating in each category, price/oz., rating/$, the store, and in the case of the cellar, when to take them out.

That's a lot of content I've created in the past couple of years.

 

If I made more money I would probably be considered a ticker. But currently I let the beer gods dictate what rare/hard to find goodies fall into my hands.

 

I think that despite the bad reputation that tickers enjoy they are highly beneficial for the beer geek community. Many of them post their findings on the internet & by trying “everything” they can find hidden gems, draw attention to breweries that otherwise might stay under the radar and their finding can keep you from wasting money on beers that without said information would seem promising. With so many options out there these days, such information is valuable in my opinion.

Every anti-ticker I have ever talked to admitted to basing their choices of which new beers to buy or which new releases to by based on information provided at some point.

I’m a ticker, I will try anything, I systematically keep track of my finding and in almost all cases, I will go for the new beer if possible & I never trade for a beer I have already had. I see no point buying special releases etc. twice since I can get affordable De La Senne, Orval & lambiek where I live.

People criticizing tickers for focusing on quantity over quality in my opinion ignore the satisfaction that tickers get from trying new beers & getting more tick’s. It may not be fun to you but it is a lot of fun to us, otherwise we would put all that time, effort & money into it. Not everyone enjoys things the same way.

A lot of the time I actually do drink my favourites as does every ticker I know, no matter how hardcore. I have met multiple people with 7.000+ ticks & I think most people on here would be shocked how often they drink their old favourites. I drink Orval basically every week, I have had 4000+ ticks. At one point I drank min. 1 litre of Cantillon every week for years, possibly my favourite beer. These were all people, including me, who are more than willing to drink a cheap no-brand pilsner just to have tried it.

 

I have no problem with tickers. They help keep all those lesser known breweries open and who knows? that humble brewery just might produce the next Heddy Topper! So good on the tickers! And just remember tickers at some point are there own worst enemy, at some point they will be compelled to drink a Bud lite lime or a -rita. A punishment I certainly wouldn't wish on myself.

 

There are those who buy beer at festivals, take a sip, thick them off and pour the rest into bottles to take home. That's ticking!
This guy doesn'r count any beer unless he's drunk at least a full half pint
http://metro.co.uk/2010/08/20/ale-lover-samples-46000-dfferent-beers-in-three-decades-485464/

 

Not a ticker simply for the reason that there are tons of beers I regularly pass over and have no desire to try. I am, however, constantly buying and trying new beers.

 

Since April 4 of this year I ticked 609 unique beers on UT. Mind you a lot were flights or tastings. But a lot of bombers too. Found myself driving all over the place to find a new one to tick. Put on 25 pounds in that time frame and spent a lot of $. Decided to delete UT app and there's no coming back as all those logged beers are now history. Had a big bottle of Imperial Biscotti Break last night and no ticking to be done. The beer was just as good with or without ticking it. So yup, I'm now a retired ticker.

 

The term itself makes me cringe. Definitely would not consider myself a "ticker". I enjoy finding hidden gems and locals outside the Top 250 just as much as drinking a fresh Heady.

It's also a lot easier on the pocket book

 

Yes, I'm a ticker. I won't be for much longer though. I don't know how many beers I've tried, since I started in college in the 80's. Since I found Unappd this year, about 290. But that doesn't even include Bud and Bud Light, Molson, Coors and countless hundreds others I've had over the years. Not even Sam Adams Octoberfest.

Ticking is starting to lose its appeal as I realize that with few exceptions, my locals are fantastic and better than what I've had from elsewhere. I did discover some things on this journey, like Ayinger Celebrator, for which I am thankful. But I think I'm ready to choose some favorites at this point, the sample size is large enough now.

 

The various lists out there definitely got me interested in craft, b/c they gave me some sort of yardstick to get excited about and got the ball rolling.

But beyond that, I always thought ticking was kinda silly and a pejorative term at first.

I enjoy finding out about beers by either listening to what brewers have to say (podcasts, youtube videos, interviews, etc), as well as fellow drinkers who may have come across something cool. The story behind the beer usually takes front and center this way, and not the name/rating.

 

Maybe I would call myself "Ticker-lite".

I won't drink anything I don't think will be at least OK just to knock another one onto the list. But I will make the effort to get beers I haven't tried before if I think they will be good to very good so as to broaden my horizons and all that...

 

^^^This is mostly it. But something I haven't seen mentioned as well, is that craft beer has been around now since the 80's. I have been a craft (not macro) drinker for 25+ years, but, I mostly drank Harpoon, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, some Wachusett, Magic Hat, Mayflower, whatever. Occasionally, a new beer like Hopnious Union was discovered by a recommendation of a friend or something.

Ticking for the last year was a way for me to explore all the new breweries and beers out there. I think everyone needs to go through a ticking phase now and then, to see what has changed. For me, it was a hell of a lot. I never considered the Six Point cans before, I ignored Oskar Blues, I remember passing up Bourbon County variants, had no idea what they were. My list of "favorites" is now updated. I'm happy with it, and can mostly stop ticking. But in a couple of years that list will grow stale, and I may need to increase my rate of trying new beers again. Many of the best American breweries out there are only a few years old, and new great ones keep opening.

 

Yes and no.

I joined Untappd on Aug 20, 2012 and since then I've logged 1922 total beers, 1014 unique. Which sits me at 52.76% unique, 47.24% stuff I've had before. This doesn't count a handful of other people's homebrew.

I love trying new beer and I'll try absolutely anything I can, though I'm not going to actively seek out styles I don't think I'm going to enjoy. I tend to not enjoy hop forward bitter beers, so I don't buy them or order one at a bar. But if someone is sharing or it is part of a flight, or at a beer fest, sure I'll give it a try. I'll almost always go for the new at a beer fest or when buying something for movie / game night with friends. It's probably 50/50 when at a bar. Depends on the bar, their selection, and my mood.

You never know when you're going to find a new favorite, and with the beer scene exploding in Minnesota with new breweries opening nearly every month, you never know what's going to be awesome. Heck, on the way up to my wife's family cabin tonight, we plan to stop at a brewery on the way that just opened in the last two weeks (Gull Dam). It could be a new semi-regular stop.

According to Untappd, these are my seven most frequently drank beers.
Lift Bridge Farm Girl: 50 (local)
Surly Cynic: 33 (local)
Tallgrass Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat: 33
Surly Bender: 29 (local)
Steel Toe Dissent: 26 (local)
Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss: 21
Summit Oatmeal Stout: 19 (local)

 

Styles is where I need to tick/accomplish. Had 72 styles so far. Most of what remains are US styles.

One day I will make it to the States and tick the shit out of that country's beer styles.

 

I dislike the word "ticker" as it has a negative connotation, at least it does here on BA. But yes, I review every single beer I drink. I even went through a rather unfortunate spell last summer where I drank every cheap adjunct lager I could get my hands on, all for the sake of reviewing purposes. I like "ticking" as it gives me something to look forward to as far as beer is concerned. I enjoy trying new beer as much as possible, and I enjoy the experience of describing the beer in reviews -- sometimes it's easy, sometimes not.. I'm going to stop reviewing once I have my 1,000th different beer.

 

The archetype ticker drinks just enough of each beer to put one more entry into the notebook. If there isn't any thing new, this person abstains from drinking. The behavior isn't about beer, but counting the beer. I can't believe these extreme tickers are common.

I believe most BA users have a bit of ticker in us. We want to try just about every beer that's released, but not as much as we want to enjoy a glass of beer. How far we go for that untasted beer tells some of the story. Many of us have favorites that we buy repeatedly, but few if any of us are fiercely loyal to one brand. (that loyalist sits at the other end of the scale)

I'm not a ticker, (not that there's anything wrong with that) but I do like finding new beer!

 

As a relatively new BA/beer enthusiast (about 1 year), I'm currently in semi-ticking phase, but it's not about trying every single beer out there, it's much more about trying a variety of styles at this point, and expanding on that, noticing how different brewers treat different styles... Discovery. I just tried my first few sours just a few weeks ago. When I buy beer, I'll buy a few sixers of a go-to and about 5-6 new beers in singles to try. Some I review and rate, most I don't. I never rate without also reviewing. All this seems like pretty typical behavior.

"Ticking" does have negative connotations, and to me means a person that strives to consume as many different beers as possible, for the sake of trying different beers more than actually enjoying beer itself.

 

I am definitely a ticker. I like trying new beers and seeing how they compare to the rest of what's out there. I still drink beers I have had in the past, but I would almost always rather opt for something new instead.

 

I'm an anti-ticker. Tickers prioritize only the quantity of beers they've had. Many tickers will check off a beer and post on beer websites after having only had a sip, and won't write much if anything about the beer.

I'm not exactly known for my brevity as a reviewer - - and I refuse to attend bottle shares because the serving amount tends to be inadequate for me to really form an impression. I like to get to know a beer, and it takes at least 5 ounces worth to do that.

Some tickers refuse to buy a beer they've had before again. More Abyss for me each year!

 

If you're wondering where the next generation of tickers is coming from, go check out the "Century Club" thread.