What does variety mean to you as a drinker?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by LambicPentameter, Mar 17, 2015.

?

Do you choose endless variety/no favorites or limited variety/only favorites?

  1. Endless variety. I'm sure I'll find a new favorite.

  2. I can't live without those 1-3 favorite beers. Bye bye variety.

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  1. LambicPentameter

    LambicPentameter Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2012 Nebraska

    In reading the recently-posed thread about which country is "best" at beer, a discussion about the merits of variety or lackthereof broke out. It got me to thinking--while I've always taken the benefits of variety as an assumed positive, I've never really given it a lot of deep consideration.

    It made me curious of other people think about variety in the same way--or more importantly, if they have ever really thought about it at all. So I composed this thought exercise to get people to think about it:

    Imagine a choice: you can either drink your one* favorite beer for the rest of your life, or you can have access to endless variety for the rest of your life... minus that one favorite beer. If you choose the latter option, you will never have that favorite beer ever again.

    *Now, I want to try and avoid getting bogged down in the pedantry of people circumventing the question by pointing out that they have two or three "favorite" beers, so for the purposes of this question, your "favorite" beer could be anywhere between 1-3 different beers.

    The point is to focus on the difference between having very almost no options but being able to drink your favorite(s) vs. having near-unlimited options but having to give up the beer(s) you enjoy the most.
     
    #1 LambicPentameter, Mar 17, 2015
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  2. cookiequiz

    cookiequiz Savant (1,119) Apr 15, 2013 California

    I get tired of everything eventually, so variety is paramount. Besides---with infinite variety, won't I find a new favourite?

    It seems like the brewers are catering to this sentiment with the ever-changing seasonal packs.
     
    #2 cookiequiz, Mar 17, 2015
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  3. PorterPro125

    PorterPro125 Pooh-Bah (1,700) Jan 19, 2013 Canada (NB)

    I personally am a big proponent on trying new things, so I don't think I would have a problem giving up one of my (or all of my current favourites) for an endless variety. There are thousands and thousands of top notch beers out there just waiting to be discovered and there is only one way to do that :sunglasses:
     
    #3 PorterPro125, Mar 17, 2015
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  4. 4ingredients

    4ingredients Initiate (0) May 22, 2009 Massachusetts

    Glad it's a hypothetical situation ! However, given the task I'd probably pick the variety route. While I tend to do both each week..., by getting a favorite and something new to try...., I'd go in the direction of variety as I've had so much of my favorites (style and/or brewer), I'd take the limited risk and chance with what seems to be endless new introductions.
     
    #4 4ingredients, Mar 17, 2015
  5. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,652) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't see much variety at bottle shops and stores. I see 50,000 different IPAs, but not much variety. That said, I don't need tons of variety. I like most all styles quite a bit, but I typically prefer to have something from the styles I'm really into at the time (although my style preferences shift over time, so some variety in the long run is always key).
     
    #5 Providence, Mar 17, 2015
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  6. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I didn't vote because neither option fits. Variety is the way I go, but I'm not looking for a new favorite because I don't have favorites per se. I do have some beers that I really like, but they are not what I'd call favorites. Some of them are easy to get and some are not, thus the ones that are not east to get can't be called favorites. I like variety just for the learning experience.
     
    #6 PapaGoose03, Mar 17, 2015
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  7. gopens44

    gopens44 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,560) Aug 9, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not exactly endless variety, but tons of it. Probably 20 beers or so that I rotate around throughout the year but that doesn't take away from the hundreds I feel like I try.
     
    #7 gopens44, Mar 17, 2015
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  8. Jirin

    Jirin Initiate (0) Apr 28, 2013 Massachusetts

    I crave variety. There is a list of beers I keep coming back to, but given a choice between that one beer and a variety of different representations of the style, I'll pick the variety every time.
     
    #8 Jirin, Mar 17, 2015
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  9. HoppySeb

    HoppySeb Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2014 Washington

    I like variety. The kind of variety that makes it impossible to list your top 10 beers.
     
    #9 HoppySeb, Mar 17, 2015
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  10. Kuaff

    Kuaff Initiate (0) Mar 31, 2013 Alaska

    There is no one beer which can satisfy me for eternity. I require a menagerie of unique options to accommodate my fickle palate.
     
    #10 Kuaff, Mar 17, 2015
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  11. chimneyjim

    chimneyjim Zealot (522) Jun 23, 2004 Oregon

    Sorry for the pedantry but neither of the OP's options is appropriate. I like plenty of variety and will rarely drink the same thing twice in a row, but I definitely have favorites.
     
    #11 chimneyjim, Mar 17, 2015
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  12. ricp215

    ricp215 Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2014 Massachusetts

    I would choose Variety.
    Better question would be Style of beer. i.e. IPA or everything else? Lager or everything else? I love IPA's, could I give up Lagers, Wheat Beers etc and only drink IPA the rest of my life. Yes - I would hate to do it, but IPA is my go to.
     
    #12 ricp215, Mar 17, 2015
  13. StartedwithSAM

    StartedwithSAM Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2015 Virginia

    The trick here is that if you favor variety there is always a chance that your "favorite" will be usurped by another. I'm going with variety for life bereft of my "favorite". That's why I don't really have favorites.
     
    #13 StartedwithSAM, Mar 17, 2015
  14. StartedwithSAM

    StartedwithSAM Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2015 Virginia

    Exactly.
     
    #14 StartedwithSAM, Mar 17, 2015
  15. 31Sam13

    31Sam13 Initiate (0) Sep 29, 2014 New Hampshire

    The problem with hypotheticals is that they are just that...I will agree that these are interesting questions, but I think that, barring having to give up our favorites for the sake of variety in intervals, we would almost all support the idea of variety in its current ability to fill the marketplace with good beer and other shit...good question, though...it does get you thinking...
     
    #15 31Sam13, Mar 17, 2015
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  16. bvilord

    bvilord Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2015 Idaho

    I would choose variety, I like trying new things all the time and I don't have a favorite beer but a couple I fall back on, but I could live without them. Isn't variety the spice of life.... bring on the variety!
     
    #16 bvilord, Mar 17, 2015
  17. LambicPentameter

    LambicPentameter Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2012 Nebraska

    I feel like you're both missing the point here. The entire reason for the hypothetical in the first place is to get people to think about the topic and evaluate what's more important between the two completely unrealistic alternatives.

    Whether or not you would actually consider those beers "favorites" is beside the point. The question is meant to get you to think about whether you would choose variety if you knew that said variety would come with the stipulation that you wouldn't ever be able to return to beers X, Y and Z. Within the parameters of the question, beers X, Y and Z should theoretically be beers that you would regret never being able to have again.

    If no such beer exists that you would regret being prevented from ever having it again, then your answer is probably the second choice: variety.

    I mean, you are welcome to abstain from participating and it won't hurt my feelings... too much :wink:. But I think it's possible for everyone to have an answer to this question if they approach it with the mindset that they will force themselves to choose. To that end: I haven't even voted yet, because I'm having difficulty deciding.
     
    #17 LambicPentameter, Mar 17, 2015
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  18. rozzom

    rozzom Pooh-Bah (2,620) Jan 22, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    At a macro (no pun intended) level, I like variety.

    But when you look at specific breweries, I think there can be a tendency towards quantity over quality.

    Same often goes for bars as well.
     
    #18 rozzom, Mar 17, 2015
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  19. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    "I mean, you are welcome to abstain from participating and it won't hurt my feelings... too much :wink:. But I think it's possible for everyone to have an answer to this question if they approach it with the mindset that they will force themselves to choose. To that end: I haven't even voted yet, because I'm having difficulty deciding."

    Okay, I fit myself into the variety choice. :slight_smile:
     
    #19 PapaGoose03, Mar 17, 2015
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  20. Monkeyknife

    Monkeyknife Grand Pooh-Bah (5,873) Jan 8, 2007 Missouri
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    The more the merrier and let the strongest survive.
     
    #20 Monkeyknife, Mar 17, 2015
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