A Ticker's Farewell

I used to tic on UT. Drove everywhere and anywhere looking for a single I haven't had before. Constantly looking at list of beers I had before and missing out on beers I've had and enjoyed. Deleted my account after a stupendous tic count in a short time. I still enjoy questing new beer to try but enjoy more revisiting ones I've already had and liked. Hence my not rating beer on here. Drink what you want and not looking for that ghost beer youve never had. Heck, I was drinking Mikes hard lemonade just to tic. Good luck on your journey of no ticking

 

I still like to try new beers here and there, but I totally get where you're coming from and I would say 75% of my consumption are those beers that are "tried and true". I still like to try new beers every now and again in the hopes of finding that next beer that gets into the "circle of trust".

 

I am an unapologetic ticker; I like to call my condition: cataloging OCD, in that I get a certain amount of pleasure from the act of keeping track of the different beers and breweries I have checked out. (also the case for National Parks, and roadtrips in general) I have been told that I don’t have particularly discerning taste buds – as if that’s a bad thing – but I am fortunate in finding most beers very enjoyable. And ticking has clearly expanded my palate and appreciation of different beer styles.

Yesterday, I was at the soft opening of Veracious Brewing and tried 5 new beers (also picked up 2 growlers to share with friends at a Dogfish event tonight) They were all solid beers, and I guess if I wanted to find fault, none were Sip(s) of Sunshine, but I enjoyed them and don’t feel the need to pine over where each beer falls on the ratings chart. After all, I rarely drink the same beer twice.

The thing that I always find objectionable with this thread topic is the notion that tickers somehow need to make amends for drinking anything other than the best beers of a style. The poor ticker has wasted his or her valuable drinking time drinking mediocre beer when he or she could have had a Heady. To tick, or not to tick, is not a moral question. It is a personal preference that does not require justification.

 

As with most things it is not all one way or another. I do not understand either extreme. Those being never having a beer twice to tick and to always drinking the same few beers. I would guess most of us fall close to the middle. I love to tick new beers and do keep track. I also do not like to risk cash on untested beers. I am lucky enough to have a local liquor store (State line) that has pretty much weekly tastings that can be 6 to 30 beers. With these I have a blast in full tick mode with a good group of regulars and friends. At home my buying habits are 75% known good beers and 25% something I really want to try more than tick. I will never impress anybody with the total number of beers I have tried, but it does fill that human need to collect things in me.

 

I still feel an urgent need to tick, not only for collecting, or in search of a beer to get regularly, but because there are way too many beer styles I still feel I do not understand. I want to see if I agree about east coast vs west coast IPAs - I want to see if there are witbiers that approach Allagash - I want to drink a good hefeweizen - I want to try a good Kolsch - I really want to give lagers a fair chance - especially good pilseners, but also other lager styles, even maybe a few of the mass market AALs that I have not drunk regularly since the Reagan administration. And then at some point really take on Porters, Stouts, RIS's - and then the barrel aged thing, and DIPA's, and flavored beers. Plus of course I want to explore all my local breweries so I can determine which are the really good ones, and patronize them, in the interest of encouraging local beer to become the best it can be. I assume in the course of doing that I will find which beers in general I really like. And then I would expect to stop ticking - mostly.

 

I see where you're coming from.

As I said originally, I'm talking about ticking large numbers. Once you've covered quite a few, it's not as though you're stuck with just one beer within a style such as Two Hearted. You can probably rotate through dozens of IPAs that are going to be far superior to something like 95% of all new IPAs out there. That's the other component I wanted to emphasize, that the vast majority of new beers out there are not going to be excellent. Mathematically it just isn't going to happen.

So to broadly taste and tick new beers, one is willfully choosing to drink overwhelmingly mostly average beer (whether one wants to consciously admit it or not). The best stuff does tend to gravitate towards the top in review scores and popularity, so missing out on something is just not a reasonable defense here. At worst, you get to try the next Heady Topper a little later than sooner. That's hardly a bad trade off (opportunity cost) for adopting a drinking pattern that involves drinking/ticking mostly average stuff. Let the tickers wade through all of the mediocre stuff. For them it's more about getting the tick anyway than about drinking the best beer whenever they sit down for a beer.

 

I'm always willing to try new things, not for the tick but for future revisits. For example, I went to Four Quarters Brewing in Winooski last month because it was close to the beverage center. Did a flight of their beers and was impressed. I'm definitely going back there next month and will spend some time at their spot during the VT brewfest.

 

Appreciate the clarity of expression here. Right on the mark. And those of us with different opinions, we appreciate your reviews of all 100, especially that 100th beer in your example.

 

I went off of ticking for about 6-9 months. I went back because I like to have a record of what I have had and what I havent.
ticking every beer from the same 6 pack is kinda weird.

 

But, isn't it all about the badges?

 

what do you consider great beer?

 

disagree

 

Well I fall somewhere in the middle. I love the adventure of trying something new, but I also keep a lot of tried and true stuff in the fridge. As exciting as trying something new can be, there are other times when I'd just rather revisit some familiar goodness that feels as comfortable as a broke in pair of shoes.

 

On a more serious note in regards to the OP. I can understand where you're coming from. If you're at a point where you know the styles you like, and what brewery (ies) you like, and are happy having them be your staples - then go for it.

Personally, I know what beers I like, but really like to try new stuff. Yes, I suppose I go into a beer store knowing that I may pick up a beer that's mediocre, and yes it's a waste of money at times. However, I always pick up some "staples" or a new beer from a brewery I trust and have never seen on the shelves before.

I enjoy the ride, I enjoy finding a new beer. I remember a thread in here about the past top beers that Victory Storm King was at one time the top rated beer. Things have obviously changed since then, and I think it has changed due to beer lovers, and subsequently beer brewers, searching out for new and improved styles.

IF you've got it down to the ones you like, congratulations. I'm still looking, and very much enjoying the ride.

 

Dido, I too go for the tried and true and only gamble on the ones from Bruery's I know. (spelling intended)
I could buy from Deschutes all the time and be happy, but it is the allure of that big badass beer that will occasionally suck me back in.

 

Awesome, man, I hear you on this one. I usually don't track all the beers I've had on BA since I acutally have a very well organized spreadsheet for it. I'm with you in that just about all the beers I've tried have been well done.

I missed the Veracious opening, how was it?

 

Fair point. I guess I'm not the kind of ticker you were talking about - I love trying new ones, but more as exploration and education than just to see my uniques on Untappd hit a certain number.

I will say though, one thing @DrunkinYogi said that really resonated with me is that I can easily enjoy lots of beers that aren't Heady or BVDL or whatever - or for that matter, even great shelf beers like the aforementioned Two Hearted. I know what general styles I like and largely avoid breweries that haven't impressed me in the past, so I do find the large majority of beers I try to be enjoyable. You're obviously right that mathematically very few new ones will be world-class, but in the case of small local operations, they might produce excellent beer but never get the lucky break to become the next Trillium or Toppling Goliath, and I wouldn't want to have not even given them the time of day - hence my example of Chilly Waters Brewing from earlier.

From that perspective at least, I don't feel as though I'm really losing out by trying lots of newer stuff, just giving myself the opportunity to discover my next personal favorite.

 

Completely agree, my brother, you seem to get genuine satisfaction from the act of cataloguing, and the pleasure of trying new things, and that is a hard thing to do in life, finding those things we truly enjoy.

It is equally true that the best enjoyments will often require the most searching.

I think what most are trying to say is a negative for the act of cataloguing is when it isn't an end in itself, but a driven search for the better that, ironically, becomes an obstruction to recognizing the finer enjoyments when they appear during the search. Many folks are thinking about the next beer while drinking the one they have found. The number itself becomes an accomplishment whose only pleasure lies in its being the number before the next, bigger number.

 

Official Grand Opening is weekend of 19-20th...Place is laid out nicely with plenty of seating and bartenders...still working out some equipment kinks...but things ran very smoothly and I would imagine there will be food trucks in their future.

 

$2.99 for a full brew is hard to feel sad about a loss on to be honest...

Drink what you want and be happy doing it, that's what matters. within... ahem... reason..