Reached the Saturation Point?

FWIW there is a lot more beer out there then I am able to drink. For example, one of my local beer bars is conducting a Singlecut beer event tonight. Even though I have enjoyed the few Singlecut beers that I have had, I will be saying no to this event. I have plenty of high quality beers in my refrigerator (e.g., Tired Hands) that is 'speaking' t me.

Cheers!

 

My interpretation is with so much beer, it's so much easier to drink good beer. Better yet, with so many good beers out there, you don't have to wait in line for some of the rares like BCBS. Don't want to deal with that hassle? Pick up BA Ten Fidy or a number of other quality BA stouts that can be had at simple prices, but are much easier to obtain. I'm all for more releases and beer. It's not like I went to many anyway. Plus, it'll help me sustain my ticker lifestyle.

So pick the events you want, and continue drinking good beer.

 

The more the merrier. Competion is good so long as the quality and variety of the regional releases continue to increase as well.

I'm not a fan of driving long hours or standing in long lines to prove I'm a true fan of craft only to walk away empty handed. I get it, there is no easy answer to the long lines. I prefer the online lottery system and I understand the argument against the online lottery as well.

Small batch releases of well crafted beers by brilliant brewers are going to get us all riled up every time. I'm all for getting riled up. More releases, smaller lines, and more fodder for trades.

 

Same here... As I get older, I find myself being cool with the loads of great stuff that I already have... I still grab certain seasonal releases or whatever but I pass most of them up now.... Maybe it's a product of getting older?

 

I can't speak for the industry as a whole, but I know that I have certainly reached my saturation point. Like others I'm more than happy to stick with the more than delicious options I can find on the shelf, rather than waste time chasing specials releases that might score .25 pts higher than a beer I can pick up off the shelf with no headaches.

 

Not seeing that trend in "South-Atlantic." The releases are pretty spread out across both dates and actual states.

 

It's possible in certain areas with a high concentration of breweries. I know I'm not trying to keep up here, would cost me a bit much in gas and time, much less the cash to keep up with the releases.

 

Permit me to choose a differing word of "wiser".

I personally will never wait hours in line to buy beer. I will also not pay outrageous amounts of money for beers.

There are presently lots of high quality beer available on shelves for reasonable prices.

Cheers!

 

When I first started drinking craft beer and reading about beer on sites like this, I felt like I had to get every limited release that I had access to. I spent lots of time and money running those beers down. And it was fun. Now it seems that there are so many year round and easy to acquire seasonals that I haven't tried, that I don't need to run all over the place to find a good beer I haven't had.
When I travel though, like this passed weekend to Wisconsin, I'll run around to find some stuff I can't get at home. I spend a bunch and its fun.

 

what do I think? all you guys who line up and trade beer are insane and should be held against your will handcuffed to a gurney like Kanye. Y'all done gone too far.

 

Totally agree. There is just too much great beer being released around here, it is an embarrassment of riches for which it isn't humanly possible to keep up.

 

It's a blessing, not a curse. The sooner everyone realizes there is good beer to be had almost everywhere, maybe some of the worst elements of our culture will subside. Less treating fellow beer lovers as competition or trade value opponents, more celebrating the best of what's around us.

 

I love it, there's always great beer to be had. If I miss a release its no big deal because there is just another awesome beer in the same style that'll be coming out. I have very few beers that are must gets, so too many releases isn't an issue at all.

 

I honestly won't chase any beer at this point. Not worth it any longer with so many as good or better options. I skip a lot of highly rated stuff I never had just because I just don't buy into hype anymore. Been disappointed far too many times, I'll stick with breweries or styles I like. I still try a lot of new beer, but rarely ever go out of my way for hard to get stuff. Either friends hook me up, I do easy/local trades or I stumble across it at a store.

 

THIS⋀⋀⋀⋀⋀⋀ And where 'craft' beer is concerned, there is certainly a lot of hype these days.

Truth is, I've found that 'craft' beer in general has become a bit of a crap shoot in recent years... it has become a roughly 50/50 chance that a new product is simply not going to be worth a second visit. These days, when buying any commercial beer, I tend to stick to the 'tried and true'.
When I do try a new product (especially within the past 5 or 10 years) I always buy a single bottle if I can...or if I'm in a bar with draft offerings, I'll ask for a sample pour before I commit to buying a full pint pour.

Actually, I personally find that the overall quality and dependability of craft beer being a positive experience was much better (and much more consistent) 25-30 years ago than it is now (which is a reasonable assessment, given that so many new brewers are jumping on the bandwagon).
'Craft' more frequently lived up to it's implied promise of better quality than it does nowadays.
One serious beer writer went so far as to call the designation 'craft' a "consumer warning".
Reluctantly, I have to agree.

 

Pardon my reply; you have very much posted consistently about your 'challenges' when drinking craft beers.

I just gotta ask: do you leverage reviews and discussions in BA (and other social media) when selecting which beers you purchase? I have used many posts and reviews in BA and my odds are extremely different from yours of "50/50". The vast majority of new drinking experiences I have are very positive; maybe something like 80/20 or 90/10.

Maybe BA (and other social media) could be a benefit to you?

Cheers!

 

Fully agree, there's lot of great beer out right now and I just don't have the time to drink it all.

 

I'll also hit up ratings on BA before I buy something I haven't had, unless it's something from one of my favorite breweries. If it sounds interesting and is rated around a 4 I'll give it a shot. If it's a New Glarus beer I haven't tried I'm picking it up without a ratings check. Got a few good beers in the fridge with no stinkers using this method...which obviously isn't groundbreaking rocket science.

 

It's amazing the disconnect I'm experiencing with local startups, especially if they are using a mobile canning service. Lots of great scuttlebutt, but I'm at an overwhelming 75-80% butter bombs it seems; so much so that after another one last week I'm off of that type of brewery for good. Like you always say, there's lots of great beer out there, so why keep beating my head on the wall like that?