When do you have "too much" beer?

Most hoarding (we call it collaring around here right?) is excessive. If you've got a cellar full of j. W. Lee's, barleywine and traditional mixed ferm brews then maybe you're not crazy. The rest of us just have varying degrees of obsession. The vast majority of beers are objectively worse after 3 years, so I guess if you have more than 3 years of beer stores you definitely have too much

 

You have too much beer in your daily supply or in your beer cellar when you don't find the time or occasion to drink it so that the supply continues to grow faster than your consumption level.

I've been able to keep my daily regular beers to a mannageable level, but I collected 'special' beers (BBA stuff, etc.) and rationalized that the extra cost of these beers demanded a special occasion to drink them. Well the ones that I couldn't drink fast enough got old in the cellar and pushed past their prime age level in most cases. I've just about reduced the old ones to zero now, and have not added much new stuff. The moral is, drink it at your leisure, and don't wait for special occasions.

 

Obsessive collectors exist collecting just about anything you can imagine. Logic has little to do with it.

Beer cans...


Unopened beer


Whiskey

 

It’s only too much if it’s affecting you or a loved one haha. I have never had the patience to cellar, so I admire others’ ability to do so.

I work with a couple people with vast cellars who often will spend 6 months to a year just “purging” bottles if they find their inventory too unwieldy. Bringing loads to shares or having on their own.
Sometimes even bringing me a few aged gems out of the blue from time to time Even more reason to be generous with a cellarhead.

 

Personally, I think it goes to far when it starts to compromise your obligations to your partner, children, profession, or other basic lifestyle sustaining obligations. But if we are talking about how someone spends their downtime or disposable income, I think that is best left to them.

We all approach beer differently. While I tend to agree a beer in my glass is always better than a beer on my the shelf, if someone else wants a set of trophies, they are their trophies.

As for me, I try to keep my bottle count to double digits, but will admit it is a challenge at times.

What I find odd is being concerned about some other guys bottle count. Short of a friend losing focus on their real life obligations, I tend to think we are all better served by keeping our own house in order.

 

Care to elaborate?

 

'twould be the 'should i care?' comment he predicted in his OP

 

When do you have too much beer? When your fridge is full of beer and you decide to drink whisky for six months.

I've got about a case of beer collecting dust in my fridge, but so be it. It's getting hotter outside, so I'll get back to drinking beer at some point.

In general, I'd say if you have more beer than you can responsibly drink in a month, you probably have too much. That's not counting beers purposely aging in your "cellar" of course.

 

When you start storing beer in multiple places outside of your cellar, basement, attic, or fridge.

 

When the beer stored is so old it is spoiled or aged to the point of tasting like crap .

Many above mentioned reasons good as well.

 

This... so much this.... dont wait for that special time or it will never come around... I've burnt myself so many times and either purposely waited or sometimes just plain forgotten about that special beer and once I open it I find out I've waited too long... I only keep beers for verticals now and if I find a special beer now I drink it sooner than later

 

I get the having beer aging part. Some beers can truly benefit from this!
I try to drink what I have before I’m overwhelmed. As of now I have an estimated 80 beers in storage - some IPA’s that needs drinking now or soon, some stouts and other styles that can wait till I’m in the mood.
I try to not keep them for too long, but sometimes I buy more than I can drink..
To me - 80 beers is max. So I won’t be buying more for now..
Unless....

 

Having "Too much beer" depends on;

• Whether you drink less than you buy
• Whether you are storing beer long enough that it goes bad, which depends on the style and ABV
  
• Whether you can afford it
• Whether stored beer annoys family

I tend towards high-ABV Barrel-aged beers, so I usually only have one beer a night, and only four of five days a week, so I'm drinking under twenty beers a month. I usually buy more than that, and my cellar is typically over a hundred bottles/cans, which I feel is too much. I've been drinking it down the past few months.

 

It's the dissenting answer he didnt want.

 

When it all doesn't fit in your fridge? Me right now

 

I’ve been trying just that, but somehow more beer just magically appears...

 

Over the past few months I took it easy on beer spending because my wife was between jobs, and I was out for the government furlough. But that's all behind us now, so full speed ahead on spending

 

Your stash? Can we be best buds, . Damn the whiskey alone is worth a small fortune, love the beer can wall especially the old steel cans.