Consumption questions

Did anyone else think this was a question about tuberculosis?

 

I have a giant collection of beer. I keep an Excel spreadsheet that tracks not just my current inventory but every unique beer I've ever consumed, and I save my BA reviews on there too (all 1,168 of them). Inventory was "down" to about 204, from a high of about 350, before fresh hop and Oktoberfest season started. I haven't updated the spreadsheet in the last week or so but I'm probably back up to about 215 now. Some of those beers are more than 10 years old. I rotate them into the beer fridge based mainly on ABV, with the higher-ABV beers staying in the cellar (some boxes in a dark corner of my garage, which probably never gets above the high 60s and is probably more in the 50s most of the year), as I think generally speaking, the higher ABV the more "stable" the beer is at warmer temps.

I never set out to build a big beer cellar; it kind of took on a life of its own (though, at the end of the day, I am responsible for that). When I first started paying attention to beer (right around when I joined BA, 10 years ago last Thursday), I was just overly exuberant. I would buy six bottles of Abyss or Parabola when they were released, and over 3 or 4 years those types of "special" beers started to add up quickly. Almost everything in my cellar is 10%+ ABV, and most of them are bombers or 750s, which is another reason this collection has amassed and been so difficult to drink down. I'm not in the mood to tackle a huge beer on most evenings and, frankly, it isn't very healthy. So they stay in the cellar and I pull one out when I'm in the mood.

So, to address this "problem," in the last few years I've dramatically cut back on the number of beers I've been purchasing. Instead of four bottles of B-Bomb I buy one. I don't chase down every new release, and I care less and less if I miss out on a few. Frankly, within a given style I think I've probably tried some of the best, and my learning curve is way different from where it was back in 2010. This enables me to appreciate the beers I do have more, and allows me to chill out about the latest new release. For me it's definitely a "hobby," for lack of a better word, and one that I've enjoyed immensely.

 

I have several hundred bottles and cans in my cellar, none of which is considered collectible to me, but most are being aged to see how they change.
Many were bought specifically to share with friends - beer (to me anyway) is something that seems to be better when shared.
But then some that were sent to me from BA friends I reserve just for me.
So while I don’t drink beer to help deal with life I do sometimes drink to help my lack of social skills seem less apparent.

 

Beer, the social beverage! Enjoy it and your friends often.

 

I usually have 12-18 bottles or cans in the garage refrigerator at a time, with perhaps 6-8 choices. Consumption is 1 or 2 a day. Sometimes I take a day or two off and drink large amounts of water to "detox".

 

Beer is a hobby for me, much like music, movies and travel. They all share similar traits, such as the ability to learn, explore and experience new things.

There are usually no less than fifty beers in the house at any one time, excluding cellar beers. Right now I have about eighty beers, excluding cellar.

In terms of buying habits, they are reflective of the Ontario market, which often gets beers in on a one off basis. So, when something comes in I want, I buy it immediately, because it might be gone soon and not back again. I have bought about forty new to me beers in the last two months. There is a real glut during the winter release season, so I buy a lot during this period. December is my biggest buy month of the year. Fortunately, most of these beers can be aged.

I’ve been keeping an Excel spreadsheet since 2004 and am over 3,000 new beers during that time. I am an avid collector of glassware and have a beer library of about fifteen books. I used to regularly host tastings, but this has drifted off.

When I travel, scouting out beers to try and bars to visit is part of the planning process.

So, beer is important to me and dovetails nicely with many of my other interests.

 

I tend to buy more than I can drink, and even with COVID going on I've made a small dent in my cellar but I'll still buy more if I come across something interesting. For the most part I buy mostly imperial stouts and other stronger beers so it's not like I have to drink those right away like I would if I was buying a lot of IPA's. I've had some beers in my cellar that were past their prime recently, so I am trying to make a point to not buy a lot of new stuff and drink down what I have. But with trying to to visit a lot of new (to me) breweries on the Ohio On Tap app and supporting my locals, I haven't been doing as good of a job of drinking down my cellar brews as I'd like to. But no, I don't buy any beer as "collectibles". I really do intend on drinking them quicker but it just doesn't work out that way sometimes.

 

It seems like more members from the 00s are likely to have a massive collection

I like to have a variety on hand, so try not to finish when I buy four, six, twelve, packs

 

Our fridge has four types of beers: "starters" which is the first beer, usually with a light snack before we fix dinner (a pickled egg, a few mixed nuts, etc.) Almost always something lighter and not needing a BA review. As we start meal prep, the "seconds" come out: a hazy IPA, pale ale, etc. We do a few reviews of new beers here but mostly regular rotation. Third group is the "new kids on the block", which is always something new and follows the starter and gets a review. Final group is the "specials" which are often higher ABV and we split them or have them for special occasions, such a camping in a favorite park. At this moment, that's 86 in total.

 

I buy beer and drink it.
Usually when a beer is aged is because I found it at the store that old or I got it in a trade when I used to trade. I work afternoons now a days with a lot of overtime so that keeps me from drinking during the week. Usually only buy stuff for the weekend as of lately. Back when I had more free time to drink it was becoming a problem. I used to try and age beers but that never panned out. Beers usually only lasted a year if that. Life's too short to hold out on to something that'll just taste less hoppy or more malty. Fresh is better.

CHEERS

 

Come on...

 

I'm no spelling ****, but you had a few spelling mistakes and I wanted to make sure I'm answering your questions correctly, so please correct me if I'm misunderstanding any of these -

Are you one of those guys who has a complete cellar of 100+ beers?
Yes, currently sitting on 192 beers.

If you buy a 4/6 pack of beer to you drink them before buying more beer?
No. I just keep buying what I want and drinking when I want something.

Or do you buy 4 four packs and drink one of each and switch around?
I just keep buying and switching it up. I will almost never buy a 4+ pack and drink them all in a row before drinking others.

Or do you grab a case of seltzer and kill that because calonries?
I do buy some seltzers for this reason, but I don't kill them. I just buy them as an alternative in my sessions, usually moving down in ABV, which are usually the lesser beers.

I guess my question is: Do you drink (require?) beer because it makes like more tolerable or is beer just some hobby to you.
I assume you mean "life"? If so, yes and yes. It does make life more tolerable when you have way too much going on in your life and you need a break. It's definitely a hobby. If it's something that you enjoy and you can talk about it with somebody, it's a hobby.

I know some people buy bottles they never intend on drinking simply as collectibles.
I buy to drink (enjoy, relax, share) and trade. I will never buy something that I won't drink or trade.

 

I like what you said and respect yours and everyone's tastes. My experience -
What I've found after a lot of aging experiments is that for big stouts and barleywines, age non-barrel aged beers and don't age barrel aged beers. For most of my big (10+%) beers, I'm holding onto them to kill the hops so they are more malty. When I want hops, I drink fresh or other styles. When I want malty, I buy aged or barrel-aged.

 

I keep 2 6ers of beer in the fridge (IPA/hoppy vs "keeper" split 50/50)... the outside-the-fridge "cellar" I try to not get past 1.5 cases/36 beers. Trying to keep same % of hoppy "gotta drink soon" vs. brown/stout/barleywine/etc. beer.

If I ever get more than 2 cases of beer anywhere, my wife would probably raise hell. All the more reason to get a beer fridge... to hide it.

 

My cellar is currently comprised of about 60 high-ABV BA dark beers. I mostly drink new-to-me single beers that for the last year have been largely IPAs and sours. So - my cellar has been aging, and luckily it should all age well. I rarely buy packs anymore, and for a while now I only load up on Bourbon County - because I love the Black Friday morning hunt, and can't help myself.

In Late 2018 and early 2019 I was on government budget furlough for about a month, and the cellar came in handy. Same thing this year with the initial COVID lockdown.

 

Usually, have enough assortment in the beer fridge that is made up mostly of singles of stuff we like.

However, due to Oktoberfest season, the beer fridge is loaded up and have run out of space. Gives me anxiety to have so much beer...! Haha

 

I always have my regular beer in the fridge (usually high life, budweiser, pbr) just because I like to have a beer or two with dinner or something to just crack open and drink for whenever I feel like a beer. Sometimes if I have some extra cash I'll pick up a six of something nice for myself, but it usually won't last more than a week in my fridge. I was never one to hang on to beer and age it, but that's probably just because I'm not really into that style of beer.

Also, it makes life more tolerable

 

I have never been one to keep a lot of beer around. Within the last couple years I have discovered the joy of aged beer. Now I buy an extra case of Expedition Stout to age. Last year I found 3 6-packs of 2015 Expedition in a sketchy liquor store when I was searching for old Irish whiskey. Bought one to make sure it hadn’t gone bad. It was delicious so I picked up the other two. Also found a 2012 Yeti recently.

So I have about 4 cases and enjoy pulling an aged Imperial Stout or old ale every couple weeks. Also enjoying the hunt for old dusties!

This poses a dilemma on my Expedition 35th Anniversary. I was lucky enough to get 2 4-packs, but I may not be able to get any more ever. I want to drink it but I want to age it! First world problems...

 

I've been wanting to try the Athletic stuff, do you find it local or are you having it shipped?

 

Current Situation (which is actually a lot for me):

Fridge:

1 Opa Opa Oktoberfest
1 Miller High Life
2 Long Live The All Seeing Eye DIPA
3 Long Live House on a Mountain DIPA
1 Trillium DDH Vicinity DIPA
2 Trillium DDH Melcher St IPA

Cellar:

2016/17/18/19(2) Bourbon County Reg Stouts
2 Founders CBS (from 2019 I believe)

I generally don't like to keep more than 5 or so time sensitive beers or I get a little anxious. As for the "cellar" - I never age anything more than 3 or 4 years, so that 2016 Bourbon County will be consumed shortly. I'm not a big believer in aging - most beers are best consumed fresh IMO.

I would never be able to have a huge cellar, I would totally lose my mind. I guess we're all wired differently!