How do you define "go to beer"?

And pick which ever 'type' that suits you:

 

The beer I always buy when I just want something I enjoy. For me, that's Logboat Snapper IPA.The brewers are my friends and that beer and their brewery are my avatar.

 

I really don’t have a go to craft beer but propbably Torpedo is my most repeated buy the last 2 years or so, flavor and price combo. My go to AAL is High Life. I’d say both Torpedo and High Life get 3-4 purchase per year lately so really that’s not much of a “go to”.

 

I always have Old Rasputin, Two Hearted Ale or Centennial in the fridge, if I'm out for lunch or dinner I look for something local, in my neck of the woods Crystal Lakes Slalom King pops up quite a bit. That works for me!

 

Anything I can get relatively fresh that isn't too heavy, so sessionable. Lately it's been Zero Gravity stuff - Green State Lager, Conehead, Little Wolf, Bike Beer. All are in the 4-6% range and are beers I could easily drink several on a weekend afternoon.

 

Along those lines (and price point), when I lived in SoCal and couldn't find Pliny, either Beachwood Citraholic or Amalgamator served me well.

 

A "go-to beer" is something that you can default to for a specific meal, event, or something that you regularly enjoy. For me the criteria is typically something that is reliable in quality, is easy to obtain when in season, fresh when necessary, and enjoyable. A good litmus test for a "go-to beer" is something you could grab without a second thought, save for checking a date code or a price tag.

90min and Torpedo are typically my year-round choices to pair on a Friday with a sub sandwich or some pizza. Great Return from Hardywood is a semi-local I've been picking up quite a bit as well. Two Hearted and Zombie Dust have become recent additions to that list for as long as they're available. The problem I've seen a lot over the years is that breweries will hit a market hard when they first enter it, then it often tapers out over time and you're stuck with old beer left over from the market surge. I've seen Bell's come, go, and return again.

Depending on the season the unofficial list will change based on availability or what works best with the weather or holidays.

 

amalgamator is a beer I drink a lot. Love that beer! Swamis more because it’s always fresh and available at both sprouts and Trader Joe’s.

 

Something that I can easily purchase by the case, year after year and I like. Torpedo, PBR, DAB, Guinness.

 

I wonder how often BAs purchase their beers by the case (i.e., 24 bottles/cans)?

This would be an interesting thread with a poll?

Cheers!

 

For me, it's going to depend on the time of the year and where I'll be enjoying some beers! During the hot summer months, my guilty pleasure's are Corona Extra with a lime, of course, and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. Those are usually my main stays while hanging out by the pool. However, I also crave really good NEIPA's 95% of the time throughout the year. Now, as we go into the fall months, bring on all of the Oktoberfests, brown ales, stouts, pumpkin and amber ales! Any beer that really gets me into the mood of the season. November 1st is when I crack open my first Celebration of the season and that's my go-to for the Holidays. Spring time I start searching out some lighter offerings, NEIPA's, pale ales. If I'm in a restaurant and I spot SN Pale ale, I'll almost always go for that, depending on what they have for IPA's.

 

I define "go to beer" as any beer that I've rated at a 4 or above that is also affordable and available in a 12 pack or more (year-round or seasonally)

I have several go-to beers and usually keep at least one of them in the beer fridge at any given time. I just recently finished off a 15 pack of Dale's. Currently, I have the remnants of a 12 pack of Torpedo in the fridge.

 

For me it's something that never gets old, pairs with a variety of foods, is available fresh, is highly drinkable (aka. not too strong), and doesn't cost a fortune. Local is a bonus, too.
Mine is Dale's Pale Ale.

 

What I drink by default.
St. Bernardus Abt.
Gulpener Gladiator. (I'm a poor unemployed person)

 

When I see a fridge or cooler with beer, I go to beer.

 

Ron, I never heard of this beer before so I visited BA to learn more. Whoa, a score of 67.

Some snippets of reviews:

“It's kind of like a cheap malt liquor on steriods. Glad I only bought one 30cL. bottle.”

“Another one of those beer that I don't understand who buys this stuff!”

Well, this one was a bit more positive:

“One of the better 'head banging' lagers I have tried over the years.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/507/5724/

Maybe you need to post a review on BA to better ‘balance’ things out?

Is it finally time to start homebrewing?

Maybe at HomebrewCon 2022 (Pittsburgh) you can give a presentation about "My very first Homebrew".

Cheers!

 

Since I started being involved with commercial beers, I no longer review beers for fear of conflict of interest.

My very first homebrew was in 1973.