Anyone reach "the point?"

I guess I was always there.

I will always buy stuff I like first and then I try others.

Sometimes the ratio of new to favorites will change, but favorites are always grabbed first.

 

Reached "The point" some time ago..... I then became very disillusioned with craft beer...... My good friends if you ever find yourself completely dissatisfied with what your local purchasing market has to offer... then you have reached "the point" number two.. You must start making your own beer. It is not that crazy, just do it.

 

You are right on the money here. I always have the best of intentions of picking an old favorite, but it often doesn't happen. So much good stuff just on the shelves, let alone special releases or trips for growler fills. We are in a golden age my friends. Rejoice!!!

 

I'm only up to 300 some beers, and seeing as there's some with thousands of them under their belt, I'm nowhere near "the point".

Some old favorites to fall back on though :

Hoegaarden
Hauenstein
Central Waters Mudpuppy Porter
Shiner Bohemian Black Schwarzbier
Weihenstephaner Vitus
Coors Banquet (in aluminum pints)
Grain Belt Nordeast
Michelob Amberbock
Michelob Golden Light
Deschutes' Black Butte Porter
Lucky Bucket Oktoberfest (in season)
Redd's Apple Ale (bottles only)
Alaskan Pumpkin Porter
Schell's Goosetown
New Belgium Snapshot
New Belgium Abbey
Old Rasputin
Spaaten Optimator

my fridge is almost always stocked with these beers at any given time.

 

My cellar is about 70% beers I've already had. Bbpt5, bcbs, bomb, clown shoes, tweak, etc. Only about 2
10 bottles I have not had yet. I'm reaching The Point.

 

With sour styles I am constantly trying new stuff. I've been pretty much over the IPA craze for a while, so when I'm in the mood for an IPA I generally stick to the old favorites. I feel like the fad of "finding the next Heady Topper, Pliny" has led to a glut of meh IPAs so I'm out of that game for the most part...unless a trip to HF is on the docket. With other non sour styles I'll dabble in some new stuff now and again. So many years of seeking and hunting everything has led me to just want to know what I'm getting and be glad there are so many favorites to choose from. Way different than it was 10-15 years ago thankfully. What a great beer world we live in to be able to have this discussion.

 

It's hard to resist the opportunity to try something new, especially when so many great beers and breweries are coming out seemingly every day. That being said, I try to go 50-50, getting something new and something I know I like...just in case.

 

Nope, never. My favorite part of craft beer, and especially the trading aspect from my home on the West coast to the East and Midwest is trying beers I can't get out here. The bulk of my trading is Indiana/Illinois and 90% of the bottles I purchase locally aren't even consumed by me - they get boxed up and shipped out for something new coming from the East/Midwest. I can't fathom ever reaching "the point" - it's why I love the constant innovation and creativity of craft beer.

 

I reached "the point" a while ago. I got tired of dropping a bunch of dough on new stuff just to tick or get an untappd badge once I realized that while some of the beers were good many were just ok and more than a few were just awful. For some it's the thrill of the hunt, I just enjoy enoying good beer. For me that was accomplished by supporting local breweries and homebrewing. Either way, I get fresh beer and all the variety I want.

I'm absolutely not opposed to trying new beers but what beers out there are really "new" and not just a slight tweak on a beer we'veall tried already?

 

If it's something new from a brewery I know well, or have heard good things about I'll almost always try it provided the price isn't outrageous, i.e. BB Speedway stout @$36. If it's a brewery I've never heard of I usually look them up here before taking the chance on what is more often than not, another run-of-the-mill beer. There isn't something new and interesting every time I walk into the store, so I buy things I know and love more often than new. Trying to chose from beers I really like often leaves me standing in the beer isle for half an hour.

 

well lets see is that Not the point of beer. craft beer to try the new ones. Kind of a yuppie moment, a new beer a week?

Now that said. trying a new beer, AKA free sample and buying it regularly are two WHOLE different ball games.
Since the 1980's when craft started to take off here, everything was new. then the late 90's its all IPA's practically.

now its barrel aged, Bourbon etc.

I still drink my same regulars..IF they still exist many do not.

So in the store, yea I am close to that point. Still there is always 1 new 1, we got to try...

 

I'm so new to Craft that I am not even close to "The Point". I do find that I have 3 or 4 Beers that are established as staples. I make runs at New beers and then fall back to my staples. I've recently started picking up Bombers from un-tested breweries based on Beer Styles that I know I like. I'm already preparing to buy my first Growler probably a Stout.

 

Here in Southern New England craft beer is booming, so I'll never reach "the point" but I always mix in old favorites.

Perfect example - just picked up Stone Ruination - I always pick it up 2-3 times a year - and want to have it at least one more time before it's discontinued.

 

I have not, but I am pretty loyal to certain beers and breweries.

 

Yes and no, I'd say a good 75 to 80% of what I buy are great beers that I've loved for a long time. But I do still like trying new things. I'm just no longer at the point where I look down and beer aisle and see some mythic unexplored and exciting land. Still exciting, but you can never really get back that feeling you got when you're just getting into craft beer and the possibilities seem limitless

 

After a few years I can pretty much tell what I am going to like so most of what I buy at the store are repeats; however, visiting breweries is really what gets me excited about craft beer and delays "the point". I enjoy making breweries my stopping points on road trips, I enjoy just going for a drive to check out a new brewery (or 3) and I enjoy beer fests. I also enjoy stocking up on beers from out of state (last month I drove through Ohio so I have been drinking hop juju, head hunter, white rajah and bodhi almost exclusively).

 

50/50 here between old and new - I always love to try something new like Ballast Point, Kane, Carton and SingleCut (both of which have grown on me quickly in recent months) but I'll always have my old favorites from places like Troegs, Victory, Brooklyn, and Sierra Nevada. The latter brew many of my "go-to" beers but there's always new offerings that make their way into my rotation!

 

I think that I might be there, but can't come to admit it. I could be in denial or conflict... Sigmund Freud, where are you when I need you!

 

Going on twenty years of being a friend of good beer, and currently there are seven beers I've never had before: a trusted friend, two recent buddies, two homebrews with a third being planned that I'm doing just because it seems like a good idea. So, I have not reached the point.

 

"point" for me now is pretty much PRICE point. jesus christ beer is turning into the new wine. i like trillium for instance, but their melcher street IPA for 23 dollars a growler? uh, no.

not to even start in ad nauseum on short pours, 14 oz. "pints", etc.

as long as there is sierra nevada, i will be ok.