Coming down after a "whale"

I have been lucky enough to get a lot of amazing beers lately that have been on my list(Many TH, Bissel Brothers, KBS, BA Ten Fiddy, BOMB!, and so many more), and I must say they are all amazing. But to be honest, they all start to kinda meld together for me... I find myself recently gravitating toward local beers of simpler styles (browns, pils, milk porters) and it reminds me that their is more to the world of beer than just hunting whales.

 

The other factor is $. I've been in a three-four yr spending spree and I've notched quite a few whales. After a while you'll want to throttle back just a bit while at the same time re-appreciating more attainable/affordable brews.

 

I've been fortunate enough to try a few beers I've wanted to try for quite a while, some of which are considered whales. To be honest, I come back down because I see the experience of a delectable beer as one of many. I may only get to try Black Note once, but I got to try it, and experience it as it warms. After that, it's onto the next one. Maybe I'll get to try that whale, or a comparable whale again, or perhaps I'll find some local brewer who is cranking out a similar product that I don't have to trade a box out of my cellar to get. That's the beauty of the selection was have today. For every beer considered a whale by BA, there are at least a dozen others out there approaching that level of quality. Trying more beer puts you closer to finding the next. it also means I don't get jammed up trying to get another Black Note, BCBS Coffee, Pliny the Elder, Treehouse/Trillium, etc.

When I first joined BA, I did want to buy as much of a good beer as possible. I ended up cellaring a couple boxes of Founder's Imperial Stout, Bell's Expedition Stout, and SN's Bigfoot total thinking it would be nice to have a hearty, good beer on hand. To be honest, I haven't touched any of my original cellar stash. I put a bottle of the Imperial Stout from last year and this in the fridge, but haven't touched those either. There is just so much good beer out there. No sense in getting hung up on one.

 

Just remember: it's just beer. It's wonderful, it's magnificent, but at the end of the day, it's just beer - and there's always another target down the great beer path of life to seek. Enjoy the beer you're drinking.

#RespectBeer

 

I usually sink into severe beer-pression that last around two days and then it's on to the next beer whale or not. Honestly tho I haven't tried that many whales or top beers (7-out of the current top 250) with BCBS being the highest BA top 250 I've had. It use to be more than that but with the NE IPA craze a lot of great beers I have had are getting pushed down the list. At the end of the day I still try amazing and good beers weekly even if they arnt highly coveted in this forum.

Cheers BAs

P.S ISO Whalzzzz....

 

When I'm not near the beer that I love then I love the beer I'm near.

 

Only having whales or beers that one feels are special all the time makes them lose their allure. Enjoy your everyday beers and the whales on occasion so they keep their appeal.

 

It sounds like you need to start road tripping and hunting down great beers or to get into trading. I am like you drinking a coveted or high rank beer is special and I don't have local beers that I get excited for. Once you have had the "best" its like chasing the dragon you are always trying to find something as good. For me I spend a lot of time going to beer festivals (in last three weekends have gone to 3 and had amazing beers) I also travel to find great beers and work with friends and family to have them bring me back beers. You would be surprised at how easy it is to get awesome beers if you put a bit of effort into it.

 

I was going to say the same as most of you. You have just had the best beer of your life but believe me another one is coming and it might not even be a whale. Beer is like that. As your palate changes and gains more experience you will be always on the lookout for new beer and hence the next great exbeerience.

 

The only thing better than the beer that you can't get is the beer that you can get.

 

For come downs, I'd recommend a xanax, lots of water, and some greasy food.

 

What @scream said. The thing that makes a "peak" a peak is that there are valleys around it. You can't live your life with nothing but peaks and amazing days and the best of everything. It would be tiring, and believe it or not it gets boring. If you have fancy dinners at world class restaurants every single day, you get jaded and bored.

And here's the real trick--if you don't obsess over your peaks, and just let them happen when they happen (yet still enjoying them as they come), ideally you start to appreciate the "valleys". But what's really going on is that you realize the valleys aren't really valleys. That grocery store beer that you think of as a "come-down" beer is actually a peak. Then all of a sudden you don't have to chase the peaks as much.

holy shit I just blew my own mind. headasplode.gif

 

For me to actually have tried beers of that nature, it requires a lot of stress and money. So afterwards it's refreshing to keep it simple.

 

This is not a problem for me at all.

Several years ago, thanks to a post made by someone on this site (who has now left the site), I realized that for me the best purpose for a special beer is not to celebrate getting it or to celebrate some other event. Rather, the purpose of a special beer for me is to make a bad day into a special day.

 

Aristotle couldn't have said it better himself....plagiarize much? Mind blown

 

Another option anti to your original question is: How about seeking out other whales that are comparable / arguably better?

I personally enjoy Parabola more than BCBS for instance. And KBS (although not as good) is released in just over a month. Pirate Bomb! was also one of the best BAIS I've had in a while too. So there's no shortage of delicious options.

 

Come down? Heck no, I just drink all whales now.

Oh, wait, that's not right. No, truth is after a while you realize that the finest beers that are hard to get don't really taste THAT much better than others that are far easier to get.

Around here the problem is enough time to drink all the world class offerings.