Consumption questions

I think beer is both a delicious drink and a fun hobby. On this site, I tend to be a ticker, intending to review most beers that I consume. Generally, I'll go to the liquor store once a week and get anywhere from 6-12 beers, all singles, most new to me and a few familiar. Though I know if there's a party coming up I'll get multiple of the same beer if I know I like it. I keep track of both the beers that are ready to drink and those that I have in the cellar. It's just in the notes app on my phone and laptop, though my nerdy ass is considering making an Excel sheet for it lmao. I currently have 67 beers ready to drink and 12 in the cellar. I'm aware that it is much more than others have on hand, but I try to drink freshness sensitive beers as soon as I can and those not so sensitive can wait for a bit. All in all, I love going to the store and exploring the new options (there's a lot at my local) and grabbing and enjoying as I go!

 

I do have a collection of 65-85 bottles currently after my last purge of old ones. I don't add to it very much unless they are old standby's or I'm trying for a modest vertical. For beers I drink more regularly I get Tavour which usually gives a nice amount at the beginning of the month that I steadily go through until the next month. I have been making it a priority to drink my stuff at home more and buy less/none when out shopping. Certain bottle or 4 pack may find it's way home still.

As for why I drink it is for enjoyment and for a hobby really, I don't really see much of a difference between the two. You do a hobby because you enjoy it. Beer is so varied in styles and ways to make those styles that it keeps me interested, curious, and trying things out.

 

I have 20-25 bottles of Belgians, BBA stouts, and wheat/barleywines in my basement. Wegmans now carries Tilquin & 3 Fonteinen so that number will go up a little.

I rarely have more than 18 beers in the fridge; usually a mix of 2 or 3 different styles (IIRC I have FBS, Affogatto, brown ales, schwartzbier, and Oktoberfests in my fridge) and I tend to drink them down before restocking.

 

I usually have a steady cellar stock of 25-50 beers, mostly barrel aged stouts and barleywines, but also some non-BA stouts/BW and Belgians.

For things like lagers, IPAs, fruit beers, etc., I don't like to let them accumulate and go bad. I'll generally pass on buying anything if I have more than 8-10 beers already, unless it's something I just can't pass up. Exception if I have to stock for a party/gathering.

 

Ha ha ha... well played. That's only because we both live in old TB sanatorium cities.

 

While I don't really like to admit it, in fear of the wrong impression, yes, I do have a cellar with 100+ bottles. I also have a ton of fresh beer in the fridge for weekly drinking (I don't drink everyday - maybe 3-9 beers per week, more like 5).
I generally don't buy 4/6 packs. I buy singles. Usually new-to-me beers, but I have my old faithfuls.

I despise the idea of collecting with no intention of ever drinking. Beer is made for drinking, and I plan to drink every single bottle I own.

I also trade heavily. So sometimes, if I like you, or am feeling particularly generous, I'll grab a little something from my own collection to gift you. I see it as beer karma. I didn't pay for all those bottles. So why should you?

I also save particularly special bottles to share with others who share my passion. It's rare, but if two people can experience a magical bottle, that's so much better than me drinking it alone.

I always have extra cans on hand to include in trade boxes, and I buy beer specifically with that in mind. If I don't finish/plan to finish a 4/6pk, someone else will get to drink that beer. Nothing wasted, unless it's shit.

I don't drink hard seltzer. Love regular seltzer though.

I do not suffer from alcoholism, which is a very real problem, and I feel for those who do. This is more than a hobby though - it is a passion. One I love and respect dearly, regardless of ABV.

I have a giant collection of beer, and not one is a "collectible". They're all beverages. Unique, individual sensory experiences, hopefully to be shared with others. If I collect anything for display, it's the empty bottle after it is enjoyed. Beer ia meant to be enjoyed. It tastes and smells amazing, it brings like-minded individuals together, and it's something we all enjoy, for our own reasons. My only concerns are, A. Don't hang beer on your wall as collectibles. Buy art. And B. Be healthy and responsible. Beer should be fun. If it stops being fun, then consider looking inwards.

Just one opinion in a sea of many. Respect beer.

 

My son's old college dorm refrigerator was sitting in our basement and I took it for my exclusive beer fridge a couple of years ago. It works best with about forty beers so I try to keep it filled with the mostly interesting brews I can find from various stores, plus some volume beer in case my sons are home and they are hitting the fridge hard.

 

I grew up in springs. All those screened in front porches downtown and UCCS have their roots in TB. Crazy.

 

I found mine at Bevmo in Anaheim Hills. I do not buy beers that have to be shipped. If you check Bevmo and Total Wine websites they will show which stores have specific beers in stock. Bevmo can send you text messages when your selected beers are back in stock.

 

I don't, but I understand why someone might.

If I don't have room in my beer designated mini-fridge, I hold off on the purchase.

I think beer is meant to be enjoyed in short order. There are only a handful of beers I'll sit on for a few months to a year before drinking; most of those are barleywines or special release imperial stouts. The only beer I've held onto for a long time (both of which I currently still have) are a bottle of Epic Brewing's Big Bad Baptista 2018 because they've retired it temporarily and it's my favorite one, and Valiant's Chernyy Medved 2016 because every time I meant to drink it I thought "I've been holding on to it that long, I should wait to open it for a special occasion;" also Valiant closed in 2017 and it's one of the best beers they made by most accounts so makes me reluctant to crack it open on a normal night.

I try to only buy singles of things either through Tavour or one of my local shops. It allows me to try a large variety of things while learning a lot and developing my palate. In the case of four or six packs, I'll set one aside and drink the rest here and there without being analytical about them; the last one gets the notes.

I know this is a really regional answer but I quite enjoy the Ashland seltzers, particularly the special release ones (Malbon Fruit Punch and Orange Pineapple). Those really hit the spot during that last stretch of heatwave here in CA.

 

I am not much of a collector and i rather drink what i pursue, because that's why i pursued it! My fridge is filled with easy to drink pints, the soda amongst beers but i don't drink when i drive nor drive when i'm drunk and i sure as hell don't drink soda's.

 

I thought I was THE nerd because I use Excel to track the time vs. meat temperature and related trending equation to predict when my pork butts are done smoking. I have not applied Excel to beer...yet.

 

I tend to go through spurts where my beer fridge fills up and then I take a break from buying while I drink it down. Though I will fully admit to seeing something that looks good/interesting and buying it on a whim. I like variety but wouldn’t call myself a ticker, especially since I don’t track the different beers I’ve had.

I’m not one of those “totally falls off after a few weeks” guys, so I don’t mind having IPAs that are a couple months old. It helps that I’m perfectly content with drinking good beer. Frankly, one of the best decisions I made was to stop chasing after greatness. It helped me appreciate the beer I have in front of me and spend zero seconds worrying about what else might be out there.

Any cellaring is mainly the byproduct of not being in the mood for a high ABV beer. Those rarely last more than a year or so as I’ve found only a few beers that I really thought improved with age.

 

I suggest always drink one fresh when at all possible. Oskar Blues BA Ten Fidy was a good example to me why. Fresh was a holy sh!t moment, where I e aged was a fudgey, muddy mess, with a second aged one not so bad.

 

Ha, that's awesome. Excel is simple but powerful

 

I had a cellar of bottles I kept to enjoy the changes in beers as they age. For a while I traded and bought so many more beers than I drank the cellar grew to be well over 300 bottles. Along the way I realized most beers don't improve with age. It's fun to build a cellar, but some years ago I started to drink it down, and one year ago it was down to just over 100 bottles. My health problems then ended my beer drinking/cellar drink down, until better health returned. Last winter I had to do all my exercises indoors when it was bad weather, and I did them in the cellar staring at those beers as motivation to get to the point I could start to drink them again.

 

Now *that* is motivation for exercising! Well done improving your health sufficiently, I hope you keep at it, keep improving.

 

My inventory of beers fluctuates between 40 bottles on the upper end, and rarely goes below 10 (sometimes it does). I almost never buy single bottles, but rathers four-/six-packs of cans or bottles, and when I buy the large 0.5ltr (roughtly 16oz) bottles, I almost always buy 2 or more of the same. For some reason I dislike individual bottles ;-) Either the thought of drinking the same kind of beer together with a friend or my wife, or because of the thought: if I like it, I may want another one ;-) .
My wife gets kind of annoyed if there is too much stuff stocked in my garage fridge, and from time to time I make an effort to first use my inventory before going to the store and getting more. Sometimes that is hard, when there is a certain beer season coming up and I am still stocked pretty well with other kinds of beer.
The only kind of beer I may keep in inventory for longer durations are high ABV styles, like imperial stouts and such.

 

I have a pretty large cellar..250 - 300 or so..I haven't counted in a while..it doesnt look like that many. Anyways, I never buy beer to see how it ages and changes...I buy my favorite beers in quantity because living in Utah I don't have access to a lot of variety.

For example, last weekend I went up to Wyoming because they had got some rye on rye which I love. I bought (2) 4 packs...6 bottles for me, 2 for a friend and I already had 1 in the cellar. I drank 1 bottle that weekend and have the other 5 to drink over the next year or 2 cause I might never see it again. I've never pulled a bottle and thought it was worse than when I originally drank it whether that's 1 year old or 4 years old, so I'm not concerned about any of my beer going bad. I have my favorites to enjoy over time and if I find them again or can trade for them again I will.

The only beers I buy and drink right away are ipa's...I dont buy many, maybe (2) sixpacks a month..if I drink 14 beers a week, which is probably my average, 1 - 3 of those are ipas.