Do you hunt high and low for your beer?

Zero,

 

I drive 10 - 25 minutes to the east, or west, or north to a liquor store or two or three once or twice a week, spend another 10 minutes or so picking out beer or passing on everything (unless I get into a conversation with the "beer guy" or a distributor/brewery rep - then I might hang around for a while longer).

Once or twice a year I make the 45 minutes drive, cross the Delaware into PA in hopes to find beer fresher or unavailable.

In the store I do check both the high and the low shelves.

 

Ever since I got a taste of Lapin Kulta when I was in Helsinki, Finland, I have been searching everywhere in the United States for it, but have not been able to find any. I guess I will just have to travel back to Finland some day.

 

My days of chasing beer is over. I have not traded beer in over 5 years. If I cannot find it at one of my regular stops, I do not worry about drinking that beer. I do not even go on beercations anymore.

 

I used to be willing to stand in line for hours and would hunt for the things that I really wanted.

I think the game has significantly changed over the years and the availability of excellent beer produced by local breweries has increased.

I still chase things occasionally but it's more of a passive wait to acquire some ammo and eventually go after it approach.

 

Nope, whatever is usually at my bottle shop, I'm good with. I don't trade either, although I understand why some people do, because it would be a) a major hassle, and b) I know I would suck at it. So why let people down?
And when I travel (*used to travel?*) I love trying beer at the source, in breweries, and I miss that. Dearly. I have stayed in-state since February...
Cheers!

 

Nah, if can't get it during my regular grocery shopping I am not interested.

 

I am willing to travel and wait in line for something really good like HF with a friend, but I'm not willing to travel far across states alone just to get beer. This whole stay at home situation has really made me care less about the new and good products and has helped me enjoy what I already have a bit more, since I have a fairly extensive cellar. I used to look on social media and if a store in the city got something I wanted I would run to go get it, but now I'd be fine going in a closer suburban store and getting a more basic classic 6pk and drinking that for a few days if I was seeking out some more fresh beer. I am willing to get a delivery if it is a mix of things I like, but I think going forward I will chase and hunt beers a lot less and take in more of what's already around me.

 

I used to trade very often, and do beercations. Now my favorite brewery in the world is forty minutes from here. Two others in my top twenty are even closer. Driving there is as hard as I need to "hunt".

 

Same. Not saying I won't stop by Total Wine or a local brewery if I'm near one but I'm not going out of my way nor waiting in a line.

 

Way less than I used to. When I first started seriously getting into beer I'd sometimes drive as far as 20 or 30 miles (which in Seattle traffic, pre-COVID, could equate to 2 hours round trip on the road) to grab some rare, limited-release beer, especially if I'd never tried it before. I'd go to brewery releases, mainly Fremont Brewing since they're a favorite brewery and not far from where I live, until they got so hyped that I had to spend an hour or two standing in line.

I've since realized that the vast majority of barrel-aged stouts, barley wines, etc. taste pretty much the same. I basically never chase beers anymore, and I'm happy with whatever I manage to find browsing the selection whenever I happen to be out. And I still have more than 200 bottles in the cellar from that initial beer chasing stage, some of them dating to 2010 (same year I joined BA).

 

30-45 minute round trip is about as far as I'm willing to go for a regular purchase, the exception is a specific brewery-only release I really want.

 

Years ago I would occasionally stand in line for something, but no more. Bell's was one place that I stood in line, but I gave it up. Ironically, because of the pandemic they have gone to ordering online with curbside pick-up, and they are announcing new releases nowadays, so it's easy to login at the time that beer goes live on their ordering list and try to get it. If I miss out, no big deal. At least I didn't stand in line.

 

I'm lucky there are 2 breweries and 1 brew pub within 3 miles of my home. There are also 3 stores with excellent beer sections no more than 10 miles away. There is also a beer bars 2 towns away that is one of the best in NJ.

 

One of the few positive things to come out the Covid-19 pandemic is doorstep delivery of top quality beers. I stopped hunting for beers years ago anyway, just stopping by a few select locations when I had time, but now I just search online websites and have it delivered.