Does "rare" equal "must try" for you?

I certainly want to try good beer. Unfortunately many really good beers are good because a small team is passionately crafting them instead of mass producing them. Small batches of really good beer don't usually go unnoticed and they therefore become rare. So in those cases I want to try rare beers but the want started with good beer and not rare beer. And it doesn't need to be expensive. Double Sunshine could cost $20 a bomber and it would sell just as fast. But it costs $10.

 

ofcourse rare equals a must try(eventually atleast)

 

This was my first thought.

But this negated my first thought. Personally, I think anyone becoming a Cicerone NEEDS to try everything. Actually, the more I think about it, I'm a firm believer in try everything all the time. I do it with food constantly (occasionally I actually like a mushroom dish!). Even if you had something before and didn't like it - retry it. Tastes change.

 

I will try any beer and rare doesn't actively figure into the equation. Will I spend significant time seeking a rare brew - nope. If I run into something and have the money, I'll try it, but not because it is rare. Sometimes it is a question of budget and the stockpile - Do I want one bottle of rare or six bottles of pretty damn good (especially if inventory is low)? The big question is would I buy it again, and that depends on how much I liked the "rare".

And what's rare? For me, Heady Topper is rare. I don't have the time to drive up to VT and find it and I don't trade. Therefore, from my perspective, it is rare.

 

There's no reason to believe that a rare beer will be any more enjoyable than more readily available stuff.

 

Random question but how often is black note released?

 

You can keep all the rare maple-bacon-white chocolate-doughnut ale. There could be two bottles produced, offer me one, I'll turn it down.

 

I thought the only beer worth drinking was whalezbro.

Seriously, there is so much great beer out there that's readily available there's really no need to search for rare beers. That being said if I see a "rare" beer available on tap or in bottles I will get it and if I'm on the trade forums and see a beer I want I'll trade for it but stressing about landing rare beers can take all the fun out of craft beer real fast.

 

I think rare = good. But I also think that rare = not drinking allot. I don't like Heady Topper any more... I have out drank it. If I had one a year or four a year because it was all I could get then it would still be great. So I think that rare keeps something good vs it being common and getting burnt out on drinking it.

 

I can really taste the rare in this thread.

 

They always keep old barrels ready for special events, but there is no set distrobution timelines due to how nit picky Larry Bell is on quality, so it has to be perfect for them to bottle it.

Last year it was out pretty much in line with when Hopslam was released. This year, probably going to be March-April-whofknknows......

 

No. But as someone studying to be a cicerone, I think you need to take advantage of opportunities to try something special that a lot of people are and will be talking about. Assuming that you will be using your cicerone certification to facilitate other people's beer experiences and not purely your own.

 

A beer being rare suggests that a lot of people really like it. Just because if a lot of people don't really enjoy it, there would never be a supply shortage and it would never become rare.

But there's no such thing as a 'Must try'. Just a 'Should probably try if you get the chance'.

 

Absolutely not.

If anything, "rare" = "not worth the hassle; I'll pick something up off the shelf and enjoy it."

Now, it might make me more intrigued, and if I happen to stumble across a rare beer due to dumb luck, I'll likely try it for no other reason than I'm less likely to get a second chance to try that one than another beer that's available.

 

I agree that engaging in a tireless search for "all" isn't a good use of your time and money, and if I am consulting a Cicerone I don't expect them to have tried everything, but I do expect her/him to be able to give me either an educated opinion or an educated guess. I think you should have tried it when the opportunity presented itself. Just as I'll not fly to Santa Rosa to sample PtY during its release but if a local opportunity presents itself...

 

Depends on a lot of factors, I'm a college student so money is usually the biggest of those factors.

I do make it a point to try and have seasonal and rare releases when the opportunity presents itself to me, even if it's a style that i'm not particularly fond of (I'm looking at you, Wheat Ales!).

Lemme put it this way, I would of never discovered my love of IPAs and bourbon had it not been my curiosity getting the better of me and buying half a case of Founder's Doom.

 

No, but I take rare into account when I'm deciding what to buy. It's all about value proposition for me. When I travel or have the opportunity to pick something up that I otherwise wouldn't be able to try (PtE, Zombie Dust, Jai'Alai, etc are all rare to me) then yes, it's a must buy. I wouldn't go out of my way to find something simply because it is rare. Also, those aren't expensive beers. If it's more than like $10/bomber then forget about it.

 

No. Try them all.

 

Whether its rare or not, if I haven't had it, its a must try for me.