How do you decide what to drink?

I'm in a similar situation to OP, where I live in a 3rd floor apartment and my "cellar" is the bottom cabinet in my kitchen and whatever space in our fridge I can claim.

For me, priority starts with freshness. If I have something hoppy I'll try to drink that first.

I don't drink much on the weekdays, but when I do its usually something I've had before and I know I'll enjoy. The weekends for me are all about trying new beers and reviewing. From there, its usually what I'm in the mood for. I usually try to spread out styles, but it kinda depends on the weather/time of day/what I'm doing. On a day like today where I'm just playing video games and have no plans I won't watch ABV and just dig into whatever catches my eye.

 

Most Toppling Goliath to least Toppling Goliath?

 

Occasion, mood, food pairing

 

I don't have any problem choosing what I'll drink from my regular stuff in the fridge. I'm always either in a definite hop mood or a malty mood, so I grab whichever of those types are closest to the front.

If I'm looking in my 'cellar' fridge I'll usually know ahead of time what I want just because something caused me to think of a certain beer. But if I don't have anything particular in mind, I'll just stare at them until one of them says 'drink me, drink me.' Usually what causes that to happen is that while staring at them I'll think of some BA post that said that this beer or that beer shouldn't be aged past three years, or something like that. You guys help me frequently.

 

I never put much thought into it. I have roughly 300 beers on hand at any time and focus on my hoppy beers first. Depends on my mood, weather, time of day, and if I want something new or something familiar.

 

If I'm at home the hoppy stuff always gets first priority. From there it's just whatever really strikes my mood. Some nights I just go digging in my cellar (the back of a closet like the OP) until something catches my fancy. If I'm at a bar I usually look for seasonal or special release stuff that I happen to stumble into first if nothing like that is available it's just whatever in in the mood for at the moment.

 

Really depends on my mood. Unless a special occasion is upcoming, such as the Super Bowl, then I'll pull some nice things out of the cellar. Otherwise, just depends on what is in the fridge at the time or what season it is. I tend to drink certain styles during the seasons, for example, like winter, more stouts and barrel aged big beer.

 

It really all depends on the season/weather and what I really feel like having. For me, beer is all seasonal and that greatly determines what I'll have. In the winter time i'm found having more stouts, barely wines, old ales and higher abv offerings. Come spring time, I have my traditional BBC Cabin Fever Ale, and then start with some medium ABV Spring beers that aren't as heavy but still carry enough alcohol to keep you warm through the cool spring days. When the dog days of summer arrive, I'm crushing Goose Island 312, SN Pale Ale, Founders and of the like. There are a few bottles that I will buy with the intention of sharing with a friend who would appreciate it or a new beer to try with a fellow beer enthusiast.

Tonight I started it off with SN Celebration and I'll be quickly cracking into some Brooklyn Black Chocolate stout because it'll be colder than a witches tit here in NE CT. The 10% abv will help warm your bones.

 

Let the liquor do the thinkin, Bobandi.

 

If I have four of one style and just one of another, I'll take a couple in a row from the four before having the sole one... I like to try to keep things "balanced."

 

moods

feelings

fleeting moments of appetite

hormones

 

I tend to always drink average beers first and always put highly rated beers on the back burner until I have some good friends to share it with or if a special occasion presents itself. I've been starring at a bottle of Hill Farmstead's Aaron since last August. I just don't wanna drink it cause then I know it'll be gone and I'm gonna want more. I also have a bottle of Prairie/Evil Twin's Bible Belt that I got in a trade about a year ago. I still haven't gotten around to drinking it but I might just have to take it out for the Super Bowl.

 

HORMONES!!!??

 

I mean im not gonna lie, ive opened the fridge and stood there staring before for a good 5 mins trying to decide what to drink. But just whatever I feel like really, no system.

 

I like to jump around a lot so I'll typically settle on 3 or 4 different styles and drink in a rough order of least to most bold, flavor-wise.

 

I've been in that spot where I'm just standing and staring at the beer deciding what to drink...the last time I did this though my wife came by, grabbed a beer, told me to drink that and close the damn door!

 

90% of the time I want to try a porter/stout/ipa that I've not had yet. If I've seen enough people on here posting a beer they like I tend to give those a shot. If a brewery has a sweet label/logo I can also be swayed that day too.

 

On my commute back home, I run through a 'mental' inventory of what I have on hand and most often, I am able to choose a particular beer and/or flight for the afternoon/evening.

 

I love how people always bring up the fact that the higher ABV beers and liquor will "warm you bones;" only to lead to hypothermia and/or frostbite that much faster if you actually have to spend any considerable amount of time outside in that frozen hell (aka the Northeast & the Rust Belt).

 

I just browse until I feel my neurons fire in an obvious way that - that's the beer for me at this moment! If nothing fires, then perhaps save the beers for later until you really want them.

 

Whatever sounds good at the time.

 

Typically, if I have a well stocked fridge (which I usually do), I'll pick something based on my mood. Sometimes I'm feeling some hoppy goodness so I'll go for an IPA. Other times, I'm looking for something dark and roasty, so I'll go for a Porter or Stout. If you aren't in a particular mood for something, close your eyes and pick something

 

I have the beer organized by a pseudo IPA to BA Stout spectrum.

Will gravitate towards drinking the harvest ales and IPAs as quickly as possible, but usually I start perusing a shelf based on what sounds good at the moment. A step further is how many I plan on drinking...if more than one I may pass over a known favorite for one of my "ticking", new-to-me beers.

 

Blindfold yourself and then just start grabbing.

Get the GF/wife involved too, good times...good times.

 

Here is my scientific method (patent pending):

A: Weekdays I tend to drink 12oz sized, not-too-high ABV beers
1. If I have a rotating availability beer that I never had before, I will try it in case I want to get out and buy more
2. Else if I have a weather-appropriate, 12oz, I pick that one
3. Else I will have a beer I did not have before (non-rotating availability)

B: Weekends are for higher ABV and/or higher volume bottles
1. Friday and Saturday I usually pick one of the bottles that I kept eyeing during the week, but did not meet the criteria for weekdays
2. Sunday I will have one of my favorites

As an alternative, you may also try something like 'Next Glass'. Whatever your problem, there's an app for it.

 

Was there any doubt Betty was in therapy?

 

I love stouts especially BBA. But I like them aged. Additionally I like IPAs fresh. But also enjoy some with a little age on them too. So I try to drink the IPAs fresh and squeze in a BBA stout every few days.

 

I grab a chair, open the fridge and wait....first beer to break a sweat gets pulled.

 

if I have an IPA in the house that'll be on the chopping block first. Other than that I usually waffle between a sour and something else that's reasonable to drink on a weekday. On a weekend it's balls out and high gravity. I may also have at least 30 cases of bombers in my house so it's a challenge to decide what gets drank on any night. I usually spend a good five minutes picking my poison.

 

Depends entirely on mood, if I'm drinking with anyone and if I've got a beer that should be drunk while fresh. For example: I've got a friend who likes beer, but isn't into the face-murdering hops that are rampant in high IBUs. So, I'll whip out the brown ales and dark lagers for her, and keep the hoppy stuff for me.

If you have a few different kinds of the same style, you could have a theme tasting.

Mainly, though: if sounds good, drink it.

 

Sometimes I try to pair a beer with what I'm eating that night. Sometimes I just grab what ever I want....in a beer, that is.....

 

This is mostly about mood, but other factors might be what I'm eating, is there company over, whether it's a new brew to me, and which beers are freshest.

 

My decisions are always based on who I'm drinking with. If it's just me (sad story), then I typically go for a low-key IPA. If it's my wife and I, we typically reach for a good stout. If there's a lot of people, we go for some fairly special things to increase the wow factor, but nothing super hard to get unless we have enough to go around. And on the small, real aficionado beer parties, we break out the good stuff!

 

What if your beer chooses me instead?

 

I grab whichever beer in my fridge is least similar to the ones I just had.

 

If it's with food that makes a big difference. Otherwise it's whatever Is closest to the front of the fridge. The cellar stuff is really just for special occasions

 

I like to mix it up. So if I've had a certain style for a few days in a row, I am guaranteed to grab something different the next day.

 

Go with a combination of what will expire the soonest and what goes best with what you plan to eat that day.

 

sounds to me like someone needs to invite some friends over for a tasting