Quick question about beer pecking order.

I open my fridge and decide what I'm in the mood for. The only " plan " I stick to is I drink the best first and my biggest thing is after I've had a few to never drink a whale as I won't taste/enjoy it as much. I switch to something common - lower ABV after a few.

 

I'm generally a "save the best for last" type of guy, but with beer that may differ depending on the line up. If the beer I want most is a lighter style like Kolsch and I have two other beers which are an Imperial Stout and an IIPA, I'm going to drink the Kolsch first. But as a general rule, I drink whatever I'm in the mood for at a particular time. I rarely plan "sessions" or pick the order of beers. I see something I really want in the fridge and I drink it.

 

Usually I'll go from lightest bodied to heaviest but sometimes I'll jump right into the deep end.

 

If I am going to have several beers in a row I will push the best one or the one I want most closer to the front.

 

IPAs, Pale Ales and most light lagers go first regardless of whether or not they are the best thing I have in the fridge. Everything else is fair game at anytime because it has to be drank at some point, so why hold onto it for a long time.

 

In general, I like to go from light to dark (IPA, Amber, Brown, Stout). If I'm drinking something rare and special, I like to go in with nothing else on the palate.

 

I also usually what I am most interested in first. No set order in terms of styles.

 

Since hops tend to destroy the palate, I will usually drink big IPAs (or IIPAs or high-IBU stouts) last if I am mixing styles in an evening.

If I have a bunch of similar beers laying around for the night, I will generally go from more subtle to more extreme. The exception to both of those "rules" is if I have a beer I have been dying to try. That goes first.

 

I usually don't have anymore than 2 or 3 so it doesn't really matter for me. Just don't destroy your palate before drinking something special.

 

With a big day of drinking I tend to drink the best first, but on a normal night when I only have 3 beers tops I will drink the best last as a special night cap.

 

Two scenarios,

At the bar, I'll start with an IPA, then usually 2 DIPA's, and finally an Imperial stout to send me home. Some times there is a variation of a big Belgian beer mixed in.

At home I'll start with the best and go from there.

 

Taste buds get worse for wear with every beer, so I start with whatever beer I want to get the most out of. If I'm having more than a couple, the tail end will be still be good brews, but easy drinking, no thinking beers since I can't fully taste/appreciate them anyway.

 

In general, I would go from lightest to heaviest, but it really depends on what is available and the circumstances.

 

I drink the best or best new to me first so my palate is at its best. If I have already had the nights offerings before, whatever I feel like when I open the fridge/cooler.

 

Great beers always need a fresh pallet.

 

Hobson's choice

 

I typically drink one beer a day. I don't have a preference as far as what I drink other than wanting a particular style. If I have more than one beer I will typically have one rare/expensive/hard to get beer followed by one beer that is easy to replace. I have a few beers in the cellar and will often drink those as a means of celebration.

 

It's funny that you ask, as I tend to agonize way too much on setting my lineup for a Saturday or Sunday! Friday beverages are easy, usually an IPA or two that I know I like, and if I have a beer through the week it is usually a "cellar classic" that I have specifically set aside. Weekends though, that's tougher to set up. This is especially the case when I have 2 or 3 large format big beers that I am excited to crack open as well as a few enjoyable IPAs. I started incorporating the following weekend in with my lineup lately, as in placing a few beers at the end of the line that would work well as openers on the following Saturday. So basically, my last beer or two on a weekend day are lighter in ABV (possibly taste) that were there just in case I wanted to keep drinking but can easily become the opening act the following week. Trying to make sure the big beers make it through each week with as much of my perception left intact.

 

If there is a higher abv in my lineup I'll enjoy that one first. But, do you leave the best for last, I have difficulty with defining what is best. I enjoy all my beers so to my taste they are all among the best, each one is simply different in flavor or style. So the pecking order is determined by what I have a hankering for that day.