Ultimate Beer Goal!

I think you'll get burned out on ticking at some point. I used to be obsessed with constantly trying new stuff and spent a lot of money on mix-a-sixes, bombers, etc. and within 3 years well over 500 hads. What I found is that the beers that I truly enjoyed over the years got left out in the cold so to speak - for example when SN Celebration would come out, I would only buy 1-2 because I wanted to try stuff I hadn't had before..it became a competition in my mind. Now I'll pick up a sixer of it.

It is fun for a couple years though if you're just starting out.

 

Beer goal(s)?

Don't get a beer gut.
Enjoy beer in moderation.
Drink local.

 

what if the locals all suck big time?

 

Ultimate Beer Goal:

Drink for quality, not quantity.

 

Actually, just moved to Jackson, Wyoming and that is sort of a problem here. Snake River brewing has 1 or 2 decent beers and a whole bunch of misses imo. However, just over the pass in a different state we have Teton brewing. so yeah, technically it's not local but it's only brewed like 20 miles away. however, when i lived in Cali or Colorado or Oregon drinking local was basically a treat every time. Soooo much good beer out here.

 

I like trying to drink all the beers a brewery produces that are reasonable for me to get my hands on. For instance, I only need to try the porter, red IPA, and high gravity series from SN to be done with their widely available options. I only need to try to Kristallweißbier, Dunkelweizen, and Festbier from Weihenstephaner to round that one off.

Keep in mind that I'm only talking widely available options. I know I'll never be able to drink "all" of SN because I don't live in Chico, but there's no reason why I can't get my hands on at least one bottle of everything else they distribute to Indiana.

It's sort of like ticking, but rather than trying new beer just to try new beer, I'm trying to taste what the whole brewery puts out. It's easiest when you can buy single bottles, which makes the German imports really easy, or when you live by a brewpub, since you just order a sampler tray and go to town.

I think that judgement for a brewery is best made when you've tried a sizable majority of what they produce. One hit wonders like Upland (Harvest Ale, and though I've never tried them, the sour series beers) are less valuable in my mind than overall high-performing breweries like Sierra Nevada. If I would have only ticked Upland Harvest and SN Summerfest, I would not have come to this same conclusion.

 

yea I do not think I ever had a bad beer in California or Oregon, sadly I not been back to Washington since craft wave got really going. we have some average to decent HB being passed as micro here is about all I will say.

 

I started drinking at World of Beer in August of 2012. I am reached 950 in just over 14 months. Granted, some are draft and a same beer but in a bottle (that would count as 2 there), but certainly 1000 would be doable for you.

 

I think counting the same beer as being different on draft than in bottle is a kinda cheating as a ticker. SNPA on tap, in can, or bottle is still just a SNPA.

 

It hardly seems like you'd be able to fully enjoy a beer when it's just another tick on your scorecard.

Maybe I'm weird, but I have no idea how many beers I've drank. I've only reviewed one here. Sometimes I want to review a beer, but many times I do not. I think the hobby loses something when you treat it like an old arcade game where you put your initials in once you get a high score.

 

I have no clue how many I have had. Lets say a lot. I don't care about numbers but if I read about a good IPA or stout or something I think I would enjoy, I am going hunting (which I love and spend far too much on). My goals are more around visiting the great breweries and then talking to fellow beer geeks as I get drunk on amaze ball beers.

 

I've seen a couple people disputing this statement and I just wanted to voice my support of it. There is no question in my mind that setting a number goal of beers to try can cause "some people" to go a little overboard. Obviously Robert and I know nothing about the OP and our concerns my be groundless, but he is right to point out that such a goal can lead to problems. Aside from potential health risks, there is also the financial element of the hobby to consider. At age 22 there are lots of other things to spend money on rather than beer.

Again, these concerns may be groundless, but they are worth stating from time to time.

 

My own personal goal? I'm trying to find best "bang for my buck" beers. I like to have a beer or two every night and I'm trying to find styles and quantities that allow me to do so. Saving money on my "everyday beers" lets me go out for splurges once in a while.