What's your beer buying strategy?

Is there a girl with me? Yes. Than go with highest ABV I can find.
Is there a girl with me? No, Grab some hoppy goodness and throw it down w those who appreciate it.

 

I try to buy local (Chicago, Illinois, Midwest beer) and try to only buy a bomber or two.

 

Buy fresh, buy local, start there.

 

anytime I go I try to buy something new, then something i regularly drink. In the rare occasion the new beer is a drain pour I still got the old stalemate. Worse comes to worse, pull something from my storage.

 

I look for local, seasonal, and then things that I have not had before. I don't usually go to the store with a particular brew in mind. I might also be influenced by what I've got planned for dinner that week, since I usually drink a beer with dinner. But I usually still pick up something that's a good tried and true brew incase I'm disappointed with anything.

 

My beer buying strategy = Buy, Drink, Repeat.

But as a serious reply, I usually stock up on seasonals first. If there's nothing seasonal that I want immediately available or on the horizon, I peruse my beer list and see what I like but haven't had for a while, and I usually pick a couple or three. When I go to the store, I look for those 2 or 3 and pick the freshest one. If none of those are fresh, I just grab the freshest 12 pack of SNPA I can find.

 

as usual, I'll be driving home from work thinking, 'ok, enough with the beer' - followed by "lets stop in (my local beer store) and see what they have" followed by $70/$80++ purchase of 'enough to last me a while' - followed by the same 'strategy' in 2-3 days....

 

I walk in with a printout of the BA top 250, give it to one of the people working there, and say "can I have any of these - especially Heady or Pliny"

 

I buy what I like, which principally involves flavorless old geezer brands but sometimes involves Barrel-aged $50 bank-busters, Sours, and Walez that will impress my Thirty-something and even more competitive Twenty-something beer-obsessed collector compatriots. But there's no real strategy involved, I'm just throwin' money around like there's no tomorrow because it's FUN to do!

When I used to spy on other retailers I used to just buy a can of soda and stroll through the store, but nowadays (since I earn better than what I used to earn at retail) I usually buy a single beer on the way out, too; those mom n' pops aren't keeping the lights on only for my benefit, after all.

 

Buy a lot, often. Keep Edmund Fitzgerald, Schlenkerla Marzen, Raging Bitch, and Gonzo Porter always available. Buy Terrapin Rye PA when I can get it. Try something new. Avoid Southern Tier bombers. Always buy at least one case of PA beer.

 

Maybe that's an old "standby"?...

 

I go to Ton Overmars and buy 16 bottles of St. Bernardus Abt and 4 of Prior.

 

My list of priorities appears to go in reverse order of many on here. I always start by checking on the bottle dates of my Ipswich and Sierra Nevada 12-pack standbys. I never really considered it, but I typically follow the 3 week or less strategy discussed earlier. Then I'll check the bomber/small quantity racks for new stuff. Then the coolers for new stuff. If I can justify the price of the smaller quantity stuff versus the age on the stand-by 12-packs I go that way. If not, I'll yank the freshest 12-pack and hit the register.

Keeps my costs down and I'm happy supporting breweries that keep my thirst satisfied and my bank account solvent.

 

I always have a plan of action. However, it NEVER goes as planned.

Example:
Yesterday I had high hopes of buying some Hopslam or Founder's IS. Did it happen? Hell no, of course not. It was all gone and I refuse to obsessively scour the region for beer.

So instead, I turn into a beer sniper. I buy what looks good, and I came home with a 4-pack of Hi-Res, 1 Gulden Draak Whisky Barrel Aged, Hop Henge, Vampire Slayer American Imperial Stout, 2 Rochefort 10's, and I grabbed 1 lonely little bottle of Orval just because it was there.

That's pretty much how it works with me in one form or another.

 

I usually go in with a beer or two in mind. If the place has a build your own six pack I'll do that so I can pick up something I normally wouldn't. It allows me experiment with different beers I might not normally buy.

 

See beer, buy beer.

 

When I was a kid in a candy store I had a much easier time deciding.

 

i need to stop buying beer. cellar is on steroids.

 

mood and availability my friend. I buy what I'm in the mood for, and what I know I will still want once its off the shelves

 

I usually convince my bosses to order really nice seasonal/limited brews for my restaurant and then just give them 2 or 3 bucks for a few at the end of the night.