It’s Friday, which is beer buying day for me. I’ve found this awesome beer store that’s on my way home from work. It has an enormous selection of really amazing craft beers, good prices and lots of cashiers to get you out quick. It sounds great on paper (or LCD) but why does it stress me out so?
Because there’s too much to choose from. I know my beers pretty well, but there are dozens of high-quality craft breweries out there each making multiple beers, plus scores of international brewers. This means I am faced with hundreds of choices when I walk down the mammoth beer aisle, maybe even more than a thousand. It’s a great problem to have for sure, but it’s still a problem – I’m frozen by abundance.
I’m sure many of you would like to tell me to quit whining. My brother Don lives in Idaho and he’s lucky if he can get Sam Adams seasonal beers – this is a problem many of you would like to have. But instead of berating me, I’m asking you to help me out and share your beer aisle strategy. How do you navigate amongst so many selections?
I usually go in thinking I’m going to pick up a couple of staples (Storm King, Arrogant Bastard, Stone IPA, Maudite for my ladyfriend, etc.) then go wild and try something new. What usually winds up happening is I get my staple beers and then I see some great brews that I haven’t had in while, so I grab those instead and wind up driving away with beers that I’ve already sampled. While this leads to guaranteed sipping pleasure, it doesn’t do anything to expand my horizons.
So how do you keep it fresh when you’re temped by the tried and true?
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Well, the cool thing about our ‘Brew Club’ is it takes a little bit of that apprehension out of the process. Each person is picks up a different beer, then we do a big exchange @ work. So, each person in our group walks away with a 6-pack mixer. Its almost like one of those beer-of-the-month clubs!
I get 5 beers that I had absolutely nothing to do with choosing. It keeps it interesting and most of the beers I end up getting I probably would not have chosen myself anyway, and so the ‘new stuff’ keeps coming to me.
Regarding my own choice, I usually have a few ideas of what I’d like based on what people have suggested here or there, but its usually a game-time decision.
Still, it can take me an hour to pick out my one six-pack!
Having five other folks helping with the shopping would be great. I’m sure you wind up with stuff you’d never pick fir youself. The store I go to has lots of singles, but it’s not the same.
It helps. I’ve been getting more and more of the singles for myself though, especially the bigger bottles. I don’t share those!
Scott, that is a great idea. I’m sure you have found some really great beers that way, and the cool thing is they are beers you may have never selected for yourself. Do you have more than 6 in the club? Do you get together for mixers once a month, week…? That is a really cool concept. It almost makes me think I might like to live in a major metro area, then I think of traffic and look out at my neighbors barn out my living room window, and think….Naaahh!
Don, I hear ya. Jersey has lost its appeal to me years ago – doing my best to escape! Its a good idea, but generally we don’t get together outside of work because trying to coordinate 6 schedules is near impossible. It would be nice though.