Buying Beer (Not Brewing Beer)

[justabrewin]

Disclaimer - I have had a few!

I read so many people on the forum who say they have not purchased store bought beer in months or even years.

As much as I envy these people because they obviously get to brew waaaay more than I do, I enjoy going to a liquor store (total wine) and taking my time picking out new beers I have not had.

I live in GA, so I enjoy mostly west coast beers when I can.

So am I the only one? If not what is the last store bought beer you purchased?

 

[ScoRas]

Stone Arrogant Bastard

 

[tknice]

Just had a Sneaky Pete imperial IPA

 

[klnosaj]

"Research" is one of my favorite parts of the hobby! I bought a mess of Kolsh, including several swing-top varieties, on my last trip to the beer store.

 

[Stauffbier]

I usually buy a 4 pack or two of something new or an old favorite every weekend.. On weekdays I only drink homebrew.

 

[dbreienrk1]

Picked up an Unearthly Imperial IPA and a Hopulent IPA. I only buy beer when I'm at a bar or when I'm craving something I don't have on hand.

 

[ktblunden]

As an aftermath of my birthday last month I have a ridiculous amount of craft brew on hand at the moment, and I still have some money on a BevMo gift card. I'm nowhere near ramped up to the point where I have a ton of my own stuff on hand and I just really like variety. I also look at it as "research" for possible future brews and of course I've gotta collect those bottles to house future brews. It's been a long time since I bought anything with a twist off, though.

 

[febbrewro]

I always buy beer to supplement my homebrew supply. I enjoy trying new beers, or picking up some old favorites. As much as I like my homebrew, I haven't yet come close enough to matching my favorite beers exactly.

 

[tchuklobrau]

$ flow does not permit me to purchace craft brew's any more frequently than a bi-monthly basis. I dont brew enought to develop a pipelinbe so i hit the cheap stuff regularly(labatt blue).

 

[Fastmetal]

I buy commercial craft brew all the time. My mini fridge under the bar has about 15 different kinds in it right now. I have 3 homebrews on tap and 3 more in the pipe line but I still like drinking stuff someone else made.

 

[Revvy]

I brew ALOT, probably more than most new brewers on here, and I probably spend MORE on commercial micros of an expensive nature since I started homebrewing....it's called research.

Especially hanging out on here, you read about so many interesting beers that you just have to try. You want to brew a new style, so you have to try a bunch of different versions. You want to make a clone of something so you have to keep buying to try to nail it. You have a full pipeling, with 3-4 beers drinkable, but you just happen to be in the mood for a double chocolate bourbon jalapeno porter, so you drop 12 bucks for a bomber of it.

When you start brewing your beery horizons broaden so much, you really can't escape buying beer.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Before I started brewing I mainly kept to the cheap stuff... PBR was the go to for me, but I did appreciate the micros. Now my horizons have expanded considerably and while the budget keeps me from buying as much as I would like from the store, I go and grab a few bottles of something new for "research" as well as more bottles for me to fill a few times a month.

 

[phenry]

If I haven't had it, I buy it. I'm not very far down the list, but I'm slowly hacking away at it.

 

[grendelrt]

I was at total wine the last 2 weekends buying assorted beers I havent tried yet. I love it =) Still doing research trying to decide what my next brew will be!

 

[thetragichero]

been buying a lot since most of my pipeline is bottle conditioning, but also because i need the bottles!

 

[oakbarn]

Euphroria from Ska Brewing as well as Third Eye IPA from Steamworks. Makes me want to open the fridge right now! Brought it back to Texas,

 

[Hammy71]

About once a month or so I stop by the bottle shop and pick up a 22oz or two. Last stop was two weeks ago, and I bought a Double Bastard and a Arrogant Bastard. Both went down this weekend. With six beers on tap, a full pipeline, and several cases of bottled beer, its hard to justify going to the liquor store to often. At least thats what SWMBO made me say....

 

[wherestheyeast]

I just started brewing and have three batches conditioning in the bottle (with more on the way!). But, I don't think I'll ever stop buying beer. I'm in Fort Collins, CO and live less than 2 miles away from 6 great craft breweries (including New Belgium). If I can't find something interesting to try at the liquor store, I know I can head to one of the tasting rooms for a sample (or more) of stuff you can't really get elsewhere.

Cheers!

 

[Qhrumphf]

I buy commercial beer maybe once, occasionaly twice a month. Just finished the last of a Nugget Nectar sixer I bought Friday night. But generally I can either afford to brew, or to buy commercial beer, but not both. So I end up sticking predominantly to homebrew.

 

[lowtones84]

I'm into Belgians, and no matter how good my saison is, nothing I create will ever taste like what actually comes from Belgium. I also enjoy the occasional lambic or gueze and don't have the patience etc. to make them. Even without that, I've only been brewing for a little over a year and I haven't been able to try my hand at all the styles I like, so I still buy a little something pretty regularly.

 

[mpenn35]

I buy beer occasionally, but not very often. I've got five beers bottled and another two on the way. The last beer I bought was a six pack of Vanilla Porter from (I think) Breckenridge Brewing Co.

At a bar this weekend, I had a side by side of 2011 and 2012 Hopslam and a Dragon's Milk. That's about the only beer I buy these days though, unless I see something that looks awesome or interesting.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

Today, I stopped at a store to look for beer in flip top bottles. They didn't have any, but then I remembered I need a growler for a starter. Local brewery's EPA. So I have to drink it all tonight...ya know, so it won't go flat.
Also, my ass is growing and growing as I try to build up my empty bottle supply with Sam Adams.

 

[kcpup]

I still buy beer at the store, but only twice a month. It is primarily Belgian beers, or the particular style I'm working on. One of the reasons I started brewing was to save money while doing something I enjoy ....I've achieved that objective, but perhaps not as successfully as my sweetheart would like. ;-)

 

[DonutMuncher]

I definitely like to occasionally grab a 6'er of some random brews. I don't brew enough so I frequently buy beer to hold me over.

I just bought a pack of Grolsch. Decent beer and adds to the collection of swingtops

 

[29thfloor]

So am I the only one? If not what is the last store bought beer you purchased?

Defintiely not. My most recent trip to the liquor store yielded:

6 pack Troegs Nugget Nectar
2 12oz Dogfish Head 120 Minute
1 12oz Brew Dog Paradox
1 750ml Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene
1 750ml Unibroue Terrible

 

[rjwhite41]

I buy a mix and match 6er at my homebrew shop twice a month. Usually for "research. Last week I got Celebrator (compare to my dopplebock), Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout (compare to my oatmeal stout), Lucky Bucket's Certified Evil (never had it and the brewer's a nice guy so I'll give it a shot, plus their IPA is good), Piraat (haven't had it in years but I remember good things), North Coast Brewing's Old Stock Ale (don't remember if I've had it or not) and I just drank the first one last night, it was a Shipyard XXXX IPA (a friend told me it was good). The Shipyard's ok by the way but not really anything to write home about, about halfway through it started to remind me of turpentine.

 

[nicholasrantamaki]

You have to buy beer to make beer, Right? Only pry off and swing top bottles though. You can get bottles online but it is more fun to buy a six or more and for a few bucks more than the bottles you get online you can enjoy making empties. I've been buying Sam Adams Alpine Spring and loving it.

 

[Genjin]

I brew mostly low gravity beers for easy weekday drinking, so I like to pick some big belgians, strong scottish ales, ipas and such on the weekend. Last weekend it was a sixer of Great Divide's Claymore (scottish) and Gouden Carolus Cuvee 2010. Couldn't drink any of that during the week!

 

[kman6234]

I definitely still buy beer. Just not as much as I use to. I like being able to try new styles and compare how different commercial brews taste. I consider it research for my homebrewing endeavors because it quickly let you know if you like a particular style. Also, it can help develop your palate by showing you how certain ingredients taste.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I started to save money (because I couldn't afford to drink much unless I did it this cheap). I haven't bought commercial beer since moving in July, except when I have been out on a date. I have had another few bottles at parties, etc., but I am happy enough with my own stuff. I can't help but think that I can make a case for the price I would pay for a sixer. I am also a lot less experienced in the craft beer world, so I don't know what I'm missing or how short my sophomore efforts fall compared to the really good stuff.

 

[kaz4121]

As much as I love homebrewing, I still very much consider myself a beginner (brewing for just over 2 years), which is why I still am very active in trying new beers of all different varieties. This helps me better understand my likes/dislikes in beer which in turn, helps me refine my homebrewing to produce elite beers. Eventually i would like to get to the point where I am drinking 99% homebrews, but I think drinking exclusively beers made at home can create tunnel vision and lack of "beer culturing" at least early on.

 

[kaz4121]

also i like to use pacman yeast as my house strain, and for the same price as a smack pack, I can pick up some rogue beer

 

[SavoryChef]

I haven't bought commercial since the beginning of the year when I bought my 25 gallon setup. Its getting warm so I have to brew enough to get me through half the summer. Then I will buy some.

 

[Lancer033]

"Research" is one of my favorite parts of the hobby! I bought a mess of Kolsh, including several swing-top varieties, on my last trip to the beer store.

exactly...i haven't bought a 12 pack of normal beer in a while, but i buy craft beer all the time.

 

[Disintegr8or]

I always buy beer when I can to see if I find the next beer I want to try to clone.

I was out of town this weekend and spent about $80 at Total Wine on different beer just to try them.

I like the DFH Aprihop and Tommyknocker Black IPA. I haven't been able to sample any more yet.

 

[Huisache]

I need to research before I brew. Why would I brew a style I have never tasted before? This is one of the many reasons I love a "Build Your Own" Six Pack.

 

[Calichusetts]

I brew ALOT, probably more than most new brewers on here, and I probably spend MORE on commercial micros of an expensive nature since I started homebrewing....it's called research.

Exactly...I would have never thought to try summit hops until I tried Widmer and Great Divide. You can learn so much from this type of research and it does broaden your horizons...I'm certainly going to try a style before I brew it. I wanted to try a steam beer until I tasted Anchor this weekend. Not for me...I might try one with some spices but the whole California Common segment of brews is really not up my alley

 

[hwilshusen]

Just yesterday I realized I was going to be short a couple bottles for a batch I was going to bottle. Ran up to the supermarket bought 3 Grolsch 16 oz flip tops. $2.38 each. My local brew shop sells 16 oz amber flip tops for 28.99 a case of 12. (2.41 ea)