Do you buy commercial beer anymore?

[msiler]

If buying with a mind to re-use bottles watch out for Full Sail.... I was blind-sided with a 6er of twist tops from them.

 

[BadKarma]

I'll get a 6'er if I find something I've never tried before. Like I just found Grolsch Amber Ale, pretty good stuff actually.

 

[abracadabra]

I buy Miller Lite for the plastic bottles and Bud if I'm having a party for the people that like that kinda stuff. Every now and then I buy Grolsch for the bottles and hope like hell someone else will drink it. Sam Adams: Double Bock, Winter Lager, Octoberfest and Black Lager. Sweetwater's IPA, Blue, Sweet Georgia Brown and Happy Endings on occasion.

I find the more I brew the less I like commercial beer and it's not the taste they taste the same. It's the deleterious effects of commercial brew that I don't seem to get with homebrew.

 

[RickWG]

I like to try different beer styles and see if I want to brew them. I've found that I appreciate a beer more than I did before brewing my own rather than just going for the hoppiest brews.

One thing I've found is that lagunitas brewery has some harshness in all their beers i've tried. Kind of upsets me and I don't think I'll be bringing much of that home in the future. One I really liked and have since before I was 21 is genesee cream ale. Of course the old standbys green flash west coast ipa, anything by stone...etc.

 

[deharris]

Sure. If I'm brewing a new style of beer, I'll try to find several classic examples of the style at the store or bar. And when my wife and I go to the West Coast, we'll pick up hard to get stuff (in Philly anyway) like Full Sail or Black Butte.

 

[chthonik]

I drink too much beer and don't brew enough to subsist entirely on homebrew. I tend to buy hoppier beers for drinking, to try different hops, and just for sheer love of variety. I also buy limited edition beers to store, like Allagash Hugh Malone etc.

Homebrewing has definitely changed the way I think about whatever beer I'm tasting, and certainly how I talk about it.

 

[zoebisch01]

Yup. I like to try new things. Also whenever I embark on producing a well defined style I usually get several commercial offerings to help me focus in on what aspects I want in my version. Supply of HB in my house is way above demand, so I have really toned back on brewing for now, but regardless there are some things (like an IPA) that I haven't made yet so I bought a case of Brooklyn EIPA.

 

[AGBrewer]

I never have bmc in the house if a friend wants that they bring it themself. I do quite often try out different craft/micro brews just to get a feel of the different tastes and styles out there.

 

[c.n.budz]

I still buy commercial beer, just not as much as I used to. I find myself buying more 22oz's and single bottles than 12pks or cases so I can get a bigger variety I have a few favorites that I like to keep around and I love trying new stuff. I'll usually pick up whatever new IPAs my local liquor store gets

 

[FatMonsters]

Definitely still buy commercial brews. But homebrewing has definitely expanded my horizons for trying new beers. I rarely buy the same brew that frequently anymore.

Big thing now is brewpubs. If I like a style they have on tap, I'll get a growler to go home. And not that kinda growler...My wife wouldn't approve!

 

[xjiefx]

Since my first batch is not done carbing yet, I still buy commercial beers. But, I keep the bottles for my "soon to be bottled" Apfelwein.

Hope one day I'll be able to drink only HB stuff.

 

[rdwj]

I buy some, just not as much as I used to. I buy assorted things that I want to try for research and some other stuff that I almost always have on hand. I also have some Miller Lite on hand at all times, but I've noticed that it sometimes gets a little older than I should let it.

 

[dibby33]

I still buy a lot of beers. I don't have the time to make as much as I drink.

 

[mummasan]

I buy commercial beers - just not as much now...I have a soft spot in my heart for Red Stripe, I liked the Longhammer IPA I had a few months back and Blue Moon is a nice beer as well.

In Hawaii there are some local breweries and I buy their stuff sometimes...I also occasionally research expensive beer in small quantities when the mood hits me.