10K may be the gold standard, but I don’t know that I know that much more about rating beer than I did after 5000 scoops. At some point many people begin to slow down and prioritize their ratings based on interests, and if you have 5K+, I’m wondering what yours are. I have always prioritized good lambic, but I’ve been aiming for 10%+ beers for the past few years, mainly because lambic isn’t indigenous to the U.S. and I don’t tick like I use to (and bigger beers are RICH, which I enjoy). What about you?
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I still chase ‘Stats’ and love people posting them on here, so I can see if I’m on ‘a list’ or ‘table’ they’ve produced. The UK forum is good for this sort of thing.
I should prioritize, but as I travel a lot it’s more fun just finding new beers to rate when away from home. I do prefer heavier ABV beers but they cost a bit more these days and I rarely treat myself.
As for knowledge, I doubt I’ve progressed much since I had my first 5,000 different beers.
<*))))))><
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New country and regions, or new places still excite me but I am way more casual about finding new beer ticks.
Pre-COVID I started a quest to rate a beer from every brewery in Ontario and I managed it in 2018 (Minus what that was kind of ephemeral about actually brewing). I restarted that again in 2021, and as of this month I am down to one untried brewery that was open pre-2021. (They keep opening new breweries so it’s a moving target! Lol) That started fun and turned into a bit of a slog as a lot of the new places are not always making amazing beers.
Before I restarted that brewery quest I had shifted the balance of drinking towards repeating beers I know I like more vs always chasing new ticks, which I will likely do again in future. I still like to rate and try new beers but my enthusiasm for ticking beers i know in advance are going to be bad has waned a lot. I also still don’t go out much anymore - partly bc I moved to the suburbs and it’s a pain to get to some places but I also just became more of a homebody (which started pre-COVID but my tolerance for crowds is still super lower after two plus years of not being out much)
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I’m a real basic ass bitch so I mostly just try to spend my money on local freshies, either normal hazies, WC ipas, or crispy bois.
Not anything with fruit or vanilla or lactose in it because those are mostly gross. Not pastry stouts or that fruit sour garbage either. Don’t hate those necessarily, but also don’t want 16 ounces of it.
When I travel for work I venture out a bit, I guess. But on a normal week it’s just a few cans of local IPAs or Pilsners.
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I still chase numbers but tend to focus towards things in styles I like. I think most modern IPAs are an abomination so I rarely get those unless it’s a new to me brewery or I need to throw something on a flight or am totally bored while out. All things being equal I will stock up on things in styles I like.
The downside of my approach has always been what I refer to as the “Tyranny of the Rating” where I will pass up something I know I like in order to try something new that I don’t expect to like anywhere near as much." Trying to do that less often or at least mix in known good stuff with the ratings when I am out and about.
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I don’t really think about it too much. There are local breweries I try to have every new release from, and new cider producers are getting harder to come by so I’ll always pick those up. But that’s about it. I just buy what I fancy, with priority given to new breweries. I save my special ‘big beer’ purchases for when I’m in the EU.
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I support the local-ish breweries I like - Schlenkerla, Yankee&Kraut, Bierol for instance. That means my fridge is typically filled with Lager and some Haze. I also still like Hefeweizen, just like I did before I started rating beers.
and of course I get my share of Lambic too 
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Still like to rate new breweries. Otherwise, it’s a focus on breweries I really like or styles I really like (these days that includes west coast IPAs and similarly styled pale ales, lagers, other more traditional takes on stuff like stout, porter, mild). I have also cooled a bit on pastry stout and sour beer in general. I too still enjoy the styles but not interested in drinking a lot of them.
And wherever possible I try to buy local breweries.
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One thing that helped me get over this is that I realized I have a limited capacity for alcohol consumption and started to view this as burning my “budget” on things i wasn’t actually enjoying, so I started to think more about when a tick is “worth it” vs just enjoying a beer.
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I had been looking for good beer for a fair time before I started rating. Roughly speaking it was a late 80s trip to the UK and Germany that made me realise there was variety and quality out there.
Nowadays it’s about sorting the wheat from the chaff.There is a lot more good beer available now but there’s a lot of mediocre stuff too.
I’ve been a little surprised by the extent to which my tastes have broadened but not really changed - a beer I rated 3.8 in 2010 I almost always find I still like. I like weak dark lagers and strong pale ones a little more than once I did (but still not that much) but other than that my preferences haven’t shifted much. I am of the view that ratings skew towards the new and good rather than the good.
I like IPAs but find there are many good ones but few great ones - and the fact that brewers are cranking out dozens of beers a year with different hop combinations instead of trying to get one right is not helping. (This is our fault of course.)
The lean of hazies and stouts has been towards sweet in the last decade. This has not suited me. I don’t abhor fruit or cake in beer but often it signals lazy brewers pandering to variety-seeking sweet tooths. You can’t blame them though - the market is there.
I also am conscious of an alcohol budget and start to question whether a beer justifies its strength once it gets above 5.5%, 8% or 10% ABV. A 7% beer that’s just a pleasant quaffer is not a good beer. A 12% beer better offer depth and presence to be worthwhile.
I love lambic and Flemish red beers but find I like to drink them only every now and then. It’s lucky they keep well.
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To add to my original post, I still chase ‘stats’ and change my drinking habits often. Like getting all the US States, wanting more ‘Regions’ and Countries, adding breweries etc, etc.
I had a mad couple of months chasing Irish and Northern Irish beers last year, then Mexico, it’s fun creeping onto leader boards or peoples ‘stat posts’.
I currently have 50 or so beers in my stash and the USA features heavily at the moment, but so do ciders and cheap supermarket stuff I’ve picked up. Everything is in Best Before Date, as I’ve had too many old beers I’d forgot about while chasing those various stats. I will reduce my stash over the couple of months, then reassess what I fancy chasing.
<*))))))><
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In general I focus on New England breweries with emphasis on lagers.
I do chase styles and trying to get all of them above 20.
I also like collecting new breweries, regions and countries but I do so quite casually and it’s just mostly luck when I run across.
When I travel I just like to grab new local breweries and if I can accomplish style goals or regions all the more merrier.
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I know I am ready for the next big hype style to be released to remove all these hazies from the taps/shelves. I’m not chasing knowledge at this point as much as I am the next beer to tick.
My focus tends to be on new breweries, countries, regions, and increasing my stats in other categories.
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Good question. Even past 20k I’m always eager to try a new local brewery. A wealth of great beer to be had in Wisconsin and across the USA. I’d love to go abroad, but in this huge country I’ve got a thousand places to visit.
I still chase goals like new breweries, new style and state milestones. Still seek out new territories, states, countries.
I still connect with the friends I’ve made through here. Just cause the site is in slow decay doesn’t mean our friendships are. One of them just moved about a thousand miles closer to me and I’m psyched about that. Saw another on randomly yesterday and that was awesome.
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For some time my focus has been on best 1% of beers. Criteria is beers on untappd rated 4.50+ (mostly imperial stouts and barleywines) + best beers in style on Untappd and Ratebeer. I’m interested in styles I haven’t tried so much, under 50 ratings for me. When traveling I’ll be happy to try new breweries and will actively look for good lambic and great lagers, don’t mind any of traditional styles. Lost interest in kettle sours. Lost interest in IPAs except for 1% of the best ones. I’ll avoid any with lactose as well as the most smoothie sours. It’s nice to try new country or region, but I’ve never actively looked for them.
Pretty much lost interest in ticking, something I knew for some time now, but got definite confirmation at Ratebeer gathering. Meeting new people and visiting great beer places is still fun.
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I’m getting close to 5k, under 300 to go.
My ticking on here mostly (but not exclusively) sees me chasing stats and places on lists, rankings, styles, regions, countries etc. I sometimes find myself buying any old shite - even if I suspect it’ll be terrible - if I need it for some list or other.
I’m trying to get to 15 ticks in each style, but the last few is tough going. Always keen to sample a new brewery when I come across them. I always look out for Geuze - and fruited lambic to a slightly lesser extent. I’ve enjoyed the renaissance in WCIPAs, not a huge fan of haze but I’ll drink them from certain breweries or if rated highly. Other than that I just buy what I fancy, almost exclusively online for best choice.
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