I agree with all of your points above, and have one to add–geography. I found myself continually drinking the same beers from a handful of craft brewers–mostly from each of the coasts. I’ve now been making a conscious effort to try beers within a half-day’s drive. Of course, I’ve had a handful of these, but this constraint has forced me to try local brewers that I might have once skipped over in favor of a known entity. And for the most part, I’ve been very pleased!

Good point. Of course, I am on the east coast, so it kinda makes sense for me to have a lot of beers from there. Actually, except for Sierra Nevada, and the occasional Rogue, I don’t have too many beers from the west coast.

Agree with Ron on the Flying Dog. My girlfriend bought a six-pack of theirs and I’m like “But there’s a roach on the label,” and she’s like “No, it’s a dog” and I’m like “No it’s not, it’s a roach and I don’t want no steenking roach on my beer.”

It was okay, though. Maybe I’m just a yuppie and like da neat and fancy labels.

My advice to anyone interested in beer is just to try as many different brews as you can find. Seek out quality and not quantity.

Oh yeah, and don’t drive afterward.

To clarify on why I skipped Flying Dog for so long… it was because the labels looked so “high end” I assumed there was a mega-brewery hiding behind the cool label and that the beer would taste the same but with some food coloring. Not only was I wrong, I really like their IPA. (though, ’tis true, roaches, tires and snakes do not conjure up a pretty image)

I know that I am late to post, time moves a little slower here in Mississippi, but I would like to reccomend a beer from the other coast. Pecan ale, a great beer that I probably would not have ever tried had It not been a local brew. So far, It has not been truely bottled for individual servings, except for the 1/2 gallon “growler”.

Well, I don’t have any travel plans for Mississippi, but do let us know if they ever start bottling it.

Sounds great, especially if it is a nut brown ale.

I usually find myself trying new beers of a specific style in groups. I think it’s because I like comparing and “ranking” the similar styles while fresh in memory and notes (before I lose them).
Also, I’ll go for picking up a “seasonal” micro that maybe I wouldn’t immediately go for otherwise. I’ll convince myself into trying something because it’s only here for a while and, what the heck, it’s perfect for the season ie. pumpkin ales for getting in the Halloween/Fall spirit I guess. It’s kinda got that get-it-before-it’s-gone/limited-edition type appeal.

I’ve been doing a bit of that myself lately.

IF the beer isn’t as good as it should be, or if you don’t like it, quality retailers will let you trade the crap for something better.

I haven’t tried that, but now I will.

Of course, the real solution is to brew more of my own. Then I know exactly how fresh it is.

I just moved to NY from the Pacific Northwest within the last year, and it’s been a challenge to find new beer. Back where I used to live, at least a quarter (often a third) of the beer section of the supermarkets would be craft/micro brew, and something I hadn’t tried before would occasionally be on sale for as little as six bucks a sixer. At a dollar a bottle for a decent beer, you’ve got my attention! Also, even if you drive out to the rednecky little towns, there’s at least one microbrew on tap, no matter how small the town or the saloon is. Maybe I wouldn’t find a Bridgeport or a Deschutes ale, but I’d have an opportunity to try another beer at its best-from a tap.

Of course, things are mighty different over here. NY supermarkets don’t often want to program their bottle-deposit machines for more than about 20-30 brands of beer, so that limits what they carry. And NJ doesn’t even sell beer in the freaking grocery stores! Its worse than Utah, at least a person could buy 3.2 beer in a supermarket there (if they decided to carry beer, some didn’t), so you have to shop in liquor stores. Now, there are a few good ones in NJ that stock beer (Spirits Unlimited is one of my faves) but most focus only on wine and spirits, little or no craft beer, or even any beer, for that matter. Also, it’s tough to find craft brews at local watering holes, Guiness is considered “good enough” for those looking for non Bud-Miller-Coors (and their lite versions) beer. Beer stores in NY are hit and miss with quality, dust on the bottles is always a bad sign. My favorite store is pretty much a mess, and I can often tell which cases have not been put away yet, so those are generally the fresh ones.

So, I’ve had to add a couple more tricks. One is to hunt down beer festivals, that gives me a shot at trying tastes of things that I otherwise cannot find on tap. The other is to find tour books (the ones by Lew Bryson are tops!) and structure weekend tours to find beer, beer people, and new places.

Happy hunting!

DR made a good point - beer festivals are great opportunities to try a wide range of beer you probably wouldn’t buy a 6er of. This way you can try anything that sounds even remotely interesting, and if you don’t like it just pour it out and get in line for another. Make sure you bring a little notebook to write down your favorites, as they all start to blend together after a while…

Another trick of mine is to go to the local “beers of the world” store where you can buy by the bottle. It’s a little more expensive (and watch out for older stock!) but you can mix and match a 6 pack and try a bunch of new things without worrying about filling up your fridge with beer you don’t like. This works especially well if you want to do a flight of beer in the same style from different brewers.

Finally, travel! When you saddle up to the bar in a strange town, skip the familiar droughts and try something local. Ask the bartender for descriptions and recommendations

All good suggestions, Simon.

In fact, my new favorite retailer encourages people to mix six-packs.