Beer Wine and Whisky

Like most humans, I struggle with discipline, particularly when it relates to something I am passionate about.  Over the past two years I have struggled to bring my beer, wine and whisky stashes down to reasonable sizes that: (1) match my rate of consumption; and (2) generally contain things I like (while this seems intuitive, it’s actually one of the harder parts).

Whisky was the easiest to get into line.  I love whisky, but really don’t drink that much due to its strength and my tendency to drink even less during the  hot weather for which St. Louis is infamous.  Add in the price that whisky commands, and there was not a lot of back stock to get rid of, and resisting the impulse to purchase more is pretty easily checked.  I’ve now got a comfortable number of bottles open, and only one or two in reserve.

Beer was tougher.  I’ve done a lot of experimentation with aging various things over the years.  While my initial experiments were out-sized due to youthful exuberance (yes, I really did think I would get through a case of Expedition Stout a year . . . ), at least I stuck with them.  However, these experiences showed me that I’m not particularly a fan of aged beers, except in relatively limited circumstances, and those circumstances are still not beers that I will consume in any great quantity.  The tough part here was bucking up and drinking experiments that were not to my taste, taking the time, effort and expense to trade those beers to people who might enjoy them more, or just biting the bullet and sending them down the drain.  As a result, I doubt I have even three dozen bottles of beer in the cellar.  What is also missing is the tremendous pressure I felt to drink through my stash, and the guilt over purchases not wisely made.

The aspect of my beer consumption that requires great discipline now is not purchasing bottled beer.  With three beers on draft, I have no real reason to buy much of anything in bottle, apart from the select few things I’d like to age, and other specialties that I drink in small quantities and for which my draft selections are not a decent substitute.  However, there are the twin siren songs of the new and the on-sale with which I must contend.

The “new” used to be my biggest problem, but I long ago overcame the desire to try everything.  I get around to things eventually, but I am no longer chasing after new releases, or rushing out to get them before they’re gone.  Now, I struggle most with the “sale”.  My twin enablers here are the local grocery store, Schnuck’s, and a local beer store.  Schnuck’s, at least the ones I frequent, has a good selection and almost always have tasty craft beer on sale for about $6 a six pack- Schlafly, New Belgium, Boulevard, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada – just the solid everyday offerings I drink with great frequency.  When I see my favorites, it’s hard not to throw a six pack or two into the cart, despite the fact that these are exactly the sorts of beer I love to buy in kegs, and can purchase that way for a fraction of their sale price.  Not smart behavior, and something I’m still working on.

The Wine & Cheese Place has different beers on sale each week, and it’s not boring, or almost out-of-code offerings, it’s top-notch stuff – quality favorites like Bell’s Two-Hearted, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Southern Tier bombers, cool Scandanavian craft beers from Mikkeller, Nøgne-Ø and others – exactly the sort of stuff I can easily pass by at full retail.  These are a bit easier to resist as I don’t have to go to the Wine & Cheese Place to buy groceries each week, but it’s so conveniently located to both my home and office that it’s hard not to stop in.  But I try.

Wine has been the toughest of all.  First, my cellar was way too large – at one point it had crossed 700 bottles.  Given how little my lovely wife drinks, this was way too much.  My intial attack was to cut purchases and drink what I had.  This worked well until I had gotten through everything that was remotely ready to drink, which unfortunately didn’t take all that long.  Then I made an incredibly difficult decision to sell off a good chuck of my marketable wines to help cut down the size.  I’ve sold wine in the past, but it was always for purposes of realignment – getting rid of things I wasn’t crazy about, and plowing the proceeds into things I now loved.  This time was different – there was no spending spree on the other end, and I was selling things I remained passionate about.  By cutting the incoming flow, drinking steadily and the sale, I’m now comfortably below 200 – right where I should be based on our consumption level and the sorts of wines we like to drink.

Before patting myself on the back too much, my new wine struggle is purchasing wines to write about in the RFT.  My goal has been to not turn that gig into a money-loser, which I’m more or less managing, but all of a sudden I have a reason to be back in the wine shops, and a real justification to purchase things.  So far I’m fighting the good fight, but it’s not easy – particularly when a purchased bottle turns out to be a dud as it results in a chunk of my wine budget disappearing, but no RFT blog post appearing at the other end.  When that happens, I’m learning to change topics and write about something that doesn’t require me to purchase a bottle, rather than running out and buying another example (or two, or three – just in case) as I did early on.  Fortunately, I so far have a seemingly bottomless well of things to say about wine, so this is working.

So, what’s the point?  Be aware of your purchases.  Take stock of your, um, stock.  Look at what you drink, when, and how much and plan accordingly.  You’ll be a happier geek.  I am.