We’re not Tickers, although we do understand what drives people to pursue an ultimately doomed, obsessive-compulsive mission to drink a bit of every beer in existence — it’s not like we haven’t spent whole holidays haring from one pub to the next, drinking halves of 10 different beers in each and, at the end of it all, wondering if we’d actually had fun.
On holiday in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, last year, it took us a day or two to realise there was no really exciting beer around and just relax. We enjoyed a few pints of Tribute here and there, picked up a few interesting bottles (once we’d stopped looking) and, y’know, made something other than beer the focus of the holiday.
Similarly, on our recent trip to Haworth, we kept coming back to the Fleece for Timothy Taylor. We could have tried a few more beers we’d not had before but, frankly, didn’t want to waste our time when there was something so good right at hand.
The only problem is, you don’t get much ammo for a blog that way.
7 replies on “The tyranny of the ticking bug”
How much truth is there in your words….
I’m trying to leave the ticker in me behind. I still like drinking new beers, but mostly because I am and have always been a beer curious person, but I don’t take notes about them anymore, only when I drink them at home and only if I’ve decided I will post a review in my blog.
Same to me. It was a time when I was really excited with everything new, and I was just trying -more that tasting- as much different beer as I could. But I have quitted. It seems useless to me, I have decided to admire the beauty of beer in serenity, far from the ticking obssesion.Whatismore, we’re mortal and I don’t believe in eternity so I’ve opened my eyes years ago and decided to enjoy what I drink and drink what I enjoy,Anyway Worms are not going to ask me how many different beers did I try in my life hehehe
Haya Salud
Too true. I think we need to differentiate between tickers and scoopers. Tickers will, as you say, try the ten halves (and then decant the ones they couldn’t try into bottles to sample later). A scooper loves trying new beers, but appreciates the joy of returning to a familiar beer, well-kept (c.f. the beautiful pint of Adnams Bitter I had at the Oliver Cromwell in St Ives , Cambs., yesterday lunchtime). Sometimes its best to put your OCD tendencies aside and simply revel in the joy of good beer, new or old.
Well, you don’t. Of course, in the best tradition of the blogerati circle-jerk, you may have given me some material to shape…
I thank you… 😎
My holidays never really involve beer in any serious way, other than drinking with friends and drinking what’s there. The only exception being the odd day out where I meet up with TheBeerNut or pop over to Brussels, then you can imagine what happens. 😀
Agreed on the Fleece in Haworth, had some amazing pints of Landlord in there, with a trip to the cheese shop a few doors away for something nice to munch on in between pints!
I’ve nothing against tickers or scoopers -its harmless enough -but I was in the Marble Arch in Manchester prior to a Winter Ales Festival when a guy burst through the doors, scanned the pumpclips, consulted a PDA, decided there was nothing to be had, and burst out again. Good luck to him, but isn’t beer drinking as much about time, place and company?