My grocery store was out of my Guinness so I headed to Total Wine and the import section has dwindled down to about a 20' section of one side of an aisle and they are just as expensive as the grocery store. Meanwhile, the craft beer section goes for an aisle and a half or more and to me, there is way too many to choose from so I end up getting none. Why? Because it's too expensive to make an error buying something I may not like.
They had a little selection of the most expensive way to buy Guinness, Boddington and Old Speckled Hen in 4-packs. Also, much of that section of the store was reserved for White Claw and other trendy-hype products.
What does this mean for someone like me who just wants just enough of an otherwise popular import that is beyond the mainstream offerings? When my grocery was out, I didn't go anywhere else for a week because I knew I would have to do some searching and I just didn't have time or desire to hunt it down. I just did without. If this keeps up, I'll either quit it altogether, or brew my own Guinness clone or something similar or see if it's feasible to just get Guinness by the keg and install a kegerator to bypass the amount of times I have to shop, or getting gouged by distributorships.
All I drink is 1 cup of coffee in the morning, water all day at work, and one (maybe two on weekend nights when I feel festive and musical) beer after dinner. Mostly from just being otherwise waterlogged all day and wanting to taste something different than that. I drink no sugar, fruit or soft drinks although, I do a home juiced vegetable drink 3-4 times/wk but that's it.
Today I have yard work chores. It's very hot now here in FL., and I may even end up having 3 today, starting right after I get cleaned up. That first one right after the chores is the best beer of the week, really, but it's gone in seconds as more of a thirst-buster/primer for the next.