How to get the best out of the case stores

One thing about moving back to Pennsylvania that I dislike, is the case store.  In Baltimore, I would be able to go into Wine Underground, Wine Source or Chesapeake Wine and pick up a six pack, or sometimes just single bottles of the beers that I wanted to try.  Not so in Pennsylvania.  Unless a bar has a carry out license, you cannot buy singles/sixers (there are a few exceptions, but they are very few and far between).

This lead me to buying a case of beer.  Which leads to the question- What beer do I like enough to buy and entire case of?  This was a hard thing to answer.  My tastes can go from saison one day, to stout the next.  IPA to Belgian Dubbel.  Sure, a case of Dale's Pale Ale, Dogfish Head 60 Minute or Troegs Hopback are welcome in my house (I am almost always in the mood for those beers), but I like to experiment and get something different.  This was the internal confrontation that I was dealing with.

In comes the variety case.  The variety case, normally a brewery's main year round beers packaged together (many times it is 4 six packs in a case) gives the buyer the opportunity to sample four different beers in their case.  I have been accustomed to buying the Troeg's Anthology Series (they have 2, one Spring/Summer, one Fall/Winter), Magic Hat's Variety Case with their seasonal Odd Notion mixed in and the Victory variety, but these cases all contain beers that I have had what feels like a million times.

Sitting next to each other on the shelf were the variety cases that I narrowed my choice down to.
1. Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, Michigan)- to many beer geeks that live in Pennsylvania, Bell's is a regular find, but you cannot get it in Maryland.  The case includes their Amber Ale, Two Hearted ale, Kalamazoo Stout and Oberon. I have had the Oberon and the Two Hearted previously.  How I explain the Oberon (an American wheat) is like Magic Hat #9, but a million times better- and that is not saying #9 is bad, but Oberon is very good.  Two Hearted ale is a delicious IPA, that any hophead would be happy to drink.
2. Founders (Grand Rapids, Michigan)- like Bell's, Founders can be found in Pennsylvania, but I have not been able to get it in Maryland.  I have had few beers from them, but they too have a great reputation.  Included in their case was Centennial IPA, Pale Ale, Porter, and Breakfast Stout (not the Kentucky or Canadian Breakfast Stout).  I knew the Centennial IPA was a good basic IPA, and the Breakfast Stout was good, but did not know much about the other two.

I ended up purchasing the Bell's.  The huge difference was the range of beers that was offered.  I was able to get a wheat, IPA, amber and stout all in one case.  This should allow me to be satisfied no matter what beer I am looking for.