On Black Friday, a buddy of mine posted the following on Facebook: “I expected lines at Walmart and Best Buy, but Binny’s?”

Yes, there was a line stretching around pretty much every Binny’s Beverage Depot throughout the Chicago area. Ditto for plenty of other bottle shops around the city.

And even outside Chicago, beer enthusiasts were lining up for the Black Friday release of one of America’s most sought-after beers: Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout.

Even if you’re not a beer fan, you may have heard about the Goose Island release. The flagship Walgreen’s was reportedly selling four-packs for $50 each. Somebody on Craigslist was trying to sell a case for $10,000. At this point and time, it’s probably the most sought-after beer in the world.

But next month, the title of world’s most sought-after beer will probably change. It could be Heady Topper, an IPA from Vermont. Or maybe it will be Three Floyds Dark Lord. Heck, just a few days after the Bourbon County Brand Stout release, folks were scrambling for Off Color Dino S’mores (perhaps it’s no coincidence that Off Color’s co-founder/brewer John Laffler previously was in charge of Bourbon County Brand Stout as the manager of Goose Island’s barrel-aging program).

There are always going to be hardcore beer enthusiasts who, like Trekkers at a sci-fi convention, will remain mysteries to the rest of us. But if you’re not somebody with a hundred bottles cellared in your basement, you may find yourself wondering if you should believe the hype.

And like any good lawyer, I’m here to tell you the answer is a definite “maybe.”

Now, I could simply go through a bunch of rare beers and tell you which I think are good and which aren’t. There are plenty of widely available beers that I think are better than super-rare beers (for example, I prefer New Holland’s Night Tripper imperial stout to Dark Lord). But opinions are going to vary.

So instead, let’s talk about how to approach the hype.

If you just want to impress your friends or make yourself feel sophisticated, you can always go to a good liquor store and buy the most expensive beer you can find. But if you don’t usually drink barrel-aged stouts, sours or other unusual beers that command a high price tag, the nuances that make the best beers the best may be lost on you.

The good news is, for every hyped beer, there are other similar beers that are easier (and often cheaper) to come by.

Lots of breweries are putting out barrel-aged beers these days. Any knowledgeable employee at a good liquor store can provide you with some recommendation. The same is true of sour beers.

I’ve had friends go out of their way to acquire rare beers only to discover they don’t even like the style. Don’t do that. Take advantage of what you have access to before investing money and time into acquiring rare beers.

Even once you figure out that you like a style, there are benefits to sampling widely-available beers before chasing after the white whales.

Getting an idea of the various flavor profiles that can be found in a given style will give you a frame of reference when you finally try the rare beer. It will both help you to appreciate what makes that beer unique and make it easier for you to determine if the beer really lives up to the hype.

And even if it does live up to the hype, it’s always good to have some widely available options to turn to when your stash of rare beers eventually dries up.

If you’re just curious to try what everybody’s talking about but don’t feel like standing in line for hours, don’t forget that the city is full of great beer bars that get rare beers on tap. Get to know your local bar manager or use a website like beermenus.com to see where you can find certain beers.

Many bars will sell you tasting-size pours so you can try different beers without committing $15 (or two hours of waiting in line) for a beer you’ve never even tried before.

There are always going to be some people who live for the thrill of the chase. And if that’s you, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re like me and just want to enjoy a good beer, don’t let the hype scare you.

For every rare beer I try that blows me away, there are probably four that leave me underwhelmed. Sometimes the best way to discover new beers is to simply take what comes your way.

Clarification: In my Oct. 24 column, “Culinary brewing: Once a gimmick, becoming a trend,” I described Pizza Beer as residing “in the Great Beverage Aisle in the Sky.”

After publication, Tom Seefurth of Pizza Beer contacted me and informed that while it is not currently being brewed, there are plans to resume the production of Pizza Beer, along with additional culinary beers, in the future.

Best of luck to Tom in his brewing endeavors.