CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I recently attended a beer festival in downtown Raleigh, N.C., at Moore Square. The World Beer Festival, as it was named, featured about 110 different breweries, each serving several of its range of beers, easily totaling 500 to 600 beers to choose from. This is an impossible task even for the thirstiest of beer geeks!

The best way even to attempt to scratch the surface when it comes to tasting a good cross-section of these beers is by proactive planning and moderation.

Upon entering the festival grounds, each participant receives a beer program and a small sampling glass designed to hold 3 to 4 ounces if filled to the rim. Breweries were asked to pour 2-ounce samples.

The reasoning was stated on signage throughout the venue: "We pour 2 ounce samples so you can taste more." I thought this was a reason well stated; after all this was a craft-beer festival, not a sink-or-swim beer bust.

Some aficionados take planning to an extreme, making a list of the breweries and beers they want to taste during the festival. I often saw a group of these hard-core tasters huddled off in a corner somewhere poring over their beer lists and making notes, oblivious to the hordes of people clamoring to get that next taste of whatever is being dispensed at the nearest tap. Kudos to them, but I am not that disciplined or organized.

Craft-beer aficionados often find themselves faced with so many great beers and so little time -- and not just at festivals. This can happen just as easy at a local beer bar that may serve 40 or 50 craft brews!

What's a beer geek to do?

First, it's best to plan out such an evening. You don't want to find yourself one too many doppelbocks in and then get behind the wheel of your car. When I visit my favorite pubs in Chicago or New York, I am either cabbing it or I take public transit.

The Haymarket Brewpub and Grill, in Chicago, offers its beers in a wide variety of serving sizes, from 4-ounce sampler glasses all the way to full growlers. Co-owner and brewer Pete Crowley prices his beer by the ounce and, except for a slightly discounted price for growler fills, there is no "punitive pricing" for smaller servings, which is often the reality in pubs that offer smaller servings. I hope Pete's simple pricing model catches on.

It's a good idea to be mindful of the strength of the beers you are sampling. I have been given grief on few occasions because I took a pass on some awesome beer that happens also to be awesomely strong, saving that sampling experience for another time.

I was in Pittsburgh recently with a friend, and we did a whirlwind tour of some of the better beer bars, namely Fat Head's Saloon and Piper's Pub. We found it challenging to find a beer on the draft menu that was under the 6 percent abv mark, but we found a few.

We were particularly rewarded at Piper's with a 3.8 percent abv, flavor-packed "session ale" from Pittsburgh's East End Brewing Co. The beer was called Small Hop, a name only relative to the beer's bigger and stronger brother Big Hop.

I could have parked my tush in that stool, called off the tasting tour and settled in with my new low-alcohol friend for the rest of the evening. America needs more "session beers" like East End's Small Hop or Victory's Uncle Teddy's Bitter. These brewers prove that a beer doesn't have to be strong to be flavorful.

So what's it going to be, a pleasurable evening of beer and conversation? Then find a good flavorful session beer to pace you through the evening. If it's a beer adventure you're embarking on, go for the sample-size portions or simply ask for a taster. Most good beer bars will allow you to taste from their taps -- within reason -- as long as you also are buying.

For more on the craft of beer, see Rich Ireland's "Beers to You" blog at thegazz.com.