Depends on the person. My husband keeps his big and bushy all year long and I love it. I've never seen him, other than in a few really old pictures, without his big beard.
I have had it for about 30 years, Shaved it off maybe three times for friends weddings. I grew it when I began to teach because I had such a baby face. It made me look older.
I wish I could grow a full beard. All I get is extended siteburns and a porno stach and from my jaw down to my neck. The sides are bare and now way I could connect the stach to make a full gotee. Feels bad man. I think it's a guy thing to want a grizzly adams beard