I think everyone that gets serious about beer reaches a point where you just can’t find anything new in your local area. You scour every liquor store and bottle shop looking for something new or different but just end up with a six pack of an old faithful. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with drinking something you love. You will find me drinking Carton Boat Beer several times per week, but at some point you want more.
By the time that I reached this point in my beer drinking history I had heard of many great beers from other areas. I even had the opportunity to sample some of them. I spent hours searching online for someone that would sell me Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. Whether it be out of stock or limited by shipping restrictions, I was never able to get it. I had considered a day trip to Vermont to visit The Alchemist to try Heady Topper, but the six hour each way trip and time limitations have made me postpone that many times. I wanted to get my hands on some of these world class beers and I didn’t know how. I had heard of beer trading but it seemed very intimidating. All I had access to were shelf beers. What could I possibly have that someone else would want?
It turns out that the beer trading community has a lot of people like me. People that are looking for new and different beers. There are plenty of people looking for rare and hard to find things, but there are just as many looking for above average beers that are not distributed to them. I set out to make my first trade and began by posting on Reddit’s beer trading subreddit. I failed. No one responded to my post. I told Lou (the rager) about my attempt and he set out working to find trades. The day after my failed post he had already found a trading partner. With a few beers that I had brought home from my trip to DC and a Dogfish Head 75 Minute we were able to make a deal for four Pliny the Elders. I was shocked at how quickly Lou was able to work the deal and get us what we wanted. We packed it, shipped it, and a week later got to enjoy my personal favorite IPA ever.
What we sent.
This success set Lou off on a rampage to find more beer that we wanted to try. Within the first month of trading, he had secured for us four of the top ten beers on Beer Advocates top 250 list. Once we started trading, we were able to use some of what we received to trade for others. One Pliny the Elder turned into three Zombie Dusts. Two Zombie Dusts turned into two Heady Toppers. We were even able to trade with someone in Alaska for some beers that I had never heard of but were really good.
Some of what we received.
I think the majority of beer drinkers are more similar than we realize. We like to try new things. Some people are only it for the rare collectable beers and it will always be this way. The part that most people don’t realize is that your local beer has value to people outside of your region. The beer we have sent out the most of so far is Carton Boat Beer. They just canned for the first time at the end of August and we have already sent it to South Carolina, Michigan, Alaska, Connecticut, and California. This is a beer that is widely unknown outside of New Jersey, but it is starting to build up a great reputation across the country. Your beer market may have something similar. Take your favorite local beer and start making offers. Someone will want it, and you can get something you want back. It’s a great system and there are plenty of great people out there sharing beer, so get started beer trading!