From Reddit threads to in-person auctions, the increasing commodification of rare beer is something to celebrate and fear. The long heralded accessibility of beer remains one of its most favorable traits.
For as long as Beeradvocate.com has published a list of the world’s top beers there have been those who attempt to sample everything on it. Why? Because, like a mountain, it’s there. And because you know you’re trying the best beer in the world, as determined by a broad consensus of beer advocates.
In the early ’90s, two things happened: the rise of microbreweries, which started releasing their own “breweriana” into the coaster-sphere… and the internet. That’s when the “tegestologist,” or coaster collector, community really blew up.
