What does a guy have to do for access to good beer?

Well, it depends on how much money you have from what I've seen. Sure, if enough guys buy craft, then your stores will carry it. Does your town have a market or craft beer? From what you've said, probably not a very big one. I have rewuested brews with mixed success, which is your other option when buying local. Sometimes a guy will bring something in, sometimes not. They always ask me to buy a case. The first beer I ever requested was Old Ruffian and the wanted me to buy a case or they would not bring it in. I couldn't afford that during college, so it did not get brought in. Visiting the trading forum, which is another good option, could definitely help you nab some beers you don't have access to and if you ship FedEx it's not too expensive.

 

Anna is kind of a waist land for good beer. I went to school at SIU, and the Dale has some decent beer stores, to bad Melange closed. That was a very nice beer bar in Carbondale, and Carbondale is probably your only bet for better options. Westroads, P3 (store not pub), Picks are your best bet for stores in the area. I was surprised with the taps I saw at the new Hanger 9 as well. Though I can certainly understand why you don't want to make the drive from Anna to Carbondale after a few drinks (to many deer and cops). I would say visit Von Jakob if you are on the wine trail, but their beers a really nothing special.

Edit: If all else fails, drink Gin & Tonics, or whiskey

 

If you can hook me up with a good place to go deer hunting I can hook you up with beer.

 

Make a trip to Three Floyds! Seriously they make amazing beer and you would be suprised how much people want just thier normal brews.

 

Sadly if your town has no market for it, you are stuck with what you have. Sixers are probably going to be your only option, and even then you likely have to avoid undated IPAs because they sit on shelves too long. There are websites that will ship to different states, so that would be worth a look.

 

How about Cape Girardeau or Paducah? Obviously it would be a bit of a drive to either, but if you stock up you may only need to go every few months. I do that when I want some New Glarus or other WI beers. Its about an hour for me one way to WI but it is well worth it. If I ever drive down through So IL maybe I'll drop some stuff off for ya...

 

maybe take a weekend drive up to st louis and stock up on trade bait??

 

send me your shipping info and some wants especialy from michigan and i will send you a nice box

 

Have you tried ordering craft beers online? Here's a few websites off the top of my head.

www.beerjobber.com - have to first create an account before you can even browse their selection. Their prices are a bit high and their selection isn't large but they sell by the case and I'm sure you can't get most of their beers locally.

www.letspour.com - Great selection (they carry Russian River!) and their prices aren't outrageous. I also think when you sign up you get either $10 off or free shipping on your first order.

 

WaaBooHoo! You have to drive 25 minutes to get good beer? I'd be willing to bet that, even in large metropolitan areas lots of people have to drive that far, unless they live right next to a bottle shop. So what?

More to the point, let's do the math: Looking at the stats from Gallup, 67% of US citizens drink alcohol. Of that group, 41% drink beer. That brings us down to 27% of the population that drink beer. Craft accounts for about 5-10% of the beer market. That brings the average down further (with rounding) to 1-3% of the population drinking craft. In your town, that means somewhere around 70-200 people drink craft (not counting you.)

Seems to me Goose Island, Bells, Boulevard, New Belgium and Sam Adams is a pretty good selection for that small numbers of purchasers.

As a positive suggestion, why don't you get a restaurant or store to let you organize some tastings, advertise them, and when the numbers are good after a few events, invite the owners of Bluefish and let them talk to the locals who are interested in better beers? Maybe they'd bump up their ordering at that point.

 

Move to San Diego.

 

i just have to walk up the street. and i am sure his goose/bells/boulevard selection gets boring especialy if there is no turn over so in my pauly shore voice "no need to be so hardcore cruster"

 

Learn to home brew. Take a trip to your nearest home brew supply store and stock up with supplies for 2-3 batches. At 5 gallons per batch you'll get 6 cases to last you for a while, and you'll have fun doing it.

 

1. Make a pilgrimage to FFF. The point made earlier about their normal rotation bringing nice return in trade is true. A couple cases of ZD will allow you to trade for all sorts of stuff from all over the country.

2. Check out the online sites. Be prepared to spend a little more, but you'll find several things if you just do some browsing.

3. If you travel, bring beer home in your checked luggage.

Until recently, I lived in a small, rural town around the size of your town. There's no way there were 200 people in my town that drank craft. The numbers quoted to you above don't take into account what might be called the "small town factor."

 

Roof Bros. in Paducah is worth a road trip... Kindling is great as you already know, also keep an eye on these guys.

 

I would definitely second this idea. I might also add

http://www.qualityliquorstore.com/categories/Craft-Beer/

I haven't personally ordered with them, so maybe someone can chime in with advice who has, but they ship to Illinois and their selection looks pretty awesome, loads of beer from great California breweries.

If you're into Belgian styles, and have huge wads of cash to blow, etre gourmet and belgiuminabox are also very good. The prices are usually good but the shipping is where you get hit. Also certain breweries like Ballast Point will also ship you beer, but again only if you buy full cases.

 

It's Obvious....Move