Hard to get beer stories

Haha where do you get that I'm offended? I said you were being silly. I simply inferred your hatred since I made the original comment about not standing in line. I feel better now that I know that you don't hate me. Or maybe you do, as your last comment implied that I might in fact actually be among those who do earn your hatred. Make up your mind!

 

My rep in St. Louis had a friend who had a cousin that lived in Vermont and was going to be driving from Vermont to St. Louis in the spring of 2014. To make a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG story short, the cousin was able to secure (2) 4-packs of Heady and drive them back to St. Louis (after I thought I was getting a case) .....

Where the cousin's brother found the (2) 4-packs of Heady in his sister's fridge and helped himself to three cans. Note: the brother is a self-professed "Bud Light only" drinker, and said the Heady tasted like, um, crap. But he still drained (3) pints.

I had to give my rep and his partner each a can, so I ended up with 3 pints of Heady, instead of the case I originally thought I was getting. And THAT is how you break a beer nerd's heart.

But me and Little O enjoyed the crap out of those three pints (consumed from the can).

 

TWSS.

 

Curious, anyone besides me ever think its kind of insane that it seems like many breweries keep doing "special release" retail price beer releases? Why not just put the beer into distribution? Ohh, that's right, hype and extra profit. BUT, the amount of GASOLINE that is being burned up chasing shit like this is INSANE! Distribution happens for a reason. Super efficient trucks pick up and delivers hundreds or thousands of cases of beer. Is there any other industry this is happening in? Wine, Spirits? Food? Cigars? Does anyone factor in gas and tolls in the price of the beer when they go to something like this and ad it to the price per bottle? Thoughts?

 

Been on both sides, to wait or not is up to how much the beer dude/dudette wants the beer they are chasing, and what they will do for it.

 

Hopefully you are drawing a line between those who are steadfast in their beliefs because it's easier to accept that lot in life v. those who are actually belittling line standing behavior (of which I can't recall seeing)

You know that old saying that if you tell yourself something enough, eventually you'll believe it? It's my theory that there are plenty of folks that would love to be in a place in life where you don't think twice about hopping in the car with some friends and making a beer weekend of it. I'm not going to speak for everyone on here that is proud to not stand in line, but for me it's due to family, work and higher prioritization of time and money. As a result, I proudly tell myself (and it's very true in most cases) that I'm ok with missing out on something if it means that I had other uses for my time and money.

Does part of me wish I could dedicate time to standing in lines and making a tailgating event of releases? Probably. Sadly, like mosh pits, chasing skirts and weekend benders, those days are firmly in my past. So if I want to trump up pride within the enjoyment of consumerism (as far as beer goes) on a less frenzied level, it may indeed come across as something more arrogant than intended. But developing a hatred for people who aren't potentially taking places ahead of you in line and vocal about their decision? Seems a little extreme.

 

By no means do I hate people that choose not to do it... that would be absurd lol. I mean that's like 99.99% of the world. that's a lot of hate. as I said to @DrStiffington that is not what I meant. But (full disclosure) it is my initial reaction that if your so outspoken about thinking its absurd to do it, that you do look down on it at least a little (FYI by you I don't mean YOU) and that does spin me up a little. as for the ability to make an event out of it, it really should just take some planning. as long as you know ahead of time about this release you should be able to plan accordingly. of course you can't make every one but you should be able to make at least a couple a year.

 

Whales find me, I don't go searching for whales

 

People who don't have to wait in line to get allocated beer are by definition better. Work smart not hard! Befriend a local bottle shop. it's all about that relationship, it gets you the beer you want

 

No matter how many HJ's you give your local bottle shop owner, It doesn't get you Brewery only releases.

 

Boy, did this one derail. Great stories everyone!

 

The most I've done is wait around an hour in line. I don't do that nonsense anymore. Nor do I pay inflated prices for beer. I'm a much happier person.

It's ridiculous and the whole "super limited" release crap no longer entices me. You get in to trading and it makes it even more ridiculous. The trading scene is crap right now anyway, so I don't miss it. A few days of reading trade forums on FB might have turned me off to trading for good.

 

I mean does everyone not judge everyone a little? That's human nature.

It blows my mind (based on my personal set of priorities) when I read/hear stories of people camping out overnight, or lining up for hours on end in the rain/cold etc, just to get hold of a limited release. If I didn't feel that way, then (as a beer lover) clearly I'd be standing in line with them. But for the right beer, would I line up for an hour? Yeah on the rare occasion. And to some people would that seem excessive/nutty? I'm sure.

I love cycling. To me it is an incredible sport on a number of levels. But do I expect to get judged by non-cyclists for spending hours of my time in physical pain on a bike, surrounded by a bunch of dudes in skintight lycra? Of course I do

 

Sometimes worth it, sometimes not. Last times i stood in line for beer, i told myself i was too old for this shit and i'm not even 40

 

I like the way you look at it especially since I don't see you bashing it. The part that gets me the most is I'm almost 100% positive that on a cycling forum, Nobody would call you crazy for spending your free time having anything to do with cycling. But on this forum... A beer forum... there is a whole lot of 'I can't believe someone would do this for beer' and it confuses me a little. I just don't see how there could be in any other forum about whatever so many people opposing aspects of that interest like I see here. When I first saw a forum dedicated to all things beer I would have never expected to see such negativity toward beer.

I'm sorry if any of that Jibber Jabber Didn't make any sense

 

Hmmm, Seems I need to keep reminding people that the correct wording is not "old" but "mature." :-)

 

Wow, did you really mean to say that??? You do like to contribute to the negativity don't you.

 

No I don't like to, but admittedly I seem to find myself in situations where I do contribute. I just tend to get spun up pretty quick at comments like that. I don't like it but it happens.

 

I hear you man, but it exists everywhere. Cyclists are the most judgmental, narcissistic bunch of people out there haha

I guess all I'm saying is people aren't all going to approach a hobby the same way, but the main thing is we can all secretly feel smugly superior that we're doing it the "right" way

 

There is nothing incorrect with your statement, especially since I can throw a blanket over several breweries nearby that feature great releases. This is where the stiff upper lip and pride in a "non-release" lifestyle comes in handy - for now, and for the foreseeable future, I will choose not to plan for a release because there is an opportunity to get my son on the ice or take care of something around the house so I can free up time dedicated to kid's activities. It is certainly all about choice, plain and simple. I think the biggest difference though is making sure you are content with what you are doing and defending that lifestyle. I can totally see getting seriously bent if someone outright called you out on waiting in lines. Just as easily would I get bent if someone suggested that lines releases should trump kids activities (which nobody has done or even come close to suggesting...just saying for instance) I can completely understand that attending releases is an extension of the hobby, and largely a very social extension.