A while ago I made the drive up to Freeport, ME for the release of Dinner at Maine Beer Company. I waited in line for over 3 hours, there was a 1 case limit and only 300 cases. Needless to say I was about number 25 in line when they announced that they ran out of Dinner. I went outside in the snow and thought about my next destination for the day because it was still early. While in the parking lot I saw a guy struggling to get his trunk open. His hands were full of beer cases so I offered to help him. He placed the case of Lunch and case of Dinner into his trunk and he asked me if I got any Dinner. I told him no and he gave me a bottle, just like that. Made my freaking day. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the craft beer community is awesome and I want to hear your stories about how the beer community has been good to you or vice versa. TL;DR Give me a heartwarming tale of how someone in the craft beer community helped you or how you helped someone else.
I've posted this once before, but after I asked @surlytwinsfan about the trade value of Darkness, he just mailed me a bottle with other Surly goodness. Didn't ask for anything in return (although I did send him a box later about a month later that included a bottle of Dinner oddly enough). Great guy!
I'm a new trader and recently sent an offer to a local NYC guy for some VT beers he recently picked up. The guy's been around for a long time and politely informed me that he wasn't interested in what I offered (taking a look at my Gots you can see there's not much going on-- yet, I'm working on it!) Instead, he said he would be happy to share some of it with me if I was interested. We ended up getting together to have some VT heaven and not only did he send me home with a can for myself, but he also showed up with a fresh bottle of Tree House that he kindly shared as well. I brought a local IIPA (he had never had it) as a thank you, but basically he went WAY out of his way to school a newbie. Wanna hear the kicker? We're leaving the bar and I'm headed towards the train--"hey man, you need a lift?" Proceeded to drop me off in my neighborhood. I can't wait to return the favor. Cheers
This goes back a few years when I managed to take a trip to Spain, and to the bar called The Drunk Monk located in Mataro (see my avatar). I'd never been there before, but after finishing a few excellent beers I went up to the bar to ask if I could settle my tab. It turns out that the person I talked to was Sven, the owner of the Drunk Monk. He said "Do you have a few minutes to spare? I'd like to bring something else out". Moments after I returned to my table Sven produced a bottle of HORALs Mega Blend Geuze, popped the cork and sat down and shared it with me, on the house. I was stunned by his generosity, especially since it was my first visit there. When it was finally time for me to leave, I settled the bill and asked if I could buy one of their T-Shirts. Sven went to the back, brought one out in my size and said "It's yours!". Unfortunately my travels haven't brought me back to Spain since then, but you can be sure when they do I'll make The Drunk Monk a certain visit, and will bring Sven a bottle of something very nice for his kindness and generosity. Aside from the wonderful service, the ambiance and beer list is amazing. If you're ever in the Barcelona area I'd highly recommend the short trip to Mataro, and the fantastic Drunk Monk.
