Hard to get beer stories

Travelled to Belgium to get some Westy 12. Well, more like was going to travel to France and England. I had to convince my wine-loving wife to make a short trip to Belgium to sample their glorious offerings. There is NOTHING like saying to a bartender, "I'll take a Westveleteren 12, please".

 

Couldn't have said it any better.

 

it wouldn't be much fun if the deer walked right up to you now, would it?

 

I've slayed a whale or two, but I'm always a bit disappointed. It's not to say that they aren't spectacular, but that beer quality as a whole is so high that a shelfie is just a few notches down. So is it worth it? Not really.

 

I think there is more than enough great beer to go around, so I'm not much of a chaser. When I first got into craft, I made of point of drinking top beers readily available in my area. The most chasing I do now is simply calling or stopping into stores, checking Facebook and BA for releases.

 

So I've really come to hate people who think they are better than others because they don't stand in line to get beer. But i digress.

I think that beer releases can only be as good/bad as you make them. I haven't camped out overnight for a beer yet but I honestly would like to. The way I see it it's all about how prepared you are for it. bring a cooler full of good beer and a few of your closest beer buddies and camp out over night. B.S., Play cards, and drink and just have a good ole time hanging out. then in the morning get your beer and go. I don't see how that could be a bad time. yes you camped out over night for beer but you had a damn good time doing it.

Just prepare to do something like that. Don't just stand in line for x amount of hours by yourself unprepared for the cold etc.

 

I remember camping out for concert ticket in the late 70s...never beer though

 

I wish we could all have an amigo bueno with a beer store !

 

Where I live, the beer is few and far between that you actually have to chase down, let alone stand in line for. I manage to get most limited release beers with only a moderate amount of effort, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times in the last 5 years I've stood in line to buy a beer. I honestly don't know how people manage to rearrange their schedules to obtain beer; as @DrStiffington says, that's a young man's quest. Then again, for the most part rare beer seems to be a young man's (and woman's) game. If it was any harder for me, I would almost never bother.

 

I was looking to get some KBS this year and struck out again. But the good news is a bar I stopped at for lunch had it on tap…I shit you not, I wasn't even considering finding it on tap.

 

Come on man, we spend so much money in this stores, this people should be god fathers of our children (if I had some) also the butcher, he holds a big part of my little fortune too.

 

I was being serious ! Many, many times I have wished I knew someone in the industry who would set aside something rare, special, and beautiful just for me ! I have been lucky enough to score the occasional find or good deal, but I'm old and smart enough to have learned that it's not what you know, but who you know !

 

Totally agree with adamns6696 - preparation is the key. I have been on both sides of the "hard to get beer" stories. I was annoyed during the last 2 Dinner releases at Maine Beer Co. because it became so difficult to get and I missed out. I complained about it to some friends of mine - I have to small kids, work 3 jobs, these guys roll in from out of state and grab most of the Dinner bla, bla, bla - Complaining sucks. I changed my point of view. This time around I decided I was going to get Dinner and I was going to have a great time doing it. I couldn't find anyone to go with me so I went alone. My 5 month old wakes up around 2 or 3am and then goes back to bed. I woke up with her, changed her diaper, got a thumbs up from wife and loaded my truck up with a cooler of awesome beer, warm clothes and a folding lounge chair. Got to MBC around 3am and sat down next to a couple of dudes. Someone was playing some hard core death metal that I didn't recognize but it went great with the cold darkness. Started talking to people around me - all super cool - one of them asked if I had beer to trade. Within 10 minutes I had picked up a 2014 Parabola and they opened a 2014 Sucaba and 18th Anniversary beer for me to try. I'll be mailing these guys some Swish next week for some more beer I can't get in Maine. One of the most enjoyable times I've had in a while.

 

AMEN brother!!!!

 

You´re right, public relations work. Just have a little chat with them, guys at the counter in beer stores are usually great people, get to know them and you´ll get special treatment and a nice place to go talk when you´re in the mood for some nice beer conversation. Cheers!

 

Great beer just randomly lands on my doorstep.

 

You hate me because I don't want to stand in line waiting around to get a beer? Why do you think my not wanting to stand in a line for hours translates to me thinking I'm better than you are? That's pretty silly.

 

Pliny the Younger - Pub two miles from my house did a "dinner" where you paid $50 in advance, got dinner, a flight, a pint, and a 10oz pour of Younger. I tipped $10 so the whole deal cost me $60. No line, I just sat down, enjoyed dinner and enjoyed Pliny and some other great beers (Sampler of Sculpin, Grapefruit Sculpin, Enjoy By 3.14.15, Captain Stout, Pint of Drakes Hopocalypse.). Towards the end they were asking to make sure everyone had used their PtY ticket, and I had a hunch it'd be a free for all once that happened so I dialed up a buddy and told him to get his ass down there. Five minutes later, they declared free for all. I went up and bought a pair for $20, and my buddy arrived five minutes later as they announced the keg kicked. So no much hassle for me, and my bastard of a buddy got to waltz into one of the most coveted beers for a 10 minute drive and $10.

BCBCS - I was traveling to Illinois for work about two hours outside of Chicago. The local Irish Pub I frequented mentioned that when I asked about what cool beers they had. $15, and my work paid for it. It was awesome.

 

I'm driving to VT tomorrow to get a case of HT, and hopefully some other goodies, so I'll let you know after that.

 

When the **** did I say @DrStiffington ? If you don't think you are better than people who stand in line for beer, you are not included in that statement. You getting offended by this statement almost shows that you do though.