BIF Question

We're always looking for fresh meat in the Newbies BIF. Just pop in and say hello.

Our 10th round BIF "Secret Santa" boxes should be landing this week and next.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/newbie-bif-hints-hauls.328811/page-342#post-5769295

 

I recommend watching some of the BIFs & keep an eye out because there are new ones that will open up. Now is a tough time because several BIFs opened up a month or so ago to get ready for Xmas time. Once the new year starts there should be a couple that open up for you. @Elkevjoe is right the Newbies are a great place to start & a bunch of great people in there; I've even done a couple of rounds with the Newbies

 

@mstagnone welcome! We in the Newbies BIF welcome you and your NE beers with open arms. Thanks for not being from Ohio .

 

I just love this response on so many levels.

 

Or Florida Is your name Steve or some variation?

 

Hey buddy, we traded about 2 years ago. PM me if you have any questions. Always happy to have new people in the Newbies BIF

 

I have not participated in any BIF, but as someone whom has wanted to but cannot afford to, I'll make a couple points from the viewpoint of an outsider:

• The people in BIFs are great. World class. I'm friends with several - not just trading partners, but text/phone, etc. Great people.
• BIFs require time. A lot of time. Part of the fun is reading all the posts, posting, and interacting. If you don't have time, it's not that you can't participate, but you're losing out (and by the converse, others are losing out some as well. Not try to make anyone feel guilty, just something I've taken into consideration.)
• BIFs require money. Although the only requirement is usually 1 package with some minimal specifications, a lot of people do more - sometimes a LOT more. Because people do more, there are frequently "retaliation" boxes sent. This leads to a viscious chain that can sometimes go back and forth for a couple months. Sometimes, because of these chains people decide to do LIF (lottery it forward's), and the people that win the LIF then LIF or BIF, and so on. This just goes and goes and goes. I don't have the money to spend on this much shipping, although I wish I did! I know I can just send 1 box, but I'd be missing out on a bunch of the fun (and so would others)!
• *****Most people say this one is not important - Because BIFers are amazing people******BIFs require *some* beer. This is mostly important for people like me who live in parts where there are very few small breweries. Almost everything I have access to is accessible by people in OH, KY, IL - and those states that get the "best" stuff usually does not come here. There's almost no true "local" stuff where I live - just not many hyper-local breweries. So, joining for me makes me feel somewhat bad, because I feel like I don't really have anything to send that anyone would want to try.

YMMV. Best of luck.

 

Inconsequential! I'd say the real problem here is that your boxes always smell like sulfur. Is that an Indiana thing, or do you eat too much Taco Bell? Either way, I will continue to accept your beer!

JOIN A BIF! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

 

Agree on most accounts...participation is important an honestly makes the whole thing a lot more fun. Many in the Newbies BIF participate in each round but don't send any "extra" boxes. Also, anyone can sit out any round they choose and remain part of the larger group.

More importantly, as you mentioned, we're "great people"...Trade question? Brewery only or limited distro beer want? Proxies to brewery clubs? Travel planning? Homebrewing tips? It's really a great inner circle of similarly minded beer geeks and friends looking to help each other out when they can.

Cheers and join a round!

 

@mstagnone haha, I clicked on your profile to see how many trades you had and invite you to the Bowl Pick Em and noticed you were looking at the Bowl Pick Em thread. If you have any interest in college football and want to make the bowl games interesting you're more than welcome to join. Just send me a pm titled Bowl Pick Em with all your info.

If it's not for you, just keep your eyes open, there's usually some kind of BIF going on and especially sports related BIFS the closer we get to whatever season is starting.

 

Check out the New Beer Sunday BIF
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/roadrunner-vs-coyote-nbs-bif-6-h-h-thread.535259/
Round 7 should be in Feb or so.
It is filled with a bunch of great guys and we always welcome new blood.

 

As Sammyjaxxxx said, NBS BIF is a ton of fun and a great group. I've made tons of trade partners since I started taking part. This one is all about sending your target brews that are new to them for posting on NBS, so as long as you have some stuff that you like from your area that doesn't get wide distribution, you're good to go! Check out the Hints and Hauls thread for the last round in the BIF forum.

 

So, if i ever have the opportunity (enough money, time, etc.) I will most certainly join a BIF. But I was just wondering, given your comment above, and given that sharing/trying new beer is part of the idea, I was wondering why whomever randomly assigns the targets does not do it pseudo-randomly (I.e. Make sure no one gets a target that is in their same state or a state touching)?

I understand that if someone is in STL and I am in KC, that these people due not have the exact same distribution with local breweries - but except for hyper-local distribution (or breweries without Distro), these usually overlap nearly perfectly. It seems like everyone would benefit from a pseudo-random assignment rather than a 100% purely random?

 

They actually take a lot of time reviewing everyone's location, wants, previous beer history/etc. and select the best fits for everyone (in NBS BIF). Not random at all, chosen for best results! @beertunes and his consigliere do a great job insuring the target-sender matches work well.

 

So @Beer_Economicus was actually referencing something that happened to me in a different BIF (not NBS - I'd definitely like to join the next round, by the way). My sender in that BIF is from Wisconsin, which shares virtually the same distribution footprint that Minnesota has, with some small differences (access to New Glarus, Three Floyds, Odd Side, Mikkeller, occasionally Upland - haven't seen it, only heard - and etc.). Didn't bother me at all, as my sender is a great guy and I'll doubtless be happy with whatever he sends - but I'm sure it was very difficult for him to find new beers for me.

Certainly not how all BIFs are managed. It was odd matching in this one case though.

 

While I may end up eating these words (and I know you weren't complaining about having a WI shipper) I'm going to guess that quite a few of your bottles will come from outside the WI distribution footprint. The Locals, and Bob more so for that matter, really get around. Looking forward to the 12 DoX starting!

 

I set the pairings for the NBS BIF, and honestly, the biggest thing I look at is geography. I print out a map of the U.S., and make a mark with everybody's location. After eliminating past sender/target pairs (Spoiler Alert: that will be changing, y'all that have been through these before might want to keep that in mind for the Spring round ), my main priority is to keep things as spread out as possible. Here's an example: We have regular participants from Washington, but we live 300 miles apart, and while we get some similar distro, we also have enough variables that we would make a viable pairing. But, if I paired us, I would lose the ability to help break up a cluster of folks from another area. What I'm saying is, at least in the NBS BIF, don't worry about getting a target or sender that's too close to you.

As far as shipping goes, USPS flat rate boxes are your friend. I can get 12 cans into a medium box, $14, 2 days anywhere in the USPS system. The NBS BIF has a low entry level: 66-72 oz (3x22oz; 6x12oz; or some combination), a piece of swag (generally T-shirt or glass), and a local food item. We do this to keep it approachable. The main point of our BIF is to support the weekly NBS thread, which is focused on folks having, and discussing a beer that is new to them. The NBSers are very generous, and some of them do send out boxes of walezbro beers, but they do so with full knowledge that they may only get a sixer of small shelf beers in return.

I heartily encourage the OP, and anyone else that might be interested, to start following the NBS thread each week, and keep an eye for the sign-up period. Sign-up will likely be in February, with most of March for Hints and Hauls shenanigans, with a late March-early April "Official" Share date.