Given the crazy rise in trade value of J Wakefield's I Let My Tape Rock...I'm curious which brew out there is currently seeing the highest trade value? KBBS used to be king at some point but is it really? J Wakefield, Toppling Goliath, aged lambics, etc?
I have no idea and don't really care. My guess is that in order to answer your question, you would have to do an awful lot of trading, or be spending an awful lot of time reading over posts in the trading forums. The only reason I responded to your post, was your suggestion that I Let My Tape Rock might currently be commanding the highest trade value (as opposed to HOTD's Dave, Midnight Sun's M, or Blaubaer from Cantillon, for example). Considering that the beer has only one review on BA (and was only added to the data base a bit over a week ago), and none on RB, I'm a bit surprised this beer would command such a high trade value. In fact, when I ran a search right now for ILMTR in the trading forum, only one ISO comes up (someone looking for it along with a couple other beers, in exchange for an SR 71). If I were a suspicious individual (perish the thought), I might think you currently own a bunch of ILMTR, and only posted your question in order to drive up the trade value of ILMTR.
Hands down, it's Cantillon Don Quixote. It's teetering on $10K, if you're lucky to find a seller. The trade offers for a bottle are insane, some included a few PVW (20 and 23) on the FT side. Next one up is probably VB Assassin. That's probably 1/2 to 2/3 of Don Q value. DB Derivation is about 1/3 to 1/2 of VB Assassin. Both of these were brewery and in house only with a few managed to get out. Other one-off lambic (JCN, Brabantiae, Crianza, much older vintage lambic, etc.) sit somewhere around DB Derivation. HF Ann b2 is another worth mentioning. That one is uber rare now. I'd say DB Derivation+ to land and Ann. Otherwise IMHO, for "readily available", KBBS is still the king (SR71 trades higher than b3 and around b2). If a new batche of KBBS is released today, many people will throw their entire cellar and the kitchen sink at it and the forums would be hammered with ISO. Judging from the lack of overwhelming ISO for ILMTR, it's going to be another fleeting hype of the month. It's possible, but considering the OP time on BA, being in WI, his 75 trades, and past postings, I don't think this is the case.
Don't own a bunch, but do have a single bottle. I was just kind of curious as it seemed to raise rather quickly. Hype seems to come and go and my question was more to understand what some other crazy high demand bottles are out there.
@mythaeus True and thanks. Never heard of the Cantillon bottle you referenced. That is crazy! Also forgot about Vanilla Assassin as that was before my beer drinking time. Thanks for the good read.
That beer is all over the forums. IDK what it is, but I've seen it a ton. Don't search the acronym of it. I just typed tape rock in the trade forums and looked like there were 6 pages with results. Some FT, tons of ISO. One called tape pop in there too. I'm guessing all were part of the JWB rare bottle release?
It's rightfully suspicious so I don't blame @John_M at all. We've seen it in the past before that people try to build hype. Once in a while it's kinda fun to talk about this stuff, even though it's somewhat meaningless as he said. Being in the game too long, sometimes you forget that newer traders don't have some history and context, especially with so many "instawhales" keep popping up all the time. PS: I updated my other post to include HF Ann. Even when it wasn't super are as it is now, I gave up an SR71 and MDb2 for one about 2 years ago if that gives you any indication of its value.
Yeah, there are a bunch earlier but none on the first 3 pages of the ISO:FT forum right now (at least not in the titles specifically).
Got ya. Sorry, I thought he meant he didn't see any at all. Either way, most traders these days want insanely rare stuff and try to maximize profits. I don't trade as much anymore because it seems like it's nearly impossible to get anything done when you post an ISO..... Unless you have a good established relationship with someone in an area with the beers you want then you either have to over-trade, or just live without it. haha.
I'm with you! I really don't know how newer traders do it. It's crazy chasing some of these beers down. I went hard for 3 years, finished the BA Top 250 list, and called it quit. Still trade once in a while, usually with a long term trade partner, but would never ever over-trade for anything again. Now I'm more than happy just drink mostly good beers I can get locally
Agree! I regret giving in and over-trading a few times to try the "beer of the moment". A few really give me regrets, but you live and learn. I don't trade like I used to because it just seems so impossible now. Even posting an ISO here and there for something I don't see as crazy rare still can't get done so I guess the game has passed me by. Like you, I'm happy to have a couple good traders I've met on here and can keep in touch with and trade periodically.
I’ve always wondered which beers traded the highest per category. I’d say: Lambic: DQ AWA: Cable Car Kriek BA Stout: VB assassin or SR-71 BA barleywines: SP anabasis b1? IPA: treehouse Juice Machine?
AWA: Yellow Bus may have CCK beaten here, but I'm not sure. You can still find CCK, but Yellow Bus is probably near impossible. Ann B2 comes pretty close, I think. BA Stout: VB Assassin hands down. I have never seen it offered FT. Even sales were private and uber secretive. With only around 60 bottles made and never meant to leave the brewery. "Plenty" of SR71 are still floating around. BA BW: I thought the offers for ADWTD B3 were absolutely insane! Don't remember much about Anabasis, though, but you may be right. IPA: JM was probably the biggest in hype:letdown ratio. Hahaha. King Julius first batch was on par with or exceeded JM (my perception only, though). KJ was everything the hype made it out to be, though.
Ahh yellow bus! Yeah that probably takes the cake! Never traded for king Julius haha but I remember offering DDG b3 for 2-3 cans of juice machine and getting crickets! Lol I’m happy to have had it once though. Anabasis b1 was a super a limited release via lottery and from what I’ve heard from someone who owned a bottle it was every bit worth the hype.
Personally, much like when I was in other hobbies, I think it is pretty cool to just look at (and therefore, you must know) the pinnacle. It's just cool. I don't (personally) really get jealous of other people with these beers, so it's not disappointing for me to read or see others with it. the only exception to that is if I have a "personal" want that I cannot/never land. But that's a single item, not a group. -And in the case of things like Sours or AWA, I don't even like the style, so it's just "cool" for me.
Thanks to all of those that have responded. This is what I was hoping for - just different and more experienced view points on the history of some of the craziness. I didn't start actually branching off into different beers and understanding all of this until early 2015. It's amazing what you learn in 3 years! It's interesting to read up on the history high demand beers. I've kept up with some of the more recent ones but knew the beer knowledge among the BA members would help me understand past releases. Thank you. Also - it will be interesting to see if Vanilla Assassin supposedly coming out again revitalizes the hype train again. And before I get accused of hyping value or having multiple vanilla assassins....I can assure you that is a NO.
Got me to laugh out loud. Hahahah... VB Assassin was absolutely worth the hype. Having completed the BA Top 250 list 1.5 years ago (and still at 235 without trying ever since, not trying to brag, just wanted to share the frame of reference for what I've tasted), VB Assassin was the utmost pinnacle of my beer life existence. It's the most beautiful beer I've ever had. No other vanilla beer/stout came close. Mouthfeel, burst of flavors, silky refine, everything! Got to enjoy 1/4 bottle over a period of 45 minutes and side-by-side with "regular" Assassin and SR71. I cannot wait for it to come out again!
