So I recently brought back beer from the East Coast in a wine shipper on the plane. It was checked on Southwest so I took advantage of the box traveling free of charge. I was really happy to land fresh Sixpoint Resin and Puff, just a day after it was released. I am going to save the Resin until Father's Day weekend and enjoy it with family and friends. Anyway, I just checked a local NorCal wine/beer distributor in my area and see they now have a good selection of both beers...just 30 minutes from my house! While I am thrilled that I am able to get such great East Coast beer so close to home, I am slightly pissed because I could have used the space to bring back more Duck Rabbit or Fat Heads which I can't get here. Oh well, I guess it could always be worse. Rant over. Think I'll go have a beer now.
Oh good heavens, you discovered you have easy access to beer you've wanted to try all along? The horror! Honestly, in a week you probably will have drunk everything you brought back with you and you'll just be thrilled to have Sixpoint available to you year-round.
Access to great beer is always better than the alternative. I have a similar story - every time I go to visit my family in St. Louis, I make sure to get some Urban Chestnut beers while I'm there. I seek 'em out, I enjoy 'em, and I leave a few in my dad's fridge. I also have a friend in STL who I do beer trades with regularly, and I always happily take UC stuff as his shelf 'fillers' (hate that word, because if I can't get it here, it's an awesome thing, not 'filler'). Last time, I got some Wolperstinger, which is their Anniversary Beer. Very exciting, new beer, etc. Come to find out that Urban Chestnut is now distributing in Massachusetts (again, after a month or so long period last summer where I could get 'em here). That's goddamned awesome. Love the beer access I have.
Yeah, I totally get what you're saying. Whenever I am back east there are always a few beers I seek out and enjoy while I am there. This is the first time I really set out to bring a good quantity of beer back. The Duck Rabbit offerings are some of my wife's favorites which is why I am kind of like "doh!"
Did the same on your coast a few months ago. Brought back a whole bunch of beers, almost all of them great, and later found out some of them were available in my state if I looked hard enough. It happens, and I still got great beer out of it.