Chasing Beer

There are so many beers I'd love to try, but I won't chase anymore. With so many good, new breweries coming out, it's not possible to keep up anyway.

 

chasing beer is stupid. I chase trucks.

 

Let me start by saying cheers to a fellow Cincinnatian!

I couldn't agree more about both the "chase" being a pain in the ass, and the fact that our local breweries are really putting out some great beers right now. I've decided that my days of driving all over town to stores and waiting in lines for beers are over. It's simply not worth it...if I find beers at my local shops that's great, but I'm not gonna be upset if I don't.

 

lately i have been chasing food trucks Minneapolis has great brews on the shelf

 

Your post makes it look like the dog in your avatar is saying that and it's very funny.

 

I don't mind searching/chasing for beers I find desirable, while fun and full of anticipation can make me a little happy, there's without question a limit to how far I go. I drop by a store on a regular basis and if they have stuff, great, if they don't, no problem I move on. I don't get everything I want all the time either no big deal.

As far as I am concerned, if you have to sacrifice friends, relationships, money you don't have that could be used for better things, you really have a problem..

I am still beside myself. I really need to understand something here because it seems the conversations here (on BA website) are pointing to some things I find disturbing.

I've been having fun with this site for sometime now, more active in the past 3 years than when I first joined that's for sure. I did a little trading early on, but realised that it wasn't for me, it was frustrating sometimes, but had many good experiences, but found I wanted things that other people didn't have, or also just weren't interested in. I am also not the most patient person, but as time went on the DC area has gotten way more choice, and there's plenty of stuff to drink around here to enjoy.

So help me out here.

Truck chaser(s)...

Is ... this... really... happening???? I am serious.

While the Internet and innuendo and urban legends will always be a grand scheme of wild imagination and exaggeration, can anyone TRULY, or independently... VERIFY... that people... go around following a distributing truck looking to get desired beers? For hours on end, picking up cases and cases.

I do know of stories about guys from my beer retailer of people walking in demanding to buy everything they have of a certain beer ( and the subsequent gtfo that follows ), but chasing a god dang vehicle all day?

I am still having a hard time picturing this, it sounds absurd. I am guessing nobody here is going to admit.... yeah well I do that right?

This must be the sign of the beerpocalypse.... anybody have any proof?

 

We got many in DC, and I've been thinking of chasing the Phở trucks!!!

 

I only drink rarities from other parts of usa on occasion, but ive got enough now where I dont chase unless ive had it and rank in my personal top 10. That said, trading is so damn fun.

 

Whats on the menu?

 

I'm glad so many of you are refusing to chase beer. If you've never had KBS then I can understand the chase, but if you've had it several times and you're still chasing it every year then maybe it is time to put it behind you and move on (or at least limit your chase to 1 or 2 stores max - I mean, you can have it once or twice a year without being a fanatic).

Also, I must agree with the fellow BAs from the Queen City - Cincy's beer scene is first-rate. If any of you haven't had MadTree's Galaxy High yet, go getcha some!

 

Heady Topper is never a hunt for me, however Lawson's has become considerably more challenging to acquire over the past year, in a big way.

 

going forward, I plan to buy every rare/new release for no other reason than to trade for more Bourbon County.

 

Well Phở of course!

 

I went to two stores for KBS (that are five miles a part and about a 15 minute drive from my house). Got one bottle at one and a four pack at the other. I'm good.

I saw people at both stores who said were then heading up 495 to another store that supposedly had three cases (supposedly), and one dude was going north of Boston to hit up two other stores that were releasing at 4pm and 6pm. Crazy.

 

The chase can be hit or miss, I suggest you start IP trading. You can't get lucky on every release but sometimes you score big. Then when you do score big, trade what you have fairly. You'll be surprised by the generosity of the community and the favors they throw back at you.

 

This +1000

 

I'm 34 with 3 kids, beer chasing is how I relax, it's less stress.

 

I'm starting to feel like the OP. After trying and failing to get hold of both PTY and KBS this year, I am ready to just pack it in.

Last year, I was able to get my first two bottles of BCBS. It was one of the best beers that I ever had, but I worked too hard, took too much time out of my life and paid too high a price (literally) for those two bottles. As good as it was, I will not be doing that again next November.

 

Some guy posted a story on here a few days ago about his KBS hunt and he mentioned that he had a friend that was "desparate to find a 4-pack". If your beer hobby ever leaves you in desparation, its time to step back and take a second look at things.

 

Lots of good points here. Personally, I like the dumb-luck routine. I read about all the great stuff that's out there, get a sense of where and when I might find it, and sometimes I just get lucky and stumble on to something. It makes me a little extra happy when I find something that was at one point just a remote possibility. I plan on living a long time - no need to drink everything in the next couple decades. Need to leave a few for retirement.