Craft beer can be a lonely hobby

I feel you brother! I got my dad somewhat into it. My wife would be into it but she's got a sensitivity to gluten (I'm getting into homebrewing gluten free beer which is turning out good) but yeah, I mean, I don't get to see my friends very often to begin with, but I can text one of them about it... but yeah, this site has been a blessing.

 

My brother and I got into craft beer over the past couple months, and I think it's slowly rubbing off on our mom and dad. My mom bought a Stone Enjoy By IPA by herself!

 

Time to make new friends!

You can never have too many friends unless you are Sheldon Cooper.

Cheers!

 

I just realized this site counts as social media. And i thought i was anti social media.
huh
eye opener

ok i guess i'll share another beer with you all

 

If you go to beer bars/breweries alone chances are pretty good you'll meet interesting people more than happy to talk about beer with you.

 

Join a homebrew club and just bring bottles you enjoy to meetings. Great way to meet like minded people who enjoy nerding out about beer and sometimes food.

 

I feel your pain. 95% of the time, I'm in the same boat.

 

Has not been my experience. Seems like everyone I associate with out of work is into craft beer. New England is kind of like that.

At least you don't have to share when you have a limited supply!

 

I'm right with you op.

 

Well, I've traded beer with people in a half dozen states, and correspond regularly with those folks. My wife goes with me on excursions to breweries far and wide, and though she's an inveterate Miller Lite drinker, we're always able to find something she'll enjoy (Surly Hell, Toppling Goliath Dorothy, Three Floyd's Jinx Proof, etc). She even tries to help me "hunt" at the beverage store.

I've also converted my bro-in-law to beer nerdery (he texted me the other night, "Patrick's has ZOMBIE DUST ON TAP!!!") as well as a college buddy who lived on Bud Light (we did a Lagunitas-Chicago/Toppling Goliath/Surly tour this past summer). Then there's a couple of guys I've played tennis with since they were in HS (they're now late 20's) that have graduated to Summa Nerdus Beerus under my tutelage, and they're paying it forward to their friends (I constantly get, "Have you heard of THIS beer?" texts from them). So no, I'm not lonely in my beer nerdery.

As for your buddy and Heady, what you did was the equivalent of giving a 5-year-old the keys to your shiny new Ferrari, then expressing disbelief when the 5-year-old wrecked your car. The 5-year-old wasn't ready for that ride, and neither was your buddy.

 

OP try to do some IP trades in your area. Good way to meet local people and could lead to some bottle shares

 

I'm in MPLS don't hesitate to reach out

 

Sounds cool man, I'm a couple hours west of you but my buddy lives in Uptown. Cool beer drinker.

 

check your nearby feed on untappd or the regional forum here for some likeminded souls

 

Lotta beer lovers in Ohio. Attend beer releases, go to tap takeovers of breweries you like, do IP trades, go to beer festivals, lotsa friends to make and lotsa great beer to drink together.

Post in your regional forum looking for a bottle share, or that you will host one. Could be there is already a local tasting group near you.

Just a couple ideas.

 

Completely understand, but I blame this site for luring me into my hoarding obsession. Reading about all of the new releases and must haves, I can't walk past these bottles when I find them. And now that I know when limited (hidden) beers hit my area, I know to ask for them. Couple this with my lack of beer geek friends, and my collection is rapidly growing. I have a friend who appreciates great beer, but isn't too knowledgeable. I recently brought out a 2012 BCBS when he was over, and he had never heard of it. He fully appreciated the beer, and has probably sampled more whales than I have. Otherwise, sharing great beers would be wasted on my friends. I feel like opening a whale, especially a 750ml bottle, is wasted drinking it alone. And my wife must be sick of me telling her how great the beer I am drinking is while she is with me drinking water.

We became friends with 2 couples in our neighborhood both husbands and one wife claimed to be huge beerophiles. They told me how excited they were when they went to a Founders tap takeover at a local bar. I asked if they had KBS, CBS or Backwoods, and they gave me blank stares. They pulled up the list, and there was a huge list including KBS, 2014 and 2015 Backwoods, just about every seasonal and some rare brews. They all got All Day, because they love it. Even if you never heard of the others, I don't understand people who drink the same thing all the time.

 

I'm in the same boat. I only have 2 friends who really like craft beer, but we rarely have the time to tag along and drink together. I drink my beer alone 95% of the time.

My wife doesn't like beer at all, so I'm pretty much alone in this.

 

Same boat

 

Yeah, same here... BUT on the bright side, more beer for me (or you).