Hey everyone, I love beer, but am no expert. Every year I visit a buddy in Wisconsin around this time of the year and we go to the Great Taste of the Midwest. That being said, he is a HUGE beer nut. He lives in WI so has great access to some great breweries, such as New Glaurus. He also works in CA, so has great access to many things like Pliny and such. He trades in CA often. Anyways... I live in CT and recently had a coworker get me two four packs of Heady Topper, which I'm stoked about considering I can now bring my beer nut buddy something he's never had before and that's hard to find. Heres where I need help... So, I am going to bring one four pack to WI with me. I've been trying to trade my other four cans of Heady here BA (a few bites, but either too far, or flakey). I only can do in person visits and am wondering what I should be trying to get for him and what to realistically expect because I need them by next week when I leave. I don't necessarily need IPA's, he loves everything, such as sours, stouts, lambics, other ales, you name it, but I would like them to be things highly ranked and known. I would like to get him a hard to find New England mix, if that makes any sense. I hope this is the right place to ask for both brand advice and trade advice, but any would be great. Worst case scenario, I'll bring him two four packs (not so bad, haha), but I'd rather be able to get a few other treats. Thanks!
Your 'worst case' of bringing 2 4 packs is actually pretty good! I suspect the challenge you are going to run into is that Heady isn't that hard to get where you are - because you are trading a beer close to its local market. Things like Tree House Julius or Maine Dinner would be something your friend might really like to try, but might be hard to find IP since they are in high demand. Honestly, the 4-pack of heady is 'worth' more in trade in Wisconsin than it ever will be in Connecticut; your friend will be able to share a few cans with you, and then trade the 2nd 4 pack locally for stuff he wouldn't normally be able to get.
I thought about that, and think you are right, however, I kinda want to bring him a mix of local things and not make him search everything out. Thank you for the advice!
If you are in CT, you might be able to get some Lawson's Sip of Sunshine... I believe they distribute down there. If I were to suggest some of my favorite local beers, I'd try to get: - Maine Lunch/Another One - Something from Trillium (anything... seriously, anything) - Something from Tree House (again, anything) - Santilli or Whirlpool from Night Shift - Some Jack's Abby - maybe some Mass Rising? - Clown Shoes - get him a Billionaire or Blaecorn. Or really anything... I do like Hoppy Feet, and it's fairly straightforward to get - Allagash - they don't distribute to Wisconsin, it seems... and they make some damned nice beers you should be able to get close by. You can get a lot of this at your local bottle shop, and depending on where you are in CT, a trip to Tree House may be pretty easy - just shoot up 84.
I was thinking either Tree House, Maine, Lawson's, or Hill Farmstead, but was looking for non distributed. Any suggestions on getting a trade done with my four Heady's?
I'd look locally for people who have made the drive to Tree House. For CT natives, that's a lot closer than Vermont, so you may find folks with easy access to Monson, MA but not VT. Also definitely put the trade in this forum - http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/forums/in-person-united-states.65/ - rather than the advice forum. I'd try a FT Heady - ISO Tree House, Lawson's I would suggest you don't worry as much about distributed vs. non-distributed, but rather look for really excellent beers your friend can't get in Wisconsin. You can get Maine Lunch on the shelves at my local Whole Foods, but it's still a great beer I like to send to people.
