I haven't seen too much info covered on these guys. But what kinds of beers does it take to land some De Garde bottles? Or Ale Apothecary? How are the growlers trading? Do they have any shelf/more easily obtained releases? I'd like some feedback on what's pulling these guys in. Thanks!
Ale Apothecary should be easier to trade for than De Garde, as the higher price point leads to the bottles lingering longer on shelves (also, they distribute more to begin with). I'd expect someone would trade you Sahalie, La Tache, or Sahati without too much trouble for $25-30 of limited beer they were interested. Spencer and Sahalien are a different story as they were Club-only and ~200-250 bottles. De Garde bottling runs have ranged from 40 to 800, so obviously difficulty with vary substantially. The big releases (Morningstar, Lee Noir, maybe Rougie and Archer) saw some limited distribution to Portland; the rest have sold out at opening at the brewery or other release special events. I personally would not let most De Garde beers go at $4$ given: a) Trevor is pricing very reasonably, well below what the market would bear for these beers, and b) they are really fantastically delicious. They seem to be trading from stuff like SARA and VSB up to (in packages) Cable Car and Uli blends.
Thanks, that's very informative. I almost forgot to ask, how common is Block 15 in the area? I'd also be interested in this, but again have no frame of reference.
Block 15 is a bit easier to find, for the most part. Their smallest releases (40-60 cases) still tend to sell out right away at the brewery, but larger releases usually see some limited distribution to Portland. Also, we're seeing more of their draft-only releases these days, probably due to the connection with Tin Bucket (which also means counter-pressure fills can be had). Again, though, Block 15 is a bit like de Garde in that their prices are very reasonable compared to most of the market. At $8/375ml, that I'd very happily drink at home myself, I'm unlikely to want to package 3 of them together to reach $4$ with most hyped up beers on the market.
De Garde or Block 15 should trade $4$ for limited Cigar City releases based on my experience. I assume other sought after FL beers would also work. Find a trading partner from OR, the ISO:FT forum isn't a good rep of how these trade IMO.
Ale Apothecary shouldn't be hard at all to get as Sahalie, Sahati and La Tache are typically on a shelf somewhere in Portland. The only thing to consider is that the price being around $25 for a 750ml. Should go $4$ for something somewhat limited. De Garde is a whole different story... As stated, the beers are so reasonably priced that I think $4$ is not to be expected. It is also are also very difficult to acquire multiples (or any) so the incentive to trade such a good beer rather than drink it is low. Some De Garde beers have gone 1:1 for things like Huna, LP Framboise and Black Tuesday. Block 15 I've found to be difficult to find in Portland, but I don't have any experience trading them.
I would say that I can't imagine trading them for Hunaphu, given the absurd difference in bottle counts. Legitimately limited stuff like BA Hunas seems fair.
Looks like you don't have a problem trading other beers for de Garde: http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...o-upland-lambics-de-garde-proprietors.140557/
