Should there be a separate forum for non-whales?

I think the ISO forum can be for whatever you want it to be. If you're searching for a good/great non 1% beer, post it up-- chances are lots of people can get their hands on it, and would be happy to send it your way. As long as your FT list is on par with your ISO, I don't see why there would be an issue. My experiences have been very limited, but most of the BAs I've interacted with are VERY generous and are more than willing to trade or hook someone up with the brews they're seeking, especially if they're not the super-rare ones. (Face it, if you're someone who's sitting on cases of BCBS varietals, attends Dark Lord Day every year, or hunts whales regularly, the odds are pretty good that you can easily get most of the basic good/great stuff, and would be willing to part with it to help a fellow BA).

 

I noticed this when I was looking for some local/local trades, but I posted the night before Assassin's release day. I've learned to just wait in between big release days.

 

I'm not a trader, but I know previously the people would post stuff like "CA locals for PA locals" or similar wording. Meaning they are just interesting in trading off the shelf beers from another state

 

I don't even trade and never look at those forums. But a recent thread asking people to name various whales showed a widely disparate range of interpretations as to the meaning of that very term. So I'm not sure a lot of people would even understand where they should post their ISO, and thus the usefulness of separate forums would be diluted.

 

This. When hyped releases happen, the forum is overwhelmed with ISO:FTs for that release. But in between, you can definitely post and get trades done for other stuff.

Also this. I pretty rarely see ISO:FTs for what I would think of as legitimate whales, but I've also been in this game for a while now and been fortunate enough to have ticked a metric fuckton of beers.

 

Not necessary. I've been trading since November, that's it, and my 1st trade was for some Bell's Best Brown that I grabbed off the shelf. Since then I've done about 5-6 "locals" trades including 3 about 1-2 months ago.
I felt similarly but if put an ISO out there for other locals or "less scarce" beers then I bet you'll get a response

 

I use this super secret thing called search... I do it in reverse and search for what I have. Then look for people seeking that out. Non whales either just interesting locals. Latest example grapefruit jungle.

 

Blind trades/local for local are the best.

Posts to trade for rare, hyped beers often are followed later by posts of "Beers That Were Overhyped, and You Had to Trade Firstborn, and Beer Was Disappointing"

I love drinking great beer, not beer that I can look at and think how great it makes me feel to own/collect something so rare.
My favorite trades were blind box trades, locals know what they have that is great, relying on them is almost always rewarding.

 

the reason most threads are about whales is that common, everyday beers (or even some limited beers) just trade $4$. it's not hard to figure out.

and I think if you can match up rarity, demand, etc then $4$ always works. but it gets harder as beers get more more rare, hyped, etc so thats why these threads come up

 

Agree with this... My whale and your whale are going to be different and it will likely become a messy affair.

I have had the same thought though until I came to the realization that I just need to get some more highly prized beer or simply be happy drinking the great beers that I have access to. The second avenue would be cheaper too!

 

A big reason there are more "whale" ISO/FT threads is that shipping costs are so damn high that it's a lot less attractive to send a boxful of common brews across the country than it is to send a few rarer bottles.

 

There is no longer any gap "in between big release days." Everything is a big release. It's a constant, relentless barrage of rarity and exclusivity.

 

Ive traded stuff like Mexican Cake, KBS, Lunch, cinnamon rolld, and wc moohoo on here, but my most recent trades have been for shelf beer/seasonal releases/whatever. Example, westbrook citrus ninja, gose, and terrapin and some others for dreadnaught, unicorn is going down, zombie dust. Its not hard to do local trades, just gotta try and find something locally that is a good trade item on here even if it is shelf/not a whale use it to bring interest in, then talk to them.