What's wrong with Whale Hunting?

I stood in line for 3 hours just for the tap list!

I gotta admit that Finest Hour off tap almost made me want to sit there right with you guys. I bet the next day was rough.

 

Because you assume whale blubber tastes great and you haven't even tried the tuna yet.

 

After a year of extreme bottle hunting in Florida, I now have a humongous cellar of whales and the only thing I can take from it, as I begin to drink through what I have, is to trust the breweries with repeat success and high reputation. As for long-lines and special releases, THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM. Hardly to find myself waiting too long because I usually am one of the people to get their first. I'm a young guy with a great schedule so I might grab a friend or girlfriend and crash out the night before and get that edge and then go back to my normal life. Also, use your trader's and make it worth it, it's all about making good trades and being generous, someone's always got what you want, thats not just advice for whales.

As I'm sure this excludes many great breweries that I have yet to open in my cellar, so far, I can trust:

Firestone Walker (Stickee Monkee)
Goose Island (all Bourbon County)
Bruery (Sucre, Bois, MW, BT, GM)
Cigar City (Anything)
Cycle (Nooner, DOS)
Angry Chair (German Chocolate Cupcake Stout, Gose, 3 Little Birds)
Alesmith (Wee Heavy, Old Numbskull)
Mikkeller (French Oak Series, Weasel BA)
Avery (Barrel series)

 

I think I'm done with whale hunting for a while. It's expensive, and I have plenty of local moderately priced beer to drink. I'm lucky enough to have Perennial, side project, 4 hands, Schlafly, Civil Life, etc... I also have a great beer store that has access to beers from all over the country/world. If I can't get it here I'm probably going to ignore it for a while. Trading, buying on line etc.... is a little over rated. That being said I'll trade again some day, but for now I'm content drinking the beer readily available to me.

To answer the original question, I have no problem with whale hunting.

 

Nothing's wrong with anything. It's only beer. Do whatever the fuck you wanna do.

 

I don't partake in the hunt - I'll buy something I want to try if/when I see it. I will occasionally check the ratings and written reviews to see what to expect from a particular beer, often after the fact, and sometimes I wish I did check first if I bring something home that is unworthy. I mean, with all the open discussion that goes on, it is almost impossible to buy a beer and have absolutely no clue what to expect even if you don't visit the reviews/ratings. I find the written reviews useful, even if I don't often use them as a tool. I know what I don't like and if I saw those things described ahead of time, I'd save my pennies for something that better suits my tastes. But I don't, so I take my chances

I don't think people seeking the ultra-rare is a problem per se - people can do what they want with their time. As others have mentioned, I think there are things associated with whalin' that are detrimental to our little tribe - the attitudes, mainly. Entitlement, "gotta get 'em all", "I got mine and yours too hahahaha" bragging, or feeling one is more worthy/deserving of a limited release than any other citizen are not good things. Cheating the systems put in place to at least attempt to make things equitable also reflect poorly. It's been talked about here - mules, truck chasing, changing outfits to "double dip", and more. None of that is good behavior, IMHO. In and of itself, seeking out highly rated beers is fine. The associated behaviors it brings out in a small percentage of people, not so much.

 

As has been covered in this thread a bunch of times, I think the issue is not with whale hunting itself, but in how you go about it.

If you're looking for a particular beer, calling stores, driving to different places, that's cool. But if you're going to different places with a bunch of mules, or if you're going only because you know you can flip the beer on Craigslist, that's pretty shitty.

I can't even 100% hate on people who get whales as trade bait, because how else are you going to trade for another whale? But again, be respectful of the fact that other people probably actually enjoy and/or possibly covet the beer you're hoarding, so don't be a douche about it.

 

There's nothing wrong with it, but remember to play fair. No need to hold anything hostage.

Reference: When Alpine Kiwi Herman broke the internet yesterday

 

If you're whale hunting to get it's testicles to make a new beer then maybe it's OK.


http://www.visir.is/icelandic-seasonal-beer-from-whales'-testicles/article/2015150109150

 

Hmm...absolutely nothing.

 

I don't think so, because I'm not just drinking Rochefort 10 or FBS. I don't have to limit myself to the 20 or 30 shelf beers on the Top 250 to find perfectly good beer that is highly drinkable and interesting. If you like the chase and the super high-end, that's fine, but my point is that there is more than enough very good and even great beer that I feel no need to drop that kind of coin or time to feel satisfied. YMMV.

 

Very rough but worth it! Between the CFH vertical,Sours,PTY and the list goes on. I can't wait for this year but praying for better weather.

 

Sadly, the small percentage can really put a dent into a small allocation that is meant to service a community of, say, 1.6 million potential beer drinkers.

 

Agreed - there is no perfect solution for the limited release or other "low volume" release scenario, and a handful of a-holes just make it worse.

 

Right. Most people will get shut out and that's just the nature of the game.
But let's say, for example, 6 cases of KBS hit your area - 1 case to 6 different retailers - and someone has enough drive to chase them all over town. If they land one bottle from each store, then they get roughly 5% of the total allocation for your region. That may seem minute, but it would only take 5 or 6 truck chasers to wipe out 25% of the KBS for your area.

</beatingdeadhorse> #someonecheckmymath

 

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: I never use Beer Advocate numbers to determine which beer I'm going to buy or drink next. Unless I know the reviewer, or have read enough of their reviews to gain respect for their opinion, the scores on this site are just not very useful to me. Especially the ratings, which attach numbers to a beer without providing any basis or explanation for them.

As for whale hunting, shrug. Do it if you like it. None of my favorite beers of the past 10-15 years have been whalez, either at the time I drank them or the later date when they were awarded whale status.

 

Is Rochefort 10 really that hard to come by? I see it all the time. It's one of the few top 250 beers that is regularly stocked at my local grocery store. It's funny, I guess the general beer drinker doesn't know what it is because it sits on the shelf for months and then the grocery store will drop the price to about $5 (with tax) per bottle. I'll buy the entire stock at that price. Most of the time it's about $7-8 / bottle.

 

I think it's fine as long as you're not a douche about it. Buy 1 or 2 bottles but don't hoard and screw over the next guy. And being a douche also includes being snarky when you meet someone who hasn't had one of your rare beers.

Personally I will call stores and stop in if it's on the way but I've never stood in line anywhere.

 

Special things can be fun once in awhile ... but never beat yourself up over beer.

 

I don't really care to partake to be honest, I'm good with BCBS and the stray and a stray variant once or twice a year. I'm sure some of these highly sought after beers are amazing, but no single beer can be worth some of the offers I've seen for KBBS that were rejected. Amazes me a single $15 beer can't be had by the sheer volume of great beer I've seen FT, $250+ worth easily in some cases.