Welcome to the Wonderful World of Beer Trading

Last week, I packed up and shipped off four different boxes. One went to California, one to Virginia, another to Louisiana and the last one to New York City.  All, I might add, were full – chock full - of beer. Some time late this week, I’ll receive five similar packages, also filled with beer. What is this strange and amazing phenomenon, you ask? Welcome to the world of beer trading.


Beer trading is an incredible thing, and I can’t believe that I didn’t think of it first. As a concept, it’s amazingly simple: I want beer that isn’t distributed in this part of the country and you want beer that’s only available in New England, or even more specifically, in the Boston area. What do we do about this situation, besides sit and dream and pine away for beers that are planes and trains and automobile rides away? Again, simple: we trade.

Beeradvocate and Ratebeer.com both have features on their websites that allow beer lovers all over the country, all around the world even, to connect with each other and exchange their local beers, rarities and wants. For all of their faults, these websites do a great service to the beer community by giving individuals the space and the platform to offer their wares and broadcast what they are looking to attain. I first joined the beer trading world last spring, when I posted a message on Beeradvocate’s Trading Forum in search of New Glarus Raspberry Tart and Wisconsin Belgian Red, two fruity and highly desirable beers only distributed in the Mid-West. As it turned out, once I actually tried these brews, I didn’t care for them. But that’s not the point: once I opened that package up and saw beers inside, I was hooked.

Everyone likes getting mail, that’s a universal truth. People like getting packages even better than plain old letters, and take that up one more notch and you have beer trading. Receiving beer in the mail is better than buying it at the store for many reasons: first, you’re getting beers shipped right to your front door, beers that you never could have gotten your hands on otherwise. Second, beer traders and aficionados are notoriously generous, and often throw in “extras”, or beers that they think are good or that you’ve mentioned you wanted, as a surprise. Lastly, it’s actually illegal to ship alcoholic beverages through the mail, and, as everyone knows, there’s nothing more fun than breaking…or shall I say, bending… the rules. So, to sum up, beer trading is fun, it’s addictive, and it’s somewhat illegal… or should I say frowned upon? So what are you waiting for? Get on those forums and trade away!

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Trading:

Shorthand:

           

* ISO: In search of (used in the title of your post to express what specific beers or types of beers you are looking for)

* FT: For trade (also used in the title of your post; lets others know what you are willing to trade)

* Wants:  Beer Advocate allows each user to create a list of up to 100 “wants”, which acts as a sort of wish list in the beer world

* Gots: You can also create a list of up to 100 “gots”, so that other users know which beers you are in possession of, or are able to purchase locally

*  Extras: while not required, most traders like to throw in a few surprise beers that they think the recipient of their package may enjoy. Oftentimes, these extras will be beers that are listed on the recipients “wants” list

How to Trade:

First, you must create an account on either Ratebeer.com or Beeradvocate.com. Personally, I find Beer Advocate more user friendly, but to each his own. Once you’ve done that, there are a few routes you can take to get involved in your first trade:

1. Put together your list of “Wants” and “Gots” by surfing your preferred website and selecting beers for each list. Wait for someone to contact you.
2. Look up beers that you want to try and then message users who have this beer on their “Gots” list
3. Post a thread in one of the trading forums ISO (in search of) the particular beer you want; alternatively, you can post a FT (for trade) listing what beers you are willing to trade and what you would like in return.                                                                          

            Once you agree upon a trade, be sure to exchange email addresses and phone numbers as well as physical mailing addresses, to ensure that you can contact your partner if anything goes amiss during the course of the trade. As a first time trader, it is generally best to become involved with an experienced trader who can walk you through the process. Don’t worry though – once you do one or two trades successfully, you’ll feel like a pro.

How to Ship:

First of all, shipping alcohol via the US Postal Service is, as I mentioned before, strongly, er... frowned upon. So... don't advertise it. And don't stress too much about the whole shipping process, either - just relax and think about the end results.The first time I did a trade, I was really anxious about my beers arriving to their destination in one piece, but as long as you package correctly, you're going to be fine. The agreed-upon best way to package your beer is, as follows: 

1. 1. Line your box with a plastic bag, just in case spillage does occur
2. 2. Place a layer of packing peanuts or newpaper on bottom of the box so that your beers are suspended and not directly on the cardboard
3. 3. Wrap beers in bubble wrap, secure with tape
4. 4. Place your beers in your box, making sure that there is plenty of newspaper or packing peanuts between each bottle
5. Place an additional layer of packing peanuts or newspaper on top of the bottles
6. Tape up box, attach shipping label
7. Locate the nearest FedEx or UPS pick-up location and drop off your package 

And remember, it's always better to be safe than sorry, so on your first trade, it's totally ok to go overboard on packing peanuts and bubble wrap! Whatever it takes to get it there in one piece!

               

Once You've Completed Your First Trade:

1. Open up your box
2.  Chill your new brews in your beer fridge
3. Crack open one of your frosty new bottles or cans, pour, relax and......
4.  Trade again!

** If you have any questions or want to know more about trading, please leave a comment or send me an email!!!!