When you think about trading items, you might picture stocks, comic books, records, or other things people barter. Beer is probably not one of those items.
Yet, in every part of the country, people are networking with other brew fans through the art of the trade.
How do you trade beer?
This is a straightforward process when you look at the general guidelines. To trade beer, you will have to:
Trading beers, at first glance, sounds simple. However, with this form of networking, the devil’s in the details. Before you start getting too excited, make sure that you understand what you need to do to succeed in this fun pastime.
The best way to understand beer trading is to understand the type of people who trade beer. Beer traders aren’t going for Heineken or Coors Light. They are beer enthusiasts who are looking for unique beers, hard-to-find craft brews, as well as special edition brews from highly esteemed breweries.
When dealing with beer trading, it’s essential to talk about the elephant in the room. On a technicality, beer trading is sort of illegal in most situations.
It’s illegal to ship beer and other alcoholic beverages by USPS. Sending beer across states via USPS is a felony, albeit a rarely-enforced one.
With other mail delivery services like UPS or FedEx, sending beer by mail is still not advisable but remains a “do at your own risk” type of matter.
Most shipments via a business service go through, and the act of trading beer is still highly popular. People just claim it’s another type of liquid when asked.
The absolute, unequivocal answer to this is a solid NO. Selling beer requires licensures and permits that take a lot of time, money, and background checks to attain.
When you sell alcohol of any type, beer included, you become part of a highly regulated industry.
Under no circumstance should you ever expect to exchange money when it comes to your beer trades. Doing so may get the attention of the ATF and could easily land you in jail if you try to do it on a larger scale.
Most trading platforms have extremely strict rules against selling beer on their sites, and rightfully so. Allowing such activity could get site owners in serious legal trouble or even get the site shut down permanently.
As a result of the high pressure to keep things legal, most sites have a near-instant ban on people who are caught trying to sell beer. Those that do not often have a sketchy reputation, which can lead to top traders avoiding them like the plague.
If there is one thing that the craft beer world has revealed to us, it’s that finding an amazing brew is definitely a journey.
Many of the top-rated beers in the world are made in ultra-small batches, by tiny breweries that are focused on artisan crafting. Translation: it can be awfully hard to find a good beer.
The concept of beer trading is simple. It’s a way to get a chance to try unique beers from across the country while giving others a chance to do the same.
That said, it’s not the only reason people choose to trade beers. Some of the other reasons include:
The important thing to remember when you are trying to trade beer is that it’s about craft beer, not mainstream beer. Craft beer traders tend to value specific characteristics over others. These include:
Simply put, most craft beer traders are looking for something out of the ordinary. If you can find it in your local convenience store, the chances are that you should work harder to find something trade worthy.
This is a hard question to answer, but the best way to answer it is to look at what others are swapping.
A craft beer is not going to have much value to a person who can literally walk to the brewery and buy it, but if you’re trading with someone across the country, they’ll be willing to swap for equally prized beers from their location.
These can change from season to season, but some beers remain more popular than others. These include:
The easiest way to determine if a beer is a “whale” (the term for a highly sought-after label) is to go online and see what people are talking about. Most forums will have specific names that keep recurring—and it’s usually those names that you want to try to find.
Everyone has their own unique way of finding beers. Many seek out specialty liquor stores in their area to find good selections, while others may travel directly to breweries nearby to find their source.
You might need to poke around before you find a good method for yourself.
One of the more popular methods is to look at what other traders are craving, then search up stores in the area that carry it. By choosing to procure popular brews, you gain a lot more trading power.
This is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? The good news is that there are plenty of venues that allow you to find willing traders on the net. Some of the most popular places to find fellow beer aficionados include:
When you’re putting together a beer trade offer, it’s essential to mention more than just the beer that you are trading. You should also mention the types of beer you are seeking, your location as well as any special terms you may have.
Due to the nature of beer trading, there is not much you can do if your trade goes wrong.
Many platforms for trading your beer allow users to give ratings of other traders. If you get a bad trade, your reputation might get dinged as a result. So, don’t be the person to try to fool others into a bad trade.
Much like with any other subculture, beer trading involves an understanding of what the subculture is all about. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here’s a quick guide…
Beer traders have their own terms and abbreviations that they use. Some of the most popular ones include:
It’s important to note that extremely desired beers are also prone to getting their own abbreviation. In order to make sure that your trading time is a fun one, it’s wise to make sure that you look up common abbreviations and look at other forum posts before you dive in.
Did you ever have a friend who borrowed something important, then paid you back with interest? It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?
Most beer traders love to get more than just the beer they were offered in the mail.
Whether it’s a small sticker, a beer koozie, or even just a nice note, it’s customary to add a little something extra as a token of goodwill.
Traders who have a nice experience with you are more likely to offer you a rare beer or continue trading. Moreover, it’s important to remember that many friendships start this way, too.
We have already mentioned that shipping beer via the mail isn’t exactly legal. We cannot really tell you to do something illegal.
But we can tell you that people who risk shipping via UPS or FedEx often pack the beer tightly to help reduce sloshing around.
And remember those little extras? While adding candies might just seem like a nice gesture on the surface, many traders also include them to add a rattle sound that disguises the liquid sound.
When asked what’s inside the package, saying that it’s a different type of liquid will work out well. Remember, you can never be too careful when packing your beer.
Or consider printing your shipping label at home and then scheduling a porch pick up. No interaction required.
Believe it or not, the snobby reputation of the craft beer community really isn’t that well-founded. Most people who are into craft beer are open to helping newbies learn the ropes, especially when it comes to beer trading.
If you aren’t sure what something means, or don’t know what the proper protocol is when dealing with a new trade, ask someone. People in most communities are more than willing to help you out.
For your sake, it’s best to avoid bad traders if you want to have a successful trading experience.
Bad traders aren’t just people who are rude or condescending to you. They also can be people who post unrealistic trades, demand you to explain your taste in beer, or just leave you in the dark.
If you notice that a potential trading partner seems to be displaying some red flag behavior, don’t trade with them.
Trading beer is always going to be a little sticky, since there are traders out there who are not comfortable with mailing. To make sure that you are going to have a good trade, communicate with your trading partner and discuss the following issues:
Mail is the most common way to get beer traded, but it is not the only method. One of the perks of trading at a live meetup is that you can meet others in-person and make an immediate trade.
It’s worth noting that trading beer in person is a good way to avoid the red tape, fees, and potential legal issues that come with mailing beer in a box. If you are concerned about the expenses, an in-person meetup might be a better option.
Though there are plenty of online forums and websites that are known for having friendly communities, there is an overall trend of dealing with people in a less-than-civil way when you’re on the net.
Trading in person can be a way to curb bad behavior, get a better idea of who you’re trading with, and avoid the high fees that come with shipping.
If you have been struggling with finding a nice online community for your beer trading, switching to meetups might offer better results.
Meetups are a great way to link with other beer fans, but you still need to use your common sense. If you don’t know anyone there and haven’t met any of these people before, it’s smart not to go alone. When you are meeting with them, make sure it’s in a public place (at first) and don’t drink and drive.
If you want to trade beer, it’s wise to look before you leap. Knowing what beer labels are in demand, how people ask for their trades, and what you should do prior to a trade is just as important as the beer that you want to swap. It’s a deeply involved subculture that has a learning curve.
Despite the challenges that beer trading can pose, there are tons of perks to trying this hobby out. In many cases, trading is the only way to find brews that have not been on the market in a while.
Trading can also offer a new way to learn about beer, network with professionals in the brewing industry, and gain new friends. Beer trading is what you make of it. It will take effort to find a circle you “click” with, find beers that people want to trade, and also get a knack for the overall trading rhythm.
However, once you get the hang of it, you will find it to be a highly rewarding hobby.
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