New trader questions and comparisons

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ClarkBroham

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I have been drinking craft beer for a bit, and did my first homebrew a few months ago.

I have lurked a lot on Beer Advocate and have always been interested in trading. At first I really wanted to get my hand on some of the rarer beers, but then caught a wiff of condescension towards people that do that.

So I have a few questions.

Was this condescension a Beer Advocate cultural thing, or just a more complex issue involving the history of internet beer trade?

Does anyone here use Beer Advocate? I think I like the community here a lot better, it seems a lot friendlier so I assume that trading would be better on here.

If/when I decided to trade (I know I have to have more posts and whatnot) should I even both trying to get limited release beers? I don't want them for trading power, I really want to see why they are so limited and why people love them.

Excited to get more in to this and learn more. :)
 
Trading is to get beers that you can't find beer neer you so your motives are the same as everyone who trades. I find that this community is much friendlier that BA. I have done several trades through this forum and each one has been great. It's allowed me to get beers that are both rarer and/or not distributed to me. You'll find that most people who trade through this site are generous as hell and are not condescinding or high and mighty at all. Good luck!! It's a lot of fun.
 
Thanks! Those are the vibes I was getting forsure. I also have seen a lot of talk about the addictive qualities of trading and its impact on your wallet, so I am going to have to be careful.
 
Oh yea the financial impact is definitely the limiting factor. Where are you located?
 
It's a fun hobby. But it gets expensive. For example, I have 3-4 trade shipments going out tmm. That comes to around $40 for shipping! But, I've got some great beers coming in, that I can't get otherwise.
I recommend do what I did..do a few trades here on HBT, where the group is collectively much more laid back than BA. Then when you know what your doing and want something you can't get here, head to BA! Besides, it takes a month or so from when you register until you can post in the FT forum..
 
I've traded on beer advocate. There are plenty of friendly people there. I think hbt is better though. Better people, better experiences, and I can't lie, better extras (generosity) haha.

I dont trade on BA anymore. The volume of traders here is smaller, but you can still get just about anything you want, provided you have something the other guy wants.

I will say. Ive been disappointed in a large amount of the super hyped beers. So when you get one of those rare beers, don't anticipate something completely out of this world. They have all been great beers, dont get me wrong. I just think my expectations were unrealistically high when finally sampling.
 
Josh, so is it is usually about 10 bucks to ship? And yeah that makes sense with starting off here. I imagine I will try to stick to here as well.

Thanks for the helpful comparison TheMan. Yeah that makes sense. I had a clone of Pliny the other day, and it was super tasty, but it was definitely still beer haha.
 
Shipping will vary for you. Weight and distance factor in. West coast from Florida will likely be pricey. East coast or Midwest are obviously cheaper for you since they are closer.

To add more to the comparison...The community here is also a bit more helpful when you value a beer wrongly. A lot of BA members treat you like scum if you unknowingly undervalue a beer. So I'd agree with josh that hbt is a bit better for getting your feet wet. When you know what you're doing, BA gets more enjoyable. Hbt still wins, far better people here!
 
Yeah that makes sense. I must just have to make a trip out to the PNW at some point and do trading mostly to the East Coast and Midwest.

That's a good comparison. I noticed that looking at some of the trade threads it seemed a lot easier going. I'm assuming people usually just do the price of the beer? Do people expect more than the MSRP for special releases?
 
ClarkBroham said:
Yeah that makes sense. I must just have to make a trip out to the PNW at some point and do trading mostly to the East Coast and Midwest.

That's a good comparison. I noticed that looking at some of the trade threads it seemed a lot easier going. I'm assuming people usually just do the price of the beer? Do people expect more than the MSRP for special releases?
Click to expand...

Kind of a tough question. And there is no definite answer. Every beer is worth whatever someone is willing to trade for it. Shelf beer is usually $4$. But brewery only releases or very limited can be valued higher than msrp...doesnt mean youll get that value though.

Typically I unload brewery only stuff for other brewery only stuff that I cant get. I think its generally fair.

If you ever wonder if you're getting hosed, just ask a third party. No one here wants you to get a raw deal.
 
It's really easiest to get started doing $4$ trades. They are usually easier to find. Plus, it lets you get some experience shipping beer before you risk sending something more rare.
 
ClarkBroham said:
Do people expect more than the MSRP for special releases?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, especially if you are trading special releases on your end as well. That said rarity does factor in with some of the limited stuff. I doubt anyone is going to trade a Cable Car for $60 worth of beer you can get off the shelf.
 
So if I were to summarize what everyone is saying it would be that starting out it is good to just do $4$ trades to pick up some brews that aren't distributed in my area to get the hang of things. After I am more familiar I will get a better idea of prices/trades for special releases/rarer beer.
 
Yeah for sure. Do some shelf beer trades and keep an eye on what beers people are trading for what. Then when you get a more limited one you dont short yourself since you'll know the market.

BA will be a good spot to just lurk and see what gets what since it has more trade activity. And learn what beers are highly regarded.
 
I tend to think there are a handful of members on BA who are most vocal that really give the site a bad image. They really take beer snobbery to the fullest and I think that deters others from the site. I know I won't put with with bull**** people on the internet who want to be all high and mighty about beer, or anything else for that matter. It just doesn't do it for me and I guarantee, it's a big show for them. I tried to trade once way back when and ended up telling the guy to pound sand. He was being a dick and essentially told me that his 12 oz of a hard to get beer (think BCBS) was worth 12 local brews. I don't know a 12 oz bottle of beer worth 12 of my own local brews.

Not to say that BA isn't a good place to trade and I'd try it again, but I find most members on HBT easier to deal with.
 
I would agree, the portion that portray it negatively definitely are most vocal and stand out.

Ive had 3 times the trades through hbt, not a single bad experience. Did a few on BA, had one bad experience that ruined the BA site for me.
 
In any case, what are you looking for Clark? Lets get you some beer!

Any tough to get stuff? Others that you just heard about?
 
All good advice.

I like that thinking TheMan.

Just from the little that i've seen going around Heady Topper seems like a delicious brew. Three Floyds seems to have a large variety of popular beer, especially Zombie dust. We just started getting Founders down here, but I would love to try the Breakfast Stout. I suppose I will start looking around to find out more good brews that people are trading?
 
I agree with everything said so far. One thing to do is start paying attention to breweries and beers around you that are sought after. That way, when a release does happen, you can grab it and be ready to trade for a beer on your wishlist that is harder to find.
 
Yeah. Actually a local store gets a lot of their stuff. Also, the brewery is only about 45 minutes from my house. I have a few Hunahpus from last year :)
 
ClarkBroham said:
Yeah. Actually a local store gets a lot of their stuff. Also, the brewery is only about 45 minutes from my house. I have a few Hunahpus from last year :)
Click to expand...
Want to trade them? I have other brewery only releases similar to it if interested. :)
 
I would be interested! But I need to do more research on what I really want. And I'm pretty sure I need 100 posts.
 
ClarkBroham said:
I would be interested! But I need to do more research on what I really want. And I'm pretty sure I need 100 posts.
Click to expand...


To trade? Nah! I started trading w/ well under 100.. That's the big group swaps that require the 100post count. Even then, they will usually accept a couple newbies..
 
[/QUOTE] I have a few Hunahpus from last year :)[/QUOTE]

I've got abyss if you're interested in a trade
 
Id be down to trade for some Cigar City stuff if theres something from the PNW you want. Deschutes and 18 other breweries is in my backyard! Let me know:beer:
 
Huh this is all great info. Like I said I'm definitely going to do some more research, but I'll probably want to trade the hunaphu for other brewery only imperial stouts.

Anyone have suggestions of East coast shelf beers/Brewerys I should try to get my hands on by trading what we have available down here?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app
 
ClarkBroham said:
Huh this is all great info. Like I said I'm definitely going to do some more research, but I'll probably want to trade the hunaphu for other brewery only imperial stouts. Anyone have suggestions of East coast shelf beers/Brewerys I should try to get my hands on by trading what we have available down here? Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app
Click to expand...

For brewery release/ wait in line all night for beer, I have Dark Lord, Darkness, and Barrel aged Sexual Chocolate available. And a lot of other limited stuff.
 
All BA DL are $50 and about 5% the bottle count of Huna. You also have to score a DL ticket (not easy) then if you get a ticket have to get a "golden ticket" to get the BA versions. So probably not gonna happen, unless you want to trade about 8-10 Huna for 1 BADL.

Chocolate Rain is $40 and you have to be a Reaerve Spciety member.

BA Plead the 5Th is 12pz bottles, I think around $25-30 per 4 pack (not sure this year) and has a high bottle count/allocation and has a release similar to Huna. So that is probably doable.
 

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