The recent rise of craft beer and breweries and their visibility on the internet has led to a niche hobby centered around trading and sharing some highly sought-after liquids.
Why trade beer?
Demand for craft beer has grown in the past years and the number of craft breweries has exploded. These breweries are typically so small they don't see much distribution, so if you want to try some highly sought-after beers your only choice may be to swap for them.
How to set up a trade
First, decide what beer you'd like to obtain; if you don't have anything particular in mind rating sites like Beer Advocate's "Top Rated" can inspire you. Next, decide what you'd like to offer, then head off to the forums for a trading partner.
Beer trading forums
There are a number of forums online dedicated to trading beer:
These forums typically also include some kind of user history to record completed trades, these can give you any idea of a trader's trustworthiness in regards to completing a trade and not being a scammer. Check social media such as Facebook for local trading groups as well.
Anatomy of a trade
Let's take a look at a typical beer trade post:
FT: Heady Topper ISO: Pliny the Elder
Breaking that down:
FT means, "for trade"; what the trader is offering
ISO means "ISO", the beer that the trader is hoping to receive in return
what follows each are the names of particular beers
Abbreviations
Sometimes you'll see acronyms like FVM or VR for some well-known beers. After you've been trading for a while, a lot of them will become second nature, until then you can find a large list of these at the The Beer Trading Glossary and elsewhere online.
Determining value
Dollar-for-dollar
Some trades you will see listed as $4$, meaning "dollar-for-dollar": the traders will exchange an amount of beer with roughly the same retail value (not including transportation or admission costs) as opposed to valuing the beer based on its perceived rarity.
Rarity
A lot of things can make a beer rare: seasonal releases, limited bottle counts, vintage beer that is now discontinued, beer that can only be obtained by being part of a club, waiting in line for hours, or having a friend who works at the brewery. These beers are typically valued more than beer that is regularly available all year long on the shelf of your local beer store (or "shelf turds").
As such, you may see a trader asking for an amount of beer that is well over the actual retail price of what was paid for it. For example, Toppling Goliath's Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout has traded for nearly $1000 in value (or roughly $80 per ounce). There are no hard and fast rules for determining a beer's value, like most markets it it usually determined by what someone is willing to trade for it. As a rough guide, you can check sites like Beer Black Book which allegedly tracks the history of completed beer auctions, to get a general idea of its value on the secondary market at.
Reddit's beertrade community also features weekly "Trade Value Tuesday" post where you can ask questions regarding a beer's value.
Overlapping distribution
Typically if a trader is in a geographical region with the same beer distribution as you, the overlap (or "venn diagram issue") will mean your beer is not as valuable to them. You can check SeekABrew to find out where your local breweries distribute to double-check before you set up a trade.
Past trades
Try searching the forum of your choice for the beers you had in mind, this will give you a sense of what people are offering for them, and what they have traded for in the past.
Completing a trade
Once you and your trade partner have come to an agreement, typically you arrange a time and place to meet or swap shipping information.
In-person
Sometimes trades will be listed as IP or "in person". These types of trades typically take place at an agreed-upon location or sometimes at special beer events, such as Three Floyd's Dark Lord Day or Cigar City Hunahpu's Day.
Shipping
Oftentimes traders around the world will ship beer to each other in order to complete trades. Depending on your carrier and location, this may or may not be legal. In the US, using USPS is not recommended, Fedex or UPS have been reported to be more lenient.
There are special styrofoam bottle shippers that make shipping easy. If you're going the DIY route, there are some good strategies to ensure the beer isn't broken along the way. There are many guides online, such as this one from The Beer Exchange.
Trading for things other than beer
Since it's the barter system, technically you can trade beer for just about anything. Typically the things you'll see people trading for beer (other than more beer) are ephemera like collectible glassware or rare whiskeys (particularly bourbon). However the sky's the limit (such as this post seeking to trade beer for a Nintendo Switch).
Regarding reselling beer: In most jurisdictions, reselling beer for cash is illegal without a license. As such, in larger beer trading communities reselling beer is frowned upon or flat out banned, as it threatens the ability of the community to survive.
Trading etiquette
It's important to keep up good communication with your trade partner from beginning to end, so they know you haven't scammed them. Typically a trader is responsible for making sure the trade is completed up until the point where it is actually delivered. If the beer is broken in transit do to your negligence, it's up to you to replace it.
Extras
Often, people throw in "extras", extra beer that wasn't specifically agreed upon, but was included anyway as thanks. This is not required, but if you aren't planning on doing this, it can be helpful to mention upfront that you want to do "no extras".
Auctions
"Auction"-style posts are typically frowned upon, where the trader trades to the highest bidder, as it can inflate the market. Decide what trade will make you happy, and accept the first reasonable offer that appears that meets your requirements, instead of holding out for the best offer" Beer karma tends to balance itself out in the long run, anyway.
Strategies for obtaining sought-after beer
Bring beer back with you on vacation
Typically a few bottles can be safely transported in checked luggage (even more so in the trunk of your car) so it's a good chance to bring some out-of-distribution beer back home with you.
Sign up for exclusive brewery memberships
Some breweries offer exclusive limited memberships that offer the ability to obtain members-only bottles, such as The Bruery's Preservation Society. Depending on the beer, these may be in high demand as they cannot be obtained elsewhere
Check out online beer menus
In big cities many beer stores will broadcast new beers they get in on Facebook, Instagram, or sites like BeerMenus. If a rare beer sells out fast near you, this can be one way to get the jump on the more casual beer drinker.
Ask the beer counter or beer store
Sometimes very rare beers are often kept behind the counter or out of view. The store owners know the beer fiends will come in and ask for them by name, and the supply is quite limited. If you know a special beer was just released, ask the cashier or beer person if it's in stock, sometimes they will limit customers to a specific amount of bottles or cans if they are very rare.
Attend brewery-only releases
Popular breweries will often release reserved beers at the brewery only, that you can take advantage of as a local.
What beers do people trade for?
All kinds, like this post looking for Coors Light tells us. However, some beer categories most commonly traded these days are:
- IPAs, particularly fresh-canned NEIPAs from breweries like Tree House, Alchemist and Other Half
- Stouts, partically barrel-aged stouts, often with "adjuncts" or added ingredients like coffee or vanilla which enhance the flavor, such as Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
- Sour and wild beer, such as lambic and gueuze style beer such as those produced by Brasserie Cantillon or American Wild Ales (especially ones containing fruit), for example the kind made by Side Project Brewing
It is easier to trade rare or exclusive beer, obviously. Trading your local, easily-obtained beer may prove more difficult.
Bottle shares
Don't feel like trading, but want to try some new beers? Consider attending a bottle share, typically informal events where members bring bottles of their favorite or rare beers to share with all in attendance. In the past these were mostly organized in private residences, now many bars have started hosting them, and there are even large organized events like Where the Wild Beers Are.