Beer Trade

For the past year, I have been reading a blog about a guy in Philly who seems to drink some kick ass beer while constantly making me jealous. I don't know how he does it, but he seems to get a hold of the rare, limited, special, and mysterious beers that I can never seem to find out here in the desert. Honestly, it pisses me off some time. My jealously doesn't stem from anger, but pure envy. The man lives a charmed beer life.

I'm sure you have read his blog as well, I am Beer Wise. You know, Brian in P-Town (Philadelphia). In a way, Brian and I are a lot alike. We both like beer (Dogfish Head) and we both like baseball. What else matters? Not much in my book.

Anyways, we have talked from time to time about doing a beer trade. I have done it before and I loved it. I mean, how cool is it when the mailman brings you beer. It is so much better than junk mail or bills. So a few weeks ago, we decided to do it. We decided to trade some beer.

O, the pressure. As much fun it is to go beer shopping, this time I felt pressure. This was big time. This wasn't a usual trade. This was a trade with a real beer guy. A man who knows his beer. My reputation was on the line. I needed to do it right.

Over the next few weeks, I made 3 trips to Total Wine, and 4 trips to BevMo. I must have spent a good 10 hours researching and trying to decide which beers to send him. It was almost nerve racking as it was fun. I mean we both love beer, but we sit on the opposite sides of the fence in our preference for hops and malt.

I received my bottles last week. They have been chilling out in the beer fridge since they arrived. I've been waiting for a weekend where I can sit, and enjoy, and review each and every one of them. You know what, I think this weekend will be that weekend.

I'll let you guys know how it goes. Before I do, I wanted to thank my friend Brian for taking a few moments of his awesome beer life to send me some. I encourage you to stop by and read what the man has to say. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

-Cheers.

The Beer Trade

I got an interesting email from a friend the other day. He is an avid home brewer and beer fan. We talk about cars, beer, boobs. You know, guy stuff. By the end of the beer talk, both of us end up being jealous. Why? Because the other one always seems to be drinking a better beer. You see, he lives on the east coast, and I am on the west coast. And when it comes to beer distribution, all things are not fair.

So he came up with an idea. He wanted to know if I might be interested in doing a beer exchange. After I took the 2 seconds to think it over, I think my response was something like, "Hellz Yeah". I have been dreaming of this for a long time. It seems like I am constantly reading blogs where people write a review of a beer I can't get. Or they post a picture of some new special beer that I will never be able to find. Honestly, it pisses me off. So I am all ready to start trading.

However, I have a little problem. How do I know what to ask for? I mean, if you asked for a brewery on the west coast, I can tell you which ones to try, which ones I like, and if there are any new seasonal brews available. When it comes to the smaller east coast breweries, I don't have a clue. I don't know of many. And I surely don't know which beers to ask for.

This is where I need you, my beer swilling friends. What do I ask for? What am I missing out on? What is the brewery out there that I just have to try? And what is that beer that I will fall in love with? I would love to have your recommendations. And when I do, I will tally up all the suggestions, and post the results. Once I receive the beer, I will write a full review of each and every one. I hope I get to write a lot of them. So please, help a brother out.

-Cheers