What could be better than a nice cold craft beer? There is nothing better than standing in the beer aisle at your local grocery store and choosing your favorite, and then heading home in anticipation of that first sip. Or ordering at your favorite bar and anxiously waiting for the waiter or waitress to bring that foamy, frothy goodness in a chilled glass. But wait…there is something better, believe it or not. There are the specialty brews that your favorite artist crafts on occasion. The beer with seasonal flavors or the small-batch extraordinaire concocted with love and affection. Or, as Paul Arney of Ale Apothecary puts it, a “vintage-batch, barrel by barrel. Cottage instead of factory. Flavor before efficiency. Love prior to spreadsheets…”
The high demand for these specialty beers, though, is creating a black market, and unauthorized dealers are selling them underground or online for inflated prices. All in an effort to profit from another’s time, hard work, and passion.
Besides simply taking from what the brewer so whole-heartedly put in to the craft beer, there are other reasons they are opposed to this black market of beers. Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of Russian River Brewing Company, says that quality control is at the heart of the issue. “Beer is a food product and it does not take much to spoil it,” she states. Imbibing in beer that is not at its best can harm the reputation of the brewer, but still, this is not the end of the harmful effects of bootlegging. There are costs involved in making and selling the beer, underlying costs beyond the obvious expenditures for materials. There are business licenses, taxes, production costs that aren’t accounted for when the beer is sold underground.
Unscrupulous black market beer geeks work around the alcohol regulations, too, as they often lack the proper permits to sell alcohol. By marketing the rare craft brews as “collectible beer bottles” and not mentioning the content of those bottles, they have found a way to divert the system, at least temporarily, as eBay for one is working to prohibit these sales.
So what is a beer-lover to do? How do you legally get your hands on these scarce relics of the industry, the “whales” in the beer community? First, try beer trading. You can find traders online on Craigslist, or Beer Advocate (which, by the way, also posts a “Bad Traders List” to help you avoid price gougers and unethical sellers.) Or you can join a membership club. You can find friends who are visiting the area around where your favorite beer is located and have them help you obtain a few bottles or cases. When there is a will, there is usually a way, and there are opportunities out there for nabbing the vintage beers. You may have to be creative, and you may have to be flexible in your choices, but it is possible.
And what should you do if you do manage to score a rare brew? Devon, from an article found on www.drinkcraftbeer.com, tells of the five basic rules he follows if he is ever able to get hold of his favorite rare beer, Heady Topper, from The Alchemist in Vermont. First, he says you should never be greedy. Don’t buy up all the beer in one purchase—the reason you found it in the first place is because the person before you didn’t do just that. Second, don’t sell it. He says that “not everything has to be about money all the time. Just enjoy the beer.” Third, drink it now! As I mentioned earlier, beer is a food product and is meant to be enjoyed soon after purchase. And as Devon says, there is always new beer coming out. Fourth, share it. You may get a little less of your favorite but karma dictates that someone you share it with will likely share their next score with you—win-win in my opinion. And he is quick to point out that you should share some with your not-so-savvy beer-drinking friends. Help them learn to love craft beer the way you do! And lastly, beer should be fun. If you don’t get the exact beer you wanted, no worries, there will always be new and exciting beers out there. If you ever take beer too seriously…well, just don’t do that.
Do you have a favorite special artisanal beer? How do you go about obtaining it? I bet there are plenty of beer lovers out there who would love to hear your secrets!
