The Beer Guy Visits Houston, Talks Beertography, Announces Beer It Forward Experiment

The Beer Guy
June 26, 2012

The Beer Guy

Occupation: Beer Taster & Reviewer
Web: http://thebeerguy.lifeofdad.com
Twitter: @TheBeerGuyLOD
Facebook: TheBeerGuyLOD

View profile »

Greetings Life of Dad community!

I had an awesome time last week, in Houston.  Special thanks to David Graham and the entire  Karbach Brewing crew for the private brewery tour and tastings.  More to come next week on that.  I don’t want to say too much here, but the selection of beers was deliciously outstanding and probably one of the most complete collections of beer I’ve had in quite some time.  Unfortunately, it’s only available in Texas.  Fortunately for The Beer Guy, I got some to take home with me.

Also, kudos to the good folks at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the oldest craft brewery in Texas, where I was welcomed on their Thursday brewery tour and tastings.  Their beer is also available in Texas, and now Louisiana as well.

So with that being said about these two craft breweries, I want to introduce you to a great website this week: www.beertography.com.  The creation of John Kleinchester, of Jersey City, NJ, the site is a beer blog that features photos of beer and beer-related things.  Most of the photos are taken by Kleinchester, himself, but there is quite a selection of great beer photographs from other “beertographers” as well.  I urge you to go check out Beertography: Craft beer and homebrewing in photo form.

In addition to the great photographs, John introduced me to the concept of “Beer It Forward.”  This is an opportunity for craft beer lovers to enjoy other craft beers from other regions.  During my travels to Houston (and elsewhere) it’s become quite apparent that a lot of breweries around the country are limited in their distribution.  What does that mean?  I can’t get a Westfield River Black Squirrel Pale Ale in California.  Likewise, my friends in Florida can’t get the Karbach Brewing Rodeo Clown Double IPA.  With Beer It Forward, you can (potentially).

With special thanks to John for his guidance and instructions, today I announce the commencement of the first Life of Dad TBG Beer It Forward experiment.  Here’s the rules:

1. 8 to 12 participants
2. In order to apply for the LoD TBG BIF, send me an email with the subject line “BIF” along with your city/state. Where I get multiple applicants from the same region, I’ll randomly select one to be involved. The goal is to spread out the participants as much as possible so everyone gets beer they can’t get in their locale.
3. We’ll do a 72 ounce limit. That means: please send at the very least six 12oz bottles of different varieties. Anything more than that is a nice bonus, but not required. If you want, you can throw in extras like a t-shirt, glassware, coasters, etc. as well.
4. I’ll randomly select someone from the group that I will ship to first. That person then gets the list of the remaining participants and picks the next person as their target. Other than me, no one knows who is sending them beer. Part of the fun is the surprise of opening the box.
5. Once you receive your package, please send yours out within 7 days time to keep things moving.
6. For those of you that have never shipped before, here’s a great list of helpful tips you can check out. I don’t usually do the zip lock bag thing, instead I’ll take two trash bags and put all of the bubble-wrapped beers into the trash bags, tying it tightly. Better to be overly safe than sorry.
7. If your beer shipment gets lost or damaged, it’s on you to replace it and send it to the person who was supposed to receive it.
8. If you’re not sure what beer from your region that your target can’t get, consult this handy-dandy Google document. This is somewhat dated, and does not include Canada, but you get the picture.  Or contact me and I’ll try to help you out.

A few ground rules for potential entrants:

1. You must join Life of Dad and build your Man Cave.
2. You must “Like” Life of Dad on Facebook.
3. You must “Like” The Beer Guy on Facebook.
4. Extra points for consideration to be a participant go to those that also follow both on Twitter too (just sayin’).

The cost would obviously be the cost of beer, but also shipping.  This shouldn’t be any more than $20-$30, if you choose UPS Ground.  (Canadians, I’m pretty sure this would be $10 more.)

So, what do you say?  You want in?  Send me an e-mail with the subject “BIF” with your name and city/state.  I’ll be accepting entries for the next week or two, or until I find we have a good mix of regions. I’m looking forward to this.

About The Beer Guy – A dad, husband, friend and drinker of beer. I review & blog about it all on LifeOfDad.com, the premiere social networking website for Dads.  The Beer Guy enjoys IPA’s and Pilsner’s, but will really try any kind of beer.  You may disagree on some of his opinions.  Let The Beer Guy know.  Reviews are published on Thursdays.  Blogging is done on Tuesdays.  Read more here to learn about The Beer Guy, who he is and his beer rating methodology.

The Beer Guy, and Life of Dad, promote responsible drinking.  Never drink and drive.

[Back to Ramblings]