It’s a craft beer thing

Certain aspects of today’s craft beer culture can appear confusing, strange, or downright crazy to “outsiders.” There’s the line standing, the trading, the whale hunting, and now, even anonymous beer drops.

When asked by a homebrewer I’ve never met via a Instagram direct message if I wanted a sample of their latest Red Ale, I didn’t hesitate to say “For sure!”

Here’s how it worked: I left a cooler out on my porch, the homebrewer stopped by and left a bottle of beer in the cooler, and I then drank the beer. Simple, right?

Now, some might think this sounds very odd, but it’s just something that happens. Homebrewers rely on word of mouth and samples to get their names out there while gearing up to jump into commercial brewing, and beer lovers simply can’t pass up a chance to try something new.

I think this is also a testament to the craft community where there’s always a strong sense of camaraderie, even among total strangers. I think if I was offered any other sample where I left a container outside and expected it to be filled, I’d respectfully decline or try to set up some other method of delivery. But when it comes to beer, you never know what you might get. It could be a bottle of the next biggest beer from the next Tree House or Trillium.

Anyways, the beer was great and the brewers are sure to begin larger scale production soon with plenty of success.

Cheers to anonymous porch beers!