virginia lottery
If you live thousands of miles away from Russian River Brewing in California, like myself, and look at the rankings at Beer Advocate and see Pliny the Younger near the top of the list for what seems like forever, do you say to yourself, “How in the hell do I get my hands on that beer?”
Well according to this article in the Washington Post recently titled Beer’s Black Market, there are many people out there willing to pay a lot of money for rare craft beer. Obviously there is a market for just about anything so the fact that people have discovered they can profit from the people like us who are intrigued by the scarcity and allure of such a fine nectar is not surprising at all, perhaps it is even long overdue. Although I do not condone smuggling it from the tasting room.
So the question I pose this evening is, would you buy craft beer like Pliny the Younger on eBay from a total stranger for perhaps $1,000, just to say you were able to try it? I don’t know about you, but there’s no chance I pull the trigger.
I am happy to say a couple of us are making a trip to Russian River Brewing from Buffalo, NY in just a few weeks while on a wine trip. At least we will have the opportunity to sample Pliny the Elder, a very nice constellation prize and a fine craft beer itself.
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