The 2015 Styleforum Holiday Beer-It-Forward

[Ken P]

Looks like we have enough interest to do this again this year! The idea is very similar to a secret santa except with beer: Sign up, get a name and address, ship your favorite local beer to that person, and sit back and wait for your package. Your sender will remain anonymous to you and will not necessarily get who you are shipping to yourself. Selection will be random although I will try to ensure you don't get someone from your same region.

REQUIREMENTS
To participate you must:

• Be an upstanding member of Styleforum - aka you didn't just sign up today and don't seem sketchy
• Be a US Resident - due to some customs issues last year I think it's best if we keep this strictly for US residents.
• PM me - The subject line should read "Beer-it-forward". In the message provide me your name, address, and any beer preferences you have (hate IPAs, prefer stouts, etc.) If you don't provide any preference it will be assumed you're open minded.
• Provide a scan of a Valid ID if asked - proving you're of age if requested - I don't plan on acting on this but I need to be able to cover ****** if necessary
• Purchase a minimum of $30 dollars of beer - If you feel generous, great, go crazy. Extra beer/brewery swag/holiday cards are all great extras
• Package and ship your beer - This will run you up to $25 - $30 depending on your recipients location. If you're not willing to spend that on shipping please don't participate.
• Post a picture of your box - Sharing is the fun part! Make sure once you get your box to post a picture in this thread so we can see your spoils. Senders of exceptional boxes may be getting a surprise from me as a thank-you.

THE TIMELINE

• Deadline to Sign up is November 26th (Thanksgiving) You will receive your target by Monday, November 30th - the latest.
• Deadline to ship is December 15th, 10 days before Christmas. This gives you 2 weeks to do your shopping (although nothing is stopping you from starting now!) Shipping earlier is always better as couriers get quite bogged down during the holiday season.

HELPFUL TIPS

Beer Selection: Sticking with your local/regional breweries is your best option. To get a sense of what breweries distribute to your recipients state use Seek-a-Brew. Aim to get your recipients beers they cannot find in their state or beers that are hard to find in general. As a rule of thumb, only send beers you would enjoy receiving.

Packaging: This link is great resources to those who never shipped beer before. My usual process is to find a box that's atleast 12" in height - this assures I can ship the bottles upright which prevents excessing sloshing. I usually try to use double-walled boxes as they are sturdier. If the box seems flimsy I'll add some scrap cardboard to line the bottom. I'll liberally wrap each bottle in bubble wrap and use tape or rubber bands to assure it's not going anywhere. Then I'll place each bottle upright in to the box then fill any of the empty spaces with paper/bubblewrap/peanuts. Provided each of your bottles are bubblewrapped and they are snug in place and not moving anywhere you should be all set. You can also use a styrofoam bottle shipper although a lot of them are sized for wine bottles - so you will need to add bubble wrap or newspaper to each bottle to make sure they don't move around. Print your shipping label and place in extra copy on the inside of the box (in case the one of the outside comes loose this assures the courier has another without having to dig around in your box). Seal the box with a generous amount of packing tape assuring you go over all seams in the box.

Shipping: I do not recommend you ship with USPS. If you do, I assume you've done it before, know the risk and know how to properly pack a box. FedEx Ground and UPS are your best bets. They let you sign-up for an account for free online. You can print your label from your home and drop it off at one their locations or schedule a free pick-up at your home. If you work in an office there is a very good chance there is a daily pick-up - ask your receptionist!


THE PARTICIPANTS

1. @Ken P
2. @ocooney
3. @Ds13
4. @nahneun
5. @Cotton Dockers
6. @kape
7. @13k
8. @thewho13
9. @Tooch4321
10. @Fueco
11. @AlexJ1100
12. @concealed
13. @Pilot
14. @Portland Dry Goods

*Needs to PM me

Feel free to tag anyone who you think may be interested!

 

[Ken P]

Just to clarify - I don't need an ID from anyone - you just need to be able to provide it just in case. Just put that there to ward off any underagers.

 

[13k]

I'm in

 

[Fueco]

In like flint... Someone's getting some tasty craft brews from the spiritual home of craft brews.

 

[Fueco]

@concealed ?

 

[concealed]

Thanks for the tag, I am in. Ken has my info I think.

 

[AlexJ1100]

Excited to see this is a thing, Louisville has some great local breweries. Thanks @Fueco for posting in the Thrifting Thread.

 

[Ken P]



Thanks for the tag, I am in. Ken has my info I think.

I probably do somewhere but best you just send it to me again.

 

[Best Budz]

unfortunately doesnt look like i'll be able to partake, sorry

 

[Tooch4321]

When are we kicking this thing off? I am gonna be up in 'sconsin next week at the in-laws, so someone will be getting some New Glarus fruit beers and dare I say an R&D of something or other (I should have a couple to spare...maybe)

 

[Ken P]



When are we kicking this thing off? I am gonna be up in 'sconsin next week at the in-laws, so someone will be getting some New Glarus fruit beers and dare I say an R&D of something or other (I should have a couple to spare...maybe)

THE TIMELINE

• Deadline to Sign up is November 26th (Thanksgiving) You will receive your target by Monday, November 30th - the latest.
• Deadline to ship is December 15th, 10 days before Christmas. This gives you 2 weeks to do your shopping (although nothing is stopping you from starting now!) Shipping earlier is always better as couriers get quite bogged down during the holiday season.

You'll have your target by the end of next week and can ship as soon as you want after that! I think I'm going need to loop in some outside help when it comes to picking - not sure if I can be completely unbiased on who gets me... haha.

 

[Tooch4321]



You'll have your target by the end of next week and can ship as soon as you want after that! I think I'm going need to loop in some outside help when it comes to picking - not sure if I can be completely unbiased on who gets me... haha.

That's a lot of reading and me fail English. Whoever I get will get a mixed 4-pk of New Glarus 12oz sour bottles, some fruit beers and who knows what else...

 

[Ken P]

Deadline to sign up has passed. You'll be hearing from me or @ocooney in the next day or so with your target.

 

[Ken P]

A little more than half of you just received your target from me just now. The other half will be hearing from @ocooney shortly. We divided them up in such a way that neither of us will know who has us! So I will get to be surprised this year unlike last year. Pretty exciting!

Deadline to ship is the 15th. So you have a little over two weeks to shop and pack. If you're ready to ship now you are more than welcome to!

A reminder to check out Seek-A-Brew if you're stuck on what to get your target. The compare tool will let you see what's available to you that's not available to them.

Feel free to PM me if you want any recommendations on what to get your person or if you need packaging tips!

 

[ocooney]

I just sent the rest of the targets.
Thanks again Ken for organizing.