Let’s be honest for a minute. I haven’t grown up yet. I know this because last week my buddy Mike and I spent the majority of our vacation week at various breweries. Not just that we went, but that we culled from these various New England breweries cans (or bottles) of craft beer that we intend to a) drink for ourselves b) share c) trade to one another. I was excited. Excited to visit Tree House Brewing Company and get six cans of Fox Farm Beer for my birthday, not to mention the Alchemist, Vitamin Sea, and Trillium that had recently graced the shelves of my beer fridge. Mike headed to Maine for his part of the trade: Bissell Brothers, Maine Beer Company, and Battery Steele. It dawned on me that twenty-eight years ago I was doing the same thing, although it was in the form of baseball cards, not beer. Craft beer and baseball cards, different products but basically the same idea for this kid.
Just like a kid at the baseball card store
Let’s rewind thirty or so years. Saving my pennies for a visit to the Sport Shack in the Norwichtown Mall was what I so desired. I was jumping on the inside at the anticipation of what cardboard joy I would find beneath the foil of the baseball card deck. A Ken Griffey Jr? A Cal Ripken? A Jose Canseco? That was a hobby, similar to what craft beer has become for me in my late thirties.
Standing in line at Tree House with my golf pencil, checking off the array of beers to buy (and spending too much) was just like going to a card show. In my town, they were held sporadically at the Sheraton in Norwich, CT. Once Steve Lyons was there to sign autographs (the picture is still on the wall of my childhood home). At the card show though, some real rarities could be found as with Tree House beer today.
As I aged, I was a four-sport card collector. At one card show, I brought home an autographed Charles Barkley card. At another a signed picture of Jaromir Jagr (also adorns my childhood home). The anticipation, the actual being there and the joy of sorting through the purchases is just like taking home a case of Tree House (or other top-notch beer) and looking at each can, examining it, and placing it gently in the fridge.
Trading cards, sharing beer
With new cards in tow, what was really fun was getting together with friends. We would look through each others’ cards and offer trades. My buddy Andrew and I would spend hours combing through sports cards. We would admire each other’s collections and trade for what we desired. I’ll never forget his laminated Bo Jackson 1991 Topps card (I’m not sure if lamination actually would increase the value of it). Or my Topps 92 Cliff Floyd Gold Card (way before gold cards were found everywhere). We would swap cards just as I would with other friends who would come over the house, similar to today, where friends stop by to split a delicious craft beer.
In the current craft beer climate where “empty” cans of Tree House are on eBay for $50 a can, I can’t get behind that. It’s just like trading your Ted Williams for a Beam Team set. I won’t buy a $50 beer, but I will spend my money on getting great stuff and sharing it with friends that appreciate it. When Mike or I travel to some exotic brewery, we always bring something back for each other. Just like trading baseball cards, sharing a craft beer brings out a fellowship that I desire as much in 2020 as I did in 1992.
Craft beer and baseball cards, not much different
The truth is that at closer to 40 than 30, I’m still a kid. I’m anticipating my next brewery trip as I would unwrapping the foil of a fresh pack of Upperdeck baseball cards. From a Frank Thomas rookie card to a Tree House Julius, the joy is just the same.
