Ever Wanted to Hang Up Your Hat and Stick To Shelfies?

I think I’m right there with you, Alan. I have been blown away by some local stuff and am blessed with some decent to very good breweries in my area. You can’t beat fresh.

I have a core group of traders I will continue to trade with and while there are the occasional whales in the mix, it’s just as much about the relationships for me, and knowing we are sending each other stuff we’ll be stoked for. Even for those trades, I am cutting back to focus on the limited release special stuff for them and not everything that hits the shelves that I think they’ll like-too stressful. I will continue to throw up the occasional FT if something sounds good but no biggie if it doesn’t work out...lots of fish in the sea.

I recently just hit this phase as well. I'll do a small trade if it's something I really want, but other than that I stick to what I can get locally or traveling to different breweries/brewpubs. I've been a lot happier and less stressed since stopping the trading too!

I do only IP trades. I have tried trading by mail, once, it is not for me.
Most of my drinking these days is local stuff that I love.
This means Orval, Avec les bon Voeux, Taras Boubla, lambiek etc.
I am still very much a ticker.
My beer cellar is 2 beers big at this moment and never exceeded 10 or so beers.
Still I have managed to do 3000+ beers so far.

I’m actually at the point where I’m actively seeking out whale selfies, mostly from Craigslist.

Just drink with a younger crowd. They’ll do the whaling for you.

Been in this mode for awhile now, though I never got too heavy into trading. Ticking was mostly about learning what the best beers tasted like and after awhile I learned that there was really no secret left to seek out. Beer is beer. The new whales taste just like the old whales. Good beer is still good beer and that will never change. Find what you like and enjoy it with people you like.

only if I could get GI bcs until then I’ll chase the next great beer

I never chased after whales or traded anyway but I did set out to do 365 beers in as many days and frankly I have gained weight and all the beer is still there. I should definitely slow down. I also feel like tasting and drinking are different and now that I have treid so many beers I am content to have one I know I like rather than be always looking for what is new.

I jumped off the hype train years ago.

I’m as close now as I’ve ever been to being completely content with my local shelfies. Add in a little travel and 1-2 summer trades with longtime buds... lookin pretty good. I still dig local4local swaps though.