Hello BrewAf-ers, my name is Chad Campbell and I am the owner and creator of Breweriana Aficionado; this fine breweriana website and blog at brewaf.com. I have been collecting Breweriana and cans for about 7 years. Every year I attend as many shows as possible, with most of them on the east coast. In that time I’ve picked up some great pieces and met a lot of great people that share the passion for collecting beer and brewery advertising collectibles.
One thing that I wish I could’ve experienced (since I’m a young collector at 34 years young) is the “collector-to-collector trading” that was so prominent during the 1970s when the hobby really took off. Collectors would come from all over to attend breweriana and can shows to trade amongst each other with common and rare as well as new and old pieces.
As we fast forward to present but when I got into collecting in 2012; I’ve seen the hobby go to mostly cash and carry deals. I’m not saying that trading has went the way of the dinosaurs. But rather a lot less of it happens in my eyes and from other collectors that I talk to, but that’s just my opinion.
So I decided to try an experiment; I call it a “Breweriana Social Experiment”.
This year during various breweriana and can show around the country, I’m going to trade as much as I can. The way I’m going to do this is I’m going to take a single beer can and try to barter / trade it. Each time I trade and get a new item, weather it be a can or breweriana I will document the trade of what I had and what I’m trading for through a variety of pictures and the occasional video. I know this won’t be an easy task; but never the less it’s something that I want to try. Plus, I’m sure I’ll make a few new friends along the way which is always a plus.
So here’s the piece I’m starting with, it’s a full 16 oz fresh can of Glove Dropper Blood Orange IPA. Glove Dropper is a collaboration brew between Sly Fox Brewery located in Pottstown, PA and Rivertowne Brewery located in Pittsburgh, PA. This bold IPA doesn’t pull any punches, bursting with citrusy hop goodness and zesty blood orange. Talk about an ice breaker!
From here I’m going to take this can of beer and attempt to trade it with other collectors each time getting a new piece to trade with over and over again. All of the trades will be posted on this blog post as well as social media updates during the show daily.
It all started with a beer can…
Below is the progress of trading experience in exact order:
