It helps to...

...have friends. Friends that have friends. Friends that have access to things. Perhaps it is the recession that we are facing. Perhaps it is the weakness of the USD. Perhaps it is just the way that we roll in Colorado - but the barter system is back. And a subsection of the barter system - the hookup system - is charging its way to the front of the pack.

1. My brother Craig is a brewer. Not the kind that makes up silly concoctions in the basement that will never see a retail shelf (thats me)...but the kind of brewer that works in a brewery. A brewery that makes hundreds of gallons of the beautiful bubbly stuff daily. I swear, that guy can walk into any store with a growler of beer and walk out with something for free.

2. My roomie JD works at a ski shop. He can wax the shit out of a pair of skis. He likes beer, too.

3. I have a friend that works at the Denver Convention Center. That is where they have the Great American Beer Festival. Ive never paid for a ticket, ever.

4. An unnamed friend works at an unnamed high-end restaurant in Denver in a hip neighborhood. If I go eat there with him, it costs about as much as a burrito. But way fancier. In return, we let him hang out at the crib and drink off of our taps.

So, basically, this is what I am trying to say: The Dollar is down, the Draught is up. Buy low, sell high. Prost.