Free liquor is one of those things that do not come by easily. If you do get lucky, there is still almost always a price to pay. The truth is, if you want to know how to get free beer, you have to be ready to roll up your sleeves and do a bit of some digging.
It is a tall order but when you finally sit down and sip on your free booze, you will know that it was all worth it. So, in the spirit of beer-loving camaraderie, we did a bit of research and landed some pointers on just what it takes to get free beer. Read on to find out!
How To Get Free Beer
1. Rate and Earn With PintPass
Do you love the idea of hanging out at a brewery taking in all the flavors and aromas of fermented ethanol? Then you will probably love PintPass too. According to the founders of the app, you will be paid to head over to a brewery of your choice, do some beer tasting, and then leave your feedback.
The type of feedback they are looking for are things like why you chose this particular brewery, which beer did you have, and what does it taste like. You will also let them know about the ambiance, service you received, and if you would recommend a friend to visit.
Once you hand in your feedback via the app, you instantly get two dollars in your account to spend on buying beer from any pub. Alternatively, you can text a friend who can use it to grab some booze for themselves.
The stipend comes in the form of a debit card that can be used at any bar that accepts plastic. All you have to do is just show the server the debit card number for them to input manually and boom! you have your beer paid for just like that.
What is the catch you ask? Well, you can only visit a maximum of four breweries a month so ideally the most amount of free beer you can drink a month using PintPass is worth $8. This is not too shabby considering other platforms ask you to leave feedback for free.
2. Ask For Free Beer Samples
This method requires a measure of guts, charm, and intelligence. First, you have to be gutsy enough to approach the bartender and strike up a conversation that will eventually lead to you getting a free pint.
You also obviously have to be charming and looking the part. The bartender must like you and have a good impression of you before they even look your way and hear what you have to say. So, come to the bar well-groomed, pull up your stool, and…
Take this opportunity to convey your intelligence, especially with regard to beer. Truth be told, to get free beer using this method, you will need to be somewhat of a beer aficionado. You want to connect with the bartender, who is probably an aficionado himself then, as part of the conversation, you can interject and mention how happy you would be to sample some of the beers they have, to keep the conversation going.
So, as you can see, this method involves a lot of talking and relationship-building but in the end, you should be able to come out on top having downed a couple of beers without breaking the bank.
3. Become A Regular At A Brewery
If the idea of rating a brewery for two bucks doesn’t appeal much to you, that is okay. A brewery is still a great place to just hang out without the added pressure of reviewing anything. The idea here is to head out, meet new beerheads like you, even chat up the brewery owners and who knows? Chances are good that you will leave the place having enjoyed more beer than you would care to drink.
Brewers, especially small-time, specialty craft beer brewers, love to receive feedback from fellow beer lovers. They know the value of having a ‘second and third palate’ i.e. having other people taste and test their beer so that they can improve their craft.
So, go out, meet brewers and talk to them about their craft. Compliment them but also offer educated criticism about their beer. They will love you for it and might even invite you back over in addition to giving you samples to try out.
Beer making is a collaborative process and any brewer will be happy to hear your feedback. And, most will award you with a pint for the road.
4. Set Yourself Up As Beer Influencer
Are you a beer geek with plenty of innovative ideas, knowledge about booze, and a good social media following to boot? These are prized assets in today’s social media-crazy world. If you leverage these assets right, not only will you potentially line your pockets with some good amount of money; you will also get the free beer you have been wanting all along.
So, what is this all about? You can become a social media beer influencer where brands pay you to promote their booze to your social following. You will obviously have to put some work into it like create amazing content, engage your audience, and probably do some online and offline promotions to earn your keep… and your free beer.
All this might seem quite demanding, and it is but think about it: you will be working with all your favorite beer brands. This is not only an enviable side gig (or main gig) but once you lock it down, these brands will be sending so much booze your way, you will have to enlist the help of your buddies to help you drink all that alcohol.
What are you waiting for? Beer brands are looking for people like you right now so you better jump on the opportunity to be a beer influencer.
5. Become a Pub Reviewer
You have probably heard about restaurant or food reviewers. But, did you know that there are people who review pubs as well? Paradise! We know!
A pub reviewer is a dream gig for any beerhead who knows how to chat people up and isn’t afraid to venture out into the local, regional, and even international beer scene to discover the best beers the world has to offer.
There are two ways we see you going about this: pitch magazines or websites in the liquor niche to let you write reviews on the pubs you have visited or start your own website or magazine dedicated to reviewing pubs.
How does this method get you free beer? Well, when you approach pubs and let them know you are looking to review them and publish their story, most will be happy to let you do it and will probably give you complimentary booze. After all, such coverage can increase foot traffic to their pub, generate buzz for them, and ultimately boost their sales. Talk about a win-win!
6. Become a Professional Beer Taster
Are you thinking along the lines of getting free booze for a very long time? You might consider starting a career as a professional beer taster. Yes, just as there are wine tasters, cake tasters, and all types of niche tasters, there are people whose actual job is tasting beer. So, you wouldn’t be doing this as just a weekend hobby where you go visit a brewery and hang out with the owner. Rather, you will be taking on assignments to taste and perhaps even review beers and their makers.
As a professional beer taster, a lot of your time will be spent in competitions where you will be tasked with judging diverse varieties of beers. If you love traveling and drinking beer, well, this career path will probably be a good fit.
Once you are a certified beer taster and the jobs start rolling in, you might find yourself traveling across cities, states, and countries using your expertise to judge brewers and their brews, and your work will contribute that much to the world of beer.
Did we say certified? Yes, to become a professional beer taster, you need some form of training from a known organization such as the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). If this is something you are seriously considering, we recommend finding and speaking to professionals in the field to get more advice on what you need to excel in this career.
Summary
As you can see, free booze doesn’t come easily but with a little elbow grease, creative thinking, and being proactive, you can indeed get free beer.
In fact, with many of the methods we recommend here, you might find yourself with more complimentary booze than you could possibly handle. So, if you really are up for it, waste no more time—go out there and start earning your free beer!
Are there other tricks or legit methods for getting free beer that we have left out? Let us know in the comments; we’d love to hear from you.
