I’ve been writing about Hawaii’s dynamic beer scene for a few years now, and we are truly blessed with an incredible selection here. But there are always rare beers to seek out. For the serious enthusiast, no great beer is out of reach.

Many are so popular or made in such limited quantities that they never get far beyond the brewery. That means that to taste such a beer, you either must travel to the brewery or find someone to send it to you. Thanks to technology, the latter has become a lot easier through a practice called beer trading.

Beer trading is a gray market: Users trade for beers they want; cash is almost never part of the deal. Participants list beers they can trade and those that they seek. Find a match; offer up a trade. Of course, you need to have good beer to get good beer.

The most common resources for beer trading are the website Beer Advocate and the website and app Beer Exchange. Both enable users to search and set up trades.

Beer Exchange is easy to use and best for beginners, with an app for access via mobile phone. The Beer Advocate website runs a beer trade forum/message board.

Beer traders have the ability to access practically any beer globally without ever leaving home. Traders even have their own vernacular, which is important to know if you decide to give it a try. “Whale” or “Whalez,” for instance, describe extremely rare, expensive beers. These are typically some of the most sought-after and command high trade values. “$4$” signifies a trader looking for a trade of equal value bottle for bottle, or dollar for dollar. If you’re in search of a beer, use the abbreviation “ISO.” Hopefully you’re not holding onto too many “Shelf Turds,” great beers that have been overdistributed. Such beers are just not rare enough to facilitate a decent trade.

In Hawaii, avid traders have been seeking out small-batch beers from breweries on the East Coast. As these brewers don’t sell outside their home regions, trading is the only way to access these world-renowned beers. Among hot commodities: Heady Topper from The Alchemist in Vermont, or anything from Tree House Brewing in Massachusetts.

Hawaii traders benefit from our access to a good number of beers with high trade values. Limited releases from Jester King, Cantilon, Breakside and even Deschutes are highly sought after in other parts of the country.

If you’re interested in expanding your beer collection, beer trading might be a fun endeavor. A bit of warning: Trading can become addictive. When you finally score a rare beer, the rush only pushes you to seek out that next big trade.

Tim Golden, a certified cicerone, shares his obsession with all things craft beer monthly. See his blog, “Beer in Hawaii,” at beerinhawaii.com.