# Beer makes excellent currency

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 14, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333 "2013-02-14T22:09:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333/1 "2013-02-14T22:09:06Z")

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I found an effective way to return favors is to pay people in beer (for those who like beer, obviously). Beer is a great equalizer. Get sucked into helping your friend’s fiancee move out of her dorm? Beer. Job taking longer than expected? Beer.

Ooops sorry I broke your [thing you like]? Beer. 😛

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**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333/2 "2013-02-14T22:12:03Z")

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Yes, beer is a wonderful currency. It’s also a nice way to measure time. How long until we leave? Oh about 1/3 of a beer. The only thing is that beer isn’t a concrete measurement of time. My beer may not equal your beer and sometimes my beer is faster than other times. It’s fluid.

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**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333/3 "2013-02-15T02:20:11Z")

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I have two beers on tap at the house. I have no problem getting friends to help with various things.

Mind you, it also doesn’t hurt to have a pool table and a hot tub.

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**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333/4 "2013-02-15T03:11:49Z")

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In Australia a slab is accepted currency, a slab is 24 cans of beer. I have used beer and in some cases good wine as payment for favors when people won’t take money for petrol etc. Helped a mate move last week and he asked me what I wanted, “slab should do thanks mate”.

In the words of that great philosophizer Homer Simpson “beer is nothing you can’t do?”

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**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-makes-excellent-currency/650333/5 "2013-02-15T05:24:23Z")

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I’ve got a student who works in a bike shop, and I bought a nice bike from him. He said “Stop in anytime-- I’ll tune it up, or just clean it up while we jaw.” He won’t take money (even when I catch him nonchalantly replacing cables while we’re chatting!), so I usually show up with a Six Pack of Random Microbrews in my pannier.

It i_s_ the perfect “Here’s a little something … that happens to be awesome.” Come to think of it, the Cost-to-Awesome ratio might be the smallest in the world.