You drove through four states fueled only by beef jerky and the promise of sweet, sweet ale on your lips—and now, only a line of fellow beer nerds separates you from the prize. Here, the stuff you need to survive the wait for a big beer release.

1. Rummy’s just better when there’s artist Aaron Trotter’s sketch of a Gigantic Brewing pint where the Queen of Diamonds should be. Fifty-one other original drawings of scenes from Portland breweries fill out the deck ($20).

2. The best way to make friends in line: share beer. Stuff flexible (and practically indestructible) Silipint silicone pint glasses ($10 each)  in your bag and pass around your hometown favorite.

3. Kill time practicing chords on the slide-out, six-fret PocketStrings—it’s ultraquiet, so no harm, no foul if your “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t quite there yet. $30, pocketstrings.com

4. Stash a sixer for the parking lot or protect your beer porn: Poler’s Camera Cooler ($65) does double duty as a soft-sided cooler and—when you slip in the padded insert—storage for your DSLR and lens.

6. Draft-only release? That’s precious cargo. Get your baby home spill-free in a sturdy acacia Growler Crate ($44).

DRY THEIR BEER TEARS: The beer will be worth it—so will humblebragging about it across multiple social networks. Ease the burn on your beer buddies by buying them a cold one from afar: The free BeerGram app lets you purchase a pint for a friend from anywhere; your pal just has to redeem it at a bar in the BeerGram network. Sure, it won’t be your rare score, but a free IPA will taste just as nice.