Bringing shelf beer to a share?!

my buddy took our pics drinking Rumpkin last share, some funny faces were made lol

 

A friend of mine brought some Coors NA to a share once and it was a huge hit because nobody had ever had it before.
Ditto with macros that are like 20 years old and drinking Loons from straws. Some folks need more fun infused into their tasting parties.

 

lol that's hilarious

 

Not everyone has access to amazing beer. Give them a pass until it's clear this is a pattern. Then, just don't invite them.

 

STONE, brah.

 

These things always sound a little too formal for me anyway. Whatever happened to just hanging out with friends over some beers? Now we have people worried that they are not bringing a high enough class of beer to impress people. Not for me.

 

You do know that occasionally some of the coors light crowd will drink something else right. I have some friends that are not into spending a lot more money on beer. They will come to a bottle share where they will buy something off the shelf and bring to hang out with friends enjoying something. A few of these friends have actually been converted. I have in general had more fun at those shares than the more formal ones with the whales where everyone is judging people based on what they brought.

 

When I'm preparing for a share, I only think of two things...and in this order...

1. Which of my bottles do I wanna open and drink?
2. Which of my bottles do I wanna open and share?

Those thoughts are completely independent of what else might show up. I never think once about what anyone else is bringing...anything I get to try beyond my bottle(s) is a bonus in my mind...and I'm thankful for everything that anyone has ever opened and let me try.

If you don't wanna drink what others bring, politely turn down a pour and use your sobriety on something else. But this usually only happens for me because I've had it before and there's way too much new beer around for me to drink.

 

I thought we had stopped using terms like "shelf beers" and "shelf turds". As if craft beer hasn't become pretentious enough now we frown upon the common folk who don't have access to "beyond the counter beers"??

 

Also, some people live in bad distribution zones and can only bring "mediocre shelf turdz " to a share. Any time I organize a little bottle share, I usually see a lot of stuff along the lines of six month old Fat Tire or Stone IPA - it's all people really know to bring in the portion of Maryland I live in. Whatever, it's still beer, and it will still get drunk by me!

Another tip: if you are going to one of THOSE bottle shares (where you'll be accosted for bringing something like HT), be the guy/gal that brings good, homemade food as well.

 

What I missed the first time around was that @bluehende was referring to your basic parties/tailgating. Of course non-craft nerds will attend bottle shares. I was thrown off by the fact that he clearly defined a type of 'bottle share' where all the attendees are BMC drinkers. I just didn't get the joke right away.

 

Is the point of the beer share to share beer or to use beer to get more beer for yourself?

My approach would be to bring good beer and share it with whomever wanted some. If they offered me something lousy in return, or even nothing in return, I would worry about it at all. If that's them and that's how they carry themselves, so be it. Hopefully one day they will learn the benefits of being generous. Until then, I'll keep on sharing.

 

This is why im nervous to do a bottle share type thing I assume there's always that guy (snob) who has something better and whatever I have isn't good enough to "share".....I cant get the best stuff but I feel like I do ok for my options (and preference of style)........

But id say as long as its not some random friend of the host who just wants to hang out get drunk but doesn't really care about beer, If they actually appreciate the beer they are trying then who cares. IMO

Tho I share with my non craft some almost anti craft friends...lol

 

if you don't like his beer, don't invite him....

 

Man, I gotta say...I think you're just doing it wrong...

 

I suppose from the flood of responses what I gather as the most important aspect is if you invite your friends whose company you enjoy then whatever they bring is secondary

 

Don't let this sort of attitude deter you from attending shares. The opinion of the OP is not the norm from what I've encountered in this hobby. Not at all.

 

See, I would be happy they are even bringing SOMETHING even if it is a shelf beer. Some of the friends in our beer group just mooch and don't bring anything at all.

Everyone starts somewhere. Some can only acquire shelf beer, or they don't have the time to go to a brewery and grab something.

In my group we have a general share, and then if we want a "buy in share" where someone has to bring something comparable to what is being shared. Some get left out, but it is just how it works out when we share more rarer things.

 

At least 99% of bottled beers on the market could be considered "shelf beer", so there are a lot of possibilities for guests to bring to a bottle share. Traquair House, De Molen, Del Ducato, Nøgne Ø, Allagash...all of these are "shelf beers", and generally pricier ones at that. But sometimes, I would rather split the price of Xyuayù and receive a smaller portion for the sake of trying something new than to part $40 for a single bottle of beer.