Going to my first bottle share tonight

It would help if you said where you're located.

 

Welcome to BA! It would help to know what area you're in so we can recommend beers. Do you know of any beers anyone is bringing already?

 

Best piece of advice I can give is to not over think it.

Take some brews you enjoy/think are cool and want to share with others. If it's a share looking for more uncommon stuff, take a look at your cellar and see what you've got sitting around that isn't on shelves anymore.

 

If you can get growler fills near you you could always go that route and see what's available. Otherwise just look for seasonals at a nice local bottle shop or binnys.

 

I wouldn't bring Hefeweizens.

Maybe drive up to Woodman's in Kenosha and pick up a couple of New Glarus 750ml fruit beers? Maybe a bottle of Alesmith Speedway Stout as well?

 

Bring what you like and share it, even if it is a hefe (especially in the summer). Its that simple. My local bottle share meets once a month, and while we sometimes have a beer style theme depending on the time of year or whatever, for the most part, its just bring something you like. And I'm an advocate of that - I can only enjoy so much barrel-aged stuff, and then I need a change of pace.

We've grown from just a couple of founding members to a rotating cast of characters, and we have a sweet time. We have developed some unusual rituals, like opening up the tasting with an adjunct American lager, keeping track of the worst beers we've ever tasted, and on occasion, sabering a beer (not for the faint of heart). But more than the rituals, we've developed friendships, which makes the beer taste even better!

 

I haven't found a new tasting group since I moved to Indy, but my old one in DC had the same mentality. Bring something you enjoy, and don't worry about justifying it's style. We've had tastings where one person has brought a super rare DL variant, and everyone else brought shelfies. It's more about the comraderie than anything else.

The important thing is to have fun!

 

Our shares usually are filled out more by out of distro or release beers. Since we are all in the same area we usually all have the readily available items or limited offerings in the area. Even if it is shelf beer and out of distro. That way a lot of them are new for people.

At the same time doesn't hurt bringing some top notch beers that are around. Someone mentioned new Glarus and speedway. We had both of those at our last tasting, but they are out of distro for us.

End the end you're going to drink a lot of good beer. Enjoy it.

 

Everyone has really good ideas. You may also consider taking some munchies along with you. Nothing extravagant. Something as simple as cheese, crackers and summer sausage is always appreciated when it gets a little later in the evening. Have fun!

 

Oh snap, this guy totally knows what's up. I can't tell you how many times I've thanked the many sausaged god for a friend showing up with some munchies. Be this guy, OP!

 

I am wondering what "sabering" a beer is, sounds like fun!

 

Using a literal saber to slice off the end of a corked bottle.

 

Snacks are where it's at. Cheese crackers and meat are solid. Some often brings pretzels and oyster crackers for a cleanser. Last time it was super hot so I brought a cooler full of Powerade etc to rehydrate.

 

bluecows, how did your first bottle share go?

 

Go to Binny's or a craft beer store that has knowledgeable people and explain what you have going on. They know what is new, unique, etc. Many years ago a friend stopped at Binny's prior to a bottle share and asked for recommendations for a bottle share event. The knowledgeable sales person there was quite nice to recommend and introduce us to Cantillon....

 

Sooooo...how did it go?