Bottle Share Etiquette

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Siggy125, Jan 24, 2013.

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  1. Siggy125

    Siggy125 Maven (1,294) Nov 10, 2006 California
    Trader

    I heard of a little drama at a bottle share recently where someone removed a bottle from a big plastic ice tub in the middle of the room, popped it open and began pouring it with others. The bottle was not one that he brought. The person that brought the bottle was a little miffed at this.

    If I placed a bottle out in the open for all to enjoy, I don't think I'd get bent over someone else opening it. However, if I had a very special bottle tucked away in my own bottle bag, I wouldnt appreciate it someone went digging and cracked it open.

    What are your thoughts on this? Is there any type of prescribed bottle share etiquette somewhere?
     
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  2. Tballz420

    Tballz420 Initiate (0) Mar 4, 2003 Minnesota

    Its just part of human psychology - if someone brings something for others to enjoy, they want the recognition that they are the ones responsible
     
  3. jasonmason

    jasonmason Zealot (658) Oct 6, 2004 California
    Trader

    I think it's pretty simple: only open the bottles you brought. If you want to open a bottle that you didn't bring, ask the person that brought it.

    Isn't this the kind of stuff that's taught in kindergarten?
     
    Joe13, quetzal013, deford and 100 others like this.
  4. bryanole27

    bryanole27 Initiate (0) Jun 24, 2011 North Carolina

    Exactly. This is like 'acting like a human' 101. I would be pretty miffed too honestly. It's simple manners.
     
  5. Lutter

    Lutter Initiate (0) Jun 30, 2010 Texas
    Deactivated

    We don't open a bunch of beers at once. You hand a beer you brought to the pourer, he pours it for everyone *drink* then repeat.

    I would never grab someone elses' beer, open it and start passing it around without permission. That's rude.
     
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  6. xnicknj

    xnicknj Initiate (0) May 25, 2009 Pennsylvania

    If it's not mine, I don't open it without asking. This goes for my friends that I've had since I was 10 years old to complete strangers at bottle releases. Common courtesy.
     
  7. Revenant

    Revenant Initiate (0) Aug 8, 2012 Minnesota

    Are you guys serious? It's a bottle of beer. :sunglasses: I mean it's not like a swinger party where some guy just grabs your wife and starts going to town, right?
     
  8. Johnnyramirez

    Johnnyramirez Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 California

    Went to a bottle share Sunday. We didn't have a pourer or anything but we basically handed it to the person who brought it since they were all laid out in the center. The person who brought it opened it and he poured it for everyone in his range then passed it to someone else to pour for the rest of the group. But we absolutely did not open a bottle that wasnt our own. It's just common courtesy. Yeah, we were egging some to open their bottles but we didn't open it nor did we force them to open it. Once everyone got a pour the remains were a free for all. But to open someone else's bottle without permission is rude
     
  9. ridglens

    ridglens Pundit (806) Jan 10, 2010 Indiana

    Depending on the beer, i would probably want to open and pour myself. It might be because of greediness that i want to "get credit for it", but i would like to think it's kind of like mailing someone a gift vs giving it to them. The enjoyment i get out of personally sharing, seeing enjoyment, etc., is really what it's all about and what convinces me most often to bring tough to find beers! It it nice to be thanked? Sure, but i honestly get much more enjoyment out of pouring people beers they thought they would never try/etc. and seeing them get excited. I've been there, I've been poured a taste of an "i-can't-get-this" whale, and it's pretty exciting, i like paying that forward to others.

    Regardless of the motivation, though, i would never open someone else's bottle, at least without asking (and depending on the beer/person, i probably wouldn't even ask!). that being said, unless that bottle was a monster/major part of the tasting, i probably wouldn't cause too much drama if someone cracked one of mine that i was planning on opening anyway, i'd just keep my miffedness to myself and enjoy the beer!
     
  10. bifrost17

    bifrost17 Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2011 Washington

    I'd be a little annoyed as well. Was the dude already drunk when he opened the bottle that didn't belong to him?
     
  11. FTowne

    FTowne Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2012 Missouri

    On the topic of bottle shares:

    Do you go to enjoy the company of others as well as trying new/great beer or do you put your game face on and get pissy when people aren't drinking their pour fast enough so that you can tick the next whale?
     
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  12. leedorham

    leedorham Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2006 Washington

    Maybe we can get some grown ups to chime in on this thread and help us decide.

    /snark

    I guess it's natural to be a little miffed if you were looking to impress a bunch of people, but if that were the case then you should have offered it up for pouring right away.

    Apathy is the real solution here.
     
  13. Johnnyramirez

    Johnnyramirez Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 California

    New great beer and enjoy other like minded people's company. Taste the beer, discuss it, joke around, eat some food, drink water to cleanse our palates and repeat with the next beer. No one is rushed at all
     
    Bung, AnnArborJoe, ehammond1 and 2 others like this.
  14. quirkzoo

    quirkzoo Initiate (0) Jul 7, 2011 Colorado

    I think it is common courtesy to at least ask before opening a bottle that someone else brought. I think simply asking "Hey can we open up the Wooden Hell next?" would be the best route. But I also believe that if someone brought a bottle to a bottle share, that they should be okay when said bottle gets shared.
     
  15. geocool

    geocool Savant (1,209) Jun 21, 2006 Massachusetts

    I think it is a violation of the etiquette of the event, but to make a big deal out of it would be just as bad. A "normal" party often features coolers full of beer and it goes without saying that guests should help themselves. This is a different kind of event, but it can sometimes be tricky to adjust, or to remember that the rules are now different. I am quite sure that this is not taught in kindergarten, and it is not "acting like a human 101," it's a much more advanced class.
     
  16. StylzMC

    StylzMC Initiate (0) Dec 15, 2012 Canada (YT)

    never being to one of these things, i had a dream about it a few weeks back... someone opened a bottle of beer i had brought and never had before... they opened, poured for everyone else and i didnt know until the bottle was gone. I was pretty pissed and the guy said to me "welcome to beer nerds." While i'm not accusing, it was pretty funny... But in the end, I wouldn't open a beer i didnt bring... seems a bit rude.
     
  17. Brandywine

    Brandywine Initiate (0) Aug 20, 2012 Washington

    Yes it's only a bottle of beer but it's also simple courtesy to ask first. I might be annoyed but if it was something really special I wouldn't toss it in a tub in the middle of the room.
     
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  18. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,628) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I have never been to a bottle share, but if I were to go, I can't imagine I would open anything I didn't bring.
     
  19. carteravebrew

    carteravebrew Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2010 Colorado

    But, not unlike the OP's situation, wouldn't it be extended (oops, Freudian slip) expected at a swinger party for someone else to start thowing down on your wife? Isn't that what you went there for? To share?

    I don't know. It's been awhile since my last swinger party.
     
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  20. afrothunder

    afrothunder Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2013 New York

    Somewhat irrelevant, but reading this suddenly made me recall an episode from kindergarten. Our teacher had asked us to bring some autumn related items to decorate our classroom with. Over the weekend, my mother and a few friends went on a hiking trip. I ended up collecting a whole bag full of rustic leaves and proudly brought them to class on Monday. We were sitting around in our customary positions in a circle as the teacher was going over who brought what item. When the time came to my bag of leaves, as soon as she asked for who brought it, a random boy raised his hand and started shouting "ME!!!". I couldn't believe it. Even at that age, I was flabbergasted and became very angry. We had a policy of not speaking until we got called out for raising our hand in class. But my teacher simply told me to put my hand down and be quiet while all the fame and glory went to my thunder stealing classmate.... :slight_frown:

    Now we're adults and things are still the same.. No, in all honesty though, the guy who opened it didn't probably even realize it was a beer of value that this person brought to the party. He was just probably drunk and looking for the next thing to drink and share with others. I highly doubt he was intentionally trying to claim it for his own, but can still understand why the person who initially brought the bottle would be upset.
     
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