6 Rules for Attending Your First Bottle Share

We had a guy like that on our softball team. Orders a meal then doesn't have his wallet type stuff. After twice telling him a different place for our after party he got the hint.

 

On #3. I like sharing hard to find hardly available beers with people who haven't had them. If you don't have access to rare stuff, be creative at least. Go seek out something interesting at least. Doesn't have to be a "whale" but shows you put some thought into what you brought. Like "I asked the guy at the bottle shop for a suggestion. Told him I like X, Y, and Z type beers. Here's what he suggested!" It's not that tough.

 

I would say another crucial element is "Know your audience" as in, are the other atendees as big of beer geeks as you or are they just casually into craft.

I attend a monthly bottle share with a group of 8-12 friends, most of which are just casually into trying new things. At that share, I won't bring anything too rare or hard to get that I've traded for because most of them won't really appreciate it. I do really enjoy sharing those beers though so on a different day of the month I'll meet up with a much smaller group of like minded folks and crack into the really limited or hard to get stuff. Both kinds of share are enjoyable though, you just need to know your audience.

 

So true... can't say this enough... do people really want to analyze? Or do they really just want to drink? Accommodate accordingly

 

What are some great "off the shelf" beers to bring to a casual tasting?

 

Try finding shelf beers that can be aged. And make a vertical to bring to a bottle share. People always appreciate being able to try a vertical.

 

That will vary for everyone based on location... One man's shelf beer is another man's whale, just sayin.

 

Depends on your location and who is in the group. An example of what I've done before is brought Lava from Olvisholt:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17208/46273/

It was new to the area, around $10 for a 500ml, and looked interesting. That meant that 1) other people at the tasting would not have had it before (new to the area and slightly pricey from an unknown brewery) but 2) it was something people would be interested in trying. Ultimately, we all really enjoyed it even if it was something we probably wouldn't get for ourselves individually. Also, I should note we got together as a group frequently and it was more of a relaxed atmosphere.

TLDR; Get something that people would be interested in trying but would not purchase for themselves.

 

I always thought the most important rule was to get drunk?

 

7. Don't kill anyone, no exceptions.

 

I've seen some nice very informal type happenings, but I've heard of more than a few stilted, brag fests that would be 0 fun.
1) Always wear a nice bow tie.
2) Take only 100 point beers.
3) Never be early, never be late.
4) Bring your Labrador Retriever if one owns you.
5) Light a big cigar when you first get buzzed.

 

Oh, there is always an exception to that rule.

 

I agree with these guidelines. I recently hosted a share that lasted over 5 hours, and had over 50 people in and out over the course of it. There were high-end beer nerds, and friends who just enjoy beer. My personal guideline to folks was to bring 2-22s of beer, or a rough equivalent. We ended up opening over 100 different containers of beer, from 7oz Rouge XS series to 2 liter growlers. Some of the best parts were when the casual drinkers tried some of the more "exotic" beers, the reactions were priceless. We created some new sour lovers that day.

I agree with bringing a growler of something, even if it's local, they make nice "break" beers. Just try a Barrel-aged Stout, a smoked lager, and a fruit sour all in a row? Why yes, a few ounces of that local pale wheat sounds great right now! And, one of the biggest hits of the day was my friend Jens home-made raspberry cider. Don't be afraid to bring a cider or 2 along as "palate refreshers".

 

The British have a brand of kindness that works wonders. Winston Churchill, and Clark Griswold posing as an American, were masters. Clark was real, right?

 

What's the proper pour for a bottle share. I was invited to one and plan to bring two bombers of one or a 750 of another. Will that be enough? Is a host gift of a bottle of something recommended?

 

Right on. Problem is most will not read it until they've already figured these things out on their own. Had a really good buddy of mine show up to a beer share at my home who really showed up with nothing but a local growler. Sadly he was not I invited to the reciprocal beer shares from the others. Might casually/sensitively share this thread (he's not new to beer, but not on beer advocate either).

 

The nerve of a real good buddy showing up with a growler of beer.. Come one mayne!

 

Seriously...sounds like growler guy dodged a bullet by not getting invited to the snobs' beer shares.

 

I sure hope the point of your post is that the guys who wouldn't share need to read this article, rather than your good buddy needs to read the article. The guys who wouldn't share based on your friend bringing a growler sound suspiciously like dicks...

 

First rule of Beer Shares...you don't talk about it.

My shares usually consist of 5-8 people. And usually whalez are involved