Bringing shelf beer to a share?!

I just had a share actually where to make other first timers [newbies] feel welcome we gave a list of shelf beer to bring. Mainly to make everyone feel comfortable with us snobs.
What ended up happening is everyone went for higher end stuff without us even asking. Half of the people weren't even big drinkers. So I say - Life is like a bottle share. You never know what your going to get!

 

It's his mom that steered him most!

 

Where in WI are you? I like/have beer.

 

Rent a room?...

 

Do you like the people?

Do they know what is rare / valuable beer?

If people know the beer they're bringing is sub-par and are looking to buy in cheap to the good stuff, then they suck and I wouldn't want to deal with them.

If they don't know the beer they are bringing is sub-par and are cool people, then who cares? Have fun hanging out with them and educating them.

IMHO I'd rather have a share with people that are awesome and bring stone IPA than people that suck and bring TG stouts. People > Beer.

 

I think its ridiculous that shares become ticker parties, why can't we have old classics? Especially having a whole lineup of classics to compare.

 

I don't think it's snobbish. My bottle sharing group is small and tight-knit. We keep it to 5-7 people at a share and only a couple of us can maintain cellars. The other guys buy beer from bottle shops usually close to the share but they are considerate and get something of interest. We also communicate over facebook and usually announce what we're planning on bringing so if someone has an issue they can voice that in advance. I know that generally I will be bringing something more rare or expensive than some of the others but they are making a good effort and I never mind being generous to someone who is thoughtful of the group.

 

Some of these beer shares sound great...some insufferable...

 

Not the "formal" definition of a share, but after a Vermont trip I brought some Heady to friend's house.

Friend A didn't really know too much about the beer, while friend B was hounding me for some while I was on my trip.
Friend A brought some shelf beer to share with me and we appreciated each others beers. While friend B said he'd save the Heady for later, put it in his fridge, and brought a bomber of Barrel Aged Bigfoot, which he didn't offer to anyone else.

He does stuff like that all the time. I don't share with him any more.

 

It depends. What kind of share is it? I've been part of shares where everything is either a whale or at least very limited and I've been to shares where everyone just brings whatever they want.

If the guy knows it's a rare beer share and he has rare stuff but decides to bring some shelf beer, that's pretty messed up. I'd be annoyed if I brought a Prop and only had 2 ounces out of it because I shared with a couple guys who brought Stone IRS or something when I know they have some whales sitting at home. On the other hand, if there are no guidelines for the type of beer and the guy isn't a rare beer hunter/trader, then all is fair, we all start somewhere.

 

The guys I share beer with are all jerks. Hogging all the good stuff, endlessly name dropping / mumbling breweries and ingredients. (then you stop by and find it is just me sitting in a dark room drinking straight from the bomber)

In reality, yeah beer shares are usually just me. I barely get the time to go get beer, let alone share it. I try to bring something good whenever I see my dad or brother in law, because it is fun to share. No need for them have anything good to drink either. Dad always has labatts on hand

 

Maybe it's just more fun when you are focused on sharing good beer you are excited about with people you like. I am going to share some great beers with my dad this weekend. I'm not worried about what he's bringing.

I met a generous BA in Denver during GABF week. He GAVE me some beer and then shared a bottle with me (A Cycle bomber). Just cause he wanted to. I was thinking ahead and picked up a couple things to give to him, but he didn't mind- he just wanted to share.

 

I am probably in the same boat, in that I would be bummed if I brought rare stuff, or expensive stuff, and someone showed up with shelfies. Partly because of effort/cost, and also, admittedly, partly due to a bit of snobbery. I really prefer "beer dork" over beer snob, but I guess if I'm thinking at ALL about what someone brings to a beer share, it means I probably go a bit into the latter category.

However, I guess being in a position in which I only have one friend I tend to drink really good beer with, I'm not aware of how a share isn't automatically a group of people who know what's up. Right?

 

They're just called "parties."

 

Our "bottle shares" are a get together of friends. People bring what they can, and its usually great stuff, but the point is to hang out with each other and have a good time. I've heard of some shares where people get together with strangers (more or less) in order to all share their rarest beers. That doesn't sound like much fun to me. Beer drinking should be a social activity with the emphasis on "social" rather than beer rarity

 

Sigh, it's too late to go back and edit that comment. I'm going to keep getting these replies. I get it now, I get the joke. I didn't at first.

 

I assume you mean people, not shares, but are being charitable.

 

Seems like a lot of people are blending "being a snob" with "being an asshole." Maybe I'm the odd one out here. As far as I'm concerned, if you judge people based on the beer they drink, then you're a snob. If you don't want to share your beer because you're not getting something of equal value (as you personally define the value) in return, then you're an asshole.

And if I saw Person A say to Person B at a bottle share that I was hosting, "You're not allowed to get a taste of the beer I brought, because the beer you brought isn't that good," then it would be Person A that never gets invited back to a bottle share I host.

 

To be frank, this is a big reason why I don't really even bother to go to bottle shares that involve more than 2 or 3 people (myself included) and that involve people that I don't know/never met before. Does that make me unsocial? Probably, especially on the couple of occasions where I was invited to larger group bottle shares and I (politely) declined, prompting one response in particular of, "Oh, but I know you're a big craft beer guy - I'm sure you've got all kinds of stuff we'd all love to try." I had to bite my tongue haha.

As a matter of personal preference, I'd rather share what bottles I do come across of things that I can't acquire easily with the 2 good friends I have who are also into craft beer as much as I am, who have similar tastes, who know how difficult it can be to acquire certain beers we want to try as a group, and whose company I enjoy. So for me, it is a matter of both 1) not wanting to just give away my (personally) prized beers to any random stranger that I may be meeting for the first time at said share (especially when I had to search high and low to find the beer, without even mentioning the cost...); and 2) simply being conscious of my company and sharing things with the people I want to share with. Just my .02.

 

I share my big beers with close friends. Some bring big beers, some don't and that's totally fine. Most of my friends don't trade or hunt down beer. Everyone has fun and they're my friends first and foremost. I'd rather drink with them than some people I kinda know just because they've got the walezbro.