Should we bring back New Beer Sunday?

Permit me to expound upon this aspect a bit.

I am not a participant in WBAYDN so I am uncertain what characteristics define that thread(s) but what I found to be special about NBS was that we interacted with each other on yes, the topic of the beers we are drinking that day but other aspects as well. Some BAs would share with us their challenges (e.g., I have been out of work for the past x weeks but next week I have an interview that looks promising, etc.), a family member just recently died, or even simple things like providing a photo of the breakfast they just made and the beer they are enjoying with that meal. This stuff (plus others) just brought a special 'feel' to the weekly NBS threads.

Cheers!

 

Name a Saturday thread and return to New Beer Sunday. I feel now as if it has all been a dilution of the original

 

Now, that is what I would consider a 'noteworthy' change.

A number of BAs in this thread commented upon that change and some (most?) expressed a preference for the old format where there were dedicated folks like Dave (@cavedave) and Maria being the folks who started off the NBS thread. A few times Maria (and Dave?) reached out to me to start a certain NBS and I did this a few times. I am happy to do Maria/Dave a favor and I appreciated that I had a week to prepare to try and set the stage. If that weekend was a special weekend (e.g., Mother's Day) I would write up about my Mother (who is deceased) and how I loved her and appreciated all of the things she did for me and taught me (e.g., If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all).

I personally would not object to going back to this old format. I thought it worked well and if the BA(s) who start the thread are looking for a Sunday off I would be happy to help out here.

Cheers!

P.S. I also thought that you and @lordofthewiens did a great job starting things off as well!

 

When NBS became NBW, there was a noticeable increase in cross-posts to WBAYDN, and whenever there was a Tasting Event scheduled, to there also. Three threads with the same posts. The effect, for me, seeing the same postings across multiple threads, was that I no longer cared to follow any of them closely. For those of us who follow by "liking" posts, cross-posting ruined all of the threads involved.

 

I was thinking about posting on the general topic of how many regular/weekly threads should there be. For example a few BAs posted about creating another weekly thread of "Saturday something".

I am like you in that it seems to me that having multiple (four with the new Saturday thread) creates a 'dilution' effect. Sorta along the lines of too much of a good thing?

I would prefer that going forward that NBS (or NBW if they decide to keep the present format) be more of a standalone thread. Diluting would just re-enforce the lack of specialness that has already occurred here (IMO).

Cheers!

 

I looked back thru the NBW postings I have made, and I will admit I have been less "chatty" lately. And I can't put my finger on it, but it does seem the vibe has changed. A few of us remember a suggested (alleged?) change re: content and I could have sworn I wrote a pretty sarcastic post with one last "defiant" FU video, but I can't find it so I can't pinpoint the time. Maybe that suggestion was in a general thread somewhere about post content... But I can say (in my opinion) that around the 30 week mark there's a difference in the vibe. The conversations seem a bit muted and some pretty truncated, including my own.

And remember this too - as far as sheer volume of posts, we had a couple of people reviewing 6, 7, 8 or more beers contributing to the thread and they have cut down their consumption for different reasons. And yes - a bunch of the regular contributors have been among the missing, but lately we've seen some "been gone for a while" posts. Yet the total posts/pages seems to be stuck around four to five lately(?).

And we had and still have people who post new beers they had during the week and I remember a few folks getting pretty riled up about that (on both NBS and WBADYN, probably the same people). That's about the only time (beyond the gentle reminder to talk about the beer) that I can remember a teapot tempest in NBS/W. Personally, if I am posting I am actively drinking the beer or have done so within a few hours most times. But not innocence here either. I have done it - fairly recently, too - with beers from the week but I make full disclosure. So even that "rule" is pretty softly "enforced".

I did not go back to find where I first started NBS posts, but it was before @cavedave and Maria took the helm. There was some nervousness about the whole thing in the sense of NBS being a "special" thread - you ain't from around here are ya...outsider...are my reviews "good" enough...are my pictures OK...OMG I have no clue how to post a picture...etc then it was well, suck it up buttercup, they can't bite. People who post - there is some time and effort put in there and it obviously varies. There are stunning photographs, the side-by-sides reviews, history and information, etc. that obviously people make an effort to think out and plan before typing. Me? Hell... I take crappy pictures most of the time and my reviews are almost always shooting from the hip as true first impressions. It's just the way that works for me. But once you get in the swing of the thread, those differences are part of the flavor and vibe that make it all work. Everything seems equally appreciated.

I'm not sure what has to or should be "fixed" here - the interesting question to me is why people who contributed on the regular stopped playing. I consider myself a regular, but sporadic, participant. I might miss a few, but like the bad penny I always come back. The people who no longer post at all - where have they gone and why did they go? If they aren't participating in NBW, they probably aren't going to participate in a thread about NBW...

 

People always cross-posted between NBS and other threads, not just since it became NBW.

 

I agree completely with that thought - this is a case where too many of something would be a negative thing all the way around by the threads cannibalizing themselves. Dilution is not the solution in this case. There is already WBADYN for the daily virtual bar. There are - if I remember right - tasting threads that may or may not end up with a bunch of crossposts - I can't remember the last one and I'm too lazy to look. One weekly thread - there's the daily already. Then the "on line tastings" or what have you could just be random events that take place whenever - not one at the expense of another. Or maybe planned quarterly if that's necessary.

 

Needless to say Larry but I agree 100% with you here!

Well, a few have. Two folks I have been discussing this topic with is @DEdesings57 and @Harrison8. There are likely others between these two in this thread (so far) but for some reason I took note of these two BAs.

Cheers!

 

Let me just start by saying that it was a great pleasure to write the openings. I tried to combine humor, beer facts, and other beer things that might be fun to discuss, along with a bit about what was going on in my life.

Matt asked me to try to continue the tradition of NBS as host, and I guess that tradition means different things to each of us. To me it meant offering helpful encouragement to try to learn to review better, because reviewing beers is a great way to learn what it is we like in the beers we like. And learning what it is we like in the beers we like makes it easier for us to buy them, and (for the home brewers) to make them. So making NBS fun and inclusive was a primary goal.

To me the greatest thing about this site is the quality and dependability of the reviews of beers and places. So I saw NBS as a way to improve the site while improving ourselves and improving the quality of beers we were able to enjoy. This simple win-win-win idea was behind every opening I ever did.

As better beer became more easily available to all of us, NBS became less about learning what to trade for, and more about learning what beers others recommend that are more easily available. And now we enter a period of time when things are different in other ways I may not even be aware of from "outside" it all, as I am now. It likely is this ignorance that keeps me from understanding the need to change NBS, but obviously there are reasons and they must be addressed now in a positive way.

I hope all us beer grippers, sippers, savorers, and favorers can figure out a way to keep the tradition going, to make it better and more popular, and to keep it fresh, fun, and informative.

Cheers!

 

This says a lot of what I was trying to say, but fuller and better. All of this nostalgic looking back to a "feeling of specialness" seems somewhat misguided and undefinable. (And honestly, incomprehensible (to me) when you start talking about that "specialness" being tied to a particular day or only one day.) I really like the ideas of more creativity, much more side banter not related to beers specifically, and occasional theme weekends. As far as why certain people have left, or participate less these days, a couple of thoughts . . . first, people change, move on, find other priorities. I don't think Lingenbrau would mind me saying that this happened for him; utopiajane much the same.

Also, I find it surprising no one's mentioned that the change to NBW happened pretty much right in the middle of the pandemic/lockdown. I don't know about you, but the last year has caused me to seriously re-evaluate how I'm spending my time/life, especially online. Right now, sitting in front of a computer and writing beer reviews is at the bottom of a very long list, one that's only growing longer as things start to re-open. Don't get me wrong, I love the thread (and especially the associated BIF), and am really glad that including Saturdays makes it more available to me. But a lot of the handwringing on this current thread seems backward looking and oddly resistant to change, especially as all of our lives have been so completely upended over the past year.

 

For the first few postings after the re-statement of the rules (i.e. the clamp down), I posted my reviews with these pictures:





And, IIRC, pretty much let people figure it out.

It was about 15 months ago or so.

 

You are correct. It really doesn't matter. But many of those Sundays were a particular type of fun. Good memories, ya'll.

 

Paul Heinreid and Joe Friday. Casablanca and Dragnet And we lost John Prine to Covid and that truly sucks.

 

I remember even B4 Cave Dave and Maria (both outstanding) A guy .. I can’t remember his @, would do the intro for NBS and was so always well written. Many of the posts later on in thread not only did the review with pics but also had a story of friends family ,trips some adventures for the post. I enjoyed reading that story line even more than the reviews paired together they were very nice.

 

Really not trying to nitpick, but what, exactly, made up that "particular type of fun"? I think that's what we're trying to get at here . . . whatever that was can't be just because it happened to fall on a Sunday. Or maybe it can--somebody help me out here.

 

Good point, I hadn't thought of it that way

 

It was just a more connected level of interaction and effort put forth on this forum. People shared personal anecdotes, pictures of their pets, or achievements they'd recently completed. People also shared music via linked YouTube videos. Discussion covered topics of beer, in a general, broad sense that a specific titled thread couldn't handle well, but also discussed the on-goings of regional and local brewery production. It was a one-stop shop for: catching up with BA members, reading reviews, and learning a little bit more about beer. Having it relegated to one day may have added a bit of flair, as there was some 'anticipation' to picking out what you'd be reviewing in that thread.

It could very well be the effects of the lock down you mentioned earlier (I know I got burnt out of 'virtual happy hours' by the end of my second week), but the connectivity and conversation was great last I recall sharing in NBS.

 

But a lot of what you write in your first part doesn't necessarily have to do with it being one day, right? What if a lot of that was reinstated over the weekend? I wasn't really part of the thread when those things were disallowed. I lurked from time to time, though. Not to open a huge can of worms, but why were those elements eliminated?

 

No, and I didn't say they were relegated to one day.

I'd have to speculate as to why NBW changed the tone, but I'm guessing: pandemic, switching without warning, proliferation of new beers, a sudden lose of interest from contributing members which domino'd to others leaving, lack of topics in OP, and removal of posts by mods.

Apologies. Brief reply via mobile. Getting ready to workout.