Question: Going to First Bottle Share Tomorrow

Just spitballing here...

If I were going to a bottle share, I wouldn't worry about getting comparables in return for my contributions. I'd probably just pull something from the cellar that I thought most everyone would enjoy and that might be hard to find.

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

Bring your own taster glass.
Don't worry about what your taking in comparison to what others bring. It's not a dick-measuring contest, you're there to have fun, chat with folks, and try different beers.
Take Barleywine (at least that's what I'm doing tomorrow. We have a BW bottleshare every year).
Drink water and eat stuff.

 

Does this mean it's on brewery property, or does "outside" mean it's not affiliated with a brewery?

 

If you're with generous people, drink slow and mind your limit.

Between ABV variations and generous people refilling your glass every so often, it's easy to consume a lot more alcohol than you realize. Some times that's apart of the fun, but also be aware enough so you can still remember to attend the release

For a public share, I'd bring some more typical cellar stuff you have. You could always bring a rare bottle and keep it in your cooler, and if the crowd / vibe fits it, you could share that bottle later. FWIW, the public bottle shares I've seen around here don't always have super rare stuff. Most often, people are just excited to try something new, something out of market, etc..

 

Bring the best beers you have. Start by drinking some of your highest ABV beer. Drink it quickly. The rest will work itself out. You will be amazed by people's generosity. Post pictures on WBAYDN.

 

Looks like all the bases have been covered, so there isn't much to add.

Understandably, new people often sweat the "What should a bring" concern. Truth is most of the people I know wouldn't even care if you just showed up with a glass.

But of course, you want to contribute, and that is part of the fun. A good general rule is, if you like something odds are someone else will like it too. If it's something you want to share with others, it's probably a good candidate. Something relatively rare or new or special, always works, as some people may not have tried it or may want to revisit it.

Glad to see this topic come up. I'm surprised it is not discussed here more frequently.

We are lucky in Los Angeles to have an active, thriving share community.

In the end, the best thing about a share is the people.

Have fun OP

 

Keep in mind the amount of people you're sharing with. A couple ounces per bottle at most. Bring out your firepower. No need to hoard those good bottles when you have decent people about to share theirs with you. If you have something decent, enjoy it with the community. It will be a memorable experience. Cheers.

Edit: if you're worried the beers you bring will be "above" what you get to try, bottles shares probably ain't for you.

 

I can’t speak for the OP, but could at least sympathize from the realm of the unknown with the thought of: is one expected to bring the rare find that would rather be shared with friends, but that’s the expectation and to live up to it would be nice. But if that us assumed, and that’s not what was expected, the opportunity is lost to share that special beer with friends by sharing with strangers.

So, to your point and that of many others, I think the answer is to not fall out of one’s comfort zone and bring beers up to but not exceeding the best s/he is willing and wanting to share with “anyone.” That way, regardless of which Goldilocks bed one finds, it will be comfortable and knowledge will be gained.

 

I wouldn’t bring anything insane (and as insanely expensive as Anchorage/SP stuff) to something like this. If it was a smaller gathering with close friends, that’s when I bring out the big guns… although, I probably still wouldn’t with those two examples. Maybe the BBT because it’s in a shareable size. Maybe.

 

I could go on and rant a little, but I'll just tell this story (which ended up being a little ranty after all ha)...

Probably the last true "bottle share" I was a part of. Similar set up, at a brewery, before a supposed hyped release that a friend invited me to. Lots of people there, tons of fruit smoothie sours, the smoothie IPA's, the chunky NEIPA's, the marshmallow pastry bourbon barrel aged stouts etc. All tasted like sugar to me, and only had a few ounces before I just stopped, just cause I couldn't take that anymore. Everyone else seemed to enjoy those so, there you go.

Anyway, my friend and I brought two Westy 12s to share. Someone literally said we don't want home brew here and put the bottles off to the side (they were all ticking on Untappd), I think they saw no labels on the bottles and made that assumption. I looked at my friend that invited me, we both rolled our eyes, and we just went off to the side and drank the two bottles ourselves. I couldn't stand bottle shares from then on. Coming from someone that used to host them at least once a month at a local bar, but something changed, at least for me with this. We were never that dismissive of, well anything.

Don't get too caught up in the hype, find beers that are good and drink them. Share beers that are good, and ones you want to drink, not ones you think will make a good impression. Don't be a jerk, and have a plan on how to get home without drinking and driving. Eat plenty, drink plenty of water, tip whoever is taking care of all the drunks not paying for beer they brought to the establishment.

I'll stop there

 

Lol what an asshole (sorry mods. It’s warranted here.)

 

Yeah, it was weird, even if it was just homebrew, wouldn't you want to taste it? We ended up being a jerk after that, put the two bottles in one of the pictures, and that same person just picked it up and moved it ha (yeah thats as jerk like as I will get out in public ha). Still completely clueless to what it was. I realized, this wasn't my crowd at that point.

To be fair the shares I use to host were things like, the bar just got in Tank 7. One of us got a bottle of Saison Brett (when that was a rare thing around here), and we all bought a round of Tank 7 to try with that bottle. Or bringing in various ages of Orval, and the bar had a newer version so we would again all buy some and try them side by side.