One of the joys of beer is sharing the passion and the tasty beverages. We do it here in this community- virtually, via shipments, or even in-person. But what about your local community? I exchange beer with the guy who runs the local transfer station. We both love IPAs. One week, he might say, hey, a customer just gave me a 6er of this....ever have it? want one? Likewise, if a buy a new one, or am just back from a VT beer run, I'll bring something to him. I also have a neighbor and 4 friends (not on BA) who will do this. When the friends can't get together to sit and share a beer, we'll just exchange a can or 2, leave a random can on the porch, or sometimes split a 4 pk or 6er. Lastly, having been given my first Heady Topper (I'll never forget it! thanks to @cavedave), I love turning others onto Heady T or anything Alchemist! I'd talked with owner of small beverage store in DE about VT beer, as he carried Fiddlehead. (Yes!) So while he'd heard of HT, he'd never had it. The next time I went down to DE, I brought him a can. At first, he was a little confused. I'd only had that one conversation with him, so he was a little wary of this excited 6'4" guy ranting about, 'remember last month we talked about Heady Topper!?' anyway, he was very surprised and appreciative. So whether it's good beer or music or a book, I think sharing it, having someone else share in something that brings you joy, is part of the whole joyful experience! So, who's in your local share community? What's a personal experience you've had with sharing a favorite beer?? Cheers, BA!
Great thread idea. This is honestly one of the parts of beer culture I value most: not just drinking something good, but sharing it with people in a way that creates a real local connection. Earlier this year I had floated a couple of local ideas in the Northeast forum. One was a casual meetup at Attic Brewing in North Philadelphia, and another was the idea of a small Italian craft beer tasting somewhere around Center City Philadelphia. My thought was to keep it simple and generous, and even cover the beer myself,whether draft and bottles to go, and just create a low-pressure space for people to try something interesting and talk beer in person. I will admit, I did not quite crack the code. Neither idea got much traction, and that made me wonder if maybe Italian craft beer is just too niche for local interest, or if I simply have not built enough in-person goodwill yet for people to feel comfortable showing up. I have been around BA for a long time, but online history and real local community are not always the same thing. So this thread hits on something I have been thinking about. How do you actually start that kind of local sharing culture? Is it better to begin with one or two people, casual bottle shares, porch drops, or meeting someone at a brewery before trying to make it a “thing”? I love the idea of beer moving through a local community in small, generous ways. Whether it is a can shared with a neighbor, a beer left on a porch, a shop owner being introduced to something new, or a few people meeting up at a local brewery, that is the part of beer culture that still feels meaningful to me.
Me and my two best beer buds have shares on the reg. Last time we did a larger group one was probably a year ago. Definitely not as frequent as back when I first moved to Asheville, but still happens from time to time
Hey there! Thanks for responding! Yes, I definitely think it starts small. I think as 'beer nerds' our passion might sometimes come across as aggressive at first. I think it's best to start small , and slowly...be patient and know that, eventually, the beer will bring others together. Back when I was part of a local homebrew club, we eventually formed a tighter, niche group of beer needs, which led to the annual stout night and other gatherings at the Doom Saloon and the annual VT Beer Camps. And it all started with someone, likely @cavedave, saying, while tipping a bottle towards your empty glass. "Hey, try this..." But also that one good friend who, while he loves good beer and sharing cans, grew weary of all my beer pics texts, and finally one day responded, STOP SENDING PICS, JUST DRINK IT!
That makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate the perspective. I can definitely see how beer nerd passion can sometimes come across a little intense at first, even when the intent is completely positive. I’m an extreme metal guy, Italian on top of that, and then you add craft beer passion into the mix, so that is basically passion times three. But the intent is always respect, kindness, generosity, and wanting to share something meaningful with people who might appreciate it. When I care about something, I tend to go all in, but I also know that local community probably has to grow one person, one conversation, and one “hey, try this” moment at a time. I really like that image of someone tipping a bottle toward an empty glass and saying, “Hey, try this...” That’s probably the real starting point.
Yeah, we do big nights out in the DS every couple months, but yeah, the single cans or splits are great on the reg
Funny how beer and metal can both be so intense, especially when paired together! and being half Italian, I definitely know that intensity (passion) as well! And for me, and many of us at the Doom Saloon, that 'someone tipping the bottle toward the empty glass' with eyes wide, brow raised, and BIG grin was always @cavedave!
Living where I do, I'm a bit of an oddity as a beer enthusiast. I'm surrounded by a heavily Mormon community, so beer sharing isn't exactly a common social activity. Now, homemade root beer? Everyone is interested in that. Bring out a keg of homemade root beer, and people will line up for a glass. What's funny is that some seem to appreciate it even more when it's been "aged" for a while, if you catch my drift. It makes for an interesting dynamic. Most beer nerds have bottle shares, trading tastings, and talking hops, malt, and yeast. Around here, I have to get a little more creative when it comes to finding people who share the hobby.
We had a nice get together with me, @Resistance88 @2beerdogs and @snaotheus last year. Otherwise, there isn't much of a local community around me. I do get together with the current and former brewers/cellar guys from Bottle Logic. Always a fun time. One of the best communities I have had is in Germany. I have a fantastic group in southern Germany that I always share beer with when I'm in town (and from when I lived there). It's an awesome mix of folks. One of the brewers is from California, a couple of guys are from Belgium, and the rest are from southern Germany. Some of the best bottle shares happen when I visit.
Sorry I couldn't answer sooner, was out in the back yard sharing beers with friends around the firepit for the last few hours.....
I would LOVE to visit the Doom Saloon. My family has roots in Lewis County New York but I love exploring the Southern Tier and all parts of NY.
That’s fair. I think my South Philly family frame of reference kicked in there, so I was using “north” more directionally than as a strict neighborhood label. Germantown/Northwest Philly is definitely the cleaner way to describe Attic. Philly geography always has layers.
Our local sharing community largely died with COVID. People moved away, people had children, people changed jobs, etc. There's a much smaller circle of people who will try to hook each other up, and though we do interact regularly with those people, arranging shares is near impossible anymore. I had a fun experience at The Answer when we were on vacation. I saw this couple stocking up on to-go, and there were three (!) magnums in their haul, so I asked if they were from out of town like we were. Turns out they are from Alabama and this is an annual stop on their way to Virginia Beach. We chatted, and when they affirmed their love of BA stouts, I went out to the truck and pulled out one of the local bottles we travel with to give to someone, and handed them a bottle and told them the only stipulation was that they share it with some of their beer friends.
On life support. Most of my group aged out, lost interest, or just want good everyday beers. That's kinda the Denver beer scene in a nutshell. I get it. At this point there isn't much "new" to try. I don't know if I've had anything truly unique in years. About the best compliment you'll hear is that something is better than expected or something is on par with a well-known great beer. We get together once a year for birthdays and such. It used to a quarterly thing.
For me as well. Part of it is my fault, as I haven't sought out anyone. Part of it is that I work 6 - 7 days a week, so I really don't have a lot of time for such things.
