Backed by Science!! Being A Regular At A Neighborhood Bar Makes You Happier, Says Study https://share.google/1wEZF8ggsU0EgtJA0 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HxppyDjRq/
I can’t speak for everyone, but I rarely monitor the regional threads other than one or two I follow, so if somebody posts something new there I usually won’t notice. New initiatives may take some one-on-one outreach to reach critical mass. The main share I group I’m a part of came together largely out of the NBS BIF. Someone mentioned wanting to try a bottle I received, I invited them and another BA over to try it and some other beers, and then expanded the invite list during the next round and again the round after that. I also invited in someone else I met when a famous BA was traveling to town from Europe and invited folks to meet him for a beer. Someone else reached out to me saying they had a bottle I commented on in some thread. And sometimes folks bring in one of their friends. Now we largely rotate the shares between people’s houses, so I haven’t hosted at my place for a couple of years. I will say that rotation has made me more reluctant to invite in new people, because I hesitate to invite an online acquaintance / stranger to somebody else’s home. Simultaneously, many people got kicked off or otherwise left BA and gravitated to Slack and Discord — and, more locally, also just texting. Official BIFs and trades, while still sometimes occurring, have largely been replaced with muling and gifting. Only a few of us are still on BA.
This is really helpful, thank you. The point about regional threads especially makes sense. I probably assumed more people were watching those than actually are, so I may have been thinking too much in terms of “post the idea and see who shows up” instead of realizing that it may take more one-on-one outreach first. So maybe the real lesson for me is to start smaller. Not “how do I get a local event going?” but “who is one person nearby I can meet for a beer or share something interesting with?” That feels much more realistic. Thanks again for breaking it down.
If you ever notice an Italian-style pils on tap at Human Robot Jenkintown, I can often meet there on short notice. We can prod them about the TekuMug, too. Happy to meet any BA there — Italian-style lagers or otherwise.
Several of us from church used to get together once in a while for a share / potluck / cookout. The SHAMdemic didn't help, and the guy who hosted most of the time lost his wife a few years ago. Now that we're all getting old, a lot of us are dealing with health issues and have cut back on alcohol. No regrets, just keeping it real.
Once had an Asheville NC coworker who used to venture into the area with stuff and we'd trade, I've fallen out of touch with him Now I trade almost exclusively within "the family": my BIL takes camping trips regularly and brings back stuff, and I occasionally get hooked up with stuff from my wife's cousins.
The density of people around here is too low to have much of a community. Occasionally, I sit down and share with friends, but it isn’t often
A couple of my former coworkers are BA's, pretty much inactive here these days. We get together once on a while for lunch and drinks, but that's about it. The shares we used to do were pretty heavy on big beers, and I don't think I could even do one of those any more. I am, however, still saving my Big Beers Box for an opportune time. (4th of July, maybe?)
Sharing for me has died, as I've stopped homebrewing (so no longer in a club, you don't just share homebrews, but it'd be weird if you didn't bring one), moved away from my D&D group (bottle shares were a big part of the night with us), and the folks I used to share with here have either moved away or are sober now that I've moved back. Also, I stopped trying to hunt down stuff a while ago. I enjoy my time at bars and cookouts or whatever drinking with old friends and friends I just met, but sharing is no longer a thing for me.
Ah, reality check for me. I love VT, and my perception was that people are always out enjoying the outdoors, then gathering with friends, dogs, Subarus, and great VT brews!
I got nothing. The closest thing I had was my local home-brew shop. They were open for 25 years and were a great spot to hangout with people who were into beer and try all sorts of stuff. I didn't go all that often, but, when I did, I really enjoyed it. Sadly, they closed up shop this past year.
I was doing some bottle shares with coworkers and friends for a few years before the pandemic. After 2020 things kind of fell apart, people got different jobs, schedules, priorities, etc. Plus good beer is so commonplace now it is sort of unnecessary I guess for me at least. I was trading a little bit before too, now I feel like it's more work money and effort than it's worth with what I have around me anyway. Everybody has different circumstances though. I would like to share good beers with more people. Now it's usually just at local music shows, restaurants and bars, or here at the virtual BA bar. Through sharing I was able to try some Cantillon bottles, Bourbon County Reserve, Hill Farmstead, and share some interesting beers as well. Always a great time experiencing some of the best beer with others and enjoying them together.
At one of the breweries in town (Frequentum Brewing, Canandaigua, NY) there is an informal beer share every Monday. Been to a couple and its always a good time. I've supplied some stuff from my travels even when not attending. Others do likewise. Good stuff
Very cool that a brewery allows other beers to be consumed and enjoyed in their space. Def building a solid beer community!
I probably go to a share every couple months. There’s a couple bars/breweries that do a weekly share, that’s open to anyone. Another brewery does a big one every 2-3 months. Then there’s big events like DLD and SARAthon, where it’s a madhouse. Also several groups of friends will periodically do shares. I’ve met some people through ba. But I’ve also met some from Facebook or in-person events. Instagram too. Or just friends of friends. I consider myself pretty introverted. But in the last few years I’ve built quite a local beer friend group. Mainly by showing up, but also sharing and being generous. And trading keeps things fun. I feel like beer karma is real too. Most of the biggest or most expensive “whales” I’ve gotten to try have either been opened by friends or I just happened to be in the right place, right time. And the people sharing these aren’t asking for anything in return. Like me, they just want to share the exciting stuff with friends.
That's awesome! Yes, right places right time, empty glass! I've a friend in Covina. No longer on BA, but big time beer guy from old Doom Saloon nights when he still lived in NY. Covina near you?
