6 Rules for Attending Your First Bottle Share

Good rule.

Also, make sure to bring a good pair of reading glasses if you want to read the review notes of guests is another one I find helpful

 

Ok, there it is. You are presupposing that everyone already knows "the rules." Sure, if I'm getting together with beer nerd friends, we all know the ropes. Rules only become an issue if you bring noobs into the situation. In that case, it is still very much worth the time to figure out what you all intuitively do that allows for such a sharing to go smoothly.

 

We do this as well, but luckily my fiance is as into beer as I am (if not more) so if a particular style is poured that I don't usually like, he will take a small pour and let me try his before/instead of taking my own. Same goes for amount of people - if there are 20 people trying to get in on one bottle, we'll share a pour. Thankfully most of our friends are also like this so we haven't had any problems at beer shares.

 

I am absolutely presupposing that everyone already knows the rules, but I am presupposing that they know the rules not because they were informed of them by a beer geek or this article, but rather because they learned the basics of human interaction in pre-school. I am also presupposing that people who didn't finish pre-school aren't going to be at a bottle share. These are massive presumptions on my part. I now know that if I go to a bottle share it should come as no surprise to see one participant pull another participant aside and say, "if someone doesn't like the beer you brought, it's ok." That won't be weird to me in the slightest now. I now understand. My eyes have been opened.

 

Hmmm. Note to self - do not bring differential equations book to bottle share this weekend....

 

While I share your indignation about people who don't understand the basics of decent human interaction, it's been proven time and time again that there are lots of people who, in spite of finishing pre-school, seem to have forgotten everything they learned.

The advantage of some basic guidelines is twofold: 1) informing the hopelessly ignorant and oblivious, and more importantly 2) making it harder for those that know the rules, but take advantage of the unwritten nature of said rules by feigning ignorance, no matter how ridiculous said ignorance seems...

"But officer, I didn't know you couldn't go 80 mph down a residential street..."

"Not only is that stupid, but there's a sign right there that says the speed limit is 20 mph. Here's your citation."

EDIT: there is also the element of making the entire process seem more approachable to newbies who may be intimidated. I've seen enough stories about judgmental assholes to know that there are definitely people who would make others feel bad for bringing a beer of which they didn't personally approve. See the above examples of guys not sharing with the guy who brought a local growler.

 

Ok, we're on the same sheet of music then.

I'm curious, what are your thoughts on the scenario I posted. I invited noobs who had no idea what they were doing. The beer in question was from Heavy Weight, which was irreplaceable, and the dude just thought, "drink beer at a beer tasting" and just drank the thing all to himself out of the bottle. I remember him smiling, saying, "this is pretty good!" I didn't have the heart to tell him he pissed a few people off. What's your assessment of the situation?

 

Note to self, if bottle shares are attended by the same people who drive 80 mph down a residential street, don't go to bottle shares.

 

Rule #7: Have a dog around to play with! Right @Kylo76 ?

 

My first assessment is you invited at least one, if not more, clown(s). Even the friends I have that could care less about craft and are completely fine with Miller Lite would never do something like that. It'd be like going to a pot luck and taking the entire tray of lasagna that you didn't make into the bathroom where you proceeded to eat it all with your hands. People shouldn't have to tell you not to do that (yeah, yeah, I know, there's a lot of things people shouldn't have to be told what to do, for example the "Do not flush anything but toilet paper" signs you see in bathrooms that are there to prevent people that would have otherwise poured a bucket full of marbles down the drain from doing so). Along those lines, if I'm a noob that's never been to a bottle share, I'm not walking in and grabbing something I didn't bring, let alone grabbing it and not asking if anyone else wanted a taste (after all, it is called a bottle share). You know why I'm not doing that? Because I don't wear big blue shoes, a yellow afro wig and a red nose that squeaks when squeezed. Perhaps you did not see the warning signs of these individuals clown-hood, so it's understandable why you may have invited them.

 

Oliver is the key to any good bottleshare

 

Sets the rule in sentence one. Breaks said rule in sentence two. Well played, sir.

 

That image is going to be with me for some time - you just perfectly described at least 1 (possibly 2) moochers I know! Perhaps moocher is harsh - socially inept with the emotional maturity of cheese is probably more accurate.

 

Having never been involved with a bottle share event, it's nice to at least see some basic guidelines to etiquette. Some where a little more obvious than others, but a nice list for us noobs.

 

My wife hates beer... sniff... I have a 'beer wife' (my next door neighbor - he isn't fond of the term) but he isn't up for sharing pours!

 

We have Kindra at the Doom Saloon, who also loves brew days over there, so she can eat the spent grains. Tastings would not be the same without her.

 

Which weren't obvious? I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm seriously interested in which of these are not obvious.

 

The only bottle shares I've ever been to were part of a local home brew club I used to attend. The group met once a month and one particular style was featured each month. Members were encouraged to bring either a commercial example or a home brew example of that style. And of course all home brew was welcomed. And actually, all beer was welcomed. And actually no one ever really had to tell me any rules on how to behave and I ran into zero dicks ever. Never ever.


Are people really dicks about this stuff? I guess whale-chasing is not for me. Because it sounds like it brings out the worst in people.

 

Thoughts on taking your beer home with you if it isnt opened?

Depend on the bottle?

Never leave a man behind?

If I bring it I am not bringing it home?