6 Rules for Attending Your First Bottle Share

Don't hog the beer, make sure everyone who wants something from any bottle gets some, especially before anyone goes for a 2nd. Don't bring shelf beer, and just be nice, don't get trashed, and be safe, DUI's ruin your day. I've never hosted but I'd like too, and I would pour the beers for all the guests first, and if there's any left then pour me a bit, keep it mixed up depending on styles, have palate cleanser, and plenty of glasses, have ice water available, and food available. Pretty simple no real rules needed i suppose.

 

I agree, except for the shelf beer. If someone is coming from out of the immediate area, they might be able to grab a growler, or some bottles of a shelf beer that no one's had before. And the point of bottle shares is to try stuff that's different than you'd normally have. And a new beer is always a nice thing.

 

Rule # 8 No tickie, no laundry.

 

Who handles all the glassware (making sure there is enough, washing it all, and cleaning the inevitable broken one up?)

 

Kinda depends. Some folks have enough taster glasses, either buying them specifically, or collecting them from fests etc, that they have enough to go around, and everyone just rinses their glass between beers. Or, folks bring their own. A lot depends on the size of the group too.

 

I've run a few bottle shares with my local group and early on when some of them didn't have the beer knowledge or the money for a whale I told them they could always contribute towards the food as an option. The first couple shares was more of an introduction to different beer styles, and as the host I supplied almost half the bottles.

By the 3rd share the newer craft drinkers were excited to bring what they found and it elevated the bottle shares to really good events to sit around and enjoy a mutual love of good beer.

If you go into these things without making it a goal of sampling enough to cover what you supplied it is usually more fun.

 

I think you may be missing the point, it isn't the value of the beer, it is the strong and intricate taste of some beers that may be wasted on folks new to craft beer.

The first time I had Cantillon it was totally wasted on me, my palate was not ready for it. Same for my first Imperial Stout.

I don't think you are doing anything bad by giving a noob something they won't be able to appreciate, but why not give them something they more likely will appreciate is what I believe is being said to you, and not understood by you.

 

Your tastings sound like they've been just about perfect from day one. Hats off to you!

 

6) Use a "brand" of humility to cover your pride.
7) Never forget your "brand" of pride.
8) Read the forums all night, hoping for sleep!
9) Just kidding, can't help it.

 

I haven't seen it mentioned, but certainly an addition to any list like this ought to be: if the bottle share is being hosted by a bar or bottle shop, make sure to give them some business in the form of ordering a draft pour or buying a bottle or two to take home. And tip the staff generously!

 

I don't understand why people have a problem with ticking. I like to make sure I remember which beers I really loved and vice versa. I also don't sit on my phone the entire time, either; I'll take maybe 3-4 minutes out of every hour to quickly mark down the beers and go back to conversing with my friends; but to each their own.

 

my ticking makes me a speed bump at some tastings because in addition to jotting down my ridiculous notes i also like to be social and hang and often times i realize that i have a mostly full beer in front of me and no notes written as the next beer is getting opened. having a few ounces of a pour hang around is often a nice thing though...as it is always cool to check out how something you loved/hated at the start of the tasting has opened up since you last sipped it and if doing similar styles, it can be fun for comparison. i do a lot of hosting for tastings because i don't have to go anywhere at the end and having those half pours are fun to drink and experiment with (coovaaaay time) while i clean up in a drunken stupor...and since i am hosting, i don't mind creating more glassware for me to wash.

the worst/funniest part of ticking is that i have these filled notebooks of amazing tastings that need to be transcribed somewhere so they are useful for me in tracking what i've had. some of the notes deteriorate to "good" at the end of a long tasting.

 

I want to disagree with this post and provide logical, well thought-out reasons why, but I don't think I can say anything negative directed at that avatar. You win this day, good sir.

 

This point I thought was something that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet. If you go to share and someone usually brings some of the rarer pretty hard to get beer and you also have some high end beers, you should reciprocate.

 

It all boils down to being aware of what's happening around you, taking cues from your host and not being a jerk. I went to a friend's house for a thing, that ended up being a random and informal bottleshare where I didn't get a sip of any of the beers I brought because ONE DUDE drank 4 of the 6 bottles I brought, and he didn't bring a drop. Needeless to say, there were words and he's not invited too many places without some groundrules.

 

That, my friends, is being an advocate of beer. Putting someone who may be new to craft beer in a situation that they are more likely to enjoy what they are drinking and therefore come back again and again. Who knows, that persons palate may develop just like all of ours had to at some point.

 

I really hope never to go to a share with the "many patrons" you're referring to.

Shares I've attended often have some sort of 'sign up' ahead of time to ensure a decent variety, coordinate verticals, etc. My MO is to post my cellar link and say "please make requests." There may be a couple 'reserved' bottles (top wants of an absentee friend, pieces to an unfinished vertical, etc) but if it's a bottle that's not tied down, I'll bring it.

When else would I open something so obviously share worthy, except at a share?

I think Wake n Bake would be the perfect thing to pull out for that person; it's a great beer and really can highlight what a complex beer can be, without being pricey or hard to get; now French Toast Wake n Bake, I might reserve for the beer nerd friends, because the person in your example wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those two anyway. I agree with the original sentiment, if someone would be lost tasting a vertical and would taste the same beer 6 times, then just open the fresh one and move on, leave the aged ones for someone who can appreciate the nuance; where I diverge is in the attitude that it'd be a "waste" to let them drink it.

The way "ticking" was described in OP's post, I don't think he meant the act of checking-in (which I know I do, but I try to keep it brief and in between conversations), but rather he was referring to the attitude of "gotta try em all" just for the sake of ticking off the boxes; without regard to appreciating each beer for what it is beyond just a check box (fortunately I don't know any of these people, but apparently they exist).

 

mmm... Upland Fantasia

 

Funny. I just entered this thread and thought the exact same thing. Saw your comment and 65 or so likes. People like to make bottle sharing, drinking beer, ordering beer into this big complicated process. Drinking beer is supposed to be easy. Stop making it fucking complicated.

 

As bad as you may feel, one rule I would add to your bottle shares are if you are not comfortable opening a beer do not bring it. You may want to know who is going to be at the bottle share, and what the "rarity" of the beers being opened are. I don't think anyone should feel out of place at tasting or bottle shares as long as some type of parameters are laid out. If your friend just says come over and bring some beers, whatever you bring is good enough IMO. If it is a share where the host says bring rare beers that are not available in your area then I'd expect people involved to meet that criteria. I haven't been involved in any tasting or shares in a long while but I still have a De Struise Double Black that I am saving for a share. I have close friends who are kind of into craft but I honestly wouldn't feel comfortable opening a $90 bomber unless I was at a share were equally expensive or rare beers were involved. And this comes from someone who hates rarity.