Bottle Share Dos & Don'ts

lots of old threads, here is one you can read through

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bottle-share-etiquette.63999/

 

Do, Invite some guys that aren’t into trading and cellaring but enjoy good beer. I have a group of friends who love good beer but don’t spend time on BA or up to date on all the tends and what not. Most likely they will bring shelf beer but it’s a great to expose them to beers they never knew about.

Had a bottle share at my house. I have a few beer geek friends that came and brought society/membership beers that my other friends never heard of. It blew them away. It was cool that the guys who bought hard to get beers where cool with getting limited hard to get beers in return.

 

I think if you set some expectations ahead of time you'll be in good shape. If it's a share where you go down to your store and buy some stuff, then tell people that.

If the expectation is that you want harder to get bottles say so. If you want to do a whale share, be sure to also share that!

 

Don’t invite too many guys or gals, 22 oz only goes so far. 5-6 seems about right. You want a mix of styles and not have everyone show up with big abv BA Stouts. Most guys like to share their good bottles, so I’ve never seen a guy show up with inappropriate beers. Have water, have food, if there’s too much to drink collect keys to be safe.

 

Do have food, or tell people to bring $10 and order pizzas
Do have tons of glassware

Don't talk politics or religion
Don't be afraid to say what you think about a beer, but try not to diss anyone's tastes or what they brought

Do it blind/ double blind, especially if you have a bunch of beers in the same style
Do take notes if you plan on rating, you won't remember details, and lame to fiddle with your phone

Don't look up beers you've never seen/ tasted before on BA/ Untapped, way more fun to try and then see what other people thought, you can never go back once you see the rAvg
Do take a before and after bottle shot, and pictures of everyone having fun in general

 

It doesn't hurt to echo the important recommendation to have water and make sure all guests are consuming lots of water, to clear palate and to mitigate the after affects of alcohol. Also to clean glasses. I force myself to drink one glass of water for each glass of beer at big shares.

 

+1 to @cavedave . I'd also add set a reasonable limit unless there are designated drivers available.

Went to a homebrew bottle share. Everyone was excited and brought way to many beers and we proceeded to drink them all rather quickly. Lucky for us the hosts wife insisted on collecting all car keys and refused to give them back. No need for a good time to turn bad.

 

Beer for me has been a wonderful way to meet new people over the years. But I've been to shares where the conversation is almost exclusively beer. I heard someone once say that beer should help foster interesting conversation but shouldn't be the only topic of conversation.

 

From these discussions in the past the main factor people feeling good or bad about a bottle share is people's perception of fairness. Either because they brought more valuable beer and feel cheated by others; or they brought less valuable beer [with no intention of cheating anyone] and they feel like the cheapskate. I would recommend either...

1) Only invite people you know will not quibble about beer cost or rarity value (i.e. generous people); or
2) Set a minimum dollar expectation of what people should share. If someone goes above and beyond, that's on them. (And don't attempt regulating rarity, because it's subjective... just stick to quantifiable $$.)

 

The bottle share I've been part of for several years basically has no rules other than how much to bring (the equivalent of 3-4 pints) and it's been fine. It does help that everyone is into craft so there are no worries of someone bringing macro stuff, but if they did, we would drink it. The tendency these days is "drink local" though, so that is generally a big part of the lineup.

As for what to drink in what order, we just let the host handle it. He gets all the beer upon arrival and manages things accordingly. Anything left over is saved for next time, unless the person who brought it asks for it back. No big deal.

Water/Chips/Crackers very important as others have stated.

Once you get into expectations about how much money to spend, what you're allowed to talk about etc. that tends to take the fun out of it.

 

I'd have a variety and have others bring some food to share as well.
The could be hot wings, pizza, wild game, salid, baked dishes.
When I used to have or attend someone else's, it was a noon to 5 event. Lots of fun.

 

Definitely a water pitcher and bucket to clean out glassware.
When I rinse my glass our after every beer, I try and drink some water so I stay hydrated, and the hangover the next day isn't so bad.
As for food, finger food is best so you can pick through the night as you drink. Nothing super heavy or greasy though is my suggestion.

 

Luckily there’s never been “that guy “ at any bottle share I’ve been to. When you go to pour, pour for your buddies first you go last if I’m the host anyway. If your not I still pour for friends first. Oyster crackers are nice, not much flavor, light, helps clearing the palate.

 

Do

• Bring interesting beer. Doesn't necessarily have to be rare but don't bring stuff you're trying to just get rid of. If you homebrew bringing that is always a good idea so you can get some feedback on it.
• Put effort into what you bring. Whether its from a brewery most of the guys don't have access to or a limited release. Don't just go to the local store and buy something that everyone else normally has the chance to try.
• Rinse your glass out after each beer (i usually drink the rinse water to stay hydrated)
• Bring/drink water
• Keep an open mind to beers and styles that aren't normally in your wheelhouse.

Don't

• criticize a beer without thinking about why you don't like the beer. Don't just say "this sucks". Personally I don't like hudson valley because they're a bit too acidic for my palate and I find the hops lacking for a sour "IPA"
• Drive if you can help it
• Be ungrateful.

 

Not necessarily hard to find but more so thoughtfully chosen beers. For example, I'd welcome someone bringing a solid limited local release that I didn't get around to snagging (like if I didn't get up to Calusa or something like that). Shelfies are definitely frowned upon though, if I want to drink CBS/KBS/BCBS there's plenty sitting on the shelf that I could buy.