Sharing is Caring - The Stipulation LIF

Alright... new year, time to make good on a LIF!

In December I won glitchedmind's LIF which was full of CA goodies. There I had to guess pretty specific times and distances in order to win. I'll continue on with the spirit of that here, but with the notable exception that I will be placing a couple stipulations in order to participate!

I know that many tend to lurk in the shadows around this site - be it not having much to say that others aren't already saying, fear of threadshitting/bad attitudes that occur all too often, or some other reason entirely. I also know that many people in the trade forums use BA primarily (or solely) for this forum and nothing else (at least publicly).

My aim isn't to ostracize anyone from participation or make anyone do anything they're uncomfortable with, it's to maintain the spirit with which I found myself using the site over the years. So without further ado here are the rules with brief explanation to follow.

1. You must have at least one place review to participate. I don't care if you upload a 2 liner the day of your first guess, just have at least one.
2. You must have contributed in cfh64's Sandyhook Elementary LIF in order to receive my box. It's a good cause so if I can help in some small way to boost the awareness/participation over there it's worth it to me.
3. Lower 48 please.
4. One guess per hint.
5. I'd request that you don't participate if you have a cellar full of all the beers being offered.
6. Please start a LIF of your own in a reasonable amount of time.

Explanation - I have found the place reviews on this site to be among the most useful for me in my travels and also seemingly the most underutilized section of BA. Like I said, just add a short quickie of your favorite bottle shop or bar if you don't normally review. It doesn't take eloquence to bang out a quick rating and a brief explanation/praise. BA reviews led me to places like Monk's Cafe, Mayor of Old Town, Freshcraft, Buckeye Beer Engine, Datz's, The Holy Grale, and many more less renowned yet equally amazing locations.

With the place reviews, I will be checking once a guess is correct prior to confirming it. With the Sandyhook donation I will check with cfh64 before sending out the box and possibly cross-reference the threads from time to time. So if you donated already make sure to say so! What happens if my LIF is still going when cfh64's ends? You can still donate, let him know, and all is good.

Alright, complicated enough yet? On to the good stuff:

The Box
- BBPt5 (2011)
- BA Blackout (2012)
- Weyerbacher Insanity (2012)
- Palo Santo Marron (early 2011)
- Guaranteed fresh Columbus IPA
- and a few others tbd based on what I can dig out of the cellar or is available at the time of shipment that isn't distributed near you (ie - maybe Hopslam, Head Hunter, Bodhi, etc)

The LIF

So part of the reason I am also pushing for reviews is because I recently started a job in the beer industry which leaves me in a position where I'm best off not rating the products of competitors or retailers. I suppose you could say I'm living out my desire to still review through you. I left all my old reviews that went up before the new job, so you can see my degree of proclivity when I was reviewing regularly.

Tell me...
- How many beer reviews did I have notes for that never got typed up before starting my new job?
- How many beers have I drank since then that would have warranted a review from me if I felt free to do so? (This is my best guess, aided by photos and Untapped, and I don't tick small samples at fests)
- How many serious place reviews do I wish I could write?
- What beer most blew me away that I never got around to reviewing on BA?

Bonus: glitchedmind's LIF was all about his recent good fortune in life.

For the choice between a bottle of Odio Equum or Blushing Monk, what beer have I been saving for a special occasion, promised myself I'd open several times now, yet still sits in my cellar?

 

Why don't you guys liking this make some guesses? I'll tell you what, if you donated $25 or more starting your own LIF is optional.

I'll also say that none of the numbered answers are in single digits. ;-)

 

Getting closer on the bonus.

 

Not too worried if you have one or two of the beers given the light participation thus far. This LIF is more about spreading around good beer and paying it forward than anything else.

 

Ah, also I'll go ahead and give out a hint for the night, both the beer I didn't review and the beer I have been sitting on come from the same brewery. Some of you are close but these aren't quite that rare. I did finally get to try the beer I have been saving on draft in December though...