Should we bring back New Beer Sunday?

But yet it is still about a more recent nostalgia, of which I happen to be very prone. My memory is long and not inflexible. I just like what people have to say. And I have a shitload of of stuff on my mind.....

 

TBH, some of the camaraderie that I used to feel on NBS and WBAYDN has shifted to other platforms — Slack and Discord, mainly. Not quite the same, but it’s something. Being annoyed by the NBW decision pushed me further to those venues. And the relative ease-of-use of those platforms has pushed me further.

One of the things, which others have mentioned, that was really great about NBS was the hosts opening each thread with extremely thoughtful posts that, in many instances, they had clearly spent a lot of time planning. And again, for me and at least some others, doing it weekly for years was sort of like “church.” Both a ritual and a community gathering, that, IMO, gets watered down if you spread it out too much.

Anyhow… I’m actually all for us crotchety old people getting pushed aside to make room for the new. It sounds like the shift to NBW did bring in at least some new people. If others are enjoying it as it is, good on them.

 

Well said. And that is why I didn't post every week. I tried to do a good job and to be be entertaining. Humor is everything to me and NBS allowed for that very well.

 

Never did NBS.
Attempted NBW, but everyone’s enthusiasm with the rules and letting me know I was doing it wrong left a bad taste in my mouth.
Gave up on it. Not worth the effort.

 

If it's any consolation, I also would have tried to get you to follow the rules back when it was NBS and I hosted. It was my least favorite thing about hosting, and I always tried to do it with humor and tact.

 

Voicing your opinion is important. Talking about beer is actually a very cool thing. Worrying about officious folks is just like real life, and somewhat understandable, and expected.....

 

And, really, there were only 2 rules: A- Drink a new-to-you beer, on a Sunday. B- Post either a review or a few sentences of cognizant thought about the new beer you are currently drinking/just finished drinking. Hardly onerous.

 

I’m personally now a participant due only to the change to NBW (I drink rarely on Sundays), but I think you’re pointing to another, broader issue, that of competing forms of engagement. I do think that eliminating the “hosts” was a way of lessening engagement. What I feel nostalgic for is the olden days of trading here, which has become totally moribund. I’ve had so many unsuccessful ISOs lately that I’m just about to give up. The few times I’ve almost closed a trade lately, the other side has been incredibly picky about various criteria that no one cared about before. Anyway, I understand the good trading action/engagement is happening on social media, which I’ve been reluctant to embrace. What I’m getting at, in a roundabout way, is that making the thread one or two days isn’t really addressing the deeper issue of engagement. I think people are looking for less static, more synchronous interaction, not prepping long, essayistic reviews that, alas, no longer include the non-beer-related banter that made the thread more, well, engaging once upon a time.

 

i wonder if there is some attitude NBSers have concerning those two simple to follow rules that makes some folks feel unwelcome? Perhaps there is a best way to present those two simple to follow rules to avoid others getting "a bad taste in their mouth"?

 

I am not sure how to vote. All my thoughts have been hit on by one person or another already. When I was involved in the discussions to change to NBW, I liked the idea of getting the west coast of America and hopefully some international involvement.

Although I fear the numbers won’t show a huge number of new semi-regular contributors, I anecdotally believe and am happy the thread found some.

From a completely personal PoV, I unexpectedly found it more difficult to carry on two-plus “conversations” (NBW, WBAYDN, Tasting threads), especially with cross-posts. When it was just NBS, I only followed that thread on Sunday and ignored WBAYDN, so this wasn’t an issue. I guess we could file that under the “special” category people have been using, but it is also just a personal preference.

The debate and ideas by people here are interesting, and I’m glad to see there is some passion for the thread, no matter the side the passion drives one toward.

 

IIRC, I first posted in NBS 6 years ago, and I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Not because anyone was “mean” or anything like that, but because I felt like I was joining “something.” Definitely a different feel than WBAYDN, and I got that, so I didn’t want to screw up.

My nerves were misplaced because everyone was very welcoming, and within a year, I was involved in my first NBS BIF. Six years later, I’ve replaced 4 porches and drank a WHOLE bunch of fantastic new beers from all parts of the country and made some good friends in the process.

I still think my reviews all sound the same, and I am a notorious over rater, but I’ll participate in whatever format NBS takes because I really enjoy trying a new beer or two, and I really enjoy seeing what my other beer nerd friends are trying.

And I get the opportunity to crush a porch or two along the way.

 

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm on my phone. But, tomorrow I'll be parsing out this post. Expect verbiage, tangents, memories, and a certain level of get-off-my-fucking-lawn-ism in that post.

 

Many additional good posts regarding the thread. I appreciate the additional background @Roguer , especially since I'm a relative new comer (Fall 2019). In fact, I opened one of the first NBS threads I participated (via my old user name) as one of my first new threads across BA of any type. I didn't know anything about the prior traditions, including dedicated hosts. I believe it was an OK effort given my lack of background, beyond failing to formally ask folks to share their impressions about a beer new to them. People couldn't have been more gracious regarding my "'faux pas".

Any hesitation now is not driven by fear, but rather because I know what this thread is/should be. If I'm having an early Saturday beer, and don't see a thread started, unless I have something worthwhile to convey beyond my beer, I'll wait for someone else to open. It's why I suggested considering having someone volunteer to host within the previous week's thread (perhaps with a backup as you mentioned). Keeps the thread open to creation by anyone, but at the same time allowing for some planning or thought beyond briefly knowing nobody else created a thread yet, you just finished your review, and it's either create a new thread or wait.

 

In my opinion, more damage was done by the clamping down on side discussions and the doing away with designated hosts than by the switch to 2 days.

I don't remember whether this was at the same time, but it was close to the same time, IIRC.

The edict was "just the reviews, ma'am, no stories, no side discussion unless it is about the beer."

Whether it was intended to be that strict (I think it was), things have loosened up, but IDK if the "rules" were relaxed or just not enforced. Either way, it still has not recovered from that laying down of the law.

Anyhow, that considerably damaged the sense of community, and, as I said, caused more damage than the change to 2 days, IMO.

On the poll question directly, I'm OK with 2 days. I'm not particularly interested in a "Style Saturday." If I participated in such an every Saturday thing, it would only be randomly. IOW, every week is too often for something like that. The online tastings every 6 weeks or so fill that niche better, IMO.

 

Not just YES.


BUT. HELL FUCKIN YEAH!!!!!!!!!


Cheers!

 

THIS!

 

Thanks for that thoughtful response. There is too much here to let get lost. This really needs to be well considered. I truly cherish what many here have to think and especially say.

 

For a thousand million reasons, especially regarding the organization of personal commitments, I am very happy with the current "NEW BEER WEEKEND" format.
Just voted.
Greetings !