The unexpected joy of bottle shares

Some weeks ago, I was invited to a fantastic bottle share. This is basically meeting other craft beer lovers and bringing some rare beers to share. What a fabulous idea, sharing the joy of tasting weird and wonderful beers with a small group of people.

Looking into the etiquette of bottle shares – yes, there is such a thing – I realise now that this particular group was highly experienced, having done this for years. Everybody brought a few different beers; unusual bottles and cans from around the world, even a homebrewed porter with Maltesers – in my opinion, one of the best beers of the evening.

So we had quite the selection, opening one at a time at a slow but steady pace, and plenty of yummy snacks. As done when tasting and judging beer, we started with the easy-drinking ones and moved up in alcohol content and intensity, finishing with complex English Barleywines and warming Imperial Stouts. And the conversation flowed easily, about beer but also politics and sex and everything in between.

One of the things I love about beer judging is sharing the same experience as other people around the table and hearing what they think, although I have to admit that more heated beer discussions usually follow in the competition setting (and less about politics and sex, naturally).

The idea with a bottle share is not so much to rate the beer though, but rather to try something you might not have heard of before. And everyone’s opinion should be respected. If you don’t like the sound of a beer, skip it and wait for the next one. One person in our group can’t stand coffee so skipped the stouts, and another doesn’t even drink beer and brought a selection of gins instead.

If this sounds like something you might enjoy, gather some friends for a bottle share, ask them to bring a few rare beers along, and have fun. But check the dos and don’ts of bottle share etiquette beforehand, so you’re sure to be invited again next time.