Bottle Share at 943 BYOB

This past Sunday, PhillyTapFinder and PhillyBeerScene held their inaugural bottle share at the byob of 943 in South Philly. They've been planning it for a while now and things finally came together for two plus hours of trying awesome beer. The idea of a bottle share is pretty self explanatory, but for those that don't know, everyone brings a bottle (or two or three) with them to the event, opens it when they feel like it, and then you pour samples of what you want.

When I arrived the table was already pretty full and people were inspecting it, planning their afternoon.

And just like me, people were taking pictures of the table because we're all super nerds and need proof of our conquests. Yes, I'm looking at you Ethan.

The first bottle opened, I believe, was Hill Farmstead E which was a really delicious saison. But, heck, it was from Hill Farmstead, what else would you expect from an awesome brewery? After that, an endless supply of awesome sours and imperial stouts followed. I brought a bottle of Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak Rum which was super smoky and smelled like a campfire.

My palate was pretty blown already and I was too busy talking with everyone so I don't really know what the rum barrel treatment did to this one unfortunately but that's how it goes at events like this.

More and more bottles were opened, beer was flowing and people were eating the delicious food that 943 put out. Steve Lyford even brought an entire three year vertical of Rodenbach Vintages, the 2007 through 2009!

I drank them while chatting with Kristy, the better half of PhillyTapFinder. It was even their son's first bottle share. Not many kids can say that at 3 months, right?

He looks like he's having fun, doesn't he? Okay he actually looks like he doesn't even knows where he is, but still.

The share was supposed to last about two hours and near the end people were just sitting around and chatting. After the first hour of excitement, everyone tends to spread out and relax at events like these.

I mean, drinking this much is tiring work!

And here's Ryan, of In Search of Beer, offering us a rare Brooklyn beer, Blue Apron. People are ridiculously generous at events like this which is what makes them awesome. His view on the event can be read here if you're curious.

I also finally got a chance to try The Alchemist Heady Topper for real. This is a double IPA that people have been going gaga over.

Honestly, I totally get why people love it but, at least in a sample this size, this isn't the double IPA for me. It had an awesome nose but was mostly just super bitter and dry. I like mine with a little more sweetness to balance that out a bit.

And that was that. What an event! My favorites were probably the two Melange beers from The Bruery but there were so many others that were nearly as awesome. But, really, the best part of bottle shares for me is meeting new people and this one was no exception. I'm hoping to see everyone around Philly but if not I'll hopefully see them in two or three months at the next one of these!

See here for PhillyTapFinder's thoughts on the event.