Here comes the next community blog project and this one is about collaboration, sharing and having an excuse to open something special.
Does any of the following sound familiar… Lots of unopened bottles at home, special bottles, rare bottles, expensive bottles or just bottles that aren’t ready to be opened. Most of them are waiting for ‘special occasions’ but these occasions don’t come around or aren’t special enough. And the bottles build up, they get added to, a hierarchy develops, things get pushed up or down. But all you really want to do is drink these beers and you know you should just get it open, drink it and enjoy it. Instead they wait, gathering dust, not getting any better, just because we are waiting for the right moment…
Stop hoarding...just open it!
So here’s the idea: let’s create a special occasion. Let’s call this special occasion Open It! and let’s drink the good beers. Let’s find a bottle from the depth of the cellar and open it, drink it and then tell others about it (in blogs, blog comments or twitter or facebook).
Open it alone or open it with others; hold an Open It! party or take it to the pub to see what people think. Most importantly, get that bottle open and drink the thing and then tell everyone about it.
This can be like The Session or Beer Swap (and we can do it once or twice a year) and it’s not limited to beer either. If you’re a wine drinker or whisky, whatever, just get the bottle open. Choose the bottle you most want to drink from the cellar and make the occasion a special one : light some candles, choose the right music, wear something nice, you get the picture.
Open It! over the first weekend in December : Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th : and then blog about it in the week after. Use the #openit hashtag on twitter while you are drinking it and like the facebook group. It’s just about opening something special and enjoying it.
Who’s in?
This blog has also been posted my Mark over at Pencil and Spoon, and a big thanks needs to go out to Richard from My Brewery Tap for the logo
Great idea. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to open a few things.
Excellent idea! I’ve got a bottle of Fuller’s 2009 Vintage sat around ‘waiting’ for a [baron rating] so that might be a good weekend to do it!
excellent idea and it’s a weekend i’m not at away. choosing what to open might take some thought though.
To be honest, I’ve never needed an excuse to open a good bottle of beer. There’s something fun about drinking world-class beer on a wet Tuesday evening whilst watching QI repeats.
@Baron Orm – FWIW I’d hang on to that Fullers. It’s one thing to open up ‘special’ beer but that Vintage is just going to keep on getting better with age.
I’ve never had a bottle of beer so special I couldn’t open it, at the moment I haven’t got a single bottle of beer in the house because when I have its there for drinking. When I have a night off beer it happens because I haven’t got any.
The only thing unopened is usually wine – and that hasn’t been left for a special occasion, more so am waiting for it to mature.
Beer i buy to drink that day. It has been suggested i should pick up the Fullers Vintage in Waitrose, but i think i’d rather have 2 bottles of Pride for the same money.
Good idea. I’ve got a bottle of Thomas Hardy Ale that I’ve had since 2005. I was planning on drinking it in the next month or two.
Chris, get it bought and keep it with your wine!!!!!!!
I think i’m becoming too much of a northerner since moving up Ha!
I’m not bloody paying for a fancy box 😉
Nice one, look forward to reading a few blogs on it.
Im guilty of buying beers that cost a few quid and hoarding them, I know they are there to be supped but i still struggle lol
Fantastic idea! Nationwide open bottle weekend with brewery tours, is recipe for fun!