Sharing is Caring

By jakob stammler
November 21, 2019

The Buddha already said “thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared” and I am sure all of us agree with this quote. Watching your favorite football team on tv is only half as fun if you do it by yourself, the same counts for almost anything in life, going out to eat, throwing a party or in a beergeeks’ case drinking beer. As one of the oldest beverages ever produced by humans, approximately in the 5th millenium BC, beer has had its fair share of effects on people. While some historians even claim that beer and bread are respinsible for the humanity’s ability to develop technology and build civilization, I want to focus on its well documented social effect. Beer as an alcoholic beverage has many effects on people but the one I appreciate the most is the way it opens people up and makes them talk, feel and spread emotions of all kind. How many of you have had a beer during one of your layovers at an airport bar or during a stay abroad at a hotel bar and started a conversation with a stranger? Beer is a social beverage and thus it is best to be shared. Sharing has many forms, you can share your favorite pint of Pale Ale with your mates at your local pub, you can drink a cheap grocery Lager prior to a sporting event or you can enjoy and dive into the flavorful aromas of a Belgian Gueuze with your loved one.

During my stay in Berlin in the beginning of September I had the opportunity to organize a bottleshare with fellow Mikkeller Beer Club members from around the world. Most of us came to Berlin for the inaugural AGM Europe hosted by Brewdog in its brand new Dogtap Berlin Taproom. As I am a relatively new member in the Beer Club and I thouroughly enjoy talking about beer with all its members online, I wanted to seize the opportunity and meet a few of the members at Mikkeller Berlin. On Sunday, after an eventful Saturday filled with tons of beer, everyone suffering from a slight hangover, we came together at 3pm at Mikkeller Berlin and slowly dove into one of the most memorable bottle shares I have been part of, not only because we had some incredibly rare beers, but because we were a bunch of people, that haven’t previously met each other and we just all immediately clicked. We talked about our beer experiences and shared many stories. At this point I need to thank both Mikkeller Berlin for hosting this event, as well as Frank from the Mikkeller Beer Club who helped us organize this bottle share and who contributed a few beauties from Mikkeller’s cellar.

Under the guise of beersharing strangers became friends, and isn’t that what it should all be about? Let’s celebrate beer not just for its intoxicating effect, its great taste, the incredible variety that exists, but especially for its social effect and the way it connects people from all around the world.

Beer club tasting

beer-fill