We managed to get all group A. What group did you guys get?
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And my suggestions for a good DLD:
*Bring plenty of rare/good/local beer to share. But try not to bring too much. Last year one of the group went to EVERY brewery in the area and asked them what they would like him to bring. The cool thing is that he was expecting to buy a couple sixers or a growler or two at each brewery. They were practically throwing beer at him. The problem with that is that at the end of the day, we were literally giving beer away because we didn't have room for the cases we had bought (not that we can buy those this year
). This is what HE brought. We all still had some other bombers, 750s and such. It was quite funny though to go down the line waiting to get their Dark Lord (we were outside the line) offering people beer. Most said no, thinking we wanted to trade. Then you'd get the random person that would say yes, or ask if it was free. We'd say yes, give them a couple cans/bottles and then move on down the line. Everyone that just said no looked so surprised/disappointed.
*Don't feel bad if you're next to a group that is sharing fairly rare stuff, offering you some, and you don't have anything as rare to return the favor. We were next to a group waiting in line to get in that it was their first DLD. We had some fairly rare stuff to share, as did the group in front of them (we were behind them). They didn't have as rare of stuff and commented that they felt bad. Idk about most people, but my group didn't care. We got to try some awesome local beer from their region that we would have never had otherwise. If people are offering beer, try to return the favor, but don't let the fact that you don't have something as rare as XYZ beer stop you from accepting a pour from someone. Again, idk what others think, but the bottle sharing is my favorite part of DLD. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't even try to come back.
Along the same lines, if you manage to get a table, or are gathering near a tent, don't be surprised if some random person offers you beer. This happened to us, and we did it to others. We'd crack open a 750, pour our group each maybe a 2 fl oz pour (our pour size depending on the beer) and then just offer the rest to the group of people next to us. Honestly, people are apt to return the favor and you'll probably get to try more stuff if you share.
*Make sure you save some beer to drink/share when your in line for your Dark Lord. The lines move slower as the day progresses. You'll want some beer to drink and, again, sharing is the best part of DLD. (One of my friends and myself got about 1 fl oz each of Baller Stout last year. It was just because he happen to see and recognize the bottle. He said, "holy shit that's Baller Stout!" and the guy held out the bottle to offer us some.
*If you bring homebrew, be ready to either get the super (hopefully constructive) critic, or the "OMFG THIS IS FANTASTIC. YOU SHOULD OPEN A BREWERY." I got some of both. Luckily the critics were mostly constructive and correct. Also the homebrew I brought was mostly my best couple recipes that get pretty good reviews from even my beer geek friends, but some people get a little too zealous on how good your homebrew is. Maybe it's just me being my own worst (and very harsh) critic as well.
*Bring plenty of Gatorade, Powerade, and water! You will all want at least a couple bottles for each person. I'm not a huge water drinker, so I also brought some of the "sport" Mio type things. They have B vitamins and such in them as well. You'll be drinking mostly beer, but you will chug a couple bottles of some hydrating beverage throughout the day.
*You'll want a couple of bottles of water for rinsing your cup. This is the most common thing I see people forget. You really don't want that smoked porter in your cup when someone brings by a light sour.
*Bring plenty of ice packs! Your backpacks will warm the beer surprisingly (or maybe not) quickly. I can get ice packs for free from deliveries at work, so that makes it easier, but I usually bring a small cooler of just ice packs along. This lets us keep the beer in the cooler in the car cold, as well as swapping out the melted ones for cold ones in the backpacks through out the day. (You will want to make several trips to the car for beer)
***Bring plenty of disposable cups!!!! I like to splurge for the thicker, clear plastic cups. They're sturdier as well as you can actually see the beer. I usually bring 2-3 sleeves of them. We end up going through about 1/2 of them each year. You'll want a new cup for some beer. You'll already have a little beer and some offers you something you can't pass up on. There's so many instances where extra cups come in handy. Or you can just be the guy that saves the day for some stranger. You'd be surprised how many people show up with only one disposable cup, or none even.
All-in-all, DLD is really just about having fun with a bunch of other beer nerds. So RDWHAHB (or commercial beer in most cases).
made out of Covears