I'm totally ready for another swap. Got lots of on-hand trade options from local and nearby states.
I agree its time for another swap.
I have never organized one before, but could help in whatever capacity I'm able. I might be up to organizing it even if you want me to,
I think to get things moving, we probably need to begin a new thread, and see who is in, and from there see who is most able to organize the whole deal. Can probably cut and paste from the previous swaps as far as the rules and regs.
Setting a format and oz minimum would be next.
I think there should be a no-fly-zone on any of the stuff we all have easy access to: rodenbach, duchess, Petrus, monk cafe, trimmerman, etc. special exception might be made for extremely rare versions of limited releases of the mentioned widely distributed beers.
Emphasis should be on trying to obtain local sours when possible, so as to avoid including mass-distro domestic stuff like New Belgium (even though it is really really good, and is hard to find where I live) and others such as goose island that might also be included in this group.
For me, the most desirable beers are the barrel aged domestic sour beers in the lambic style, and not the Berliner weisse style sour beers. Also, there are some saison and Belgian style beers with Brett used in secondary fermentation only. Some have a great tartness (saison Athene) while others only minimal funk (local 1 or local 2). However, some folks may have considerable access to only some styles. If we want to impose rules on what can be included and what cannot, we will inherently limit ability of many to participate.
My vote would be a mixed format:
at least one bottle of typical commercial sour beer either domestic or foreign (not including the widely distributed European types listed above, but to allow and encourage the highly sought after Cantillon, drie fontienen, fantome, Hannssen, etc for instance. )
At least one commercial bottle with Brett, either 100%, mixed primary, or secondary. Not to account for more than 50% of total oz requirement. Can be inclusive of the above sour category, if no other options exist.
Commercial Berliner weisse would be a welcomed addition, but not to account for more than 50% of the total oz requirement, and zero oz required as there are not many commercial options.
No duplicate bottles of the same stuff
At least 9 bottles in 12 oz equivalents. For oz purposes I would propose we consider the European bottles less than 12oz as being 12 oz and just say the equivalent of 9x12oz worth of sour beer meeting the requirements above? 108 oz then?
I think it would be pretty easy to do this within those limitations.
Shipping deadline November 14th such as to ensure arrival by Thanksgiving seems reasonable.
If all are in favor I would propose we move forward with sour swap #4.
Oh and last of course, homebrew sours, and perhaps exceptional non-sours are to be encouraged to be included in the box, thought do not contribute to the specified minimums.
TD
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