Rules for THE BIG YEAR IN BEER 2014

2014 will be here before you know it, and thus, the dawning of the next BIG YEAR IN BEER. My first Big Year was a one-man quest for quality beer, and bragging rights to my final tally.
After making my efforts public, many friends have expressed an interest in participating. With multiple participants, I needed to draft some rules so there are no misunderstandings after 365 days of friendly competition.  I ran my first draft past my old pal Chris W. for some fine tuning, and made a few minor tweaks, but the rules below summarize the intent and guidelines of Beering.
I will be documenting every beer in 2014 on this blog, so other participants will have an unfair advantage by knowing what my count is throughout the year.  Based on the daily consumption of some of my Untappd friends, it's more likely than not that I will not come in first place.  No matter.  I'm sure going to enjoy trying.  *hic*

THE BIG YEAR IN BEER - Rules for Beering in 2014

*Mandate #1: Watch the film THE BIG YEAR. This movie is the basis for this competition. I just substituted beer in place of birds.
*Mandate #2: It is hereby acknowledged that Dave Witte will always win The Big Year In Beer, and therefore is given a "pass" on participating, so the rest of us have a chance to win (and by "win" I really mean "come in 2nd").  Dave Witte is recognized officially and eternally as Master Of All Beer In The Space-Time Continuum.
*Mandate #3: ENJOY what you are tasting. This friendly, rewardless competition means even less if you're not fully enjoying each taste. Focus on the journey, not the destination.

THE RULES:
*The purpose of THE BIG YEAR IN BEER is to taste as many different, unique beers as possible within the 365 day calendar year of 2014.
*Sips and samples count. A full bottle or pint is not necessary in order to claim any beer towards your Big Year. As long as you truly taste (and enjoy!) the beer, you may claim it.
*Photos are not necessary. They're usually boring. And The Big Year is based on the honor system anyway.
*There are no geographical boundaries applicable in one's pursuit of The Big Year.
*Multiples of the same beer do not count towards your yearly total. Only your first tasting counts.
*Variations of the same beer do count as unique beers, and can be tallied in your yearly total.  If the same beer brewed in two separate countries is clearly unique, it is counted as two separate beers (Note: This may be challenged and debated by participants on a case by case basis, and is subject to majority rule). Stone Russian Imperial Stout, and Stone Russian Imperial Stout With Chipotle Peppers count as two separate beers. Bud and Bud Light are two separate beers. Guinness brewed in the UK and Guinness brewed in the US are two separate beers.
*Variations referenced above must be officially brewed and released by the noted brewery. For instance, you may not add your own spices to a beer you purchased and count it towards your Big Year tally as a unique beer.
*No cider, no mead, no miscellaneous non-beer may be considered.
*No root beer.
*Barleywine is considered beer, and may be included.
*Homebrews may be included in your Big Year, however, you must specify the first and last name of the brewer, where they brewed the beer (at least city and state), the style of the beer, and the name (if any).
*Big Year participants may be open, secretive, or misleading, according to their preference, throughout the duration of The Big Year.  However, all participants are required to submit 100% factual & truthful information at the conclusion of The Big Year.
*Within 10 days after the completion of The Big Year, all participants must submit a complete, itemized list of all beers consumed during that same Big Year. Lists must include the name and brewer of each beer.  All beers must be numerically itemized, in sequential order of consumption.  If applicable, the 500th and/or 1,000th beers consumed must be accompanied by dates of consumption; if dates are not provided, that participant shall not be eligible for recognition in those respective categories.  All lists will be supplied to a neutral party for review.  Chris Dodge will advise with contact details for The Reviewer at the end of the year. The Reviewer will determine the winners and announce the results. All Participants' lists may be made available for review at the conclusion of our Big Year.
*Recognition shall be granted to winning Big Year participants in the following categories:
   1. Highest number of unique beers consumed.
   2. First participant to reach Beer #500 (if date is provided).
   3. First participant to reach Beer #1,000 (if date is provided).
   4. Special recognition may be awarded to an individual with a particularly unique accomplishment or item on their list (subjective, based upon Reviewer's opinion). For example, Brewdog Ale served in a dead squirrel.
*Any Big Year participants known to falsify information about their Big Year will be immediately disqualified from The Big Year In Beer for life.

 CHEERS!

What exactly is a BIG YEAR?

"In birding, a Big Year is seeing or hearing as many different species of birds as possible in a calendar year." - from the IMDB description of the film THE BIG YEAR (2011)

This summarizes the basis for this blog, my beer tally of the past year, and my obsession with high quality beer in general.  When I was a kid, I collected comic books.  In my teens and twenties, I collected obscure hardcore punk records.  Now in my mid-40s, I collect the experiences of enjoying the greatest brews on the planet. 

November 16, 2012 I signed up for an account on the beer site Untappd.com, upon the suggestion of my fellow beer hunter and brew guru, Dave Witte.  I live in Los Angeles.  Dave is from Richmond, Virginia.  Although we live 3,000 miles apart, thanks to our continued travels with our respective bands, Dave and I are lucky enough to meet up a few times each year to hang out, catch up, and nerd out on beer as much as possible.  Our pal and beer journalist Adem Tepedelen even wrote about our collective beer exploits at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in "Decibel" magazine earlier this year.

Not long after GABF, Dave and I met up in LA, and he told me about Untappd, which is basically a social network based on beer.  I have no interest in additional social networking, but I found Untappd to be a great tool for keeping track of all of the beers I try.  Prior to signing up for this site, my biggest complaint about trying so many beers was trying to remember all of them later.  Although it's not entirely user-friendly for my own selfish purposes, Untappd at least allows me access to a database where I can keep track of my beers.  And more importantly, it keeps a running tally of each unique beer I've consumed.

I signed up for Untappd in November 2012, but then around March 2013 I saw the film "The Big Year", about a birding competition to spot the most unique birds in a year (a story based on actual "birders").  I loved the movie, but more importantly it inspired me to pursue my own Big Year.  But instead of tracking birds, I was tracking beer.  Since my Untappd account was already tallying my unique beers since Nov 16, 2012, I decided I'd just keep that running total, and rack it up through Nov 15, 2013... not a true definition of "calendar year", but hell, I didn't want to wait another 9 months to start on the proper calendar year of January 1st, especially since this was a one man quest.

Having no idea how many different beers I try during the year, nor having any concept of how many could possibly be tried, I was driven to keep track mainly to impress myself, but also to see if I'd be equally horrified by a large number. 

As of this writing, with 2 WEEKS left in my first Big Year, I'm at 570 unique beers.  There are no duplicates or multiples of the same beer in that count.  It's many more than I imagined possible. I still don't consider myself an alcoholic, because I don't drink to get drunk.  Although I can imagine the shock and horror of relaying my tally to someone in AA.  I actually prefer lower alcohol content because that means I can enjoy more beer overall.  That said, craft beer has greater alcohol content overall compared to your garden variety Buds and Coorses, so I've had my moments where the sheer number of tasting in one day left me considering how goddamn silly my one-man quest for quantity was becoming.

Keeping in mind I didn't aggressively pursue "numbers" for the first 4 1/2 months of my Big Year, and it only became my official Big Year after it was already underway, I'm assuming it will be easy in 2014 to break by 2013 tally, whatever that may be... I'll let you know in a few weeks. Then I'll enjoy the holidays, and prep for pursuit of a true calendar-based Big Year.
Needless to say, the real purpose of this blog is to capture my beers and exploits throughout my pursuit of my next BIG YEAR IN BEER in 2014.  And I already have some friends who will be participating with me and/or against me in this friendly competition, come January 1st!