The original rules of The Wall

At the beginning of the year, the three of us had already put together a nice little collection of bottles. Phin and Derek lived together last year, and I already knew them. 

When we moved in, we decided that we were going to try and turn the space above our sink into a great display case.  Within a few weeks of Phin turning 21, we had filled the first row of both the top and bottom shelves, and it became clear we needed to set some standards.

We're constantly making changes as the collection expands, but here's the list of rules we started with at the beginning of the year.  (And for the record, the rules were absolutely meant to sound overly official.)

Rules of The Wall

Part 1: General Rules

I.      All bottles on The Wall should have tops (if it doesn’t have a top, obtaining one should be a priority.)

II.    If bad memories are associated with the bottle, replacing it should be a priority.  Upon finding a replacement, the replaced bottle should be destroyed.

III.  Cans may only be put on The Wall if a valid argument can be made for them (i.e. “The Sapporo can could break most bottles.  It’s badass enough for The Wall.”)

IV. No Budweiser/Busch Products (Anheuser-Busch products are allowed, just nothing under the Budweiser/Busch brand names)

Part 2: The Top Shelf

I.      All members of the apartment are allowed 5 choices to be displayed on the Top Shelf.  

II.    The remaining 2 spots, known as the “wild cards” are determined by a majority vote of the house.

III.  If a member of the house want to select larger bottles for the top row, they must give up the rights to a fifth bottle on the top row.  The remaining 2 members then agree upon a third “wild card” bottle.

Part 3: Shelving Order

I.      The front row on the bottom shelf should be selected the same way as the front row of the top shelf.

II.    With the exception of the beers selected for the front rows on the top and bottom shelves, bottles should be grouped by brewery.

III.  The “display” row on the bottom shelf should have 2 rows behind it before any additional rows are added to the top shelf.

IV. Small bottles should go as far forward as personal preference allows, and large bottles should go in the back row on either shelf.

Like our rules? Think we should add any? Let us know in the comments.