Drinking from the Bottle

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Scut_Monkey

Scut_Monkey

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It's official. The thing that annoys me most about serving home brew is that everyone thinks it's necessary to drink it straight from the bottle. I explain to people that homebrew and most craft brews are different and will taste best when poured into a glass. I have even shown the yeast sediment to people to try to prove the point and they still think it's necessary to drink straight from the bottle. Now I can understand if there are no glasses around but I bring glasses for people to use when I'm not at home. I find it irritating because its almost as if they are telling me that they know more about my beer than I do.

Am I the only one that has this problem. Is there a good way to help people to understand. I don't see how this is such an abstract concept to grasp! :mad:
 
You can only try. Some people aren't going to be swayed regardless. For the rest, maybe you could post some tasting instructions with the beer or give them basic judging checklists for appearance, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, etc... to get them to appreciate it more.

The final option is to start kegging and serve it out of a tap. They'll have to drink it from a glass then :)
 
Pour two glasses, one with clear well poured beer and one with the yeast all stirred up like if it was continuosly being sipped from. Show them the difference let them taste the difference, and for anyone who still thinks theres no difference just let them drink the yeasty one and wait for the sound effects....
 
I always get crap for bringing a glass to people's houses to drink my beer out of. Oh well.

I should start using the mug instead of the pilsener glass... im going to break that thing one day.
 
I wrote this for another thread last year....you could consider it a script....

Yeastie Boyz

A one act play by Revvy

Cast
HB) = Homebrewer
G) = Guest.

Scene, a living room, G and HB are hanging out watching the game.

HB) Hey you wanna try one of my beers?

G) Sure

HB grabs bottle, glass and bottle opener. Proceeds to open and pour beer properly.

HB) I dunno if you know this, but as opposed to BMC's this beer and most micro brews are alive?

G)Huh? Wha?

HB) They're still alive. See the macroswill makers pretty much kill their beers so they last on the shelf. They pasturize them and filter out the yeast, and to me, most of the flavor...that's why I like to brew, and like to go to brewpubs and stuff.

But these beers, and ones like Rogue, and Bell's don't filter, in fact the yeast is still in the bottle and that's how the beer gets carbonated.

B) Really?

HB holds up bottle to the light, showing the dregs.

HB) Yeah, see this stuff at the bottom? That's the yeast....notice how clear your beer is? If I had poured it in you beer it would have been cloudy, but I poured the beer til this stuff got to the shoulder of the bottle, leaving it behind.

HB knocks back the yeast dregs.

Actually the stuffs really good for you it's full of vitamin b and stuff. Sometimes I don't bother leaving it behind and just dump it in the bottle. And some beers like Wheats are meant to be cloudy with suspended yeast. There's different types of beer yeasts, and they give beers different tastes. Some yeast give the beer the flavor of Banana, or cloves.

Or like this beer here the yeast gives it this quality (Hb describes the yeast in the beer guest is drinking.) Can you taste it?

Some of us homebrewers actually capture the yeast from some of the beers, and grow our own cultures with them. Some are really awesome and hard to get.

G)Wow, I didn't know you knew so much about this stuff...cool.

HB) Thanks, didja know that the yeasts are so important to the Belgian brewers that guard their yeast like it was fort knox? Some of them take it so seriously that they actually filter out the strain they fermented with, and then replace it with a different one to bottle carb and condition them? They actually take out one strain (like the BMC'ers do) BUT they still add yeast at bottling time...it's that important to them.

G) What?

HB) Yeah and brewers and even some homebrewers who go to Belgian, actually try to steal samples of the yeast.

G) No ****?

HB) Yeah it's pretty wild, huh? Hey you wanna try another of my beers, maybe a wheat or a belgian that has a really yeasty character?

G) Yeah sure.

HB hands G a bottle, class and bottle openner

HB)Ok dude, I showed you how to pour to the shoulder of the bottle, so why don't you give it a try?

G) Cool! So will you teach me how to brew sometime?

HB) Yeah, I'm brewing this weekend, come on by Sat. Morning.
Smiles knowing he's converted another one to the 'darkside.'

G) SO can I make a beer like bud lite?

HB smacks G over the head with beer bottle

The End

(Just kidding about the last part)
Click to expand...
 
mnm129 said:
I find it irritating because its almost as if they are telling me that they know more about my beer than I do.
Click to expand...

1) Get over yourself
2) Let them do whatever they want to do
3) If #2 bothers you so much stop offering up homebrew

:rolleyes:
 
I've never ran into that before. Once I explain the yeast thing, people are ok drinking from a glass. My wife says she misses drinking beer from a bottle, but she still uses a glass for our home brew. I've been wondering if the right fining agents will get a beer clear enough to drink from the bottle.

I usually explain it like this. Home brew is naturally carbonated, so there's yeast at the bottom of every bottle. If the yeast gets in your beer, it makes it taste funny.

I usually don't have to say more then that. I like to use the phrase "naturally carbonated," it makes it sound much better then "there's gunk in the bottle."
 
When I bottled I always poured them for my friends.

I keg now but still serve them most of the time.
 
I've known a couple guys who drink from the bottle, they only pour canned beer into a glass. I guess the bottle is special to some people because it costs more than cans...
 
I have friends who only drink from the bottle. Their kid teased me once for doing it, and I have reason to believe that the teasing stemmed from their behind my back discussion on my preference for a glass. The problem is that they drink Labatt's, Heiney, etc. Who needs a glass for that stuff? It's like soda pop!

I could explain that I prefer beer with aroma and that it enhances the aroma, not to mention helps keep the yeast out (Not that I care about drinking the yeast), but I suspect they still think I'm some sort of beer snob.

It would be nice if they were to expand their beer horizons, but I don't really see it happening, so I don't care anymore. People will do what they want. Once you explain the aroma and yeast to them, let them do what they want.

I'll still drink from a glass if it's available, they can get a lower quality of beer drinking experience if they choose to. Frankly, I rarely even drink from a glass if it's Labatt's or whatever. If I'm in the garage and don't have a glass handy, I'll drink from the bottle too. Although, now that I think about it, I really should get some plastic glasses out there...
 
brian_g said:
I usually explain it like this. Home brew is naturally carbonated, so there's yeast at the bottom of every bottle. If the yeast gets in your beer, it makes it taste funny.
Click to expand...

That is going to come off as condescending to a lot of people.

The local Brewery (which is the sixth largest in the country), Boulevard, bottle conditions and people know this and drink their beer from the bottle. If I said the above around here to someone who had been on a Boulevard tour or read the bottle I would sound like a jackass.

A more honest explanation would be:

"I bottle condition my beer, but I am not as good at it as a commercial brewery so there is a metric crapload of sediment in my bottles. Not what you are used to with bottled conditioned commercial beer."
 
Revvy said:
I wrote this for another thread last year....you could consider it a script....
Click to expand...

Ha. Like any real conversation with your average BMC drinker would proceed that way. They'd beat you to death with their Miller Lite bottles before you ever got to the word "dregs." :p
 
StunnedMonkey said:
Ha. Like any real conversation with your average BMC drinker would proceed that way. They'd beat you to death with their Miller Lite bottles before you ever got to the word "dregs." :p
Click to expand...

I dunno...most of the BMC drinkers I know are open minded, and know of my passion for beer, and food (and have sampled both, much to their enjoyment)..and actually like learning stuff, and trying new things..so that conversation has actually happened on occasion, to friends of my family, relatives I don't see regularly, but may be at a holiday gathering where I do a tasting...stuff like that.

Of course also, I have no qualms about drinking BMC (well, Labatts, Strohs, Schlitz) right out of the bottle watching hockey or football with friends....But if I bring out my own beer, or a micro brew, to someone's house, my friends know enough to break out the glasses....

They know from being around me that those beers actually have TASTE and SMELL, and benefit from glasses (proper or otherwise.)
 
Funny. My major complaint is that you can't really drink from the bottle. I like the flavor, I like the heft, and I like the ease of a bottle. Glasses are great for aroma, clarity, etc, but it'd be nice if I could make a homebrew that was clean enough and free-of-sediment enough to justify drinking from the bottle!
 
Do you other guys that wait a couple months to bottle have major yeast issues like those being described? I like glasses personally but I do drink out of the bottle when mowing the yard (occasionally) and dont really notice excessive yeast.
 
Revvy said:
I dunno...most of the BMC drinkers I know are open minded...
Click to expand...

Heh. I need a better class of friends. My BMC friends are the type to berate me as a pssuy for drinking Sierra Nevada at Buffalo Wild Wings instead of partaking of the Coors Lite pitcher. I never bother trying to explain the irony there. :)
 
When I give beer as a gift, I always make my own labels. The label ALWAYS reads (in part):

"Contains sediment. Store upright and pour slowly to retain sediment in bottle."


I have seen people read the label and then prompty pop the top off and take a big, violent swig.

All you can do is try but don't worry about it too much. Everybody loves free beer, even if they don't understand what it is.
 
remilard said:
That is going to come off as condescending to a lot of people.

The local Brewery (which is the sixth largest in the country), Boulevard, bottle conditions and people know this and drink their beer from the bottle. If I said the above around here to someone who had been on a Boulevard tour or read the bottle I would sound like a jackass.

A more honest explanation would be:

"I bottle condition my beer, but I am not as good at it as a commercial brewery so there is a metric crapload of sediment in my bottles. Not what you are used to with bottled conditioned commercial beer."
Click to expand...


My explanation was for people who aren't used to any bottle conditioned beer or any home brew. Your right it wouldn't be appropriate for people already use to bottle conditioned beer. I'm assuming people who wont drink beer from a glass are in the latter category.

I'm still wondering how commercial bottle conditioned beer reaches the clarity levels. Some are good enough to drink from the bottle. I'm guessing that part of it is longer bottle aging.
 
mnm129 said:
It's official. The thing that annoys me most about serving home brew is that everyone thinks it's necessary to drink it straight from the bottle. I explain to people that homebrew and most craft brews are different and will taste best when poured into a glass. I have even shown the yeast sediment to people to try to prove the point and they still think it's necessary to drink straight from the bottle. Now I can understand if there are no glasses around but I bring glasses for people to use when I'm not at home. I find it irritating because its almost as if they are telling me that they know more about my beer than I do.

Am I the only one that has this problem. Is there a good way to help people to understand. I don't see how this is such an abstract concept to grasp! :mad:
Click to expand...

Na, you are from da burgh. Most yinzers can't comprehend this stuff unless its says Arn Sh*tty on it.
 
Depending on the style I'll just drink straight out of the bottle!

Centennial Blonde: nope
Blackout Stout: why the poo not?
 
I don't give 'em a choice.

Homebrew or Craft. Don't matter. I serve it. Therefore, choose how it's served. Don't wanna drink from a glass at my house? STFU, and GTFO if you don't like it. I control access to the beer fridge as well. Even with a large amount of people over. The last thing I need is some dolt wandering in there and pawing through my collection of craft beer, and finding the rare stuff, and helping himself to (insert something you are saving for vertical tasting or whatever here.)

Just in case, I make sure the featured brew of the evening is arranged prominently in the front of the fridge..front and center so there's no "mistakes" when someone is sent to get a round. Second line of defense is keeping the openers where the group is hanging out. Therefore, they have to come back to the group to get a bottle opened.
 
Plowboymiz said:
Na, you are from da burgh. Most yinzers can't comprehend this stuff unless its says Arn Sh*tty on it.
Click to expand...

It is great having people who drink nothing but Iron City tell me how homebrew dosen't taste as good. As good as what, diarrhea? The only beer I have difficulty drinking is Iron City. Everything else is at least palatable to me.

This really dosen't bother me though because everyone has their own taste and besides these people aren't drinking my beer and wasting it. It's when people drink your beer and tell you it's "no good" when you just told them 30 seconds ago that it should be poured in a glass and why. :cross:
 
brian_g said:
My explanation was for people who aren't used to any bottle conditioned beer or any home brew. Your right it wouldn't be appropriate for people already use to bottle conditioned beer. I'm assuming people who wont drink beer from a glass are in the latter category.

I'm still wondering how commercial bottle conditioned beer reaches the clarity levels. Some are good enough to drink from the bottle. I'm guessing that part of it is longer bottle aging.
Click to expand...

Nah, I think at Boulevard it is a week and out the door.

The trick is that they filter the beer, and then dose it with fresh yeast and sugar.

Most of the sediment in bottled conditioned home brew would have been there if you didn't bottle condition. Keggers still get sediment in the keg. In the bottle you get all of that plus whatever is due to the refermentation in the bottle.
 
I have a pretty simple explanation for people who drink beer from bottles. Taste is relegated in large part by smell, you cannot smell what you are drinking when you drink from a bottle. Do you ever see anyone drinking wine from a bottle, no, because without breathing while you drink, you miss out on most of the flavor and aroma of your beverage. Most people listen to me after that...having a doctorate doesn't hurt though.
 
ColoradoXJ13 said:
I have a pretty simple explanation for people who drink beer from bottles. Taste is relegated in large part by smell, you cannot smell what you are drinking when you drink from a bottle. Do you ever see anyone drinking wine from a bottle, no, because without breathing while you drink, you miss out on most of the flavor and aroma of your beverage. Most people listen to me after that...having a doctorate doesn't hurt though.
Click to expand...

Oh sure you do!! Maybe not at the beginning of the night, but eventually :)
but seriously, I am lucky as most people listen to my explanations with actaul interest. I know which freinds don't care, so I don't worry about it and let them drink their Heineken. *shudders*
 
+1 on serving the beer myself.IMost of my friends love my beer,and drink it out of a glass.BUT still pour the WHOLE beer into it.Ah well ! yeasty kolsch is all it takes till you hear"can YOU grab me a beer?".
 
I just tell people about the yeast and they freak out usually, omg im drinking something alive, or that it tastes funny. Never really had this problem. Then again I usually serve from a keg....
 
As a Graduate from Anheuser Busch Beer School...even lowly mass produced beer is to be served in a glass.

The way they told us to "properly enjoy" an Anheuser Busch product was to do a quick pour into a glass. 3-4" of head was desired to expel the CO2.

Most people get the burps or farts by drinking it out of a can or bottle or pouring a beer with no head from a tap. You're supposed to have a head on your beer.

If Anheuser Busch is telling people to enjoy their Bud, Mic, Select, and Marzen from a glass then really shouldn't ALL beers be poured into a glass?

Me, I prefer to use a "noggin", but it's a coldness/taste issue to me.

!BS0ZwMQ!2k~$(KGrHgoOKisEjlLmIUKBBKFGwbtpGw~~_3.JPG
 
As mentioned above and by others, you get the flavor out of a glass. Tell your friends that if they really want to try and taste the beer then they will want it out of a glass. If they just want to get pissed on your fine sparkling beverage, then give them a flavorless swill and send them on their way.
 
Interesting points all-round. . .

SUDDEN TWIST!

I have no sense of smell. Accident in the chemistry lab when I was younger. Contrary to the myth, my sense of taste is still around, although people insist that I taste things less, or at least "differently."

Bottle/glass - why would it matter to ME?
 
pericles said:
Interesting points all-round. . .

SUDDEN TWIST!

I have no sense of smell. Accident in the chemistry lab when I was younger. Contrary to the myth, my sense of taste is still around, although people insist that I taste things less, or at least "differently."

Bottle/glass - why would it matter to ME?
Click to expand...

I think that's a question you'll have to answer. Does it make a difference to you? I think aside from the smell, your mouth is shaped different when you drink from a bottle. With a bottle your lips are together, with a glass your lips are further apart. I've suspected that this makes a difference in how we taste the beer.
 
brian_g said:
I think that's a question you'll have to answer. Does it make a difference to you? I think aside from the smell, your mouth is shaped different when you drink from a bottle. With a bottle your lips are together, with a glass your lips are further apart. I've suspected that this makes a difference in how we taste the beer.
Click to expand...

A lot of people are strict about what type of glass they drink out of. It's for this reason that breweries have specially shaped glasses for their brews. The Belgians are notorious for this. Even Sam Adams has that crazy glass with the lip that is suppose to deliver the beer over your toungue or whatever. I can see how differently shapped glasses would open up different smells and tastes. I can also see how a beer bottle would close off a lot of smells or tastes. Wine is a great example of how glassware can change the taste profile.
 
mnm129 said:
It's official. The thing that annoys me most about serving home brew is that everyone thinks it's necessary to drink it straight from the bottle. I explain to people that homebrew and most craft brews are different and will taste best when poured into a glass. I have even shown the yeast sediment to people to try to prove the point and they still think it's necessary to drink straight from the bottle. Now I can understand if there are no glasses around but I bring glasses for people to use when I'm not at home. I find it irritating because its almost as if they are telling me that they know more about my beer than I do.

Am I the only one that has this problem. Is there a good way to help people to understand. I don't see how this is such an abstract concept to grasp! :mad:
Click to expand...

I don't think that you are the only one with this problem but you may be the only one who gets so bothered about it. As homebrewers we are true connoisseurs of beer. The general public is not. They may not know any better, drink straight from the bottle out of habit or maybe are more comfortable drinking straight out of the bottle. It is you job as a connoisseur to educate them in a polite and non-intimidating way.
 
StunnedMonkey said:
Ha. Like any real conversation with your average BMC drinker would proceed that way. They'd beat you to death with their Miller Lite bottles before you ever got to the word "dregs." :p
Click to expand...

lmao. It was very hard for me to picture this conversation also.
 
Pete79 said:
lmao. It was very hard for me to picture this conversation also.
Click to expand...

Well Pete, eveidently I have intelligent, open minded ADULTS for friends....because although you may find it hard to picture...it has happened not to differently from how I wrote it...dregs is a pretty common word...

I do beers tastings all over the place, noones ever guffawed when I've talked about the dregs at the bottom of a beer bottle. Most people understand the word.....

Pronunciation:
\ˈdreg\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Old Norse dregg; perhaps akin to Latin fraces dregs of oil
Date:
14th century

1 : sediment contained in a liquid or precipitated from it : lees &#8212;usually used in plural 2 : the most undesirable part &#8212;usually used in plural <the dregs of society> 3 : the last remaining part : vestige &#8212;usually used in plural <the last dregs of fuel>
&#8212; dreg·gy Listen to the pronunciation of dreggy \&#712;dre-g&#275;\ adjective
Click to expand...

It's even in an Al Stewart song....probably one of the earliest "raps" ever recorded.....I think even older the Blondie....

"Al Stewart Soho (needless To Say) lyrics"

The sun goes down on a neon eon
Though you'd have a job explaining it to Richard Coeur de Lion
Animation, bar conversation, anticipation, disinclination
Poor old wino turns with dust in his eyes
Begs for the dregs from the bottom of the kegs, man
You've never seen a lady lay down and spread her legs like
Soho (needless to say)
I'm alone on your sheets on a Friday evening
I've been here all of the day
I'm going nowhere with nowhere to go .....
Click to expand...

Hell it's even appeared in headlines recently...

February 4, 2009 7:00 AM PST
Green printer uses coffee dregs as ink
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10156110-1.html
Click to expand...

Brazil: Iguacu reuses coffee dregs in soil fertilization.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-124000891.html
Click to expand...

'Clean fuel from coffee dregs'
http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy/food-drink/clean-fuel-coffee-dregs
Click to expand...

I mean seriously, wtf is wrong with the word dregs??????

Not everyone hangs out with frat boys.....

:mug:
 

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