Simple Rules for Drinking My Homebrew

I don't have any beer snob friends that come to my house. I drink the home-brew and share if they ask for it. But a couple of my co-workers home brew. They have been invaluable.

The Apfelwein I've made has been consumed en-mass by everyone I've shared it with. Good feed back to me is "Can I have another?".

I wouldn't say that I have a strict set of rules for my homebrew, but it's always good to make sure people know how to use a keggerator before letting them operate it. Taps that are open should be closed. I don't care how people choose to pour their own drinks, but the drip tray is there for accidents...not for head overflow. It is also not there for dumping samples. If they open the door to look inside the keggerator, they should close the door. The top of the keggerator is not a collection plate for used glasses, keys, or other miscellany.

No rules for drinking my home brew other than put the empties in the tote so I can wash them and fill them up again.

I figure life is to short to get overwrought over some one not liking your beer or pouring it wrong.

Generally, my setup is pretty simple. If you want beer, get invited over. If you want to take some home, bring a growler. Occasionally, I'll drop a growler off for my boat mechanic and tell him to bring it back when he is done. In turn, he gives me a discount that I never asked for. I'll also send a bottle or two to a friend of mine. He sends beer back. Works well.

First, I wouldn't call these rules...more like pet peeves.

My biggest pet peeve comes in terms of critisisms. I cherish an honest critisism, good or bad, but don't placate me. Recently somebody told me that my pale ale was better than Mirror Pond...it wasn't...not by any stretch of the imagination.

I'll tell you what I have no patience for. I am meeting more and more people that have no interest in anything. They eat lousy processed food, just to eat. They don't want to try a homebrew or anything that they are not used to. They have no interest in nothing more than money, texting and Facebook. They have no passion for anything. I have nothing to talk about with people that have no passion for anything.

Don't drink one and say "eww, gross." Free beer = no bitching. You can tell me you don't like it: it's not your style. But to outwardly say something like "gross" pisses me off.

whitehause said:

I took a couple bottles of my Zombie Dust clone to a co worker who loves IPA's. He drank them a couple days later with his neighbor and they both thought it was great. The next day he shows up with a 1/4 keg and asks if I could make him a batch. I said you realize it'll take about 5 weeks, and it's not cheap. At this point he says " It's homebrew...It can't cost more than few bucks. That's why I brought the keg,it's the bottles that run the price up."
Shake head....walk away.

I don't know why people think that just because you made it, it should be free. I don't count my time when it's for me, or to share at my house, but if you want a whole batch it's gona cost you.

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This is great. If I had a buddy do that I would be - you buy the ingrediants, bring them over and we'll brew it up. When it's ready, we'll fill your keg. I'd probably expect a few pints at his place in return but hey... Let them learn what you put into a batch. They may appreciate it more.

mburnett274 said:

When I'm asked if I will make a batch of beer for someone. My response is "I can show you how to make your own".
Sometimes I get takers. the ones that don't take me up on it get the message.

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This.

When they say they just want the beer, I tell them I'll do it, but they have to pick out a extract kit from a list I give them (NB or Midwest) and pay me that price. Plus $50 deposit on kegs or $1 deposit per bottle. That usually pretty well kills the inquiry because they're usually just trying to get beer below BMC prices. Last guy wasn't happy that I wanted to charge him just under $100 for a corny of Shiner Bock clone.

The kegs are always free to tap at my house, though.

I don't really have rules with my homebrew, outside of my normal beer rules, if you don't like it get someone else to drink it. Which isn't usually a problem in my family. And my family drinks enough craft brew to get my bottles replenished.

At the end of the day for me, relax don't worry have a home brew. It's not worth getting upset about.

thadius856 said:

This.

When they say they just want the beer, I tell them I'll do it, but they have to pick out a extract kit from a list I give them (NB or Midwest) and pay me that price. Plus $50 deposit on kegs or $1 deposit per bottle. That usually pretty well kills the inquiry because they're usually just trying to get beer below BMC prices. Last guy wasn't happy that I wanted to charge him just under $100 for a corny of Shiner Bock clone.

The kegs are always free to tap at my house, though.

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The funny part about that is that a 1/2 barrel of Shiner is about $99. Works even better for your strategy.

dcbc said:

The funny part about that is that a 1/2 barrel of Shiner is about $99. Works even better for your strategy.

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If I thought this guy had the potential to drink 1/2 bbl of Shiner Bock, I'd certainly dish it out to him 1 corny at a time. He likes it, but I don't think he likes it that much.

thaworm69 said:

"I don't want a glass, I'll just drink it out of the bottle" Bugs the hell out of me!

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This is a sure sign of a craft beer novice, or a BMC drinker. People who appreciate good beer know that smell and sight are a huge part of what makes a good beer good. You cannot see or smell beer when it is in the bottle, and this causes an incomplete tasting experience.

No sneaking off and dumping a whole glass down the drain hoping I won't notice. I will catch you, corner you, and kick your rear end.

Especially after I named and described in detail all of my different beers.

Now that I've started kegging, everyone gets a 4oz sample first whether they like it or not. Bottles are only for people who know they like the style or that specific beer.

No alcohol abuse!

DrummerBoySeth said:

This is a sure sign of a craft beer novice, or a BMC drinker. People who appreciate good beer know that smell and sight are a huge part of what makes a good beer good. You cannot see or smell beer when it is in the bottle, and this causes an incomplete tasting experience.

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Maybe he's just low on vitamin B.

I happen to enjoy the yeastiness in wheat beers...

I don't have people over for beer too much, but I like to bring it with me or give it away. Bottle rinsing is a must, but most people forget because when they pop a bottle at home, they just recycle it. I've frequently had people drink my beer and then toss the empties, even after telling them I want them back to reuse. Usually the main complaint I get is that I didn't bring enough, or that somebody didn't get to try a whatever because they ran out.

I also subscribe to "You open it, somebody's gonna drink it." I had several family members pass on my 12.2% Belgian Noel at Thanksgiving after they opened one and smelled or tasted it (they wanted to check it out). My brother eventually manned up and took it, only to offer this cryptic review the next day: "It was actually pretty good. But when I finished...I went like this (making strange face). It sneaks up on you..."

EEK! Y'all gotta lighten up. It's just beer. People are allowed their own tastes. You're not serving nectar, hand carried down Mt.Olympus. It's beer which you, a mere mortal, made. And we are all proof that any fool can brew a decent beer. Get over it. Some people won't like it and don't take it personal. You are doing beer a disservice by being such tight#sses. I'm off this thread now.

corkybstewart said:

I have a set of 4 oz festival taster glasses. I use those for people I don't know, and they can sample any or all of my beers on tap. It's rare I don't have something for everybody since I keep a great variety, including cider and a mead on tap.

I do not fill growlers for friends. Anybody is welcome to drink with me in my garage, but this ain't a carry-out joint.

I keep BMC and other crap beer party leftovers for people who don't even want to try homebrew. I offer once, but if you don't want to try it I'll never ask again.

My Belgian Ball Buster has a 2 pint limit, strictly enforced. I don't need your drunk self passed out at my house or trying to drive home.

If you even remotely act drunk and/or stupid I'l cut you off unless you have a designated driver.

Act like an a**hole with my other guests and you're history, banned from the garage. Beer is a social drink and I have zero tolerance for antisocial behavior.

Come on over, we'll have some beer, throw some horseshoes, grill some animal flesh and have a good time.

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I already have too few kegs and fermenter space backing up. I MUST give away a couple of my beers that I'm not crazy about, so if anyone says they like it, they're taking some home with them. If it's an A list friend, I'll send them home with a growler of "making space for something else" and a smaller bottle of "dine in only".

Zamial said:

3. There is more than ABV to consider, most of my friends also get the hop euphoria. Hell I made a whole house party passout, stumbly dumb once. Explain to people that are not used to drinking homebrew to take it easy on it because it is easy to over do it.

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Damn right. A lot of times if I'm going to a party I'll bring growlers of homebrew to share and drink the commercial stuff they've got on hand. So my wife and I were going to a party at a mutual friend's house, meeting a new couple for the first time.

I bring my 8.25% ABV Belgian IPA and this guy loves it. I keep warning him that the stuff is rocket fuel and it'll catch up with him, but he basically drinks the entire growler.

Yeah, he was puking that night, and his wife was so embarrassed that we didn't get another chance to hang out with that couple for at least 6 months. We're great friends now, though, and he's a lot more careful with my beer :cross:

It probably says something about the quality of people with whom I choose to associate, but I tend not to have a lot of issues when it comes to people drinking my beer. Almost all of my friends drink craft beer or are willing to accept recommendations for beer they might enjoy. Many of my friends brew. None of my friends will request a beer that they don't plan on drinking. I'll pour beer for my guests from the bottles because it's kind of a pain and it's part of being a good host. I also don't care if my guests rinse their bottles. They shouldn't be expected to do the cleaning, though they're more than welcome to if they desire.

For people claiming that some people are upright, it comes down to expecting your guests to be considerate human beings. It's not so much about rules as it is expecting your friends to be gracious guests. Personally, I won't associate with people who are inconsiderate, so it's not a problem.

My sister in law's boyfriend is an offender to me. He loves Southern Tier (lives in the same town as the brewery) and enjoys craft beer in general. When we all visit my in-laws I bring down a gaggle of full bottles. He (the boyfriend) will have a glass of my beer and compliment it nicely. No issues there. But he sips it slowly, nursing the glass to no end and then they leave...his glass still half full on the table. The first time I thought maybe it was a had-to-drive thing, no problem. But it's been every time thereafter. He usually does the driving home but these 'events' last 5 hours. I think one glass could be processed in that amount of time. I may not let him have any next time, or maybe just a half glass. It's a letdown when someone doesn't finish a glass of my beer. If you don't like it that's fine. I'd much rather be told it's not that great, and I'll finish the glass myself and pour you something commercial. But to say it's very good and then not finish it just feels bad, ya know?

Otherwise I have no problems. I don't give beer out to people because we don't have any friends (it's not as depressing as that sounded), and my father in law brings up bombers rinsed and ready to be filled whenever they visit. If the in-laws don't care for a beer (they are my main customer) they say so and have something else, no love lost. Kyle

Either I make really good beer or I have really good friends. They all love it and when they introduce me to one of their friends they almost always say, "this guy makes awesome beer."

BorealBrewer said:

PS: Anyone know an online brew store that sells awesome? I have some stout in secondary, I added to much sucks during the boil, and now I need to back-awesome it.

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Haaaaahaaaa!

My craft beer-drinking friends are all pretty cool about not wasting my stuff, and the ones that aren't as into it will at least usually try a sample before they move on to a full bottle. Or, they've tried and disliked enough to know they're safer with their BMC.

It does kind of bug me when I give a 6-pack to somebody and they don't bring the empty bottles back (unless they are fellow homebrewers and reciprocate with their brew later...that's totally acceptable). It's just a minor pet peeve though, I'm not going to get all butt-hurt stop sharing with anyone over it.

I don't mind criticism, as long as it's constructive. If someone can tell me, "yeah, it could use more late addition hops for flavor/aroma", I can handle that a lot better than, "ewwwww, it's too dark!" or just flat-out, "it sucks." I feel like I tend to be my own harshest critic and pick out little errors that most people don't mind, but if people are just telling me what they think I want to hear, I won't know where to improve.

I see it like this; It's MY HOBBY. I wouldn't expect anybody to come into my house and know anything about it. Sure, they know what beer is but they don't know exactly what goes into it. Chances are, their 'scope of view' is 'open bottle, pour, drink'. It would be like me going to my fathers house (he's an airplane model builder) and saying, "Hey, those models are pretty cool looking!" I might even be able to identify what type of airplane it is but, beyond that, I couldn't tell you much more. I wouldn't be able to relate to any point of his hobby beyond what I know. The same goes for this hobby. If my friends can come into my house and say, "Hey, that IPA is pretty good!", I would be ecstatic! Why? Because my friends aren't beer enthusiasts. They're beer drinkers! The fact that they identified it AS an IPA would be impressive to me.

On that same note, I would rather have somebody come into my house, pour a beer, take a drink and admit they don't like it, grab something else and enjoy themselves rather than hang on to the same beer for hours because they're afraid of offending me. I invited them over to have a good time, not be overly concerned about what's in their glass.

I don't have any rules really.....I'm also like it when someone gives their opinion on my beer, whether good or bad, I work very hard on my recipes and flavors, like to know how its received. If bad I usually question them, as to why they feel that way, and explain the process and ingredients, and common faults or off flavors that beer can get and why. I like for people to be educated, about beer, that way in the future when I get feedback it's a whole lot more useful to me. I have , on occasion, had people come back to me with this knowledge, after trying several commercial offerings, and ask to try mine again. This time with more positive things to say.

Drink what you pour. Its that simple. It does not matter if its homebrew, craft beers, or a BMC, you are welcome to it but drink what you get

I guess the only rule I care about, is that someone tells me honestly whether they like it or not. I took a 6 of stout to bro-and-sis-in-law, found out later that she didn't like it - too strong, had to add salt (!!), etc. No biggie, I just know what to bring now, which is "anything but stout". I care more that my friends like what they drink, than that they drink what I like.

Oh and as for rinsing the bottles, pfft. I have so many bottles now, that if a few end up in the recycling bin, I don't really care.

I work at a restaurant on the weekends. There are four managers always asking for a beer. I gave each of them one of my latest brews which was a strawberry Belgian ale. Im not really bugged but I saw one manager throw her bottle in her drawer laying it on its side, which is probably going to make the beer hazy with sediment. (Hoping it settles again when she chills it.) I flinched for a second but realized she probably wouldn't even know the difference. Its not like she was going to check the beer for clarity before drinking. I haven't received any of the bottles back and haven't gotten any feed back but I'm good.

my set.
1- don't tell me that my beer sucks because you don't like the style.
2- don't dump it.

failure to follow these rules in my presence will result in a swift punch to the right nut. and that's my right.

Billy-Klubb said:

my set.
1- don't tell me that my beer sucks because you don't like the style.
2- don't dump it.

failure to follow these rules in my presence will result in a swift punch to the right nut. and that's my right.

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What about the females? no nuts and you can't hit them. Do you get the wife to help out there?

I will add one ....

Don't add fruit; lime juice; etc to my brew unless its put there by me! (I don't care if you think it needs lime juice!)

All my friends are pretty good about things. Really, there are only a couple things that bug me, and the main one is bottles.

As mentioned - Rinse em out and give em back - especially 22 ouncers and flip tops, or growlers. I don't need them right away, but within a few weeks would be nice. I have gotten growlers and 1 liter flip tops back MONTHS later with stuff growing in them, and the individual had the balls to say "that would be great if I could get some more." I should have taken the mold filled growler down and topped it off, and handed it back to him on the spot.

only one that irks me is rinse it out or throw it out. i've got tons of bottles, and probably drink more commercial than my output, so not too worried about saving bottles, but if it goes inside the box of empties it better be clean. if its not rinsed throw it away.

i've told my friends to not pour the yeast in about 100 times. i have poured them several, so they know the taste of yeast, and clearly don't mind it, but it sucks that they are so used ot that that i always have to pour my own glass.

Don't show up at my house saying i was gonna buy beer but i know you still got that homebrew!!!!

not a rule, but i dont like when people assume "homebrew" will be inferior to mass produced beer. like, wtf
everyone knows that a nice tomato sauce that someone makes from scratch at home will be better than ragu... yet they approach the "homebrew" with skepticism.
don't do me any favors drinking my beer!
i don't even like the term "homebrew"

Please drink it because I am only one man and I brew too much to drink myself.

The only two rules i have for my brews... rinse and return the bottles...... be honest (feedback only works if your not sucking up for free beer)

Rinse. And if you f@%<*ng chew and use the bottle as a spittoon , don't do me the favor of saving it.
Feedback is good. But don't request a certain style after you complain about one you just sampled.

The only rule is have a good time. I usually have 4-6 different kegs going. I always keep 2-3 house favorites and 2-3 experiments. Try a sample, if you don't like it, try something else. Everyone has different tastes, I have an Imperial pilsner that is pretty decent but none of my friends care for it much, but my friends cousin was here on leave and loved it. It was the only beer he drank all night.