I almost cried....

Downtown GR Michigan had an Oktoberfest going on this past weekend. So the wife and I headed down there to have some food and brews.
There was a kind of LHBS there (from a few towns away) and there was a hombrewer making beer. So I talked to him and he said he was making an APA but then I asked what hops and how much he's using (looked like a lot in the pot) He said that they were cascade and there was 4oz in there. Holy crap that's not an APA, more like an IPA that's not balanced. But either way, that's not what made me upset.
He then said that it did not matter because he's not really making beer anyways because he was just going to dump it out. I was like what the hell... He had no way to cool it and did not care that he's dumping 6# of DME and 4oz of hops... I wanted to run home and grab some ice, a bin to put it in and a fermenter so I could save this brew. But the wife would not let me. It was a sad day...

Why would he even bother to simulate brewing if he couldn't/wouldn't actually ferment it? If I was gonna go thru all the motions, why not end of with a fermentable wort AND pitch it?

Lotta things I never understood about GR....

Who was the sort-of LHBS and was the 'brewer' one of them?

Wait...I don't get it. Why was he doing it in the first place? That's like spending hours making the crust and filling for a pie, then tossing it all in the trash.

Did the guy look sane to you? Or did he have that crazy twinkle in his eye? Because I can see no sane, rational reason to do what he was doing, unless A) he was teaching a class on homebrewing and was using it as a teaching aid, or B) he was just fuggin with you.

Henry Hill said:

Why would he even bother to simulate brewing if he couldn't/wouldn't actually ferment it? If I was gonna go thru all the motions, why not end of with a fermentable wort AND pitch it?

Lotta things I never understood about GR....

Who was the sort-of LHBS and was the 'brewer' one of them?

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The LHBS was from Lowell that's why I said that it was "kind of a LHBS" the real one is only a mile and a half way from where this thing was at. But they were not there.

The brewer I don't remember who he was but I know he grows is own hops and sells them at the HBS he was brewing for.
He said that all he wanted to do was to get the strong smell of hops going to get people to come and look.
Still what a waste. I LOVE BIG HOP BREWS and this made me sad to think that's it's life was cut short just because he did not have his rig there.

Guy sounds pretty much like an idiot to me! Anyone can throw 6lbs. dried extract and 4oz. hops in a pot and let it boil away... That's not teaching anyone, anything about brewing.

He should have been doing 'hop additions' to teach the difference between bittering/flavor/aroma, and he definitely should have been doing post-boil stuff. Cooling, pitching yeast, etc.

I guess it just proves that not everyone is logical or rational...

Relax, people.

Everyone is getting all EAC on this guy when all he wanted to do is add some ambience to a public drinking occasion. A street party is no place to teach anyone anything about the distinctions between hop additions.

Still, it is a shame to dump a good wort.

I think you guys are being a tad too critical. Sounds like he was using the smell of brewing to lure people in. He probably just wanted the big smell of a super hoppy beer and was just basically going to let it bubble away all day. If it started getting low, he could just add more water and hops and keep his demo running strong.

My HB club just did a similar thing a brewfest although we actually did make beer and chilled with an icebath right there. We had a ton of people stopping and asking about homebrew so we gave out flyers for the club.

If this guy just wanted to simulate, he could have just steeped a little crystal 80 for color instead of dropping $20 in extract.

rdwj said:

...Sounds like he was using the smell of brewing to lure people in. He probably just wanted the big smell of a super hoppy beer and was just basically going to let it bubble away all day...

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Like a stage prop.

Bobby_M said:

My HB club just did a similar thing a brewfest although we actually did make beer and chilled with an icebath right there. We had a ton of people stopping and asking about homebrew so we gave out flyers for the club.

If this guy just wanted to simulate, he could have just steeped a little crystal 80 for color instead of dropping $20 in extract.

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Wouldn't get that malt aroma, though...

Come on man, it's all about the hops.

It's all about the malt!

(tastes great!)

(less filling!)

Any one here eat raw hops?

Tried one. Once. A pellet.

Ugh!

the_bird said:

Tried one.

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Me too - they smell better than they taste; that's for sure

rdwj said:

Me too - they smell better than they taste; that's for sure

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I just took a little nibble. Rdwj's right- smell great. Taste bad.

Reminds me of when I was about 6 years old and LOVED the smell of vanilla extract. My mom warned me it tasted bad, but how can something that smells so good taste bad? When her back was turned, I took a big gulp.

She was right.

I'm sure everyone's had a big heaping spoonful of baking chocolate too...

That said... I'm a fan of malty.

I don't think I could with pellet or plug but whole hops are nice to chew especially straight from the vine.

Saying that I eat raw garlic, love to crack peppercorn and eat chilis straight from the plant seed and all.

mmm, raw garlic

I like raw potato.

orfy said:

I don't think I could with pellet or plug but whole hops are nice to chew especially straight from the vine.

Saying that I eat raw garlic, love to crack peppercorn and eat chilis straight from the plant seed and all.

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Good lord! You better be careful or you're going to short-circuit your tongue

brloomis said:

I like raw potato.

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That's just wrong!!!!

orfy said:

That's just wrong!!!!

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As far as I know, my father and I are the only two people on Earth who eat raw potato. Everyone else responds like this. Try it with a little salt or Texas Pete. Its Yummy.

Who is Pete?

Do you slice and rinse it or just munch on it skin and all?

orfy said:

Who is Pete?

Do you slice and rinse it or just munch on it skin and all?

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Texas Pete is like Tobasco Sauce, only better.

Rinse it, slice it, but leave the skin on (thats where all the vitamins are).

I eat raw potato! Sweet potato too

BrewBrain said:

I eat raw potato! Sweet potato too

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Woo Hoo! Nice to meet ya.

I can't eat sweet potato anymore. When the kids were babies, SWMBO would boil and puree sweet potato for them so the whole house smelled like it for months and months. Then they would barf it up and poop it out and throw it all over. Kinda killed it for me.

I've eaten a thin slice of raw potato before, but it does something weird to my tongue. Feels.... odd. Not sure, I could have a very mild allergy or something (green peppers do something similar to me, as well).

Yooper Chick said:

I just took a little nibble. Rdwj's right- smell great. Taste bad.

Reminds me of when I was about 6 years old and LOVED the smell of vanilla extract. My mom warned me it tasted bad, but how can something that smells so good taste bad? When her back was turned, I took a big gulp.

She was right.

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Was that your first buzz?

I once lost a bunch of weight eating either the salads from the salad bar at school, or if at home, eating......sprouts (mung bean, radish or whatever), tomato and raw potato sandwiches, with mayo. No real intent, just got turned on to them by a friend who was a runner. Lost about 50 pounds, taking 24 credit hours, working 20 hours/wk, and having a house built, so painting, burning, cleaning, etc.

They're easy to get hooked on; great with a couple of potato chips.

People said I should put on weight, but I never felt better. I was 23.

I love raw potatoes, and my kids do too. In fact, when I'm making fries I have to guard the pile, lest the little bastards eat too many of the fries before they're boiled in oil.

Now who here has eaten a tablespoon of cinnamon?

Hint: sweet potato fries and maple syrup. You're welcome:fro:

BrewBrain said:

Hint: sweet potato fries and maple syrup. You're welcome:fro:

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Oh yes, Oh yes!!! I also love 'em with a mixture of brown sugar and melted butter. Sure they're about 1000 calories per fry, but WOW

shafferpilot said:

Oh yes, Oh yes!!! I also love 'em with a mixture of brown sugar and melted butter. Sure they're about 1000 calories per fry, but WOW

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Oh, yes. I did forget to mention battering the fries with brown sugar, butter and a little flour before frying. Then dip in maple syrup.

WOW, I'm trying that tonight!!!