I need to vent!

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Panzermann

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
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In a bowl of Hops
I am damn near at the point that I am going to stop giving out any homebrew, I swear people dont have any ****ing respect for the work and patience and overall attention I put into making it.

They either throw the bottles away and I was just now told by a person I gave some to yesterday left it by his trash can at his desk. Forgot it and it is no longer there. Hope someone enjoys the DFH 60 mother****ers!

To be honest I am ****ing pissed off.

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
The thing that gets me is I tell people they need to pour it in a glass, then they drink it from the bottle and tell me it's "bitter."
 
I only give mine out to people who I know will appreciate. Or I have them come to my house and get a sip off of the kegorator. :mug:
 
Hey man you can't expect everyone to have the same taste.

I have totally given up expecting people to relate to the style
of music I listen to unless I know they are from a specific exposure
background.

I feel your pain, I would never burn a CD for someone unless I
knew they liked the music so you're being more generous by offering
them the beer.

You can send some beer my way next time I PROMISE I wont toss it ;)
 
That's a good point. You'd get more helpful information and people would appreciate it more if you sent your beer to local brewers or people on here. I don't know where "in a bowl of hops is" but I bet there are some brewers on here from around there. If not then I'm moving in. Can you imagine living in a bowl of hops. I'd definately put my laundry on the line! :D
 
Most people in this part of the world don't like real beer.If you want to wow people start brewing with mostly rice and a tiny bit of cascade.I have the same problem when people want to try my beer then say"I'd prefer a coors light" Just refrain from smacking them and take your HB back:D
 
pour the beer for them or dont share it

i like to go sit in my LHBS (just two miles away) and have a brew or two with the guys working there, they know whats up, and they are way better than i am at identifying off flavors

also, all of my bottles are sierra nevada bottles that i lovingly stripped the labels from and cleaned and sanitized- seeing them disappear kills me!
 
I make no apologies about giving homebrew only to those individuals at work who I know enjoy craft beer. My work is not an experiment.

Conversation usually goes like this:

Me to craft beer drinker - "Here ya go Steve, my latest batch of Kona Pale Ale".

Steve - "Dude, thanks. This is perfect...I'm having seafood tonight. Is this as good as that wit you brought me last month?"

Me - "Yep. I'd say even better. Especially if you like West Coast Pale Ales"

Steve - "One of my favorites. I'll let you know how they were Monday".

Mike (BMC drinker) - "Hey...when you going to bring me some of that home made beer so I can try it?"

Me - "I dunno. Is Miller Lite still your favorite?"

Mike - "Yeah."

Me - "Don't hold your breath."
 
Yeah, I think I am done too. I will be more than happt to oblige if they come to my place to try it.

I am thinking about stopping by the LHBS to pick up ingredients for my next DFH 60 batch, I might wait and bring a few brews with me to the LHBS to see what they think.
 
I also say perhaps some janitor (or whatever they call them in your work environment) is really stoked about the beer he found!

I would be! I can see him:

Looks right over shoulder. Looks left over shoulder. Slides beer into cleaning cart. Transfers beer to car later. Into freezer at home. Cracks one open (assuming it is unlabeled) and pours it into glass to see what it is.... Smells floral! SIP Tastes AMAZING!!!! LIFE CHANGES!!!!!!!! Gives up BMC and becomes an instant convert to craft beer!

or something like that....:D
 
I also say perhaps some janitor (or whatever they call them in your work environment) is really stoked about the beer he found!

I would be! I can see him:

Looks right over shoulder. Looks left over shoulder. Slides beer into cleaning cart. Transfers beer to car later. Into freezer at home. Cracks one open (assuming it is unlabeled) and pours it into glass to see what it is.... Smells floral! SIP Tastes AMAZING!!!! LIFE CHANGES!!!!!!!! Gives up BMC and becomes an instant convert to craft beer!

or something like that....:D

Alas, the reality of it probably went more like this:

The janitor takes the bottle home and opens it as soon as he gets home (or worse, opens it in the car and chugs it straight from the bottle). As he gets towards the bottom and chokes on the yeast, he notes how bitter it is and says "This don't taste nuthin' like Budweiser!" He then tosses the bottle out the window or into the trash with the last few inches of beer still in the bottle.
 
I feel your pain Panzer...I have narrowed down the people who I give my beers to now...and the ones I DO give are always complamenting me on how good it was and always ask for more. Not everyone likes real beer...they can't handle it. The guy i work next to enjoys trying my beer, he is a BMC guy, but is always willing to try something new...unless it's a dark beer, but I still ask if he would like to try and he respects what I do and tells me to save it for myself.

About the bottles, they all know to return them to me...cause I ride them about it! :D
 
I give beer out to a few people at work. For the rest of the people who occasionally want to try something I've made, I will fill a 750 flip top, bring it to work, and share in small cups on a Friday afternoon.

I get all my bottles back from the real beer drinkers, and I don't waste anything on the people who are clueless.
 
I am thankful that my friends are more prone to drinking good beer over BMC. Although quite a few do not like "the Dark Beers" Oh well. More for me I guess:D
 
There is something about a bottle. Serve it from a keg and they will drink it and ask you for more. A bottle somehow intimidates them. Perhaps there is some kind of "fear of commitment" about opening a bottle.

Whatever it is I only give beer to people who will, not only appreciate it, but actually drink it in a reasonable amount of time. Too many times I've give a bottle people to who have enjoyed my beer and he dang think sits on top of their fridge for a year or two, or more while they wait for some mythical "special occasion" to drink it.
 
Don't waste precious beer for people who cant even appreciate it.

I offer a small glass of what i have ready to my guests, i can spot those who really enjoy it and those who simply don't this way.

One of my buddy likes it so much he wants to get into home brewing as soon as he moves into his new place.
 
On a positive note, I have one guy who swears by my German Bock. Say's he not likes it but loves it to the point he could drink it all day everyday.

Now that was cool, but what makes me chuckle is, that was a stupid Kit beer. lol
 
I always give my friends a 6 pack and they know the only way they can get more is to not only give me back the 6 pack bottles but bring 2 or more bottles back......

Yah i got them in check.....:D
 
^^^ I told some friends I was brewing and every time I see them they
have a new case of bottles for me. If only I could get them to strip and
sanitize them ahead of time I'd be gold.
 
Or.. You could brew an American Lager or similar for them what aren't savy to good beer. They'll get a better product than BMC, but it's a similar style to what they enjoy. AND, you may convert a BMC heathen.
 
i dont share much. my friends are all bmc drinkers for the most part other than one. They get a taste from my glass. The other is welcome to a beer or two when he stops by.

We put a lot of time work an money into this hobby.... i am not giving it all away.
 
I'll give pretty much anyone the first one. Whether or not they

* bring the bottle back clean and
* don't go around yelling "Hey, Frater brought me a beer up here at work! Woo-hoo! Ha ha ! I have a beer on my desk!"

determines whether or not they get more.

I print off a copy of my "you have received a homebrew" page for every bottle I give away. It has basic instructions and a list of what batches are what. I highlight the bottle I gave them. The batch info is included from the same sourcefile I use to populate my batch history page, etc, so I'm not doing any extra work.
 
Or.. You could brew an American Lager or similar for them what aren't savy to good beer. They'll get a better product than BMC, but it's a similar style to what they enjoy. AND, you may convert a BMC heathen.

I am kind of in this camp. I have a couple very good friends and my neighbors across the street who really love this craft beer and are anxious to "see what's new!" everytime we get together. It is one of the great pleasures in life to be able to share these experiences with people who appreciate them.

The rest of my friends and acquaintances just don't give a crap about the artisanry of beer. They like their <insert macrobeer here> and one experience with a better beer will not change a lifetime of genetic brand encoding.

But I do like to offer them an opportunity by having a small all malt lager to show them that homebrewing is not some boogeyman. I have a friend who, everytime I offer him a beer, he is like, "is that the stuff with sediment in the bottom?" I swear he looks like he wants to grab a pair of tongs to take the bottle from me. I make sure I always have some very easy drinking lighter colored beers for him and I have taken to just pouring his beer for him in the kitchen.

These days when I go to a party I don't just give a 12er to the host. I babysit the 12er and look for the people who brought their own craft beer and I hang out with them. Happened just this past Saturday. Turned out their were a bunch of people who loved my beer and I ended up going through a case. We became the "kitchen people."
 
Turned out their were a bunch of people who loved my beer and I ended up going through a case. We became the "kitchen people."

I have definitely been there as well. That's usually how I am at parties.

This also reminds me of what I may have to deal with in the near future when my newest brew is ready to go.

My girlfriend's parents are big drinkers. I mean big. Actually, I get complimented by their family friends that I am one of few who can outlast them every night we get together.

I'm in a similar boat to a lot of you in that while they're big drinkers they drink nothing but BMC, specifically Miller. When this first batch is bottled and ready to drink I wonder how they will react to tasting it. I would almost rather they didn't like it and were honest about it than they try it and pretend to like it.

I did buy her dad a Chimay at Christmas and he liked it, which gives me hope, but I'm not holding my breath...
 
For any bottles you bring to work, you should just stamp the instructions right on the bottle in the place of a label. It should read something like, "THIS BOTTLE MUST BE RETURNED ONCE EMPTY. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY ENJOY THIS BEER YOU MUST
A.) Serve it at xdeg F
B.) Pour into appropriate glassware
and whatever other rules you decide to apply...
IF THESE RULES ARE NOT FOLLOWED, YOUR FREE HOMEBREW PRIVILEGES WILL BE REVOKED INDEFINITELY"

:D come to think of it I think I would like to make a label like this, just for humor's sake!!
 
I recently brewed my very first batch - 10 gallons of Dead Guy clone that I brewed at a brew-your-own-beer class that my SWMBO signed me up for Christmas (thanks Hon!). I kegged it 2 weeks ago and it's really wonderful stuff now. The folks at work were really excited for me and begged me to bring it in for them to try. So yesterday I brought in a growler and mentioned that it was in the fridge if anyone wanted a taste. Before I new it, they had organized a firm wide tasting (law firm with 10 people) and went and picked up pretzels to go with the tasting. They asked me to do a quick writeup on the style and then asked me a million intelligent questions during the tasting.

I got a few weird stares as I tried to explain how it was supposed to be a maibock . . but technically an ale because of the yeast . . so it's really a strong ale in the style of a maibock . . . etc. etc. Dead Guy is hard to explain.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and have been complimenting me this morning, too.

I think the growler was the right way to go, since I never had to do the bottle-police routine.
 
For any bottles you bring to work, you should just stamp the instructions right on the bottle in the place of a label. It should read something like, "THIS BOTTLE MUST BE RETURNED ONCE EMPTY. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY ENJOY THIS BEER YOU MUST
A.) Serve it at xdeg F
B.) Pour into appropriate glassware
and whatever other rules you decide to apply...
IF THESE RULES ARE NOT FOLLOWED, YOUR FREE HOMEBREW PRIVILEGES WILL BE REVOKED INDEFINITELY"

:D come to think of it I think I would like to make a label like this, just for humor's sake!!

ha ha i love it. Please do so that I can put them on the back of my bottles as well :D
 
I am glad someone brought this up! I had people over the other day for my beer, then my wife goes inviting people, people who drink bud light none to the less. I told my wife if they wanted my beer they better not bring bud light. Now I am almost done with my keg all for people who drink bud light and had my beer instead. I know they didn't like it either, because they went to bud light after the second one. AAAAGGGGGGHHHH!
 
For any bottles you bring to work, you should just stamp the instructions right on the bottle in the place of a label. It should read something like, "THIS BOTTLE MUST BE RETURNED ONCE EMPTY. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY ENJOY THIS BEER YOU MUST
A.) Serve it at xdeg F
B.) Pour into appropriate glassware
and whatever other rules you decide to apply...
IF THESE RULES ARE NOT FOLLOWED, YOUR FREE HOMEBREW PRIVILEGES WILL BE REVOKED INDEFINITELY"

:D come to think of it I think I would like to make a label like this, just for humor's sake!!

I've actually thought about puttin "Please Return Bottle When Finished" on my bottles before but since I've weeded out the "non-recievers" there has been no need too.

Even my Mom who lives in Cleveland returns my bottles! :eek:
 
The real solution is to exclude everyone from your life who isn't a a craft brewer or the SO of one. At least then the comments will be constructive and you can always keep their bottles.
 
On a similar note; we all give our beer away to friends/family/coworkers that we deem 'worthy'...but suppose you had to put a price on it to sell it? How much?

Pretty friggin expensive huh?:D
 
desk4.png

I put this on the labels I use for "give-away" beer. People who return bottles get more beer. People who don't, don't. I'm not out there to educate the masses, but I'm always happy to share beer with people who can appreciate it.
 
People just don't understand sometimes. I hate the "Well when are you going to bring me some?" entitlement. I fish for Salmon and I don't keep everyone I catch. I smoke my fish and occasionally I bring some to certain people. I'm sorry, but if I brought some into everyone that wanted some, I wouldn't have any at all. Not to be selfish, but damnit, I made it, I'll decide who gets some!

This isn't like a cake or cookies where they're done in a half hour. This is time and effort and I think we all appreciate the OP comments as not being selfish at all. But I'd be damned if the person that left the bottle would be getting another anytime soon.
 
To all here, let me play devils advocate just for a second. I am not saying that anyone "deserves" your beer. However, when I go to a party I like to pick up a sixer, 12er, growler or something along the way to bring to the party. Sure, I am bringing it for myself, but it is to share. So here I am, spending $10 or $20 on some beer that others are going to drink as well. I am not going to get a big old stout (which I love) but maybe a pale ale...If I am going to do that, then I might as well just bring along a pale ale that I made and save the $20 for the next batch.

What I am trying to get at here is that for a gathering, bring something appropriate for everyone and you won't run into the problems of having people complain.

Next I was just thinking about it and it does suck to have to buy/wash/remove labels from bottles and I would love to get them back. However, I just look at it like buying a friend a pint at the bar. If he brings back the bottle, then he just bought me a pint and it is once again my turn to buy the pint. You know what I mean? Granted, I keg my beer and fill the bottles on demand or if I want to give some away. Most of the time I just try to pour from the keg, which means if they like it, drink till the keg is empty! That's why I made the stuff. It doesn't drink itself!

I don't know, maybe I am just being too nice. I figure it will come back to me somehow and I like to make things (cookies, ribs, pizza, beer, wine) that others will be able to enjoy. Sure, it costs me money. I was going to make it for me anyways, so you can have some too. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/calculated-my-beer-intake-whats-yours-97266/ After calculating my beer intake I figure that I am supporting my habit, so might as well throw in an additional keg worth for everyone else :)
 
People just don't understand sometimes. I hate the "Well when are you going to bring me some?" entitlement. I fish for Salmon and I don't keep everyone I catch. I smoke my fish and occasionally I bring some to certain people. I'm sorry, but if I brought some into everyone that wanted some, I wouldn't have any at all. Not to be selfish, but damnit, I made it, I'll decide who gets some!

This isn't like a cake or cookies where they're done in a half hour. This is time and effort and I think we all appreciate the OP comments as not being selfish at all. But I'd be damned if the person that left the bottle would be getting another anytime soon.

I think a lot of people have a preconception about homebrew that it is like swill. They actually believe they prefer the "good stuff" when they but the heineken. They feel somewhat adventurous when they try it - like it was illicit - like moonshine.

I can see this sometimes in people. They ask "you made this?" "I guess I'll try one" and then you see them a few minutes later with a Bud Light in their hands.

As far as one of the posts. I don't take the beer to the party as a housewarming. I'll bring them a bottle of wine or scotch for that. Actually I usually bring fresh roasted coffee. Everyone I know appreciates that (but if they don't I never bring it again.) I bring homebrew so that I am never forced to drink a BMC. Beer lovers are very welcome to try it but make no mistake I am bringing it to drink.
 
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