I've tasted other's Home Brew for the first time...

and I have discovered that I've got room for improvement. I tasted some really good brews Thursday evening. I also discovered that mine aren't too bad!

My LHBS (The Brew Hut) has a tasting get together every other month. Thursday was my first chance to go to one. It was cool getting together with other home brewers to chat and sample home brew.
I've been brewing for ten years and that was the first time I have ever tasted someone else's beer.

It's "healthy" when you can get together and sample others brews.

Gives you more insight to how you are doing in comparison.

Where you may be going wrong and how to make inprovements.

Very different from my own experience; the guys at the Oak Barrel (where I really got my start) are all homebrewers and wine makers. They almost always have some of their own on tap. They also have brewing parties a couple times a year.

None of the stores I go to in Oregon have anything available or do parties, but I think that is due to the screwed-up laws here.

They had similar screwed up laws in NC when I lived there last. We just had parties in the back yard of the store and called them "private".

yeah the grass is always greener on the other side, or shall i say, the hops are always hoppier?

the best beer i ever had was from a guy at my old hbs in cali...it was 9 percent but drank like 6...it was sooo good!, all he said was that it was a french ale (whatever the hell that is) im guessing a belgian strong, but it was very clean tasting, more like an ipa but balanced, it was just good allover.

ive also had some bad homebrew too...thats what its all about though, the good the bad and...um...the hoppy