Dinner Guests comments about Home Brew

[EdWort]

SWMBO and I recently had 3 couples over for dinner and surprisingly (or not) no one was interested in a home brew. They all wanted wine, that is, till I took a very nice beer glass and filled it with my Haus Pale Ale.

It looked fabulous which triggered the curiosity of one brave guest who decided to "try some". I poured him a small glass and he tasted it and he liked it. He have some so his SWMBO and asked her to try it. She did and her response was.

"This tastes like real beer! Wow, it's really good! It's not like that homebrew crap at all."

Now part of me was proud, but another part was kind of puzzled at the response. She obviously had a bad experience with home brew.

Anybody else run into this situation before?

 

[olllllo]

I've gotten the more perplexing, "I don't like beer, but I like your beer."

 

[cweston]

LOL.

I posted this in another thread today:

...I know people don't believe me when I tell them it is quite easy to brew beer that is as good as or better than the microbews they are drinking. Then they taste my beers and are very surprised. (And I am absolutely confident that there are folks here brewing at a much higher level than I am.)

My guess is that woman had actually never had a homebrew--but somehow she had the image that it was substandard swill.

 

[zoebisch01]

Hrm not yet. Thankfully lol. Sounds interesting though, maybe she was just making up something to say in lieu of the fact that she had previously shown no interest? Just guessing in the dark though.

 

[Glibbidy]

I have had some pretty dubious homebrews including some of the birds beer (KIDDING!! ) and I think constructive criticism is good. Funny thing is when I find the flaws in my beer, other drinkers who have sampled it are quite pleased with it's taste.
A pro that I know, says not to worry it's really good beer.
I still find my self turning the microscope from 10x to 500x when criticing my own beers.
What is my point, hmmmm not sure. I forgot where I was going with this:cross:

 

[Orfy]

I don't waste my time.
I only offer mine to people I know like a good beer.

 

[knipknup]

I have people over and they go to the fridge, reach their arm in, move left, right, left... then select the only store bought bottle in the fridge.

Whatever, more good stuff for me to drink...

 

[BierMuncher]

I don't waste my time.
I only offer mine to people I know like a good beer.

Ditto Orfy.

I find that people who are willing to go down the aisle a bit further at the store and pick up an unusual craft beer, are more than willing to step up and appreciate a homebrew.

Problem I have living in St. Louis, is people literally have never heard of "Porter" or "Wit" or "Hefe". If it doesn't have an AB stamped on the label, they don't know it exists.

I think taste buds can be influenced by "marketing". I find that if I sit people down at a tasting and spin them them a "story" about a German town and local "traditions", they are more willing to acknowledge that my Koslch actually tastes good.

 

[desiderata]

Ha, ha, ha. :cross:

Well, I brew for myself, but if someone wants to try it, then by all means. So far, those who have tried it like it (unless they are just being nice). If they didn't like it, but they like commercial swill, then I'd probably just assume they aren't appreciative of quality beer, no big deal.

My father in law won't try mine, because he had a bad experience with homebrew--not mine. (I think he had bowel issues ) anyway, he drinks Bud, and I don't pressure him at all. Like i said, I brew for myself.

I would be a little annoyed by her comment, because it is ignorant. Back-handed compliment, if you ask me. I'd serve her a glass of Riunite Lambrusco next time she came over for dinner! j/k :cross:

 

[Castle Meadow Brewery]

Ha, ha, ha. :cross:
My father in law won't try mine, because he had a bad experience with home brew--not mine. (I think he had bowel issues ) anyway, he drinks Bud, ....

Isn't this an oxymoron; Won't drink home brew cause of bowel issues, but drinks Bud:cross: Thats Great!!!

 

[desiderata]

Isn't this an oxymoron; Won't drink home brew cause of bowel issues, but drinks Bud:cross: Thats Great!!!

Good point.
Actually, he made it sound like it gave him the craps. I was just trying to use a choice of words to avoid having to say that.
But yes, even Bud will do that to you.

 

[Torchiest]

I don't waste my time.
I only offer mine to people I know like a good beer.

I've been letting a wide swath of people I know try my beers, but I'm going to be stingy with my upcoming IPAs, because I know only a handful of people that are worthy of trying them. Most people can't stand IPAs in general, and I know that I myself couldn't drink them, once upon a time. Now, I'm an IPA junkie.

 

[Buford]

Most people can't stand IPAs in general, and I know that I myself couldn't drink them, once upon a time. Now, I'm an IPA junkie.

It's amazing what going through 5 gallons of IPA can do for your taste buds. I used to hate the stuff, now I don't want to see the last of my bottles go... Still more of a fan of darker styles though.

 

[david_42]

As I told a local wine snob: How to make wine: Crush grapes, add yeast, pray. What's the skill?? Making a varietal is a little like painting a water color with only one color and one brush. And everyone else uses the same color and brush.

I was a wine snob in the '80's, but I grew up!

 

[Monster Mash]

My father in law won't try mine, because he had a bad experience with homebrew--not mine. (I think he had bowel issues ) anyway, he drinks Bud, and I don't pressure him at all. Like i said, I brew for myself.

Some people have a reaction to yeast, I have met 2 people that cannot drink homebrew but they can drink Bud, Miller or Coors. Some people have a worse reaction then others but it could be he was telling the truth....

One friend of mine loves my beer but he just can't drink it because of the yeast...

 

[Spyk'd]

My wife uttered these words after trying my brown ale I brought to a Super Bowl party, "Wow, this tastes like real beer". I quickly chimed in, "By real, I'm assuming you mean commercial and my beer does not taste like commercial beer, it tastes better."

A fact that was later confirmed by everyone else at the party that contributed to killing the 5 gallons I brought. One poor soul brought a party pig of local brewery Lazy Magnolia's Southern Pecan, which is a bit of a confusing brew, and it was never even tapped.


The only downside was that they drank my entire keg and I haven't been able to brew lately, so I am low on brew...

 

[Snakebone]

Since I've been brewing the last couple years my relatives await my arrival at family functions because they know I'm going to bring some Homebrew. Last Christmas the case of IPA I took along didn't last long.

 

[Torchiest]

It's amazing what going through 5 gallons of IPA can do for your taste buds. I used to hate the stuff, now I don't want to see the last of my bottles go... Still more of a fan of darker styles though.

Yeah, it's incredible. A few years ago, I thought IPAs were disgusting and undrinkable. The beer that started me down the path was Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA. However, ever since I started brewing, I've enjoyed the smell and taste of hops a lot more. I think it's the positive associations I'm building. Also, I've noticed my palate seems to be getting more and more refined as I continue brewing.

I've only brewed two batches of a couple styles. Porters, which I love to death, wits, due to something of a fluke, and now IPAs, because my first one tastes so good that I'm worried about it running out too quickly.

Since I've been brewing the last couple years my relatives await my arrival at family functions because they know I'm going to bring some Homebrew. Last Christmas the case of IPA I took along didn't last long.

Oh, to have an entire family that appreciated IPAs. What a wonderful dream.

I let some of my family sample my first four batches of homebrew over the holidays last year, and they weren't down at all. One of my brothers only drinks Bud, and one sister doesn't drink beer at all. I could tell it was beyond them. *sigh* Oh well, more for me. My younger brother digs the stuff, so that's cool.

 

[zoebisch01]

As I told a local wine snob: How to make wine: Crush grapes, add yeast, pray. What's the skill?? Making a varietal is a little like painting a water color with only one color and one brush. And everyone else uses the same color and brush.

I was a wine snob in the '80's, but I grew up!

*chuckle*

My coworker is interested in making wine, and I pretty much told him the same thing. I mean heck no boiling, mash temps, conversion tests, balances, etc, etc, etc,etc. So yeah, I completely agree

I do still like the occasional wine, but rarely. Actually I think I prefer Sake.

 

[brewt00l]

I brought several 22s of my Rye Pale Ale to a superbowl party this year. Poured out a few glasses and passed them around.

The looks on some of the faces was classic as they raised the glasses. Many scrunched looks as they anticipated some god awful concoction with a foul odor to match. Those expressions were replaced with disbelief when they found that it was a mighty tasty brew.

 

[Porter fan]

People are reluctant to try new things! I have seen my friends cringe at the thought of trying my HB..**** em I'll drink the good beer!

 

[rdwj]

The only people in my family that don't like my beer are the ones that don't like the taste of beer, but tolerate Miller lite. Before my first batch was done, my step dad told me about several of his friends that tried to make their own beer with poor results. He LOVES my stuff.

Most people that come over these days ask me what I have on tap

 

[zoebisch01]

People are reluctant to try new things! I have seen my friends cringe at the thought of trying my HB..**** em I'll drink the good beer!

Thing is they are missing out on so much in life. I recall the first time some friends of ours tried SWMBO's baked macaroni and cheese. They grew up on boxed food and feed it to their kids...anyways they couldn't believe how it tasted, and it was just macaroni and cheese lol.

I have to remind myself constantly not to take my experience with food and beverage for granted whenever I serve things to people. There are probably several hundred things in my home that 80% of people I know have never experienced. I guess the point I am making is what is commonplace to me might be so foreign to someone else and I always have to try and catch myself and remember where they are coming from. There is a generation of boxed and processed foodies out there.

 

[Orpheus]

I have the opposite problem at my house. My wife has two couples from work who love craft/micro brew. When they found out I brewed, my wife invited them over for dinner. Now they're over every couple of weeks and they've kicked more than a few kegs of my favorite brew.

On one hand, I love it, because it's the highest compliment I could get, having them come over and drink me dry. On the other hand, I have to say goodbye to some good friends (kegs) that have served me well for their short time on this earth.

The good news is one of the guys helped me brew a batch and his wife will be getting him a brewing kit for their anniversary.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

My wife uttered these words after trying my brown ale I brought to a Super Bowl party, "Wow, this tastes like real beer". I quickly chimed in, "By real, I'm assuming you mean commercial and my beer does not taste like commercial beer, it tastes better."

... laughed hard at that one.

I've been on both ends of this stick. I remember in college, I went to a "homebrew" party and thought how awesome that was. I tasted the kegs and wanted to puke. Same result from everyone else at the party. I have no idea what these guys did wrong, but, they really screwed up their beer. I mean, honestly, I've seen how hard it is to screw up now and I can't imagine what 3 guys, putting their heads together, could've done that was so wrong.

Anyway, that made me weary of homebrew for a long time and I thought it was pretty hard to make beer, and a good homebrew was probably nearly impossible to make.... then, this Fall I tasted two different close friends of mine... they were amazing. One was a simple pale ale and the other guy had a pumpkin ale, hemp ale and a coffee stout. I simply had to make beer after that. I realized it wasn't impossible anymore.

I've seen people drink my homebrew and be like, "yea, this is really f*ckin good." But then when they go to the fridge they grab a miller lite instead of another homebrew and I'm like... ehh, whatever, they have no tastebuds obviously.

 

[saint_lou_brew]

I was just thinking about this on my ride home. It's all advertising's fault. AB says the fresher the beer the better. And every bar/restaurant keeps pitching the coldest beer in town in their commercials.
Fresh beer = young beer = taste hasn't fully evolved.
The colder the beer, the less flavor comes through.
I got coworkers that are hooked on my stuff. But these people already have a good beer palette to begin with.

 

[rdwj]

Fresh beer = young beer = taste hasn't fully evolved.

For commercial beer, fresh is better. It's pasturized, so it doesn't improve with age like homebrew does. Day fresh beer from a large brewery is as good as it's ever going to taste.

As far as cold, it has it's place.

 

[sirsloop]

In response to the initial post... the answer can be summed up in six letter... "MR BEER".

you mention homebrew and that person probably associated it with those cheesy mr beer kits available at bed bath and beyond.

I'm going to be serving homebrew at my wedding and hope to get similar responses. Belgian Wit and Chocolate stout for sure, and maybe this Trios Pistoles clone if it turns out to be worth 50 bucks

 

[Torchiest]

I remember in college, I went to a "homebrew" party and thought how awesome that was. I tasted the kegs and wanted to puke. Same result from everyone else at the party. I have no idea what these guys did wrong, but, they really screwed up their beer. I mean, honestly, I've seen how hard it is to screw up now and I can't imagine what 3 guys, putting their heads together, could've done that was so wrong.

I know what the problem was: they were college students.

Same thing happened about ten years ago when I first tried some homebrew on draft that my friends had made. It was godawful. I don't think they were very careful about anything, and they were also serving the beer at room temperature out of this ghetto tap system.

 

[Rook]

I sortof understand both sides of the equasion. Some people drink becusae the like beer, some drink becuase they like to get drunk. Some are a mix inbetween. 99.9% of the time I'll drink craft beer (just bottled my second batch so don't have a good stock of homebrew yet), but theres that One tenth of one percent of time that I'll enjoy a Miller High Life, and sometimes its stuff like that, that hits the spot. (I will not, however, drink bud light, it never hits the spot)

 

[fezzman]

I've had similiar comments about my brew "not tasting like homebrew." Several times people said that, in the past when trying homebrew, it tasted gritty or grainy. The only thing I can figure is that they were not properly instructed in pouring a h-b and drank the yeast??? Gritty??? I'm scared to know just what they previously had but am glad that they thoroughly enjoy mine.

 

[neckbone]

I've got my second batch conditioning in the bottle right now, and the third in the primary. My first batch, I gave out two bottles each to two of my friends and my dad, and gave a sixer to another friend for a wedding present. Each one loved them. One even noticed that the second bottle was better a week later than the first one.

My problem, is that w/ that first IPA, I was very stingy. I gotta get another IPA in the primary soon. After brewing the Red, and the BlueMoon clone, they just don't have the hop aroma that I've found out I love in the IPA. I think I'm going to be brave, and try a double IPA. What's the worst that happens? I have to drink it all?? I'll be brave, and take that chance.

 

[Torchiest]

Don't worry. Double IPAs are the BEST! :rockin:

 

[mew]

As I told a local wine snob: How to make wine: Crush grapes, add yeast, pray. What's the skill?? Making a varietal is a little like painting a water color with only one color and one brush. And everyone else uses the same color and brush.

I was a wine snob in the '80's, but I grew up!

Making good wine is about tending the grape plants perfectly so that they'll produce the correct amounts of sugar, tannin, etc. Good grapes = good wine, but it is sometimes very difficult to produce good grapes. Using your metaphor, the brewer has a whole palate of paints given to him/her, but the winemaker has to produce the paint him/herself. For the homebrewer I would agree with you, but not when it comes to commercial production.

 

[Monster Mash]

I had a salesman come into my office, he brought in some HB that was in his car during the summer so it was pretty hot when he gave it to me. He was really proud of this beer and when he found out I brewed he thought I would love it.

I brought it to a fellow homebrewers house, poured a couple glasses, took a sip and both of us couldn't even swallow it. It was the most vile, infected beer I have ever tasted....

 

[Rhoobarb]

Thing is they are missing out on so much in life. I recall the first time some friends of ours tried SWMBO's baked macaroni and cheese. They grew up on boxed food and feed it to their kids...anyways they couldn't believe how it tasted, and it was just macaroni and cheese lol.

I have to remind myself constantly not to take my experience with food and beverage for granted whenever I serve things to people. There are probably several hundred things in my home that 80% of people I know have never experienced. I guess the point I am making is what is commonplace to me might be so foreign to someone else and I always have to try and catch myself and remember where they are coming from. There is a generation of boxed and processed foodies out there.

So very true, and very well put.

We do live in a time when everything is over-processed, over-marketed, over-packaged, over-centralized, etc. It used to be you ate and drank a lot more locally/regionally and got better food and drink that way. And there were none of the widespread foodborne diseases we see so much of today. Why is that? I believe Alton Brown put it best!

 

[Vermicous]

Over the past couple years I have become good friends with some local growers.

They spent the remainder of the season explaining to buyers that there was no E.Coli in their spinach. As it was, they ended up not being able to sell a large amount, buyers just did not understand.

 

[sause]

buyers just did not understand.

Like parents?

 

[ayrton]

Strange: I've never had anyone not like my beer, but then most of the people I know drink "real" beer anyway. I do know a few who just won't drink it because they hate beer in general, and my boss' wife saw one of my stouts and said, "That looks more like coffee than beer."

Let them be ignorant. More for me and the other appreciators.

 

[Mutine Bullfrog]

I think the response comes from people that have had homemade wine. No offence to the wine makes on the forum, but I have tried allot of bad home made wine and it kind of conditions you to think that everything home made is bad.