So, let's say I have a friend that homebrews. He brought me a bottle of his latest today, not asking for my opinion, just trading bottles. For the record, I've only ever tasted one other homebrew besides my own in the three and a half years I've been obsessed with this hobby, so I don't have much to go on; that one was an extract batch that had twang to spare. To be blunt, the beer my buddy brought to me was crap. Tasted nothing like beer, but had a strong powdered lemonade mix flavor without the sweetness. I know he went heavy on honey (I don't have his exact recipe), and used homegrown hops, of which I was lucky enough to get some and they smell terrific. No hop aroma or flavor in this beer.
My dilemma; how do I nicely tell him I didn't like it, from a more experienced homebrewer standpoint? He does do all grain, but doesn't have a ferment fridge or the means to control ferment temperature. I don't think ferment temp was the reason for this not turning out well, but probably a process and/or recipe issue. I've been bugging him to join me in a brewday to see how my equipment works, and have offered to let him come over and use my setup whenever he wants to, but he hasn't taken me up on it.
Like most of us here, I want to get as many people interested in our hobby to keep LHBS going and have someone to talk to about brewing; but I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or discourage them. What do you all think?
My dilemma; how do I nicely tell him I didn't like it, from a more experienced homebrewer standpoint? He does do all grain, but doesn't have a ferment fridge or the means to control ferment temperature. I don't think ferment temp was the reason for this not turning out well, but probably a process and/or recipe issue. I've been bugging him to join me in a brewday to see how my equipment works, and have offered to let him come over and use my setup whenever he wants to, but he hasn't taken me up on it.
Like most of us here, I want to get as many people interested in our hobby to keep LHBS going and have someone to talk to about brewing; but I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or discourage them. What do you all think?