When i was in graduate school I was asked to brew beer for a halloween party. They said I would be compensated for the beer. I told them I didn't want to make money, but if I recouped 3/4 of what the cost was I would be able to do it again. It was grad school and every dollar counted.
I went to great expense and brewed up an apple ale and a pumpkin ale with a friend. They cost me quite a bit, but came out amazing. We calculated what everything cost from organic malt, to pumpkins, to high quality yeast, to bottle caps, and sugar. ..It was just under a dollar a beer so we rounded it up figuring people would forget to pay after a few or might be a little short, (and I felt I deserved to drink for 'free'). Heck, if there was a place that was selling dollar beers, you'd think it was a mistake.
The party orgainzers put it all over the invitations and announcements, emailed people before the party, and put a big sign up over the bath tub full of the iced down beers.
The beer was gone in 3 hours. I got $7.
One of my friends confronted a couple of people about it. When asked why they didn't throw in they said thinks like "I thought this stuff was practically free to make."
Then, people could not understand why I wouldn't make beer for the next year. I told them if they wanted to raise money for the supplies, I would do it. You would have thought I asked to sleep with their wives.
I've also given batches of homebrew as gifts and while some appreciated it, I also got a lot of similar responses as above.
I no longer give my beer away. If someone asks for something thats in my fridge, they are more than welcome to it. But if people don't truly appreciate and understand homebrew, they have no respect for the hobby.