In my opinion, I think that a lot of people could benefit by including "in my experience", "in my opinion" or "for me" to the end of every statement they make. We know that most of what people express are opinions and opinions are made from experiences so what else would they say. Why not look at these expressions and an opportunity to share your experience, maybe educate someone and help them get a better understanding of what they are doing?
Isn't this the point of bringing a beer to a homebrew event to share? I assume that you share you observations with the brewer when this happens. Possible trying to work together to understand what flavors you are picking up on (not everyone's palate can detect the same flavors) and discuss what techniques (possible even decoction) could help to improve that person's beers.
Kudos to you for always being willing to taste something you know you aren't going to like. But if that is the case, stop drinking Olive IPAs. That seems to be the best solution. Again, a healthy dose of "for me" here makes this statement go down better, in my opinion.
But your comment about Dogfishhead seems a little dogmatic to me. If Sam can do it (which you seem ok with), WHY can't anyone else? Just because one person does something well (in some people's opinion) does that mean that other people can't? That seems like a recipe for stagnation. Maybe every experiment doesn't deserve more than a passing glance, but who's to judge it. I applaud people for being willing to share things that they came up with... but I've never drank an Olive IPA.
This seems the inverse of #1 and again a critique of experience and opinion. To that lucky Texan, that IS the way to make saison. For me the way to make saison is... well ... actually in 40+ batches of beer I haven't made a saison so I don't know the way. But once I do, if it's good, I guarantee you THAT will be THE WAY... at least for me.
Yeah... math. Do you take the capital expense as a one time hit, or amortize it across all the batches of beer you make. Plus do you exclude some, since technically any hobby costs money. And what about opportunity cost, I know what I bill per hour so that makes my beer more expensive, except that this is my down time, so do I factor in the cost of what else I might be doing, or the cost of the psychiatrist if I didn't have a hobby to relax. For me, in raw materials I can make a good beer, per unit, for less that what I would spend at the liquor store. But that doesn't mean that I don't buy commercial stuff. These two aren't mutually exclusive.
So tell them. If I was missing out on those fundamentals and that was leading to me making bad beer, I would want someone to tell me. See #2
Pride and arrogance aren't the same thing. If you make something good, and you like it, great. If other people like it even better. Nothing wrong with having some pride in your accomplishments. And if you are good at something, and can share that experience and knowledge even more so (see #6 and #2). But being arrogant about it isn't good. Thankfully, in my experience, the best brewers I've met (both homebrewers and professional brewers) and all very modest. They know that they are good at what they do, they take pride in it, but they don't fall victim to hubris. I'm sorry that the other brewers you've met can't make that claim.
OK, with your permission, your an idiot, a POS and a number of other things...
This turned out to be quite the thread and got a lot of people going (including myself). And if I had to put my finger on it it was this line
Your implication being that everyone is like this. In my opinion, thought not in my direct experience, if you had addressed that "by how some people in our hobby conduct themselves", would have made all the difference.
That and not offering any solution to those complaints. For me, if you are going to criticize something, try to make it better. Don't knock it down, build it up.
If someone made a beer, and they liked it but you think there was an issue, don't be offended by their pride, help them improve it... Maybe resist the urge to do a spit take, but don't taste it and then walk away thinking "This person has ruined my hobby by serving that cr@p". Leave that to the BJCP judges. Ask them a question, make a comment "Is there a little diacetyl in there? What do you do to control your fermentation temperature" or "This is kind of alcoholly, do you use a yeast starter?"
If someone offers you another Olive IPA, decline... "No thanks, that's just not my style... Leave that kind of breweing to Calagione, am I right... have you ever tried brewing a Kolsch? I'm amazed at how difficult such a simple beer is."
So, to hit every point you made, allow me to add one.
8. People who criticize but don't critique. People who make (snarky) comments behind someones back without intending try help the target of their sneering.
And I think that in order to resolve #8, people need to be willing to take the time, think about what they have experienced, share what they have learned and try to make the next experience for both people better.
