This made me proud!

[chicken]

We had a few friends and family over on Saturday to celebrate my birthday. With all the brewing I've done recently, I had several different beers I was eager to share. I had an American Brown Ale, White House Honey Ale, and a Pale Ale. There were also few bottles left of a batch of Robust Porter.

But I told my husband to go buy some commercial beer, just in case. Maybe my beer wasn't as good as I thought it was. Maybe our guests wouldn't like it. I didn't want them to feel held hostage to my homebrewing obsession.

By the end of the evening, only a few bottles of the commercial beer had been consumed, and a LOT of my beer was gone. The American Brown Ale and the White House Honey Ale were decimated. And it's not that the commercial beer available was stuff these people would never drink. We bought stuff we've seen them drink. We had DuClaw's Sweet Baby Jesus, which one of the guests had introduced me to. There was Raison D'etre, which I know another one regularly drinks (judging by all the empties I've scored from them). There was also Sam Adams Black Lager, and Smuttynose Robust Porter. And they chose my beer!

I've been brewing up a storm lately, and really trying to dial in my techniques, and get consistent results. I've had a few disappointments, but overall felt that I was improving and making some good beer. Looks like I was right!

 

[jakenbacon]

Hells ya way to go!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Good for you! You have good taste in friends as well as make some nice beer. A beer lover will always try a limited release...but sounds like they had seconds as well!

 

[AgentHubcap]

That's awesome.

I'm always paranoid that the compliments I get on my beer aren't genuine, so I always keep some commercial beer around. Nobody ever drinks it, though.

 

[BamaProud]

I took some of mine with me on a trip back home last Fall. Last week, I went back without homebrew and 3 people asked if I brought some.

 

[Braufessor]

Best compliment you can get as a homebrewer - empty kegs, and full coolers of storebought beer. I remember feeling the same way the day after a party we had. Went down to empty coolers of commercial beer I had bought. . . . by the time I had put all of the full cans back in their cases, I had 3 completely full 30 packs of Busch Light.... not one can of beer drank. Several empty kegs, and lots and lots of glasses to wash though You are right - a great feeling.

 

[Malty_Dog]

That is great - and I have to say your brews help up against some fine competition. Those commercial beers were pretty nice ones!

 

[krenshaw]

great job! had that happen a couple times.. i actually had to pawn off the crappy commercial beer i purchased because i only got it for visitors.. people actually chose my IPA over the Michelob i think i had, which was surprising for people who aren't usually IPA drinkers..

 

[Snisup]

That's awesome! Smuttynose Robust Porter is excellent beer so if you had any of those left your porter must have been outstanding.

I like when I get random messages from people to whom I've given beer that say. "Dude, that stout was fantastic."