Advice for a brewer who doesn't drink

[sonofgrok]

I say do whatever makes you happy.

That being said, that is a pretty weird situation. Its like a blind painter relying on others to tell him what is a good painting. Have you thought about getting into other crafts that not only you can enjoy the labor of but also the fruits? Like cheese making maybe or something? There are plenty of other hobbies similar to brewing you can dive into that you can get the best of both worlds. Or do you think part of it may be that you like people to like you for making them beer? Not saying it to be rude but I could totally see some fear associated with telling friends (and wives) that you are no longer going to make them beer.

 

[thisisjohnbrown]

I say do whatever makes you happy.

That being said, that is a pretty weird situation. Its like a blind painter relying on others to tell him what is a good painting. Have you thought about getting into other crafts that not only you can enjoy the labor of but also the fruits? Like cheese making maybe or something? There are plenty of other hobbies similar to brewing you can dive into that you can get the best of both worlds. Or do you think part of it may be that you like people to like you for making them beer? Not saying it to be rude but I could totally see some fear associated with telling friends (and wives) that you are no longer going to make them beer.

I have a lot of hobbies. I make furniture, I create electronic devices, I program websites for local charities. This is just one thing I also do, and it's because of the love I get from watching others consume it, like I do when I have people over for dinner and they admire my table or when I bring in my latest invention to the labs department at work.

 

[kroach01]

I have a lot of hobbies. I make furniture, I create electronic devices, I program websites for local charities. This is just one thing I also do, and it's because of the love I get from watching others consume it, like I do when I have people over for dinner and they admire my table or when I bring in my latest invention to the labs department at work.

Then keep on keeping on brother, if it makes you happiest to make others happy. It's good to see that you are.

If you'd rather them not know then don't tell 'em. But if you do tell 'em do it with confidence that you're one BAMF, because you are.
Just keep on doing the things that make you happy. :rockin:

 

[UtahNate]

<snip>

My question wasn't to get attention or seek advice on me as a person. It was to see how people thought the brewing community at my local shop and the meetups would react. Seems like it would cause a lot of confusion and possibly be met with some resentment. So I think I will keep my little secret to myself for now, and keep lurking around on the forums.

<snip>

My guess is they'd probably react very similarly to the responses you've already seen here.

To each their own and all that jazz. Do what you want and don't let others try to dissuade you. If you enjoy brewing, keep doing it.

I love making ice cream for family and friends. I can't eat it myself anymore, at least not in any appreciable quantity, but I still enjoy experimenting with it and sharing it with others. Sometimes just making something others appreciate is rewarding enough.

 

[Halbrust]

I think it's fine!
I brew way more than I drink.

I'm trying to learn to like beer. It's being a slow process. Most beer tastes nasty to me. But I still want to brew it.

If you don't want to drink, that's fine. But I will re-ask a previous question of "Have you considered tasting the beer you brew without swallowing it?"

 

[45_70sharps]

Differential diagnosis of a 3rd year med student:

1.) This is a troll. A good one, at that.

2.) OP has an avoidant personality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant_personality_disorder#Signs_and_symptoms

You're on the East coast so you don't know how believable this is for Portland Oregon.
Not your normal city.

 

[kroach01]

You're on the East coast so you don't know how believable this is for Portland Oregon.
Not your normal city.

Fair enough, I really don't know! I'd love to make it to Portland. The internet is so impersonal, it lends itself to so much misinterpretation.
Been to SF, Seattle and coastal oregon but never the fine city of Portland. I like a lot of bands, beers, hops, and "related" plants from that region. You will have to let me know the local craft brew spots

 

[thisisjohnbrown]

Fair enough, I really don't know! I'd love to make it to Portland.
Been to SF, Seattle and coastal oregon but never the fine city of Portland. I like a lot of bands, beers, hops, and "related" plants from that region. You will have to let me know the local craft brew spots

We can hang out when you come to town and you can tell me if your diagnosis holds water.

 

[ddicker60]

I can believe not wanting to drink. I didn't have first real drink until I was 21 (a terribly made white russian), and after that I decided I wasn't going to drink ever (along with fact my grandfather was a alcoholic). Then we got my dad a beer making kit. His was the first beer I actually liked. As I the years went on, I like the idea of making it. When I moved away to South Carolina, I decided if I got back to Ohio I would make an effort to brew more with him because of how good most of it was ( I now was moving into the craft beer scene). Now back in Ohio, I love all great craft beers. I influenced my dad to go all grain, and we made our own mash tun. These sites have gave me inspiration, and tasting to me is the greatest satisfaction. I believe it is important to taste what you have, but if you have people that like what you make, so I say more power to ya.

 

[kroach01]

We can hang out when you come to town and you can tell me if your diagnosis holds water.

Haha, I'm down. My 'diagnosis' is meaningless if you're happy! I have an uncle with Asperger's who is happy as a clam. It's probably an internet misunderstanding and/or a portland thing anyways. Silly to diagnose on the internet.
I will be doing some of my fourth year in Oakland CA so maybe I can give you some notes on your brew if I get some free time and you accept notes from my amateur palate XD

 

[RCBIV]

Something tells me you're dying to try some beer, but you're afraid of throwing off your equilibrium.

Well guess what? Life's too short. Drink some beer.

 

[45_70sharps]

Fair enough, I really don't know! I'd love to make it to Portland. The internet is so impersonal, it lends itself to so much misinterpretation.
Been to SF, Seattle and coastal oregon but never the fine city of Portland. I like a lot of bands, beers, hops, and "related" plants from that region. You will have to let me know the local craft brew spots

I don't live in or near Portland, it's about three or three and a half hours away.
It is where I go when I need to go to a city though.
Strange place. They use to have a popular mayor who would go around hooting like an owl if that gives you an idea.

Strange as it is, it's better than the chaos of Seattle. Plenty of interesting stuff there and lots of things to take my daughter to.

Big craft beer area so that's good.
I'm planning a trip there this weekend to hit hooters and Rouge's brew pub!
Nothing much surprises me in Portland though.
Like I said, it's someplace where I could see people going to a restaurant with a chef that doesn't eat meat just because it's cool.
Might go to one of those places that serve beer and you get to support single moms, $1 at a time.

 

[sonofgrok]

As a side not john, that company you work for looks like a pretty darn cool place.

 

[kroach01]

I don't live in or near Portland, it's about three or three and a half hours away.
It is where I go when I need to go to a city though.
Strange place. They use to have a popular mayor who would go around hooting like an owl if that gives you an idea.

Strange as it is, it's better than the chaos of Seattle. Plenty of interesting stuff there and lots of things to take my daughter to.

Big craft beer area so that's good.
I'm planning a trip there this weekend to hit hooters and Rouge's brew pub!
Nothing much surprises me in Portland though.
Like I said, it's someplace where I could see people going to a restaurant with a chef that doesn't eat meat just because it's cool.
Might go to one of those places that serve beer and you get to support single moms, $1 at a time.

Love this post. Will add Rogue's to the must-do list up there.
LOL @ the story about the mayor and single moms. Sounds like this will be a very good place to chill and people watch.
Do yall have some fun things to do there? I have a travel list and would love to add stuff HBT members like up there.

 

[igotsand]

Op,
Have you tasted unfermented wort?
It was brought up earlier and never answered...
Have you made any hop tea and tried it?
Or done the same with malts?

As far as telling people anything , imo its a good conversation starter, but that's me....
If you told me at a brewshop that, I wouldn't care or look at you different....I'd ask you if you need feedback on any of your beers or whatnot...

Just be proud of who you are!!
Just be yourself..


Awesome thread btw...unless u are trolling...

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

I think if that's what your into, then who cares what others think. I'm sure you will get a mixed response, but at least some of it can help you progress as a brewer. It is important to know; however, that what makes a beer "good" is totally subjective. I have many friends who brew/enjoy beer and when we do tastings everyone's interpretation of a given beer is different. Brewing on any level involves an understanding of how certain ingredients produce flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, and many other subtleties. Without even tasting (not necessarily ingesting) the beer every step of the process you won't be able to progress beyond a certain ceiling, so to speak.

Brewing is an ART. If you refuse to enjoy your art, whats the point. And Beethoven wasn't always deaf. He understood the complexities of music before he went deaf. You must understand the complexities of your art through your own experience, as well as the experiences of others.

 

[sonofgrok]

Oh yeah, and feel free to send me any beers you need "evaluated".

 

[kroach01]

Brewing is an ART. If you refuse to enjoy your art, whats the point. And Beethoven wasn't always deaf. He understood the complexities of music before he went deaf. You must understand the complexities of your art through your own experience, as well as the experiences of others.

True this. He didn't start going deaf until 26 or so and wasn't completely deaf until 18 years later. He contemplated suicide many times because he couldn't enjoy his passion any longer.

 

[pdxbg]

Seeing as how you have never drank beer, of the four times you have drank, I would suggest trying at least a sip of one of your batches. You may end up liking beer and if you have self control you won't have any problems.

Not liking the taste of alcohol based solely on your experience with non-beer alcohol is not really an accurate statement unless you've tried all types of alcoholic beverages.

 

[shoreman]

What about brewing Milds & Biere de Table at around 3% then you can drink one here and there? Brew bigger beers for friends if you wanted to.

Partigyle can achieve the above as well

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

I wish i had that much cash to shell out.
So whats you grand experiments plan? Do you have any outcome or future goal for this "project"? Not at all hating more power to you.

Why not sip on your beers? Drink them slowly or just have atleast 1 at a meeting or special event. IMHO I enjoy drinking brew because of all of the flavor and aroma combinations you can have its virtualy a universal BEvERage. plus the labor i put into making it i certainly deserve it!

In the long run if this is the road you decide to take i would just be honest about it, im sure no ones going to make fun of you for doing what you believe in, the homebrewing community is actually very accepting.
Good luck to you!

 

[Qhrumphf]

True this. He didn't start going deaf until 26 or so and wasn't completely deaf until 18 years later. He contemplated suicide many times because he couldn't enjoy his passion any longer.

Well, looks like I got suckered in by the myth (or legend or lies that are told to kids or whatever you want to call it). Serves me right for not fact checking myself...

 

[kombat]

Honestly, it's inertia. I have a beard. There are times when I want to shave it off, but my wife likes it and it makes me distinct. So I keep it because I like it most of the time and don't want to throw everything off.

If I started drinking beer around my friends who have known me for a decade, I would lose a bit of what makes me me. Maybe that's stupid, but I have to believe that everyone has certain things they do/maintain because of the people around them. We live in a society.

Wow. Seems kinda needy to me. You keep a beard because people expect you to, you brew beer you don't like because you worry about what your friends would think if you stopped ... who cares what other people think? Why devote so much time, energy, and money creating something you don't even like? Because of "inertia?"

I'm sorry, but that's just ... dumb. Live for YOURSELF, not what people have come to expect from you.

 

[kroach01]

Well, looks like I got suckered in by the myth (or legend or lies that are told to kids or whatever you want to call it). Serves me right for not fact checking myself...

Meh, it happens. I was under that impression too until I took a music history class in college from a very passionate professor.
BTW i see that you brewed a bitter on Maris otter versus pale malt. What differences did you notice? I have a 50# sack of each coming and was wondering what the taste difference is.

 

[JRems]

The op seems to be skirting around the question of why don't you try the wort before it's fermented? Granted it's not the same as after it's fermented, it's better than nothing. Or why you don't taste and spit it out. You still wouldn't be drinking. I think this is one of the best conceived troll threads ever. You really have people convinced.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Meh, it happens. I was under that impression too until I took a music history class in college from a very passionate professor.
BTW i see that you brewed a bitter on Maris otter versus pale malt. What differences did you notice? I have a 50# sack of each coming and was wondering what the taste difference is.

The Maris is one of my favorite malts. The crackery biscuity character i love. The differences between regular US 2-row and MO are pretty obvious, but I'd never used the darker US pale ale malt. Despite being marketed as a low cost alternative for the English malts, its not quite the same. More like a clean 2-row with some additional toasty background notes, not the full malty character that MO has (I've tried both the Rahr and Briess versions with similar impressions of each). I decided to stick with MO for my English beers, but I've started using the pale ale malt as a base in American beers since it adds a little something more than your regular 2-row.

 

[45_70sharps]

Love this post. Will add Rogue's to the must-do list up there.
LOL @ the story about the mayor and single moms. Sounds like this will be a very good place to chill and people watch.
Do yall have some fun things to do there? I have a travel list and would love to add stuff HBT members like up there.

Yep. Lots of good people watching in Portland. That's what I'll be doing when I'm drinking beer and donating dollars to single moms!
By the way, this is one of the times when I don't care that the place doesn't have any good beer on tap.

Wow. Seems kinda needy to me. You keep a beard because people expect you to, you brew beer you don't like because you worry about what your friends would think if you stopped ... who cares what other people think? Why devote so much time, energy, and money creating something you don't even like? Because of "inertia?"

I'm sorry, but that's just ... dumb. Live for YOURSELF, not what people have come to expect from you.

That's what I said. Anyone who has that many major things about their life that they can't change because they think it would alter what other people would think or that the things that are different than most people are required to make other people like them is in serious need of a beer.

You need to learn to relax and forget about other people.
You might find people you have more in common with if you don't worry about perceptions and figure out what YOU like.

Spending your life in a way that you think makes other people happy is nuts. Probably yuppy nuts at that!

 

[Mongrel]

I don't live in or near Portland, it's about three or three and a half hours away.
It is where I go when I need to go to a city though.
Strange place. They use to have a popular mayor who would go around hooting like an owl if that gives you an idea.

Strange as it is, it's better than the chaos of Seattle. Plenty of interesting stuff there and lots of things to take my daughter to.

Big craft beer area so that's good.
I'm planning a trip there this weekend to hit hooters and Rouge's brew pub!
Nothing much surprises me in Portland though.
Like I said, it's someplace where I could see people going to a restaurant with a chef that doesn't eat meat just because it's cool.
Might go to one of those places that serve beer and you get to support single moms, $1 at a time.

Don't take advice from anyone who travels to Portland with the intention of going to Hooters.

 

[45_70sharps]

Don't take advice from anyone who travels to Portland with the intention of going to Hooters.

What's wrong with hooters?? It's not as much fun as the single moms, but the scenery is far better than going to olive garden.

They seem to have made many many millions because the scenery in there.
Let's face it, the hot wings are good, but you don't pay the price on their menu just for the hot wings, and it's a far cry from anything we have in the little town I live in.

 

[Mongrel]

What's wrong with hooters?? It's not as much fun as the single moms, but the scenery is far better than going to olive garden.

lol see, you know where to go, now just forget Hooters and the Olive Garden.