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tspilker

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I went to a friend's recently. It wasn't a party, but its definitely a "gathering" of sorts.

I brought a few bottles of my first home brew attempt with me for sharing purposes. A few of us are sitting in the shop talking and I decide im going to get a few glasses and pour a few drinks for a couple of these people. I do so, and I pour them and distribute them.

The first thing I hear is "Why did you pour with so much head" I look up to say "it's a porter, and that's a 1-finger head at most" and I see my friend wipe his nose, and start swirling it on the top of the beer to "kill the head"

I remember us doing this long ago when using beer bongs... but I guess I expected a little more class from my friends these days. Granted, my first attempt at brewing was mediocre at best, but I would like to think that with a home brew of any kind comes a level of sophistication that shouldn't be pooled with Natty Ice or something.

Ive seen the same thing done when I have brought over other beers of the non-natty variety (Sierra Nevada Bigfoot specifically)

I get it... but I just dont get it. If that makes sense.

I see the head as one of the most beautiful elements of a beer, followed right by it's color and clarity. Why ruin it?
 
You mentioned college in the title but not in the story, so I'm guessing you're in college as well. Invite your friends over for a brew day. Share one of your past brews with a commercial beer that is similar so that they can see that beer that people buy can be made at home. I like to make a pie-graph with a thin slice that represents all of the styles of beer with the slice being american light lager, which is about 85% of what we see when we go to the store. There are so many other flavors out there to experience.

Beer that I want to get me drunk should have no head. Beer that I want to experience damn well better have one (unless it's a barleywine :D).

Don't discount your friends, just their taste in beer.
 
Atleast they didn't harass you for pouring it into a glass.

They also did that.

"Dude, where are you going, you dont need a glass"

Most of the beers I find worth drinking I can only drink from a glass. Like I said, the visual of the beer is important. I think it's just as important as the flavor.
 
You mentioned college in the title but not in the story, so I'm guessing you're in college as well. Invite your friends over for a brew day. Share one of your past brews with a commercial beer that is similar so that they can see that beer that people buy can be made at home. I like to make a pie-graph with a thin slice that represents all of the styles of beer with the slice being american light lager, which is about 85% of what we see when we go to the store. There are so many other flavors out there to experience.

Beer that I want to get me drunk should have no head. Beer that I want to experience damn well better have one (unless it's a barleywine :D).

Don't discount your friends, just their taste in beer.

That's a good idea. Yeah, I forgot to say we are college students. We just go to different schools. These are actually all high school friends that I met up with in this story.
 
They are probably the same folks who find it necessary to pump the keg incessantly, then complain about the foam and blame it on the crappy keg.
 
They are probably the same folks who find it necessary to pump the keg incessantly, then complain about the foam and blame it on the crappy keg.

How about the guys who beer bong the remains in the keg the next morning?

Thinking about that makes me want to vomit. Warm next day keg remnants of a partially killed busch light keg (also known as 'Pullman water').
 
On the other end of the spectrum, I have a buddy that thinks the head is the greatest thing in the world. He always poors the beer as fast as possible, straight into the glass. 15oz of head, irritates the S**T out of me. :drunk:
 
These are obviously people who don't drink beer for the taste. The foam enhances the aroma and flavor of the beer. By killing the head they are trying to make it taste less noticable. They probably also prefer beer ice cold to further reduce the flavor.

Craig
 
Heh, Reminds me of Ordinary bitter in England. The northern style bitter has a head, the southern style has very little. It is customary when visiting the "other" region to complain that there is too much/too little head......Then go on to tell everyone they are just stupid northern wankers/soft southern wankers, then let them display their magical powers by levitating you through a window.

Stout, of course is different. You should just cockpunch all your friends.
 
I'm in college too. I try not to push my stuff on anybody but a few people are willing to try. Most of my friends are not that into beer and don't understand why I wouldn't just go to the store and buy some bud. Luckily I have a few friends who enjoy beer or are at least willing to try new things. I guess what I'm saying is be happy they are trying it, and try to educate them without sounding like a prick and they might actually come around.
 
Most of my friends are either beer geeks, or beer geeks in training, although getting them into Belgians is a slow process, they just love IPAs too much to stray from 'em, and having Stone in the same city as you doesn't help :D
 
well I serve beer cold, but hey I'm in Texas damit. Its hot here. Wait 5 min and its perfect. I never used to believe about some styles tasting better a little warmer. Well my abbey taste real good after I get out of the shower and take a sip at about room temp. Straight out of the keezer, well it just taste like sweet alcohol.
 
The best way to deal with offensive beer idiots is to belittle them. Seriously, it is the only assault they respond to. If you can show them they are being idiots, then they might actually listen to you, instead of brush you off with a "whatever dude" attitude.

At least they are willing to try your beer and are happy to recieve it, they most likely just need some education.
 
Just have to slowly educate your friends. I've seen some of mine come around. Even out of college you'll encounter people who don't get homebrewing. You'll also encounter many more who think it's awesome. Out of school you're with a group of people who are making money, can't drink every night of the week, and will appreciate a nicer drink when they do get to drink. In college you're with people living cheaply and wanting to party often to get drunk, which would become expensive off the good stuff.

It's sort of how I came around with another hobby of mine, cigars. In college I smoked cheap stuff ($5 a stick at most when I was living large). Now I regularly smoke $10+ sticks because I can't smoke as often and when I do, I want something nice.
 
Some things just can't be explained.

Example:
Shortly after I moved to DFW I got back in contact with a friend from high school. Back then it was MGD all the way, baby. By no means a great beer, but cheap and readily available. I asked him to try a pale ale I had made. He responded that he only drank Michelob Ultra now because he was watching his calories. I told him I thought it was a waste of effort to drink any of the uber-lights, but he missed my point saying "yeah, it's not as good as Natural Light, but it gets the job done".

I still have no idea what job that is.
 
Beer head interferes with slamming it down. The whole point of drinking beer is to guzzle as much as you can as fast as you can before you start puking.
 
My BIL made a comment about the head on the beer I poured. I explained to him that's the whipped cream on the dessert.
 
I'm in college. I was chatting with some coworkers and one started making remarks about how bad it was that his roomate had an occasional recreational beer. They then discussed how that was unhealthy and that they exclusively "drink to get drunk." Apparently binge drinking is the only way to go.

It often seems like explaining homebrewing, and the idea of craft beer at all, is a lost cause.
 
Never underestimate what folks don't know or don't understand about beer (and put that in bold when it comes to homebrew). As you alluded, though, we've all been there. You cannot expect someone to just magically appreciate beer because you opened a bottle of homebrew. We have to teach without forcing it. It takes a little while to get the knack of it, just like brewing.


TL
 
There are alot of us homebrewers in college!
I go to a small school and there are about 6 of us in my class of 400 that I know brew.
Alot of people binge, but alot of people have some class in college too.
If I had to guess I would say the larger state system schools tend to be worse.
I have offered my homebrews to people in school, and you are right, alot of guys just don't understand. However, don't lose faith.
 
Hey I'm just impressed that there are a few of you college kids out there that appreciate quality beer. I can't say I did at that age. Although no one around me did either. And I couldn't afford it if I did.
 
I went to a friend's recently. It wasn't a party, but its definitely a "gathering" of sorts.

I brought a few bottles of my first home brew attempt with me for sharing purposes. A few of us are sitting in the shop talking and I decide im going to get a few glasses and pour a few drinks for a couple of these people. I do so, and I pour them and distribute them.

The first thing I hear is "Why did you pour with so much head" I look up to say "it's a porter, and that's a 1-finger head at most" and I see my friend wipe his nose, and start swirling it on the top of the beer to "kill the head"

I remember us doing this long ago when using beer bongs... but I guess I expected a little more class from my friends these days. Granted, my first attempt at brewing was mediocre at best, but I would like to think that with a home brew of any kind comes a level of sophistication that shouldn't be pooled with Natty Ice or something.

Ive seen the same thing done when I have brought over other beers of the non-natty variety (Sierra Nevada Bigfoot specifically)

I get it... but I just dont get it. If that makes sense.

I see the head as one of the most beautiful elements of a beer, followed right by it's color and clarity. Why ruin it?


You never mentioned how he liked the taste. A nose wipe or ear wax foam killer will not change the taste.

So did he hate it? Probably not. And myself, I'll take the beer just right below the foam and call that the most beautiful element of a beer.
 
Hey, I appreciate good beer, and I'm still in college (for a few more weeks....scary real life is incoming). When I decided to start brewing , I even jumped straight into kegging. Don't lose faith on us younguns yet!

A little bit more on topic, I have a friend that is a quite bit of a beer snob. In fact, he's a beer geek in training, I've got him contemplating a kegerator and whether or not he think he'll enjoy keeping it filled. Anyway, this psuedo-beer-snob just plain doesn't like head on his beer. He understands it is part of the presentation, texture, smell, etc, etc, but it annoys him. He doesn't enjoy cleaning it out of his beard/mustache/nose, so he generally just sips a bit and waits for it to dissipate. If he is in a hurry he'll do the finger thing (although for whatever reason, my brews always have VERY good head retention, so it is amusing to watch him try and make that work)

Our SOP when I pour him a homebrew (kegerator ftw) is that I pour one properly with a decent head and such, he bitches about head on beer, then he proceeds to deal with it and enjoy it anyway. I'd say don't let these guys get to you, and just continue to slowly educate them. Who knows, one of them could be your next homebrewing buddy.
 
1+ to all of the college homebrewers out there. I try to teach some college kids the finer side of beer, but most just don't understand. Although there are a few that love a craft brew just as I do, so don't give up completely on us young-guns.:mug:
 
You guys are failing to see the light in having friends with horrible taste in beers.... more for you.

My roommates and I all got into brewing together, one got a starter kit, one bought the kettle and I bought the ingredients. They slowly lost interest and now its just me and another friend from school who have taken over their equipment.

I dont know if its a boston thing, or just the people who I hang with, but the beer snobbery is pretty high up here. I have greater trouble getting old folks (uncles and the like) to understand what good beer is than college kids.
 
They are probably the same folks who find it necessary to pump the keg incessantly, then complain about the foam and blame it on the crappy keg.

I was just talking to a guy about this the other day. When every person that walks by the keg feels the need to pump it to make sure that it is going to extract itself with every pour, and then they complain to no end hen it is just a shot of foam coming from the tap. "Must need more pumping, cause there is only foam right now!"
 
Atleast they didn't harass you for pouring it into a glass.

Not to highjack this thread, but does anyone besides me pour every beer like its naturally carbed, and toss out the last 1/4 inch? Hard to know which breweries naturally carb their product. It should say it on the label, right?
I was in a local bar/restaurant the other night (not a brew-pub), and ordered a SNPA and asked for a glass and that I would pour it. The uninformed bartender looked at me like I was a kook, but then I educated her. She then asked me "what does it matter anyway?" Yes folks, I resigned myself to being a kook.
 
MOD EDIT: Underage drinking issues resolved.

Not to highjack this thread, but does anyone besides me pour every beer like its naturally carbed, and toss out the last 1/4 inch? Hard to know which breweries naturally carb their product. It should say it on the label, right?
I was in a local bar/restaurant the other night (not a brew-pub), and ordered a SNPA and asked for a glass and that I would pour it. The uninformed bartender looked at me like I was a kook, but then I educated her. She then asked me "what does it matter anyway?" Yes folks, I resigned myself to being a kook.
Naturally carbed bottles to mention it on the labesl I believe at least most do.
 
A while back, I went to a small get-together at a friend's whose son was home from college for the weekend. Everyone was 'Dude' and everything was 'hella' this and 'hella' that. I'd brought along some examples of my homebrews for the occasion and then I heard, "ooh! Dude! What's that **** in the bottom of the bottle?" this gangly youngster blurted out as he hoisted up a 22oz Belgian Trippel. "Oh, it's like the worm in the Tequila bottle." I said coyly. He muttered something about it being bad (which ment it was good). And before anyone could get him a glass, he had the cap off and the bottle upended in his mouth. "AH!, That's hella bad, Dude!" (which ment it was good).

He roamed around mingling a bit with the bottle in his hand before the 10% ABV put him on the sofa watching 'Dancing with the Stars' or some mindless dribble like that. And that's where he stayed the whole party.

I never got back to asking him what he thought about the brew and wondered if I had 'planted a seed' in the mind of this 'skull-full-of-mush'.
 
MOD EDIT: Underage drinking issues resolved.


Naturally carbed bottles to mention it on the labesl I believe at least most do.

I usually just peek at the bottom of the bottle and see if there is a yeast ring. Of course I generally pour all of it unless it's one of mine and hasn't settled down hard. Most commercial beers have a very small amount of yeast that usually sticks to the bottle anyway.
 
You guys are failing to see the light in having friends with horrible taste in beers.... more for you.

My roommates and I all got into brewing together, one got a starter kit, one bought the kettle and I bought the ingredients. They slowly lost interest and now its just me and another friend from school who have taken over their equipment.

I dont know if its a boston thing, or just the people who I hang with, but the beer snobbery is pretty high up here. I have greater trouble getting old folks (uncles and the like) to understand what good beer is than college kids.

I don't think it's a Boston thing C4PN, but it is definitely a Northeastern thing. The only NU student I can think of that doesn't care about the quality of his beer is a kid I met in the dorms freshman year who drinks 2+ 40s a day. Also between Penguin and Sunset it's easy to get swept away in playful snobbery.

+1 on old people liking crappy beer.
 
A while back, I went to a small get-together at a friend's whose son was home from college for the weekend. Everyone was 'Dude' and everything was 'hella' this and 'hella' that. I'd brought along some examples of my homebrews for the occasion and then I heard, "ooh! Dude! What's that **** in the bottom of the bottle?" this gangly youngster blurted out as he hoisted up a 22oz Belgian Trippel. "Oh, it's like the worm in the Tequila bottle." I said coyly. He muttered something about it being bad (which ment it was good). And before anyone could get him a glass, he had the cap off and the bottle upended in his mouth. "AH!, That's hella bad, Dude!" (which ment it was good).

He roamed around mingling a bit with the bottle in his hand before the 10% ABV put him on the sofa watching 'Dancing with the Stars' or some mindless dribble like that. And that's where he stayed the whole party.

I never got back to asking him what he thought about the brew and wondered if I had 'planted a seed' in the mind of this 'skull-full-of-mush'.

Was the young man in question from NorCal or going to school in NorCal?
 
When i was in college some of us liked good beer, but in general it was out of price range, so we stuck to the cheap keg stuff. As for the head thing i was taught that it was bad for 2 reasons: 1 because it got in the way of drinking it quickly. 2. if you wait in line at a kegger with limited beer you want to maximize the liquid your getting, so to get as drunk as possible for your $2 entry fee. Wasn't really anything to do with taste or enjoyment. Of courseI also recall doing keg stands on Yeungling Black & Tan kegs, sometimes we'd get them as an extra special treat :)
 
Before I started brewing, one of my BILs and I drank Miller all of the time. I started brewing with a friend of mine. The first brews were OK but we rapidly got better. The BIL tried and tried to find a homebrew that we did that he liked. Over the course of 2 years and many, many batches. Never did. We tried customizing, adding, subtracting even several "American Beer" attempts. No luck. I had this same experience with several friends over the years. I got to where I just brewed the beers I love and "Thems as likes 'em, dranks 'em, and damn on the rest of 'em". Curiosity will bait most of your friends to try it. One or two may like it and the seed is planted. Also, you may want to research if there are other Brewers at your school, instant more/new friends. - Dwain
 
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