Funny things you've overheard about beer

[Swarley88]

Well for me at least, I rather hear negatives. I rather hear what is wrong with my product then hearing, "yum! This is great! " I know its not great, I know that they know. Be honest so I can work to improve that product. I want that same response from the customers I cook for too. Criticism isn't meant to hurt feelings , it is meant to help build something better in my opinion.

 

[ChshreCat]

Well for me at least, I rather hear negatives. I rather hear what is wrong with my product then hearing, "yum! This is great! " I know its not great, I know that they know. Be honest so I can work to improve that product. I want that same response from the customers I cook for too. Criticism isn't meant to hurt feelings , it is meant to help build something better in my opinion.

I got that from my wife's ex. Everyone raved about everything they liked about my beer. I gave him one and asked his opinion and he told me everything that was great about it. Then he looked down at it... and back up at me... and I said "go ahead..." and he told me everything wrong with it. Way better than smoke blown up your kilt.

 

[lemy]

Well for me at least, I rather hear negatives. I rather hear what is wrong with my product then hearing, "yum! This is great! " I know its not great, I know that they know. Be honest so I can work to improve that product. I want that same response from the customers I cook for too. Criticism isn't meant to hurt feelings , it is meant to help build something better in my opinion.

The only way, in my opinion, to get objective feedback, is to send the beer off to a competition. Something out if town or better, out of state. NHC isn't for good for feedback.

 

[tyzippers]

The only way, in my opinion, to get objective feedback, is to send the beer off to a competition. Something out if town or better, out of state. NHC isn't for good for feedback.

Why do you think NHC isn't good for feedback? I'm actually curious since I've only ever entered one competition and didn't get any feedback that was worthwhile. I thought NHC would be the best place seeing as how they use bjcp judges, no?

 

[Swarley88]

I got that from my wife's ex. Everyone raved about everything they liked about my beer. I gave him one and asked his opinion and he told me everything that was great about it. Then he looked down at it... and back up at me... and I said "go ahead..." and he told me everything wrong with it. Way better than smoke blown up your kilt.

Exactly! How are we supposed to learn what is wrong with our beer if noone tells us what off tastes they are tasting. Our perspective will always be different from theirs and we need to hear others in order to be advancing our techniques and beer. People were saying my first brew tasted awesome! I knew that they were lying because what I was drinking was not that good. My beer tasted like crap and to them it was great. No effin' way, I rather not be lied too.

Haven't heard too many funny things about beer lately though :/.

 

[BeerGrylls]

LOL My friend recently said while we were drinking at the bar with a few buddies that they call Belgian Quads Quads because they're brewed 4 times

this is epic

 

[lemy]

Why do you think NHC isn't good for feedback? I'm actually curious since I've only ever entered one competition and didn't get any feedback that was worthwhile. I thought NHC would be the best place seeing as how they use bjcp judges, no?

At nhc there are so many entries and the judges go all day long. There really isn't time to dissect every beer, plus, after 30 pale ales, they start to taste the same, so you find yourself writing the same feedback, getting sensory fatigue.

Those are bad excuses, but it's true. Go to bjcp.org competition calendar and find a long running competition that gets over 200 entries ( research it a little )

I have regional comps I like to enter just because, but if I have a particularly good beer I will enter it into 2 or 3, just so I can compare the feedback. It's really a crap shoot depending on flight placement, did a judge just finish judging smoked beer, bad bottle, etc.

If you have 2 or three to compare and if they all said it was phenolic, then it probably is, but if one said it was lacking hops while the others praised the hops then it was just unlucky for you.

You will not get an unbiased educated opinion from your friends, family, and especially from yourself, ever.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

You will not get an unbiased educated opinion from your friends, family, and especially from yourself, ever.

I completely disagree 100%. as I'm always trying to make a better beer, I am my own worst critic. I actively look for faults in my own beer and ways to improve.

 

[drainbamage]

I completely disagree 100%. as I'm always trying to make a better beer, I am my own worst critic. I actively look for faults in my own beer and ways to improve.

I do this too. Even when everyone else is happy with something I made, I'm usually the one still picking it apart. That's the only way to get better at it.

 

[GrogNerd]

never had a good palate to begin with & Navy chow destroyed my taste buds to the point that anything short of completely foul tastes pretty good to me

the upside is that I like the taste of most of my beers, the downside is I need others' opinions to know if they're any good

have my brew clubs for those; they are very honest & sometimes brutal & I'm definitely becoming a better brewer because of that.

 

[fizgig]

re: Yuengling, I could see a waitress comparing it Guinness because of their black and tan, I'm in Michigan where it's not distributed and I've had it:

 

[lemy]

I do this too. Even when everyone else is happy with something I made, I'm usually the one still picking it apart. That's the only way to get better at it.

If you made the beer then you are biased. You know what you did right and what you did wrong with process, ingredients, etc, like insider trading.

Entering competitions will either validate what you already know about the beer, or it will give you insight to possibilities that never occurred to you, or you will say they are full of **** and don't know what they are talking about. The latter is a sign of a bad brewer.

 

[bleme]

or you will say they are full of **** and don't know what they are talking about. The latter is a sign of a bad brewer.

Or a bad judge. I've seen a few score cards posted on here that were complete BS.

 

[WesleyS]

I completely disagree 100%. as I'm always trying to make a better beer, I am my own worst critic. I actively look for faults in my own beer and ways to improve.

Me too.

 

[drainbamage]

If you made the beer then you are biased. You know what you did right and what you did wrong with process, ingredients, etc, like insider trading.

Entering competitions will either validate what you already know about the beer, or it will give you insight to possibilities that never occurred to you, or you will say they are full of **** and don't know what they are talking about. The latter is a sign of a bad brewer.

Yes, but I also usually have a concept in my mind of what I wanted to accomplish by a brew. Unless I'm shooting for a direct clone of a commercial beer, a third party is not going to know whether I hit that mark or not, unless I totally botch the style guidelines.

EDIT: Sorry, I should clarify that I didn't literally mean self-criticism was the only way to improve. I accept constructive criticism from any source, but I do tend to be my own harshest critic.

 

[bovineblitz]

Or a bad judge. I've seen a few score cards posted on here that were complete BS.

This turned me off from competitions almost immediately.

 

[lemy]

Yes, but I also usually have a concept in my mind of what I wanted to accomplish by a brew. Unless I'm shooting for a direct clone of a commercial beer, a third party is not going to know whether I hit that mark or not, unless I totally botch the style guidelines.

EDIT: Sorry, I should clarify that I didn't literally mean self-criticism was the only way to improve. I accept constructive criticism from any source, but I do tend to be my own harshest critic.

I am only saying, entering competitions is the best way to get knowledgeable unbiased feedback. Not all judges are very good and not all of them take the time each entry deserves, but I have received insight about my process, water chemistry, etc that had never occurred to me. I have also been validated on things I had suspected, but was not sure of.

I don't really see where being hyper critical makes a valid critique. I guarantee there are characteristics you will miss and others will pick up on.

 

[BreezyBrew]

you made a lager without realising it.

Haha that is freaking hilarious on so many levels. Cheers!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I am only saying, entering competitions is the best way to get knowledgeable unbiased feedback. Not all judges are very good and not all of them take the time each entry deserves, but I have received insight about my process, water chemistry, etc that had never occurred to me. I have also been validated on things I had suspected, but was not sure of.

I don't really see where being hyper critical makes a valid critique. I guarantee there are characteristics you will miss and others will pick up on.

I still don't agree with the competition statement. we are all human and we are all biased. that's the way it is. doesn't matter if it's a beer judge or in a court of law. I still think one of the better methods of becoming a better brewer is to find what you don't like about what you have brewed. you will never be happy with it until you can brew to your own tastes, not some anonymous judges' taste.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I still don't agree with the competition statement. we are all human and we are all biased. that's the way it is. doesn't matter if it's a beer judge or in a court of law. I still think one of the better methods of becoming a better brewer is to find what you don't like about what you have brewed. you will never be happy with it until you can brew to your own tastes, not some anonymous judges' taste.

I agree to a point input is the only way to improve brewing. Yours mine and others. Judges have to go through classes and multiple testing and tastings. Now granted everyone's taste buds are different but still valid to get as much information as possible on your beer. If someone tasting my beer if there is something about it they don't like I'm interested if they have something to help improve not just a "This tastes funny" comment.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

I agree to a point input is the only way to improve brewing. Yours mine and others. Judges have to go through classes and multiple testing and tastings. Now granted everyone's taste buds are different but still valid to get as much information as possible on your beer. If someone tasting my beer if there is something about it they don't like I'm interested if they have something to help improve not just a "This tastes funny" comment.

I get what you're saying, but I'm brewing to my tastes, just like any other home brewer should. I could brew a classic style (seems to be what the judges want) to perfection, but if I'm not satisfied with it, what's the point?

 

[beaksnbeer]

I get what you're saying, but I'm brewing to my tastes, just like any other home brewer should. I could brew a classic style (seems to be what the judges want) to perfection, but if I'm not satisfied with it, what's the point?

I brew a couple that I brew to my tastes and I agree with you. But I host a lot of brew days trying to get more people into brewing and I try to keep at least 2-3 that will bridge the gap with new brewers yet is still true to style and still palatable to seasoned brewers.

 

[lemy]

I get what you're saying, but I'm brewing to my tastes, just like any other home brewer should. I could brew a classic style (seems to be what the judges want) to perfection, but if I'm not satisfied with it, what's the point?

It is a good point you make about brewing to style, like you don't want to brew a particular style and that's fine. But the real value of having the beer judged in a competition has little to do with your style. Category 23 (sucks to judge) is specialty beer, where pretty much anything goes. http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style23.php The value of the competition is what they perceive in the aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, appearance, overall impression of the beer.

And I never once said the only way you can become a better brewer is to enter a competition. I said, the best way to get unbiased feedback (unbiased because they don't know you or know your beer, all of the judging is blind, the judges only know the category the beer was entered) about your beer is from a competition, what you do with the feedback is up to you.

 

[lemy]

My wife and I recently went on a Redhook brewery tour. The tour guide was pretty good and knowledgeable. They have an interesting history, especially the name Redhook... So she was explaining the brewing process and mentioned the German beer purity law created in the 1500s, Reinheitsgebot, and went on to mention only 4 ingredients are allowed. water, barley, hops, and yeast.

YEAST? WTF, Louis Pasteur did not discover yeast until the 1800s. Correct answer: Water, barley, Hops

My inner beer nerd was screaming...

My wife told me to keep quiet and enjoy the free beer, which I reluctantly did.

 

[n240sxguy]

My wife and I recently went on a Redhook brewery tour. The tour guide was pretty good and knowledgeable. They have an interesting history, especially the name Redhook... So she was explaining the brewing process and mentioned the German beer purity law created in the 1500s, Reinheitsgebot, and went on to mention only 4 ingredients are allowed. water, barley, hops, and yeast.

YEAST? WTF, Louis Pasteur did not discover yeast until the 1800s. Correct answer: Water, barley, Hops

My inner beer nerd was screaming...

My wife told me to keep quiet and enjoy the free beer, which I reluctantly did.

The reinheitsgebot was expanded to include yeast when it was discovered, so I'd say she was correct.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Haha that is freaking hilarious on so many levels. Cheers!

As soon as Fosters was mentioned I added an Aussie accent and could not stop.

 

[lemy]

The reinheitsgebot was expanded to include yeast when it was discovered, so I'd say she was correct.

She said in 1500...

 

[uatuba]

She also said, "are."

 

[n240sxguy]

She said in 1500...

Referring to the original. Was their an official date yeast was added to it? I couldn't find anything before 1993, and it was a different law that just referenced the reinheitsgebot.

 

[lemy]

Referring to the original. Was their an official date yeast was added to it? I couldn't find anything before 1993, and it was a different law that just referenced the reinheitsgebot.

I certainly am no expert. I read the wikipedia and you are correct, there is no mention of adding yeast as an ingredient, but it looks as though the reinheitsgebot was trumped by several other beer laws that did include yeast.

For a Rogue tour guide to say yeast was a Reinheitsgebot ingredient in the 1500s is the funniest thing I have heard about beer in a long time.