Funny things you've overheard about beer

[n240sxguy]

Don't they use ssn's for stuff like child support to verify an identity as well as description. Who gives their own description to the cops, or another's description in their place. What did he do call the police and say screw you and my child support, by the way this is what I look like and where I live if you want to find me. It'd be a fun visit to track him down. Maybe repay a little of that hell he sent your way.

 

[Imperator85]

My father-in-law and brother-in-law sampled some of my HBs this weekend. Exchange went something like this:

"This is a Centennial Blonde, kind of akin to a Budweiser, but more hop/malt character. It's around 5.5%"

BIL: "Hey, this isn't actually that bad." (gee, thanks)

FIL: "I heard most of these are like 12% alcohol. I dunno..."

"I just told you that it was 5.5%"

FIL: "Oh, well here goes... yeah, it's not that bad."

Feeling super confident at this point from the rave reviews, I poured an APA.

"This is an APA, very hoppy, slightly bitter, but refreshing... 5.9%"

FIL: "Oh, dang, that's one of those dark beers" (It's orange/amber)

BIL: "Ooh... no, I liked the other one better."

FIL: "Yeah, that's too stiff for me."

"Well, thanks for trying, I'll get you both another bud light with tomato juice."

I've tried more than once to get family members to try new things (either beer I've brewed or craft beer I've bought), and I have yet to really be successful with the effort. I took home a mild ale over Christmas, and was immediately confronted with statements of how it was "so dark" (when it looks more like a Red Ale). My pointing out that it was a low alcohol beer did not stop comments on how "I couldn't taste the alcohol!" You'd have thought I was serving them a Russian Imperial Stout or something.

I have yet to get anyone to try any of the Porters I've made. Probably because they are just "so dark".

 

[Pyg]

I've tried more than once to get family members to try new things (either beer I've brewed or craft beer I've bought), and I have yet to really be successful with the effort. I took home a mild ale over Christmas, and was immediately confronted with statements of how it was "so dark" (when it looks more like a Red Ale). My pointing out that it was a low alcohol beer did not stop comments on how "I couldn't taste the alcohol!" You'd have thought I was serving them a Russian Imperial Stout or something.

I have yet to get anyone to try any of the Porters I've made. Probably because they are just "so dark".

I have spent quite some time getting my father to drink/appreciate IPA's. Last time he was over I was drinking SN Celebration ale. I offered him a sip.

"too heavy, I will just take a Manhattan!"

 

[Billy-Klubb]

A guy at work showed me this.

 

[n240sxguy]

A guy at work showed me this.

Awesome

 

[unionrdr]

Well, by that logic, I get 41 MPG, Probe SE tuner gets 44.86MPG...looks like I'm a good American too!

 

[Jhoss]

I think some people are just not-tolerant to hops. I don't even think anymore that this is an acquired taste. Some people appreciate hops, some don't. I have a friend...a good judge of beer...but he has a 70IBU limit...believe me, he's done the research:cross:

Another friend says he wishes he could drink IPA's and what not (Bud-Lite guy) because he would dig the higher ABV (I guess its about getting drunk to this guy). Says he just cant take the taste of anything outside of BMC.

Funny, not so funny here. I Goggled up and went to a couple of beer bars in Miami. First one had quite the know-it-all as a bartender. Proceeded to shake/roll every bottle we ordered. I dont really care about sediment or floaties as my bud call them but I says to Chief...hey if ya let me poor that before you do you shake/roll thing I will leave the sediment in the bottle for you. "But it makes the beer so much more "creamy".

Still insisted on pouring an ounce or two (like a sommelier) which does virtually the same thing as shake/roll....whatever...

He did introduce me to Victory's Dirtwolf - and for this, I thank him.

 

[unionrdr]

Grandfather and great grandfather on my mother's side were brewers (lived in Bavaria, but worked at a brewery in Baden Wurttemberg). I actually worked at the brewery one summer about 8 years ago or so. Spent a week shadowing the brewer, then cleaning kegs and delivering beer and soda (many small local breweries in Germany also make soda).

I've never come across a recipe because they were brewers, not master brewers, so it was a job for them and they didn't have the freedom to experiment with whole batches. But from working there I know that they used almost exclusively Tettnang hops and only 3 kinds of grains (pilsner, Munich, and wheat) at the time. Since then they've been making some darker beers, so I'm sure they're adding some dark Munich or maybe even Carafa here and there. It was pretty cool cleaning out a filter knowing that my grandfather had probably done the same 50 years earlier (he died when I was only 6).

I've been working to copy their Munich Helles (Blaubaendele/Blue Label), which although it isn't rated very highly on RateBeer or BeerAdvocate, I love. My grandfather's name was Josef, the brewery's name Stolz (family name of owners, also means Proud), so my "clone" is called Josef's Pride (or will be once I am happy with it, until then it is called Josef's Helles).

Great story from home. Wurttemberg is the city I couldn't remember that family oral history says my ancestors grandpa came from. The wall ran right through the middle of it. He was born there in 1600, died 1684. some say 1688. Was the vogt of the town, prosperous, well liked & respected. That's how I tried to remember it. Thank you so much for the story that jogged my memory! Last gulp & shot is to you! You may be right about my family as well. No recipe or brewing records as yet. Still searchin every which away ya ya...but I'm like the northwest mounties...you know I'll bring it in someday!

 

[worlddivides]

I see all these posts about BMC drinkers looking like they're going to vomit or going "THIS IS TERRIBLE!" whenever they taste a craft beer or a homebrew, but I've never actually experienced this before. For example, my step-dad is a BMC drinker, but I bought some craft IPAs the last time I was home and offered him one and he accepted. He took a couple sips and said "Wow. That's nice and crisp." He finished the beer, looking quite pleased the whole time. Another BMC-drinking family member of mine I gave an RIS and he just said "Mm, this is good. Not the kind of thing I'd drink often, but nice and smooth." I've never heard anyone say "I don't like dark beers" or any of the other negative things about beer that's any darker than a light lager. I wonder if it's regional (I'm from Michigan and currently live in California).

I know those people are out there, but I do wonder why I've never met them. The closest I've come are people who just don't like beer period.

 

[lowtones84]

Oh, I've seen it in my personal experience plenty. It's like they're offended that I like beer that is dark. They get this disgusted look and an eyebrow raise. I call racism.

 

[Eucrid]

I live in Ireland. No one gets upset about dark beer.

 

[GrogNerd]

finally found a beer my sister likes. she's normally a wine drinker and says she just doesn't like beer.

it became my mission in life to find one she does like

last weekend, I got her to try a local brewery's IPA (Lost Rhino Faceplant), my Grodziskie and my 2-year-old first barleywine. She liked all 3.

didn't even have to break out my ace-in-the-hole, a Lost Rhino/Wort Hogs collaboration 2-year-old port barrel-aged Golden Strong

 

[ElJefeBrews]

A guy at work showed me this.

I can't imagine what kinda mileage those Czechs get

 

[1977Brewer]

My dad won't drink any ale, regardless of the color. Coors Original is as dark as he'll go. He admits that it's his problem, and is absolutely willing to try anything I brew once I'm willing to share.

 

[n240sxguy]

I've met a few that are so stuck in whatever beer they like they'll never try anything else. I had one couple that came over reject the bmc I had available for them because they only liked their brand of bmc. It's like swearing one gas station has better gas when you are buying the cheapest you can find anyway. These bmc folks have the most sensitive palette when it comes to beer.

 

[worlddivides]

Oh, I've seen it in my personal experience plenty. It's like they're offended that I like beer that is dark. They get this disgusted look and an eyebrow raise. I call racism.

Weird. I order stouts and porters whenever they're on the menu at somewhere I go. I think the most I've ever got was just "Not really a fan."

 

[worlddivides]

I've met a few that are so stuck in whatever beer they like they'll never try anything else. I had one couple that came over reject the bmc I had available for them because they only liked their brand of bmc. It's like swearing one gas station has better gas when you are buying the cheapest you can find anyway. These bmc folks have the most sensitive palette when it comes to beer.

I've seen that occasionally and I don't think it has to do with the price. My wife has a friend who won't drink any whiskey except Johnnie Walker. This guy will shell out the big bucks to drink Johnnie Walker: Blue Label, but he refuses to drink any other whiskey.

So, to be honest, I have to wonder how he came to the conclusion that Johnnie Walker is his drink when he NEVER drinks anything else. I like Johnnie Walker too, but I just don't get the mindset behind refusing to drink anything but one specific drink. Same goes for beer, wine, or whatever.

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like one of my wife's uncles. He'd refuse anything that wasn't his brand of single malt scotch. Even wore white shiny shoes. Not sure if I still have them after he passed. Idk why they gave'em to me?

 

[1977Brewer]

I have zero brand loyalty to anything except socks and underwear.

 

[soccerdad]

You're in TEXAS for pete's sake .... SOCKS and UNDERWEAR ??????

 

[gometz]

Wurttemberg is the city I couldn't remember that family oral history says my ancestors grandpa came from.

Not to be rude, but Wurttemberg is a region (former kingdom, now part of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg). I believe you mentioned northern Bavaria earlier, so you might be thinking of Wurzburg. Unless you meant Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern), which is actually the southern part including Munich (and there aren't any big towns that start with a W, but tons of little ones).

 

[gometz]

I see all these posts about BMC drinkers looking like they're going to vomit or going "THIS IS TERRIBLE!" whenever they taste a craft beer or a homebrew, but I've never actually experienced this before.

My future father in law is a Natty Light/Bud Lite fan and doesn't apologize for it (not that he should, he knows what he likes and doesn't care what I like). He tried Shiner Black a few years ago and still gets shivers when he talks about it to this day. I gave him some of my homebrewed helles and he seemed to like it quite a bit. Because I know what he likes, I'm not going to try to get him to drink an IPA or a porter, but my goal is still to make a good pale beer that he will like better than his standards (though that will mean I'd have to always have some on hand).

 

[Black Island Brewer]

One of the aspects of those people who won't try/like anything other than the one brand they "like": for many of them, their beer is just an alcohol delivery system. They want/need the alcohol for whatever reason, and have no interest in the taste/experience, they just want the alcohol, and usually the less expensive the better. My uncle kept a kegerator with 15.5 gallon sankes, full of Bud for years, drank 3-4 every single night. He moved to AZ and was proud to have moved on to Tecate. No kegerator now, my aunt won't have it, but still easily accessible in mass quantities. Is he an alcoholic? Not for me to say...

 

[worlddivides]

One of the aspects of those people who won't try/like anything other than the one brand they "like": for many of them, their beer is just an alcohol delivery system. They want/need the alcohol for whatever reason, and have no interest in the taste/experience, they just want the alcohol, and usually the less expensive the better. My uncle kept a kegerator with 15.5 gallon sankes, full of Bud for years, drank 3-4 every single night. He moved to AZ and was proud to have moved on to Tecate. No kegerator now, my aunt won't have it, but still easily accessible in mass quantities. Is he an alcoholic? Not for me to say...

That is a very good point.

And it reminds me of one of the "funny things" I've heard about beer that I mentioned earlier in this thread. I mentioned that when I was in high school, my best friend told me that "no one drinks beer for the flavor," obviously inferring that people drink beer to get drunk and not because they like the flavor. As I mentioned earlier, that friend ended up becoming a huge craft beer fan after he became legally able to drink and nowadays goes to brewpubs and specialized beer stores all the time. But I think that a ton of people who have that mentality never actually grow out of it and simply just pick the cheap beer that has the least offensive flavor to them simply so they can deliver alcohol to their system cheaply and without much bother with flavor.

One of my wife's best friends loves beer with a passion, but she pretty much only drinks lagers. I don't think I've ever seen her drink BMC before, though. She drinks a pretty wide variety of lagers, but she really doesn't care for IPAs, stouts, amber ales, brown ales, sour beers, and on and on. Her taste in lagers is actually very very similar to my own, but she doesn't expand beyond there. Can't really fault her though. To each his (or her) own.

 

[gometz]

One of the aspects of those people who won't try/like anything other than the one brand they "like": for many of them, their beer is just an alcohol delivery system. They want/need the alcohol for whatever reason, and have no interest in the taste/experience, they just want the alcohol, and usually the less expensive the better. My uncle kept a kegerator with 15.5 gallon sankes, full of Bud for years, drank 3-4 every single night. He moved to AZ and was proud to have moved on to Tecate. No kegerator now, my aunt won't have it, but still easily accessible in mass quantities. Is he an alcoholic? Not for me to say...

He'll try different beers, and actually the vet he gets when he's feeling fancy is Bohemia, a good Mexican lager.

I think your statement is an over generalization. Some people like trying new things, others just find what they like and like that. I mean Taco Bell still exists in Texas despite being disgusting and anyone being able to find better Tex-Mex at a lower or similar price within 2-3 miles.

Craft beer is not inherently better, better flavor is subjective. Heady Topper would land at the bottom of entered as an American light lager in competition. Most beer geeks don't like American light lagers (including myself), but that doesn't make them bad.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

He'll try different beers, and actually the vet he gets when he's feeling fancy is Bohemia, a good Mexican lager.

I think your statement is an over generalization. Some people like trying new things, others just find what they like and like that. I mean Taco Bell still exists in Texas despite being disgusting and anyone being able to find better Tex-Mex at a lower or similar price within 2-3 miles.

Craft beer is not inherently better, better flavor is subjective. Heady Topper would land at the bottom of entered as an American light lager in competition. Most beer geeks don't like American light lagers (including myself), but that doesn't make them bad.

I didn't mean to sound like I was generalizing. I mean to say that it is an aspect that may apply to SOME of those who refuse to try anything different: they want alcohol, not flavor. So it's a waste of effort and beer to continue to try to get them to like different beers.

 

[hlm123]

Not funny but on topic(?). On one side my family is all BMC or wine drinkers and never liked my beers. It's understandable since each one I had offered was pretty hop forward. Last Christmas I poured my spiced quad ale and every single one of them said they liked it. The key, I gathered, was that it was crisp/dry (the gravity was way under target and plenty of simple sugars were used) and somewhat oxidized after sitting in the cabinet for at least 4 months, had no hop flavor and limited maltiness. Maybe the orange peel and nutmeg helped, but I think the main desideratum was that it "goes down easy" and even with the Belgian yeast and dreaded "darkness" (which, for them, actually means hop flavor) it was at least able to meet that demand.

 

[mcspanner]

After all the discussion about choosing your brand because you need an alcohol delivery system I remembered seeing this. Not overheard but....View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1422441102.756571.jpg

 

[unionrdr]

Not to be rude, but Wurttemberg is a region (former kingdom, now part of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg). I believe you mentioned northern Bavaria earlier, so you might be thinking of Wurzburg. Unless you meant Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern), which is actually the southern part including Munich (and there aren't any big towns that start with a W, but tons of little ones).

Well, at that time I was on familytree.com & someone in the distant family showed a map I can't find anymore. It showed the wall location & all that. We're from Upper Bavaria & the wall ran right through the middle of this town, a "W". Reading on ancestry.com 14-15 years later is 10 times harder with the new site software. Then folks telling a whole new set of stories from the oral history I got. Over & above village hall records, etc. So I'm getting more confused about it all, just trying to find them & who might've brewed beer? Interesting how Cogar surname comes from older Koger. Something I read in regard to it said "kog" is German for "plow blade", so Koger referred to my ancestors as farmers/plowers. Still digging for brewers or beer recipes...anything to do with the family beer supply, etc. No stories yet.

 

[beerenstein]

At a local gas station last night, they had a "special " on Sam adams rebel ipa. There were only 3 16oz cans of it, DENTED TO HELL AND BACK! Seriously looked like some kids played baseball with them or something. The special was "buy 2 for $3, or get 1 for $1.5!" I thought it was so funny, I bought all 3. Joked with the cashier about it, and the price was $3.03! I guess she thought I was being serious and was saying it was "buy 2 get 1 free ". Mmm, a free beer.

I like to think it was my dashing good looks, though.