How hard is to de-budweise people!

[billc68]

Anything to get her off of the Jagger I guess.......

before this year , she was strictly a vodka cocktail drinker and some coolers, that's it. We'll get her into fermented drinks... this summer I am making her a raspberry mead.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I am lucky in the sense that my wife has gotten into beer as much as me. Her favorites are Porters and Stouts, but she enjoys most styles like me and is able to appreciate them for what they should be.
I started getting into beer in college with Flying Dog's Porter. it was a bit of curiosity combined with "being different". I really got into craft beer while traveling with my job for two years. I was able to visit several microbreweries around the country. I attribute my love of Belgian beer to the generous owner of Liberty Tap House in Greenville SC and my timing to show up the night he was testing a beer menu for a tasting he had coming up Mentioned that I brewed and he "took me under his wing" so to speak and educated the hell out of me about belgian beers, letting me share bottles with him (no charge ) all night as he explained them.

 

[JNye]

i dont bother. they aren't worth saving. if it comes up(about homebrew) i'll answer any question and BS. If i can tell there is some genuine interest i'll give em all they wanna taste, but I don't need approval from them, most have no idea or interest in real beer.

As far as how i switched...i love beer. I always switch it up. every since i got married and started drinking at home more, so instead of a bar I was at a beer store, and i'd buy whatever. Plus i always drank the local brew whenever out of town...for whatever reason.

 

[fatmoose]

What about you guys? Im sure a lot of you started with drinking BMC. If so then what converted you?

I like flavor. I cook a lot. I enjoy trying different kinds of cheese with different foods to see how they compare. I'm picky about my coffee. I started drinking craft beer because it had more interesting stuff to offer and brewing seemed to be a natural extension of that.

Most of this seems to have come with age, I didn't care a great deal about what I drank when I was younger as long as I could get loaded. Today I'm not particularly opposed to firing down a handful of miller lites when the occasion calls for it. I don't really have anything philosophical against the BMC folks. I just like something more interesting for my day to day consumption.

 

[Shrewd_Alchemist]

Exactly! If you go to a Bar-b-Q or a wedding and all they have is budlight, then guess what, I'm drinking budlight

I don't keep the stuff around my house though, I also prefer something more interesting for my day to day quaffs.

Even more interesting, my girl loves the beer I make. She is especially fond of my IPA's. But for some reason, she also loves budlight I keep telling her to put that crap down and she says that sometimes it's just "good".... sheesh

 

[JJL]

What about you guys? Im sure a lot of you started with drinking BMC. If so then what converted you?

I think moving back to Wisconsin converted me. Until then, I would drink whatever. I would try a few different things in the bar when I was younger, but I think I was a typical college guy. I thought that because I would order a Sam Adams or a Guinness in the bar that I was more enlightened than the other guys. Wisconsin just has a wealth craft breweries. I've lived in New Glarus for a few years now, and if I'm cruising the beer aisle at the store looking for a 6 pack, I just go right to one of the New Glarus beers.

But, I have to say I still didn't know anything about the wide world of beers until I started brewing.

 

[JJL]

Lately I've been getting irritated by peoples reactions when they find out I home brew. It's either the the "you're a drunk" attitude or "you must be a moon-shining hillbilly".

That's too bad. It's unfortunate that people have to take that attitude.

Oh well, the bright side is more beer for you.

 

[sm007thie]

The secret to getting people off of the BMC is Arrogant Bastard. First, you have to let them know that at first taste they aren't going to like it. They need to finish it though because you spent some decent coin on it and promise them it gets better. 22 oz later, they'll have a slight buzz and won't be convinced. The next day when they go for a BMC and they're tastebuds have been permanently altered by the Arrogant Bastard, the BMC just won't cut it. You swoop in with your beer of choice and a Beer Wars DVD. The rest is history. One more convert to the craft brewing/homebrew scene.

 

[robtotten]

That's cool, but I feel that way about Sublimely Self Righteous more than Arrogant Bastard!

Myself, I had a few Pete's Wicked Ales when I was around 15, and couldn't believe how much better it tasted than the stuff I had tasted previously. Then when I was 17, I went to Denmark and drank a bunch of lagers (mostly Tuborg). Then when I was finally 21 I discovered Irish stouts, Murphy's was my favorite. Of those beers, I think I would still drink Pete's if I could find it fresh. Anyway, it's been a long, strange trip!

 

[rico567]

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

- Robert A. Heinlein

 

[OsbornBrewing]

Never underestimate your ability to impact change in yourself; stop over-estimating your ability to change others.

If your friend took up knitting and REALLY enjoyed, chances are, you probably wouldn't be interested in trying it, let alone talking about it. That doesn't mean he would enjoy it less. Same with your beer, your enjoyment should not be impacted by your friends' interest.

 

[glockentalk]

My kids are about the only true fans of my brew. But that's just fine by me. Nothin' like a twenty-five years-old engineering student for an appreciative customer!

 

[mh-brews]

what we did was make a very light ale. most of our friends were coors and bud people. The good news is most of them liked it and when the come over they ask for for our ale vs bud. we wanted to make something for a starting point for our other stuff.

 

[jiggs_casey]

Maybe the 'cravings' for good beer will set in and you'll get a few calls...

"Hey, ummm, do you have any of that beer your brewed left?"

Without fail, two or three days after I finish off a batch, I find myself craving it...

 

[jgln]

I never liked broccoli as a kid but somewhere along the way I grew to like it and now love it. I can steam some and eat it right out of the pot. Try putting some cheese on it.

 

[JNye]

I never liked broccoli as a kid but somewhere along the way I grew to like it and now love it. I can steam some and eat it right out of the pot. Try putting some cheese on it.

jack handey is that you?

 

[FromZwolle]

To the OP: if you're trying to step people up from bmc to more flavorful stuff, you really have to tell them what they are in for. it's been said on this forum a number of times, expectations really do alter perception. if they think they're getting fizzy beer water and they get a face full of malty goodness or a hop blast, it's too much to take, but if they know what to expect, they can appreciate the flavor better.

As for how i got past bmc: homebrewing. when i first started brewing extract kits, i had only really tried guiness and a couple other foreign macros. I had a giftcard to bed bath and beyond or some similar store, and i saw a mr beer. 21 year old mind= sees homebrew kit, "hey i like beer." and we all know how the beer drinking experienced progressed from there. :rockin:

 

[curlyfat]

What about you guys? Im sure a lot of you started with drinking BMC. If so then what converted you?

I tried Fat Tire when I was 18, and that became my "party" beer. Then when I turned 21 and actually went into a liquor store, I discovered the craft beer section. I tried as many as I could, and hated about half of them. Now I love some of the ones I hated. Then I found a brewing kit at a flea market....8 years later and here I am. I do drink a light beer now and then. Cold, wet, and fizzy. And in my mind doesn't count as drinking during the day!

 

[jgln]

jack handey is that you?

Yes, and to clarify I mean putting cheese on the beer, butter works too. I don't like cheese on my broccoli.

 

[billc68]

I am drinking a Propeller Pale Ale right now, something like that might be a good intermediary step towards more flavourful brews. (propeller is an Atlantic Canadian brand)

It is like a slightly darker and way more hoppier BMC, but not nearly as hoppy as an IPA.