I hate ignorant people

[nukebrewer]

[rant]
So I was at work last night, doing what I do best: thinking about beer. I came up with this brand recipe and I am very excited to tell someone about it. I go to one of my officers, who I've never discussed beer with and asked, "Sir, are you a big beer drinker?" He responds, "I'm a big German beer drinker. I hate that American piss beer." So I said, "Just because it's not German doesn't mean it's American piss beer". "Uh, yeah," he says. At which point I walked away angrily so I didn't end up punching him. I don't know how you guys would have felt, but I was deeply offended. Apparently he was stationed in Germany in the Army and drank a lot of good German beer, which is great, I'd love to do that myself. But what is it about these ******** who spend some time in Germany drinking beer and automatically think they are somehow better beer drinkers than the rest of us? Saying that you like German beer but not "American piss beer" is fine, we all do that. But to say that if it's not German, it's piss beer? That pisses me right the f--- off. Well, I guess the joke's on him. As much as I think he would like the hefe I have brewing, he's not getting any because of that little comment. I also feel sorry for him. He's missing out on all the other wonderful styles of beer. He will never know the joy of a chocolate stout, an IPA, a porter or any of the other many awesome styles available besides German styles. Sorry for the rant, but this kind of ignorance just pisses me off.
[/rant]

 

[telemarc]

I like a good rant, so RDWHAHB. I agree with your rant, too. Although, when people think of American beer, I'll bet "Butt-wiper" comes to most people's minds. I'm no beer snob...tonight I'll be enjoying a couple Sierra Celebrations followed by a PBR or two!

 

[BigKahuna]

Funny....In general I like ignorant people. They make me look even more smarter....but people that refuse to listen and learn are VERY irritating.

 

[nukebrewer]

I like a good rant, so RDWHAHB. I agree with your rant, too. Although, when people think of American beer, I'll bet "Butt-wiper" comes to most people's minds. I'm no beer snob...tonight I'll be enjoying a couple Sierra Celebrations followed by a PBR or two!

Harpoon Leviathan for me, best IIPA I've had yet. But I've not had Pliny the Elder, can't find it here.

Funny....In general I like ignorant people. They make me look even more smarter...

I have to agree with you there, but the amount it pisses me off outweighs it enough that I can't enjoy looking smarter than them. Oh well, commencing RDWHAHB time now.

 

[davesrose]

Well look at it the other way.....your boss was right about 80% of American beer. Bud and Miller do taste like piss. Sure, he hasn't tried the 20% of American beer that is excellent. His loss, more great beer for us!

 

[nukebrewer]

Well look at it the other way.....your boss was right about 80% of American beer. Bud and Miller do taste like piss. Sure, he hasn't tried the 20% of American beer that is excellent. His loss, more great beer for us!

I'll drink to that

 

[ChshreCat]

So, since he's not in Germany, he gets to drink stale beer that's sat in a ship... then a warehouse... then in a hot train car... then in another warehouse... then on a truck... then the back room of a beverage shop.

 

[blindtiger]

Best thing to do in that situation is to mock German beer openly, then say how much better Czech beer is.

 

[Sheep_Dog]

I hate "American Piss Beer" as well! I hope you don't consider yourself a contributor of the "American Piss Beer", if you do then you have the right to be offended. But I doubt that is the case. What you should do is reapproach him and tell him about the "Quality American Beer" that you brew and maybe even officer him a bottle or two!

 

[batches_brew]

I use this kind of opportunity to educate about American non piss beer. You can connect on the common ground of hating BMC beer, and then let them in on a little secret. American Craft Brew and Homebrew.

No reason to get mad.

 

[Shonuff]

maybe you should remind this guy that the Americans won in "Beerfest"

 

[giligson]

I use this kind of opportunity to educate about American non piss beer. You can connect on the common ground of hating BMC beer, and then let them in on a little secret. American Craft Brew and Homebrew.

No reason to get mad.

Agree - time for Beer Judo

 

[eriktlupus]

tell him you just brewed a hefe and then offer him a bottle. i spoiled a guy at work this way, he also had spent some time in germany, and was very intrigued when i told him i'd just made one. he now can't stand the imported hefe because it tastes 'stale'. he has since bought me the ingredients to make him a batch or two

 

[NHRACER]

[rant]
So I was at work last night, doing what I do best: thinking about beer. I came up with this brand recipe and I am very excited to tell someone about it. I go to one of my officers, who I've never discussed beer with and asked, "Sir, are you a big beer drinker?" He responds, "I'm a big German beer drinker. I hate that American piss beer." So I said, "Just because it's not German doesn't mean it's American piss beer". "Uh, yeah," he says. At which point I walked away angrily so I didn't end up punching him. I don't know how you guys would have felt, but I was deeply offended. Apparently he was stationed in Germany in the Army and drank a lot of good German beer, which is great, I'd love to do that myself. But what is it about these ******** who spend some time in Germany drinking beer and automatically think they are somehow better beer drinkers than the rest of us? Saying that you like German beer but not "American piss beer" is fine, we all do that. But to say that if it's not German, it's piss beer? That pisses me right the f--- off. Well, I guess the joke's on him. As much as I think he would like the hefe I have brewing, he's not getting any because of that little comment. I also feel sorry for him. He's missing out on all the other wonderful styles of beer. He will never know the joy of a chocolate stout, an IPA, a porter or any of the other many awesome styles available besides German styles. Sorry for the rant, but this kind of ignorance just pisses me off.
[/rant]

Did you even mention you were a homebrewer? That you had a Hefe in the works? Lot of breweries in Germany are so small they only serve the immedaite locla area.

Bring him a bottle. I am former military myself (Army, 13
months FRG) 11 years total. Any Army guy I know of would never refuse a free beer

 

[fat x nub]

I want to killlll people like this...literally shoot them in the foot. And it makes it even worse when they don't listen and make YOU seem like the idiot

 

[nukebrewer]

Did you even mention you were a homebrewer? That you had a Hefe in the works? Lot of breweries in Germany are so small they only serve the immedaite locla area.

Bring him a bottle. I am former military myself (Army, 13
months FRG) 11 years total. Any Army guy I know of would never refuse a free beer

I was getting there, but he pissed me off before I could get to the good part. Now that I've ranted and cooled off a bit, I may try and speak civilly with him again. But I'm going to have quite a time trying to get over his attitude without even bothering to listen to what I had to say.

I want to killlll people like this...literally shoot them in the foot. And it makes it even worse when they don't listen and make YOU seem like the idiot

That was my initial reaction, but now that I think about it, I've just realized that some probably don't even know there are other beers in the US besides BMC. I'll give him another chance, but if he blows me off again, all bets are off.

EDIT: On second thought, I think I'll make it my mission to make a convert out of him. The more that are enlightened, the more that can enlighten.

 

[menschmaschine]

Does the fact that he's an officer and you're enlisted (presumably) have anything to do with it? I knew A LOT of great officers (most actually) when I was in the military... and the greatest of the great were prior-enlisted. But there were always those few who had such low self-esteem that they condescended to every enlisted person when they got the chance.

 

[Sheep_Dog]

Good attitude to have, keep us informed!

 

[billtzk]

It sounds like he is just at the first stage of recognizing what constitutes good beer. For many people, it is good German beer that starts them down the path to recognition that not all beers are equal. For others, it's good English beer. For others it's Belgian beer. And now that there are enough good American microbrews widely available, it might be good American beer that does the trick.

He is partially enlightened and partially benighted. Don't get angry. Instead, ask him which German beers he likes and what it is he likes about them. Suggest some other good beers, German or not, that have similar qualities.

 

[tranceamerica]

shoot. now you've got a great opportunity to turn him into a friend forever.

1) he likes decent beer (or at least thinks he does)

2) he'll love free beer

3) give him a 6 pack of your homebrew, and just see how it goes.

I bet he'll love it, and next time the attitude will be better.

I deal with difficult people all the time. I find it to be a blast when you can turn their attitude around. Lots of fun. Sure, it suc*s to be on the short end of someone w/a bad attitude, but it also makes your ba11s grow to turn that attitude around. cOOOl.

 

[lordbeermestrength]

Nope. I think you should start handing out free beer to everyone except him, then when everyone says what awesome beers they are, fill a bottle with Coors Light and give that to him, tell him it's your version of a Kolsch or something. Then see if he says he likes it to go along with the group or he calls it out Evil but fun...

 

[budbo]

Who cares? Why should you worry about what someone else thinks.

Does the fact that he's an officer and you're enlisted (presumably) have anything to do with it?

I was thinking the same thing

In general I like ignorant people. They make me look even more smarter

That made me :lol so subtle, few probably caught it.

 

[rico567]

I think OP needs to take a long hard look at his tagline...and have a beer.

It's much more fun to think of a way to turn people's opinion of beer around. There are many avenues, one of which might be the attempts (which I despise, but nonetheless) of the MBCs to muscle in on the micro/crafts by bringing out such products as Bud American Ale, the sheaf of "new, improved" Michelob products, etc.

Another curious characteristic of the unenlightened masses is to regard with deep suspicion anything that doesn't have a brand name label on it. My homebrew is quite tasty, and I've been told so by others, but when it's just a brown bottle with a few letters scrawled on the cap with a sharpie, people look at it funny. In many ways, we are slaves to brands, and it's no different with a jar of tomatoes out of my garden as opposed to a can from the store. Chances are that my tomatoes taste better.....but, with human beings, advertising works and perception is reality.

 

[elkdog]

Snobbery is snobbery; generally uninformed. I know a bunch of guys who claim to only drink single-malt scotch, but don't know you just poured them Dewar's if you don't tell them. People usually just want to think that they have sophisticated taste without actually, you know, sophisticating their taste, so they buy into some marketing and memories of good times had with a particular brand. Your officer wants to feel like he has superior beer taste and doesn't want to have to think about it any more than that. Doesn't make him bad or stupid, but he's gonna miss out on a lot of really tasty stuff.

I find that people either think homebrewing is really cool and want to know more, or they think my homebrew is moonshine that will give them small pox. No beer for the latter group.

 

[BeerPressure]

i also laugh at the people who drink canadian piss water (molson, labbatt) and then talk about how disgusting american lagers are (bud, miller, coors)

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

My experience with German's is that their regional beer is a source of pride. This guy probably first started taking beer seriously when he was stationed there and therefore picked up a bit of this pride. It is the same pride that keeps the Bavarians quaffing Helles by the Liter and the Kölsch drinking there namesake beverage by the 0.2 Liter. They all think there regional beer is the best and the others are silly.

It sounds to me like this guy likes Bavarian beers, because Kölsch would likely qualify as "piss" beer in his mind.

I would not offer him your beer. He will likely not understand and just compare it to the best made lagers in the world. Argue what you will, but the Germans make most of the best traditional lagers in the world. He knows this and will compare your beers directly to those and even if yours does stack up, it will not be authentic in his mind. It will therefore be setup for failure from the start.

I would not give him grief, some people like what they like, and at least he isn't spouting wisdom about the great BMC that is sooooo awesome.

 

[nukebrewer]

Wow, so much input to ponder. Let's just say that yes, I'm enlisted so it makes it kind of hard to talk back to him, even in a non professional capacity, especially since we were at work. In any case, I think what I'll do is have a party with only homebrew available for beer, hope he comes to try the beer, then get the immense pleasure of having him come up to me and apologetically tell me how good the beer is.

 

[thedude123]

You like the Harpoon Leviathan? I had it at a beerfest and I thought it was awful.

 

[DeathBrewer]

hmm...i guess it all depends...are you making a german-style hefeweizen???

 

[Grinder12000]

Without reading the other posts I think you sort of let one get away. He wins!!

For one thing I agree with him in principle. 90% of Americans Do drink piss beer.

What you SHOULD have done is show him is error in judgment.

Now I will read the rest of post do see if any one agrees with me.