Opening the eyes of BMC fans

[Hambone]

My group of friends are hardcore BMC drinkers. They love Coors (especially now that the moutains turn blue) and will drink Bud, but will only drink Miller if it's free which makes me laugh because I see no real difference. I've tried opening their eyes before by buying them six packs of different beers or offering them a new beer when they come over, but mostly I have failed at this. It doesn't bother me that they love BMC, I say drink what you like. I just wanted to convert someone else into my obsession, so as a ploy I invited everyone over yesterday for a Bar-B-Que and to taste my new IPA. It was a success Everyone like it, or at least liked it enough to finish a full pint. One friend doesn't even drink beer because he has the gout, but he tried it and like it. Another buddy drank about 4 and kept complimenting it. One of their girlfriends thought that it was just a commercial beer and didn't believe me until I showed her my other beers fermenting in the closet. The biggest success was my best friend who never finishes any new beer that I give him. He said that you could definitely taste the hops with a smirk, which was very true though, but that he liked it. Now, he may have just choked it down to be nice, but he usually just tells me thanks but I can't drink this. So I was very pleased with the results. They may not start drinking craft beers, but I know that they will always be down with a Home Brew.

 

[chode720]

Glad to hear that! Always nice to convert people to "real" beer, not the BMC junk.

My SWMBO can now take a sip of my APA and not scoff at all the hops. Next I have to get her to drink a stout....

 

[humann_brewing]

Very nice! That is funny about the blue mountain thing with Coors, my FIL loves that too. I just have to smirk everytime he is like, oh yeah the mountains are blue!

 

[ChshreCat]

I gave some of my brown ale to my mom's neighbor, who I found out later only drinks Icehouse. He told her later that he never likes anyone's homebrew and takes them and tries them to be polite, but usually pours out the glass after a few sips. He came back the next day and told her that he drank both bottles and wanted more.

 

[Homercidal]

So the blue mountains make the beer better? How can I get some blue mountains??

Seriously, I think that people only need to drink a few IPAs to start liking most ales and stronger beers. It's usually the bitterness that drives them away. Once they get used to it, they can start appreciating other beers because they have a realistic base of perception.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I gave some of my brown ale to my mom's neighbor, who I found out later only drinks Icehouse. He told her later that he never likes anyone's homebrew and takes them and tries them to be polite, but usually pours out the glass after a few sips. He came back the next day and told her that he drank both bottles and wanted more.

I would rather someone be "unpolite" and say no thanks to my homebrew if they are just going to pour it out. I spend too much time on each pint for them to slap me in the face with it.

I agree with what was said above. Typically, people complain of bitterness more than anything in craft/homebrew. Trying some IPAs would kick your palate into shape so it would stop being such a pus#&. I think being around on brew day could also do the same thing. Many people have no idea what a hop is. If they can see the hops, smell them and perhaps taste them on brew day I think that would help a lot for them to approach a higher IBU beer. Kind of like smelling fresh ground coffee before you brew it.... it makes you want to drink that cup of coffee more than before.

 

[humann_brewing]

I would rather someone be "unpolite" and say no thanks to my homebrew if they are just going to pour it out. I spend too much time on each pint for them to slap me in the face with it.

I agree with what was said above. Typically, people complain of bitterness more than anything in craft/homebrew. Trying some IPAs would kick your palate into shape so it would stop being such a pus#&. I think being around on brew day could also do the same thing. Many people have no idea what a hop is. If they can see the hops, smell them and perhaps taste them on brew day I think that would help a lot for them to approach a higher IBU beer. Kind of like smelling fresh ground coffee before you brew it.... it makes you want to drink that cup of coffee more than before.

Yes to the bitterness thing, I have a coors light budy that tasted my IPA and says oh wow that is strong (referring to the alcohol content) where in fact it was only 5.5 ABV because I sucked it up on efficiency (my second AG) but still had all 75 IBUs. So yes it was a hoppy beer.

 

[Joos]

+1 on not knowing what a hop is.My buddy was over while I was brewing an IIPA a while back.Keep in mind I had 9OZ. of hops on a plate,but he looks at the 17lbs. of grain and says "what kind of hops are those?Do all beers have that many hops?" He loves craft beer and most of my brews so I took it easy on him and just explained what he was looking at.

 

[Gremlyn]

I had a friend's dad tell me last night that my American brown ale was "strong". Sure it was 5.6% and has a decent hop bite to it, but I wouldn't classify it as strong... I think people comonly mistake hoppiness for ABV.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

try this for others who won't drink non BMC beers or who say they will only drink one kind of bmc... Take Pabst, Miller, Bud, Coors, and pour them into identical glasses and see if any of them can figure out which one is which... Unless they are completely dedicated BMC drinkers they won't get it right at all... just make sure they didnt drink any of those bmc's that day or before...

 

[Scut_Monkey]

+1 on not knowing what a hop is.My buddy was over while I was brewing an IIPA a while back.Keep in mind I had 9OZ. of hops on a plate,but he looks at the 17lbs. of grain and says "what kind of hops are those?Do all beers have that many hops?" He loves craft beer and most of my brews so I took it easy on him and just explained what he was looking at.

Seems like we are on the same page here. If someone likes craft beer but doesn't know the ingredients I would think that's equivalent to someone liking sports cars but not knowing the difference between a super charger and a turbo.... not a huge deal. Knowing the ingredients of beer will definitely help with understanding why you like certain beers more than others and will help you to understand beers better but it is not a dire requirement.

My point is that you know how hungry and how good something looks when you are cooking it and smelling all the different ingredients during the process. This is true as well when making beer and smelling the grain, hops, and wort boiling. Someone that isn't into homebrew/craftbrew may get more of an appetite for full flavored beers or "hoppy" beers by being exposed to the process and ingredients.

 

[EricCSU]

I had a friend's dad tell me last night that my American brown ale was "strong". Sure it was 5.6% and has a decent hop bite to it, but I wouldn't classify it as strong... I think people comonly mistake hoppiness for ABV.

I think some people confuse full flavor for "strong". It could have been anything from the malt character to the bitterness that was confused for "strong", whatever that means. If you are a BMC drinker, any flavor at all can be perceived as strong I guess.

Eric

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I think some people confuse full flavor for "strong". It could have been anything from the malt character to the bitterness that was confused for "strong", whatever that means. If you are a BMC drinker, any flavor at all can be perceived as strong I guess.

Eric

+1 with this. Regular black coffee will taste stronger than iced coffee.

 

[fivehoursfree]

Take Pabst, Miller, Bud, Coors, and pour them into identical glasses and see if any of them can figure out which one is which...

Better yet, take just one of those, pour it into 4 glasses, and tell them to guess which is which.