Others "trying" your homebrew

[remilard]

I don't completely agree with this...If someone says to me, "Wow, you brew your own beer, I'd like to try some." How could you not assume that means they want to drink your beer and let you know what they think?

Are you serious? I would interpret that as: "Wow, you brew your own beer, I'd like to try some."

 

[Sigafoos]

Sometimes a beer is just a beer.

It doesn't need to be judged, rated and returned with a paragraph about the experience. It needs to be enjoyed. If I give someone my beer and they like it, the transaction was successful.

I can understand the frustration behind them not drinking it -- why ask? -- but we're in danger of coming off as pretentious dicks here. I'm not brewing the ******* polio vaccine, so I'm not going to require Level 3 Clearance to let people drink it.

 

[Monty420th]

if you like your beer, to hell with everyone else

 

[TheMan]

I can understand the frustration behind them not drinking it -- why ask?

exactly. Why ask if you aren't going to drink it?

It doesn't need to be judged, rated and returned with a paragraph about the experience. It needs to be enjoyed. If I give someone my beer and they like it, the transaction was successful.

Right, I don't expect an essay...I just want to know if they liked it or did not like it. AKA, they drank it.

Are you serious? I would interpret that as: "Wow, you brew your own beer, I'd like to try some."

Maybe it's my own failed logic...But that is what I would mean if I asked to try something of someone elses. If you made a great lasagna and I said I'd like to try it, I fully intend to eat it, not let it sit in my car for 3 months in 90 degree temps and have it get ruined. I don't think my line of thinking is off here.

 

[Rubberband]

I'm with you the bottle deal. I sometimes ask for bottles back but by sharing my homebrews with co-workers, I have also reaped a new benefit. Some of my coworkers will bring in bottles that I can use. Living in a state with bottle deposit laws, they are bringing in $4.80 for two cases of bottles and giving it to me. It's not a fortune but it is a lot of bottles and it shows me that they appreciate my beer. It has also solved some of the bottle issues as well, I now have enough bottles where I don't need to ask for any back. I still usually get them back but I don't generally have to ask.

 

[Hummer]

Hey Man! Make labels! Add a drink by date to the label and problem solved! It will provide them with more info on the beer too.

Just what I was thinking, something like "Best by May, 1, 2010", or "Best if drunk by 10 a.m".

It's better when friends try my beers and wines when we're socializing. I can educate them about the process and talk about the character of the drink. I do give some of my wines away to special friends, but generally not my homebrewed beers, mostly because of the yeast sediment thing. I don't trust that they'll let it settle sufficiently after transporting it, or pour it carefully enough to avoid the last ounce or two. It would reflect on my craft even if it they had handled the beer badly.

With my wines it's no big deal, I usually give it away after a year of ageing and if they hold onto it for another year or two it should only get better. When partying I usually like to do it as a tasting, opening several different bottles at the same time.

I ask for bottles back but don't worry if I miss some since I've collected a big stock. Losing cappers is no problem but I've learned to never give away my ceramic top bottles.

 

[midfielder5]

if you like your beer, to hell with everyone else

ditto.
I have stopped caring whether inexperienced people like my beer. My brewing has gotten better so now I don't have to give out cr#$p beer anymore

 

[GunnerMan]

I gave a friend a bomber of Cream of Three Crops today, I don't expect him to like it I told him he HAD to drink it out of the glass because there was a fair bit of yeast in the bottom that would throw off the flavor if it got poured or mixed into the beer. He didn't seem to understand the concept and proceded to twist the bottle every which way trying to see this yeast. Last I saw the beer it was a cloudy wreck.

I am with Monty though, I know my beer isint bad I gave the beer to him as a nice gesture, don't expect any thing in return for it, is a CoTC anyways...

 

[Teromous]

Sometimes a beer is just a beer.

It doesn't need to be judged, rated and returned with a paragraph about the experience. It needs to be enjoyed. If I give someone my beer and they like it, the transaction was successful.

I can understand the frustration behind them not drinking it -- why ask? -- but we're in danger of coming off as pretentious dicks here. I'm not brewing the ******* polio vaccine, so I'm not going to require Level 3 Clearance to let people drink it.

I love this answer. Que sera, sera.

 

[Honolii]

Find out what beer they like to drink.
Buy a 6-pack, remove the labels and replace it with one of yours.
They'll either love it, or say it tastes like one of their favorties and wonder what all the fuss is about when they can just stick with what they drink.

 

[SFBEER]

It seems that anyone who is interested in drinking my beer arrives at my front door complete with their own glass and stays until either I throw them out or the beer is gone.

 

[Monty420th]

It seems that anyone who is interested in drinking my beer arrives at my front door complete with their own glass and stays until either I throw them out or the beer is gone.

what's your address?

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

All the local home brewers that are in my area that I share with go all out to return the favor. Most of them don’t brew often so even if they don’t have any homebrew to return I am always invited over a few days later to try out their newest finds at the local beer store which is fine by me. That gives me a chance to sample more beers I haven’t and if I like them I then try to clone them. Just the other week I bottled up a bunch of beers that I was going to enter in a contest but unfortunately the HBS that was the drop off spot closes early on Fridays which I didn’t know about so I couldn’t get my entries in after work. Anyway I have two older college guys that live in a home next to mine that heard that I brewed and asked if they could see how it’s done so I gave them my entries and told them to let me know what they thought and if it was something that they wanted to get into I would be more than happy to help them out. All I asked is that they returned my bottles.

I guess I should have told them no hurry in returning the bottles since all 12 were empty the next morning by my back door. Last night I came home from work and they were having a little get together next-door and the next thing I knew my basement was full of guys going nuts over my setup. I was surprised that almost all of them preferred my Dogfish Head 120 clone over the more tame beers. They even offered to buy the beers. So instead of selling them beer I let them all sample what they wanted and invited everyone over for a brew day this Sunday. I have enough equipment to do a 10 and 5 gallon batch at the same time so I told them to come over and help me brew a batch and if they want to continue to learn if they want to but the grains I will loan them my 5 gallon setup and my fermenting room. That way I can have them back over to rack, filter, bottle and keg my beer with theirs. And I will also be more than happy to let them mill all the grains with my little hand mill! So this weekend will be interesting to say the least.

 

[SamuraiSquirrel]

I brought a home brew sample pack to my family's for Easter. My mom tried some of a pale ale I brewed. Her response "oh this is good, it tastes like it has ginger in it" (i loathe spices so I was very offended to hear this). They got no more of the home brew sampler pack. I did leave them with a few of my more disgusting brews. I can only hope that they will never ask to try my beer again.