Question about sharing homebrew

[growabeard]

Hey folks, I wanna say first off thanks for all the great posts on here. I've gotten tons of answers and inspiration over my short tenure of homebrewing.

Question time:

How do you all go about sharing your brew? Or maybe how did you start?

I've been brewing for a few years, but have only occasionally shared extras with others. I mostly drink my own. I am the sole beer drinker in the house.

I just recently gave two friends each an assorted six pack to take home, which is the first time I've done that. I explained about leaving the sediment behind when pouring.

I wish I didn't have to go through that whole explanation because I get the feeling that people find it gross, as if I'm making sub par beer with floaties in it.

Before this gets jumped on by the kegging crowd... Kegs sound appealing but I enjoy the small footprint I have. I also already have a fermentation chamber stuffed into our limited space. I don't think I can convince my spouse to let me put a kegerator in just for my consumption.

 

[Sammy86]

I wish I didn't have to go through that whole explanation because I get the feeling that people find it gross, as if I'm making sub par beer with floaties in it.

Part of the game unfortunately. I've found most people are understanding especially if you explain it. With the holidays just starting I finally cleared out all my bottles...i did the same spiel each time and if anyone says anything derogatory just don't hand out anymore.

 

[khannon]

Part of the game unfortunately. I've found most people are understanding especially if you explain it. With the holidays just starting I finally cleared out all my bottles...i did the same spiel each time and if anyone says anything derogatory just don't hand out anymore.

I've found most people are understanding especially if you're giving them free beer..

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Part of the game unfortunately. I've found most people are understanding especially if you explain it. With the holidays just starting I finally cleared out all my bottles...i did the same spiel each time and if anyone says anything derogatory just don't hand out anymore.

Correct - "No Beer for You ! ! !"

 

[grampamark]

The OP pretty much answered his own question. It’s unwise to share bottle conditioned homebrew with folks who are going to drink it unsupervised. No matter what you tell them, too many of them will just pop the top and drink from the bottle, and they won’t like the beer very much.

Before I started kegging I usually just served HB in my home and I poured it for them. If I took beer to another location I also took a stack of plastic it cups so I could pour the beer there.

 

[growabeard]

The OP pretty much answered his own question. It’s unwise to share bottle conditioned homebrew with folks who are going to drink it unsupervised. No matter what you tell them, too many of them will just pop the top and drink from the bottle, and they won’t like the beer very much.

Before I started kegging I usually just served HB in my home and I poured it for them. If I took beer to another location I also took a stack of plastic it cups so I could pour the beer there.

I like the idea of bringing my own cups with me so I'm prepared no matter where I go. I'm going to plan on that next time.

I want to figure out a solution to dip my toe into kegging without breaking the bank. That's for another post.
Appreciate the feedback everybody!

 

[Yeast Farmer]

Try explaining it like this: Your homebrew is bottle-conditioned, an ancient and esoteric practice used for rare and expensive beers, which enhances the quality of your artisanal product. There is yeast in the bottom of the bottle because it is an all-natural, un-filtered, un-pasteurized probiotic beverage. Best enjoyed by carefully pouring it into a glass, to fully express the flavor and aroma, instead of drinking out of the bottle like a plebian.

 

[DBhomebrew]

My oldest friends sent me a pic of them drinking a few bottles of mine I had shipped. Drinking straight from the bottles, heathens. Still made my heart soar to see them drinking my beer.

Pouring bottle conditioned beer can be made easier by choosing yeast both flocculant and sticky such as one of the Fuller's. Or new-to-me Yorkshire Square. With this one, I pour every last drop.

 

[aceluby]

Just know, that even though you gave them great instructions, probably multiple times, they are still going to drink from the bottle or pour everything into the glass. Watched my neighbors do it right after explaining for ~3rd time - witnessing my beautiful clear beer turn into a yeasty hazy mess. They’re on the haze craze so it didn’t matter too much, but man are they gonna have a surprise the next day with all those probiotics

 

[scrap iron]

I had a friend that I gave a few beers to take home. He told me the next day " man that is good beer, but it gave me terrible gas." He then went on to tell me he drank from the bottle and forgot my instructions. Nowadays I keg everything and bottle from there with no yeast sediment, but I still tell people to pour it in a glass. I say it's a lot of work, so you need to respect the beer and the visual part is important too. The color, clarity and carbonation are part of the experience. They seemed to get it now. I've also got tired of filling a bunch of 12oz bottles and am now fillings growlers for those who "respect the beer''.

 

[GoodTruble]

I've given bottles to lots of people, probably almost half the beer I brew is given away.

I don't think I've ever given pouring instructions. If they don't appreciate free beer, pouring instructions are not the problem.

One of the first and most enduring pieces of advice I got on this site - "Don't share your homebrew with people who don't appreciate it."

I enjoy sharing the beer and hearing the different feedback (especially on mix-packs). But people who don't appreciate free beer (and/or cannot clean out the bottles) get removed from the distribution list.

 

[kevin58]

Stop worrying about what other people think. Give them a beer... they will either like it and come back for more or they won't.

 

[Sleepy_D]

If you’re just looking to share to get some feedback and let people try your brews then you should join your local homebrew club!

 

[Brewsmith]

Since you are bottling, you may consider bottling a few bottles in a larger format, like 16, 22, or 24 oz, or 500 or 750 mL bottles. The larger bottles are pretty much intended for sharing and (unless they are completely savages) require pouring. You don’t have to change anything in your bottling practices, although you may have to switch the jaws around on your capper if you go 750mL.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I used to put a QR code on the label, that when scanned, would generate an email addresses to me with a subject line of "My thoughts on your beer", it also had a first sentence of something like, "I tried one of your beers and my thoughts are:"

I've given away a bunch and only received one or two emails, where someone actually scanned the QR code.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Part of the game unfortunately. I've found most people are understanding especially if you explain it. With the holidays just starting I finally cleared out all my bottles...i did the same spiel each time and if anyone says anything derogatory just don't hand out anymore.

This. If they complain about free beer, they get no more free beer.