Rant: please respect my beer

[jamest22]

I regularly share a decent quantity of all the beer I brew. I pass out bottles to friends and co-workers who ask for it. I like to share the beer, I find it to be one of the more rewarding parts of brewing.

However, it kills me when people don't take proper care of the beer I give them. For example, yesterday I gave a co-worker a bottle of my latest (and I think my best) all grain IPA. Today I asked him how he liked it and he replied by asking "does beer taste different after its been frozen?" Yep, he put it in his freezer and forgot about it, then he drank it thawed and slushy. Of course I told him that once the bottled beer is frozen, its pretty much ruined when compared to the original state it was intended to be in. This makes me want to go all Beer Nazi on him.

Another occurrence has been people pouring the dregs of the bottle conditioned beers in with the rest of the beer and then coming back and telling me it was cloudy. This, after I had explicitly alerted and informed them about the yeast sediment and the bottle conditioning process.

It sure is irritating to put all that time, effort, and care into something just to have someone completely miss out on enjoying it properly because of their own carelessness. Please respect the beer, it just wants your love.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

I understand where you're coming from, but you have to understand that not everyone is as passionate about beer as most of the people on this forum. You've never forgotten about a beer in the freezer? I know I have, more than once. I wouldn't say that means that I don't respect beer. In regards to dregs, is it possible that maybe they didn't fully understand or just plain forgot? Again these details are lost on most people. I think you have to continue to educate people and give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you have different types of friends/co-workers than I do, but I've never had anyone intentionally disrespect a beer.

 

[bja]

You could print directions on the proper care and use of the beer and include a copy with every beer you give away. Or, you could just find more intelligent people to share your beer with.

 

[jamest22]

whatsleftofyou

I get your point. I know it was an accident on his part and that I am completely over-obsessed with beer and brewing. And yes, I have left a beer in the freezer before. Like I said its just irritating.


bja

yeah, a good addition to my labels would be an alert "Don't freeze me bro"

 

[slowbie]

It never ceases to surprise me how people who are otherwise intelligent seem to lose all mental function when faced with homebrewed beer. Both from my own experiences and experiences others have shared with me, many people have done things like drinking from the bottle, pouring in the dregs, and worse, even when they were explicitly told not to. Some people are just bad at following directions I guess.

 

[Zamial]

I say let them drink frozen beer slushies and chew the yeast if they are that smart they deserve what they get.

I gave up caring how other people handle the foods they consume after watching my father turn his steak into a dried, brittle lump of coal w/ leather in the middle and then tell me that it is delicious that way...

 

[cfonnes]

After you give it to them it is no longer your beer, it becomes their beer.

 

[Sigafoos]

This comes up now and then. It comes down to 'I spent a lot of time on this' vs 'Once you give it away, you give it away.' I think if you care about it that much, you probably shouldn't be handing it out as freely. Some people only give out tasters instead of full pints at first. Some people will only do the pouring from the kegs themselves.

There, I saved us all 11 pages.

 

[Homercidal]

I got a friend who still claims he is not bottle broken yet. He drinks his Labatt's right from the bottle and his kid even chided me for liking to drink beer from a glass. Yeah, he's smart-ass punk. (disclaimer: his stepkid...)

Hey, if he wants to enjoy his filtered light lager form the bottle I don't care. I would be surprised if he will even taste a beer darker than the color of the hair on top of Pam Anderson's head.

Just remember that homebrew is different than most commercial beer that they are used to. I'd just make notes to stick on the bottle to explain to people how to pour a homebrew. If they can't take the time to read the note and follow it, then they deserve to get what they get.

 

[robbiex0r]

I think Revvy or someone made a label that hung on the neck of the bottle, and explained proper pouring, storage, and what to expect.

 

[j1laskey]

I love drinking beer out of a bottle as much as anyone...but not bottle conditioned beer...I once witnessed by brother chugging one of my homebrews straight from the bottle....now everytime he has some of my brew I hand him the glass first.... then the beer.

 

[robbiex0r]

Here is a link to the bottle hangers that revvy uses to explain homebrewed, living beer to people:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/#post1030366

 

[jamest22]

i like those hanger labels.

 

[Teromous]

Or, you could just find more intelligent people to share your beer with.

I'm leaning towards this solution...

 

[Salanis]

I have drunken my bottle conditioned beer strait from the bottle. However, that was at a racetrack where I didn't have glasses available. In situations where a glass isn't an option, I think the bottle is fine. It's still better than whatever else is around, just not quite as good as it could be.

My roommate will insist on drinking from the bottle. If I pour half a bottle into a glass and hand that to him, he'll ask if he can have the bottle instead. He has some pathological desire to drink strait from the bottle.

Works fine with me, because I know I get the clean clear brew at the top.

 

[jamest22]

My Dad has the same "pathological desire" to drink straight from the bottle. He says he "likes the feel of the bottle". Surprisingly there is nowhere on the BJCP scoresheet to score Handfeel ...

 

[Dr_Gordon_Freeman]

If someone mistreats or otherwise maligns my beer, it is the last free beer they get. End of story.

 

[JNye]

I say let them drink frozen beer slushies and chew the yeast if they are that smart they deserve what they get.

I gave up caring how other people handle the foods they consume after watching my father turn his steak into a dried, brittle lump of coal w/ leather in the middle and then tell me that it is delicious that way...

+1. I'm done trying to educate people. Seriously. I've had similar scenarios where people are darn right wrong about something, usually they'll be willing to fight me to the death over it and then call me a know-it-all. whatever. now i just keep my mouth shut and let the guy eat his burnt steak that he flipped 37 times and mashed down, then dump a bottle of A1 on, or my other buddy serve raw sausages at his BBQ cause they looked done on the outside.

I give my beer to those who seem genuinely interested, or come over to my house, where i do the serving...thats it.

 

[markg388]

i just file it under 'sad but true' in my mind and let them disrespect the beer, but these people don't get the good ones .


the people who actually care get to come over to my house and drink it when it's clear and beautiful.

 

[oldschool]

I just don't ususally give it to people that don't know **** about beer

 

[jeffmeh]

+1 on Revvy's bottle tags. I converted it into a powerpoint document if anyone is interested, as I find that easier to work with.

I do not bottle condition very much at this point, and when I bottle from a keg there is no sediment, but Revvy's instructions are classic.

"This is a living beer, meaning that it contains live yeast. When pouring into a glass, one may wish to leave the last ¼” behind in the bottle."

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

The hanging tags are a great idea.

In defense of the ignorant: For many folks, their most sophisticated brew prior to your homebrew is a hefeweizen, which they were told to swirl to get the yeast mobilized and into the glass. Not that many folks buy Belgians of similar bottle conditioned beers, in which they need to leave the sediment. Remember most of all, you can only teach someone who is willing to learn. How often, even here on these forums, do we see folks choose to earnestly defend their prejudices, rather than be willing to listen and perhaps learn? Enthusiasm can be contagious, and example can lead to curiosity, leading to that willingness. You do have an opportunity to teach them about your beer, but I bet you'll get a lot further if you can spark their curiosity.

 

[jamest22]

true. most people tend to listen only to facts and information that reinforce the opinions they already have while ignoring or fighting anything that challenges their beliefs.

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Surprisingly there is nowhere on the BJCP scoresheet to score Handfeel ...

Love it.

"Smooth glass surface with no raised lettering. Cool to the touch, but not so cold that you can't continue holding on. Some condensation occurs as the beer warms, causing a bit of a slippery feel." 5/5

 

[jamest22]

"Smooth glass surface with no raised lettering. Cool to the touch, but not so cold that you can't continue holding on. Some condensation occurs as the beer warms, causing a bit of a slippery feel." 5/5

thats a very good description. you must be a Grand Master.

 

[smokinghole]

It might have been said in this thread and in others. If I share my brew its always while I'm present unless its family. They understand beer and appreciate beer along with all the yeast poured in as they don't care about cloudy. My friends who don't get it but want to try it get the beer poured by me mostly. There are a handful of friends who know about the sediment and again they don't care and drink it down. I'm not a charity home brew house so I don't just give my beers away unless I know they're going to a good home.