Shaking my head moments

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jamsomito

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Whelp, I looked around and couldn't find any thread this would fit in. I saw the "funny things you've overheard about beer", "you know you're a homebrewer when", "what I did for beer today", "most annoying response when you tell someone you're a homebrewer", etc. threads, but I didn't think this fit in any of those.

So I'm trying to be generous and get other people into the hobby of beer and perhaps homebrewing. At least I want people to appreciate it. So I bring in some homebrews for some coworkers. One in particular goes "hey, thanks! I'm going to drink this on the train on the way home!" and ran and threw it in the work fridge. While that's perfectly legal here, I gave him an aromatic, flavorful (not bitter) pale ale to show off the centennial hops in it. It was bottle conditioned. He was going to drink it out of the bottle. And he leaves 2 hours from when I gave it to him, so it'll only be in the fridge for a couple hours (not enough IMHO).

*sigh* I just had to shake my head and wait for whatever made-up response he has for me on Monday.
 
Okay, so you can shake your head, or you can teach him about bottle conditioning. The first homebrew I ever tried I was given to me by a date, whose dad brewed. I popped the top and took a swig from the bottle, not knowing any better. He didn't "offer" me a glass as much as explain that because it was homebrew, it was different, and had to be decanted into a glass, then did it for me. I didn't understand it, but I appreciated that he was proud of his beer and wanted it presented in its best light.
 
i'll never give anyone a bottle conditioned beer again. All the explanation that goes with it is just too much hassle. I quickly got into kegging and bottling from the keg is awesome.
 
Maybe you should help educate him instead of running home and posting on the internet about it.
 
I completely understand the OP, and this absolutely IS the place to make that post.

I've been brewing for several years, and I both bottle and keg beers. I've shared my beer with many people. Most are only interested in drinking beer, so no matter what you tell them, they'll do what they want anyway, and the fact that the beer was crafted in a home by a person who appreciates the product, they only know that they're going to be drinking beer. You just need to accept those people for who they are. Bud Light drinkers mostly. They're just not going to appreciate what you've given them. The good news is that the craft beer movement is really taking off, so there are more and more people who will appreciate the beer you're giving them.

The moral to this is.... keep sharing your beer. Don't be bothered by those who don't appreciate the beer. If they ever drink their gateway beer and start their trek away from Budweiser, they'll remember you, and will probably ask you for information, or for another beer. If they don't, they don't. There are many others who will appreciate your beer. Those are the people that give you the feedback you're looking for.

A friend of mine, until recently, was a Bud Light drinker. We've had beer together on many occasions, including golf, dinner, hockey games, etc... He knows that I am a home brewer and recently visited another friend who is an award winning brewer. He drank a Strawberry Wheat beer that his friend had brewed. He asked me a few weeks ago if he could brew that beer with me. I picked up a partial mash kit from the LHBS and we brewed it that weekend. It's currently in secondary and I'll be cold crashing this week. We'll be bottling it next weekend. The other thing about this guy... We have a small brewery here in Pensacola. They have a tap room that we've visited a couple of times - him more than me. The last time I went in with him, he had already ordered a beer. I believe it was an amber ale. I was surprised to see, and ordered a dopplebock. He asked for a sample of the dopplebock. Since then, he's been in the tap room a few times and has grown to appreciate that particular style. Think about that... a year ago, he was a solid Bud Light drinker. He's now drinking a dopplebock made by a local craft brewer. I think the brewery had much more of an affect on him than either my home brewed beers, or his friends home brewed beers, but it really doesn't matter to me. He's drinking good beer, and is interested in the hobby now.

Of course, for every 1 person who appreciates you beer, there will be 10 that either won't, or just won't get it. The bottom line is that I almost always have a keg on tap, or several bottles of home crafted beer... or, a fridge with bottles of some type of craft beer in it. So I'm good. I'll always share the beer, and information about it if others are interested, but the important thing will be that I've got good beer to drink myself. No matter what.
 
Ok, I'm really surprised by the responses here (smccarter I think we're on the same page though :mug:). This was meant as a bit of comic relief, nothing more. I'm not upset at the guy, just a bit disappointed that he sees beer as something to chug for happy hour. I'm not complaining here either, just sharing a story I thought we all could relate to. Since that seems to have been lost I suppose I don't expect this thread to go anywhere; just thought it would be fun to share similar stories.

For the record, I did explain bottle conditioning to him, but he looked at me like a deer in a car's headlights, eyes glazed over, probably thinking "I can't believe this beer is so much work."

Personally I do enjoy giving away my beers because it's an opportunity to explain a bit about what makes it special (I actually give away about half of everything I make). I've gotten one guy to buy a kit and brew his first batch already and we both enjoy talking about our process or the intricacies of our latest harvest. This particular case was funny because they're obviously starting at ground zero.
 
I once gave a bomber to a coworker who immediately put it in the little work fridge after I handed it to her. A few days later I asked her how it was, and she said the fridge had frozen the beer so she threw it away because 'beer gets skunky when you freeze it'.

That's a pretty good head shaking moment
 
I once gave a bomber to a coworker who immediately put it in the little work fridge after I handed it to her. A few days later I asked her how it was, and she said the fridge had frozen the beer so she threw it away because 'beer gets skunky when you freeze it'.

That's a pretty good head shaking moment

Indeed, bummer!
 
No matter how much we obsess about the hobby and the intricacies of it, to the very vast majority of the population, beer is something to be drank out direct from the bottle while doing something else (lawnmowing, watching the game, chatting, etc.), it's not a carefully crafted, delicate, savour it sip by sip experience. Continue to share :rockin:
 
I have to shake my head at the person or persons that keep spamming our site with fake money, passport, etc crap. They've been changing their username & reposting for some time now. This one is persistent! But I see the posts & I'm like...seriously!? It makes me think tex should get the FBI to back track this person?...
 
I took some beers to a neighborhood picnic a while ago. One guy has been asking about the beer we make, so I made sure he got one before anyone else. It was a pretty hoppy American brown.

I explained about pouring it in a glass, yeast on the bottom, etc. A little bit later, he told me it was awesome, and he had mixed it in a glass with something lighter. It didn't look like he got any yeast in it, though.

I'm not going to take bottles to parties unless I can baby sit them and pour them.

I've given other friends bottles that are just done conditioning, and said, "put it in the fridge for 3 days." And the next day, they'll say they drank it. I know they'd be a lot better if they chilled longer.

Oh well.
 
No matter how much we obsess about the hobby and the intricacies of it, to the very vast majority of the population, beer is something to be drank out direct from the bottle while doing something else (lawnmowing, watching the game, chatting, etc.), it's not a carefully crafted, delicate, savour it sip by sip experience. Continue to share :rockin:

drinking your beer out of a bottle is your choice, mine goes into a very classy glass.
 
Thats why i bottle from keg and why i filter if im ever bringing a keg somewhere. id rather not explain and give them what is expected.
 
drinking your beer out of a bottle is your choice, mine goes into a very classy glass.

I don't drink from a bottle at home where I also have very classy glasses (not really, but they do the job :ban:), but I still can understand where the average person who we hand out a beer too comes from. If a guy from work gave me chili he made at home with instructions on how and when to eat it (like us homebrewers tend to do :D), I'd think he was nuts too !
 
Another head-shaking moment.

I was explaining to someone -- complete stranger I met at a function -- that I made wine & beer. They were curious (aren't they all) and I told my stock elevator pitch about ingredients, how it becomes alcohol & it only takes 2-4 weeks depending .......

"Oh," they responded, "So, you have to plan ahead."

:confused:

I didn't understand and they said it must be something that had to be planned ahead, it wasn't something that you could complete in an evening.

Seriously??? (In my head, I'm thinking...) No, you can't wake up on Saturday, decide to make beer and have it ready for guests that same evening. It's not an instant beer vending machine. LOL

So, instead of saying that out loud, I just said that they were right -- it took a bit of planning ahead but was worth it.

Sometimes you just have to laugh, but that comment was certainly a new one for me.
 
Ok, I gave a coworker a few beers and explained that it should be refrigerated for a few days, then poured into a glass. Next day he said he just poured it on ice and it was ok. He did say that he was surprised it tasted like real beer. He drank another a few days later and said they tasted the same (a Belgian style wit and a centennial blonde), last beers I ever gave the guy.
 
Ok, I gave a coworker a few beers and explained that it should be refrigerated for a few days, then poured into a glass. Next day he said he just poured it on ice and it was ok. He did say that he was surprised it tasted like real beer. He drank another a few days later and said they tasted the same (a Belgian style wit and a centennial blonde), last beers I ever gave the guy.

He poured it over ice? Who does that?!
 
I have to shake my head at the person or persons that keep spamming our site with fake money, passport, etc crap. They've been changing their username & reposting for some time now. This one is persistent! But I see the posts & I'm like...seriously!? It makes me think tex should get the FBI to back track this person?...


same. I've flagged at least 15-20 of those posts as spam in the last few months alone. I wouldn't think it would be all that hard to track then down as they put their email in every da$&ed posts and like 5 of them a day.




Sent from somewhere to someone
 
He poured it over ice? Who does that?!

I thought the same thing. He regularly drank like bud light or something. I knew I was taking a chance giving it to him but hoped he would follow the drinking instructions I gave him. As soon as he said ice, I knew he was a lost cause.
 
I can't believe the number of times I've been asked if I can brew up a Miller Light or <fill-in-the-blank> Light.

My answer is -- it's actually cheaper and easier to just buy it if what you want is Miller Light.
 
This weekend at the LHBS had a guy in there with his buddies getting stuff to help them make a good batch of beer (apparently their first attempt was a complete failure). He kept calling things by description and for whatever reason it was driving me nuts. He said gravity reader (hydrometer) enough times that I was ready to crack it over his head!

C'mon dude learn the terminology and sound a bit smarter.

Ok rant over. :mug:
 
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