swmbo hates beer. So she says. But i keep handing her samples, she takes a tiny polite little sip, wrinkles her nose, says, "ick! Yuck!" and then 2 minutes later she takes another sip and smiles. Then she says, "it's actually kind of sweet and caramelly" or "i don't like that one. It's too bitter." she doesn't realize it, but she's learning. I don't expect her to like anything i brew, let alone everything.
But i am leading her towards pinpointing some flavors and characteristics that she likes. So far my hefeweizen is "actually not that bad", my stout "has a nice caramel flavor" and in my oatmeal cookie ale "you can kind of taste the cookie..." in time, she will find a beer that she doesn't mind. They all do eventually.
Not really dumb comments. I actually consider them high praise coming from someone who doesn't drink much and can't even stomach a bmc. She is actually way ahead of people just by the fact that she doesn't know enough to think that bmc might be good. Stout, hefe, flanders ale, gose, geuze, ris, and bmc, are all on equal footing. And that is really interesting.
I haven't gotten many dumb comments. I guess it's because i introduce my beer with my mr. Wizard hat on, loading people with a ton of technical scientific concepts and historical anecdotes that convince them i am the einstein/george will of beer. They see the refractometer, the hydrometer, learn about my sanitation procedure, and then the 5 gallon pot in a bathtub doesn't seem so scary. They learn that it's actually sanitary or else it wouldn't even turn into beer. They inevitably give in to my geekiness and have to suspend their disbelief. And of course them starting to catch a buzz doesn't hurt either.
I present my beers as a ridiculous modern science... That touches the very roots of humankind. The thought of someone not liking any of my beer is... Absurd.
