What are your contrarian/"unpopular" beer opinions?

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Nomofett said:
Yes and yes in the session point. If it's 5% it ain't a session. If you say it is you are taking all meaning away from that word, it's literally the most ironic thing I've ever seen.
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Is it really true that Americans don't understand irony?!
 
I prefer very bitter beers over very hoppy beers. I'm not very keen on hop flavours, but I love the puckering bitterness of lots of hops early in the boil.
 
I was looking for a place to post my manifesto-
1. My city tap water tastes good, it's my terroir. In the old days breweries started around tasty springs. Adapt recipes as necessary.
2. Cleaning is largely unnecessary, sanitation is stupid
3. Yeast rehydration conquers many mistakes, but isn't required
4. Bottling is stupid
5. Homebrewing engineers annoy me, we need the voices of more people who do not care about PIDs and fluid mechanics.
6. I don't clone beers
7. I give literally zero ducks about trub
8. No such thing as a fault, just more tools in the recipe bag
9. Chuggability is the height of virtue
10. Mead is the height of folly
11. Bitter is better but IPA's all taste the same. Brew with some finesse.
Malty beers are for women and children. I want balance, complexity is good but beer shouldn't leave the same cloying aftertaste as candy nor give you hop heartburn.
12. brewing should take no more than 3 hours.
13. brewing should take 8 hours and give me an excuse not to do yard work for an entire day.
14. Wort chilling isn't necessary. Leave the darn thing outside for a night and deal with it tomorrow.
15. Sure, a little oxygen is good once the wort cools down but I've never needed more than splashing. If I lived with my gramdma I would definitely use the oxygen tank though.
16. I only vaguely pay attention to volumes, use a lot of water for mash and lauter, boil aggressively if you overshoot.
17. I embrace the funk.
18. Hops should start with a "C" but "s" kind of sounds like "c" sometimes so it counts too.
19. Clarity is for piss water
20. Piss water is great sometimes.
21. I love making light black beers and being a nerd to guests explaining that it only takes a few ounces blah blah blah
22. Espresso stout may be the perfect beer if done correctly. Malty balanced with bitter coffee.
23. Saison and IPA cannot be used to evaluate the quality of a brewing establishment.
24. It takes about 10 batches to really get a beer right. Anything less is playing- you don't "brew a 8% imperial stout" if you've only done it once or twice. Really, it takes one disaster then one disaster overcome resulting in identical finished product
25. Please don't talk to me about brewing extract, or even clones for that matter. I brew to make cheap delicious beer that I want to drink more than commercial offerings. Why would I clone it if I have the power to change what I don't like in the beer?
 
MizzouFermentationScience said:
I was looking for a place to post my manifesto-

1. My city tap water tastes good, it's my terroir. In the old days breweries started around tasty springs. Adapt recipes as necessary.

2. Cleaning is largely unnecessary, sanitation is stupid

3. Yeast rehydration conquers many mistakes, but isn't required

4. Bottling is stupid

5. Homebrewing engineers annoy me, we need the voices of more people who do not care about PIDs and fluid mechanics.

6. I don't clone beers

7. I give literally zero ducks about trub

8. No such thing as a fault, just more tools in the recipe bag

9. Chuggability is the height of virtue

10. Mead is the height of folly

11. Bitter is better but IPA's all taste the same. Brew with some finesse.

Malty beers are for women and children. I want balance, complexity is good but beer shouldn't leave the same cloying aftertaste as candy nor give you hop heartburn.

12. brewing should take no more than 3 hours.

13. brewing should take 8 hours and give me an excuse not to do yard work for an entire day.

14. Wort chilling isn't necessary. Leave the darn thing outside for a night and deal with it tomorrow.

15. Sure, a little oxygen is good once the wort cools down but I've never needed more than splashing. If I lived with my gramdma I would definitely use the oxygen tank though.

16. I only vaguely pay attention to volumes, use a lot of water for mash and lauter, boil aggressively if you overshoot.

17. I embrace the funk.

18. Hops should start with a "C" but "s" kind of sounds like "c" sometimes so it counts too.

19. Clarity is for piss water

20. Piss water is great sometimes.

21. I love making light black beers and being a nerd to guests explaining that it only takes a few ounces blah blah blah

22. Espresso stout may be the perfect beer if done correctly. Malty balanced with bitter coffee.

23. Saison and IPA cannot be used to evaluate the quality of a brewing establishment.

24. It takes about 10 batches to really get a beer right. Anything less is playing- you don't "brew a 8% imperial stout" if you've only done it once or twice. Really, it takes one disaster then one disaster overcome resulting in identical finished product

25. Please don't talk to me about brewing extract, or even clones for that matter. I brew to make cheap delicious beer that I want to drink more than commercial offerings. Why would I clone it if I have the power to change what I don't like in the beer?
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I both chuckled as a joke then nodded in agreement several times, 5,7,12,13,15,19,20 lol pretty good manifesto [emoji482]cheers!
 
ba-brewer said:
"Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." Euell Gibbons
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He's the same guy who was pushing Grape Nuts cereal when I was a kid.

After one bite I knew he was telling a lie. That cereal tasted like dog food and threatened to shred my colon on the way out. I went back to my Wheaties and never touched another box of that stuff again.
Same thing with beer.
If I get a lousy first impression it's off the list forever.
 
MizzouFermentationScience said:
I was looking for a place to post my manifesto-
1. My city tap water tastes good, it's my terroir. In the old days breweries started around tasty springs. Adapt recipes as necessary.
2. Cleaning is largely unnecessary, sanitation is stupid
3. Yeast rehydration conquers many mistakes, but isn't required
4. Bottling is stupid
5. Homebrewing engineers annoy me, we need the voices of more people who do not care about PIDs and fluid mechanics.
6. I don't clone beers
7. I give literally zero ducks about trub
8. No such thing as a fault, just more tools in the recipe bag
9. Chuggability is the height of virtue
10. Mead is the height of folly
11. Bitter is better but IPA's all taste the same. Brew with some finesse.
Malty beers are for women and children. I want balance, complexity is good but beer shouldn't leave the same cloying aftertaste as candy nor give you hop heartburn.
12. brewing should take no more than 3 hours.
13. brewing should take 8 hours and give me an excuse not to do yard work for an entire day.
14. Wort chilling isn't necessary. Leave the darn thing outside for a night and deal with it tomorrow.
15. Sure, a little oxygen is good once the wort cools down but I've never needed more than splashing. If I lived with my gramdma I would definitely use the oxygen tank though.
16. I only vaguely pay attention to volumes, use a lot of water for mash and lauter, boil aggressively if you overshoot.
17. I embrace the funk.
18. Hops should start with a "C" but "s" kind of sounds like "c" sometimes so it counts too.
19. Clarity is for piss water
20. Piss water is great sometimes.
21. I love making light black beers and being a nerd to guests explaining that it only takes a few ounces blah blah blah
22. Espresso stout may be the perfect beer if done correctly. Malty balanced with bitter coffee.
23. Saison and IPA cannot be used to evaluate the quality of a brewing establishment.
24. It takes about 10 batches to really get a beer right. Anything less is playing- you don't "brew a 8% imperial stout" if you've only done it once or twice. Really, it takes one disaster then one disaster overcome resulting in identical finished product
25. Please don't talk to me about brewing extract, or even clones for that matter. I brew to make cheap delicious beer that I want to drink more than commercial offerings. Why would I clone it if I have the power to change what I don't like in the beer?
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Very much with you on almost all of this, but I will literally fight you on #4.
 
Mainer said:
Very much with you on almost all of this, but I will literally fight you on #4.
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Fair enough, but I bottle in the neighborhood of 100k-120k bottles a year at work using state of the art equipment and it is still a PITA. I've rebuilt my brew rig many times and regretted plenty of past investments, but I would buy new kegs and keezer annually without batting an eye.
 
MizzouFermentationScience said:
Fair enough, but I bottle in the neighborhood of 100k-120k bottles a year at work using state of the art equipment and it is still a PITA. I've rebuilt my brew rig many times and regretted plenty of past investments, but I would buy new kegs and keezer annually without batting an eye.
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Oh, bottling is DEFINITELY a pain. But if you're making cellaring beers, it's the only way to go. I've got about 15 varieties in the cellar right now. I could never keep that much on tap.
 
jmark said:
NE IPAs *aren't* IPAs... they may be delicious, but an IPA is supposed to be bitter, dammit! Call it a NE Pale Ale or something...

Grenade thrown... see y'all later :D
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I throw that grenade. If I want juice I'll drink juice
 
The reinheitsgebot was a lie about quality.

It was all about reserving the name of beer for people that had the luxury of reserving land for hops and the facilities for malting barley. It ensured that only rich people could make was was allowed to be called beer. Everything else had to be called something other than beer.
 
Redlantern said:
The reinheitsgebot was a lie about quality.

It was all about reserving the name of beer for people that had the luxury of reserving land for hops and the facilities for malting barley. It ensured that only rich people could make was was allowed to be called beer. Everything else had to be called something other than beer.
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Is that really an opinion? I thought that was pretty much fact, that's how I've always heard it.
 
Big fat resiny fruity bitter as fuuuuu<uuuuuuuck IPAs might be the greatest thing ever invented by man. Malt bombs suck big fat devil balls &#129304;
 
r4dyce said:
Is that really an opinion? I thought that was pretty much fact, that's how I've always heard it.
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In the beer stores - it just irks me to hear people talking about reinheitsgebot like it makes good beer.

OHHHH! look, this one is made IAW the German purity law - so much better than other beers that are made with water, barley, hops and yeast.......That is why German beer is so good...

I don't know a whole lot about beer (no where near as much as a lot of the folks in her for sure) but it just makes me want to gouge my eardrums out with a paint can opener/bottle opener hearing that.
 
MizzouFermentationScience said:
I was looking for a place to post my manifesto-
1. My city tap water tastes good, it's my terroir. In the old days breweries started around tasty springs. Adapt recipes as necessary.
2. Cleaning is largely unnecessary, sanitation is stupid
3. Yeast rehydration conquers many mistakes, but isn't required
4. Bottling is stupid
5. Homebrewing engineers annoy me, we need the voices of more people who do not care about PIDs and fluid mechanics.
6. I don't clone beers
7. I give literally zero ducks about trub
8. No such thing as a fault, just more tools in the recipe bag
9. Chuggability is the height of virtue
10. Mead is the height of folly
11. Bitter is better but IPA's all taste the same. Brew with some finesse.
Malty beers are for women and children. I want balance, complexity is good but beer shouldn't leave the same cloying aftertaste as candy nor give you hop heartburn.
12. brewing should take no more than 3 hours.
13. brewing should take 8 hours and give me an excuse not to do yard work for an entire day.
14. Wort chilling isn't necessary. Leave the darn thing outside for a night and deal with it tomorrow.
15. Sure, a little oxygen is good once the wort cools down but I've never needed more than splashing. If I lived with my gramdma I would definitely use the oxygen tank though.
16. I only vaguely pay attention to volumes, use a lot of water for mash and lauter, boil aggressively if you overshoot.
17. I embrace the funk.
18. Hops should start with a "C" but "s" kind of sounds like "c" sometimes so it counts too.
19. Clarity is for piss water
20. Piss water is great sometimes.
21. I love making light black beers and being a nerd to guests explaining that it only takes a few ounces blah blah blah
22. Espresso stout may be the perfect beer if done correctly. Malty balanced with bitter coffee.
23. Saison and IPA cannot be used to evaluate the quality of a brewing establishment.
24. It takes about 10 batches to really get a beer right. Anything less is playing- you don't "brew a 8% imperial stout" if you've only done it once or twice. Really, it takes one disaster then one disaster overcome resulting in identical finished product
25. Please don't talk to me about brewing extract, or even clones for that matter. I brew to make cheap delicious beer that I want to drink more than commercial offerings. Why would I clone it if I have the power to change what I don't like in the beer?
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# 10. As I sit here with the memory of the taste from backyard black Muscat grapes with a hint of rhubarb and honey from the same backyard all making a nice spring sipping mead. But now the taste of the dark wild honey and caraway seed mead is being enjoyed. Both medium dry waiting to be bottled. I think # 10 is not folly, but to most, little explored.
But hey, this is the beer forum! Back on topic.
 
Belgian/abbey beer sucks. Either syrupy sweet or full of weird spicy flavors- like some weird medieval xmas beverage. Gross.

Barrel aged fruit/sours excepted.
 
SanPancho said:
Belgian/abbey beer sucks. Either syrupy sweet or full of weird spicy flavors- like some weird medieval xmas beverage. Gross.

Barrel aged fruit/sours excepted.
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Agreed mostly, but also I'd make an exception for the (rare) black ones as that balances the sweetness well. Had a great one of those in Quebec...
 
SanPancho said:
Belgian/abbey beer sucks. Either syrupy sweet or full of weird spicy flavors- like some weird medieval xmas beverage. Gross.

Barrel aged fruit/sours excepted.
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Do you mean real Belgian beers? I like the fact that many are nicely dry. The one I remember finding disappointingly full and sweet was Struise's Pannepot (which hold a 100/100 rating in ratebeer...).
 
theowlman16 said:
Fruit is for smoothies. Fruit in beer is like gummy bears in my mashed potatoes.
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Agree and disagree. Fruit can be stellar in some beer styles but some breweries will go way overboard trying to add exotic fruits that add virtually no flavor. Like a beer I tried with Buddha's hand fruit. Whole bunch of expensive imported fruit added to a simple blonde ale and you couldn't tell they added fruit at all. Total waste.
 
Ratebeer and Beeradvocate and can be trusted for the most part and are great beer resources, but all the ratings on those sites should be taken with a grain of salt. There are many over- and underrated beers because the vast majority of users on those sites don't have an in depth brewing knowledge or a very educated palate.
 
ShareBrewing said:
Ratebeer and Beeradvocate and can be trusted for the most part and are great beer resources, but all the ratings on those sites should be taken with a grain of salt. There are many over- and underrated beers because the vast majority of users on those sites don't have an in depth brewing knowledge or a very educated palate.
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Not sure I agree with a "vast majority." I actually think most people on there drink a lot of beer and have experienced palates. And I don't think brewing knowledge is requisite to appreciating beer. I do agree lots of beers are overrated/underrated based on reputation though. I.e. I happen to think Heady Topper is wildly overrated because people think they are supposed to like it and scarcity creates a mythology of demand. Similarly I think if you put a different label on something like Sam Summer it would be rated much higher.

On a side note, there's lots of interesting studies with wine judging that shows people favor more expenses wines, but that preference goes away when you hide the prices and label from them. Similarly, even trained wine judges will rate the same wine wildly differently in a blind tasting if they have the same wine even a few hours apart. Basically all reviews should be taken with a grain of salt ha.
 
Yakima 300

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