What are your contrarian/"unpopular" beer opinions?

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Yes, if I were trying to make money, I would probably brew lighter beers.

My audience is me. So my light beers are hefeweizens and NE pale ales. When I give beer to my friends, they sometimes tell me what they like and don't like. I tell them what I have, and that it's free, so STFU.

(fwiw, i also drink lite beers when driving, or operating heavy machinery, or working on firearms, but it's not enough to warrant making it myself so I just buy busch lite on sale and throw the cans out the window). ;)
 
Yes, if I were trying to make money, I would probably brew lighter beers.

My audience is me. So my light beers are hefeweizens and NE pale ales. When I give beer to my friends, they sometimes tell me what they like and don't like. I tell them what I have, and that it's free, so STFU.

(fwiw, i also drink lite beers when driving, or operating heavy machinery, or working on firearms, but it's not enough to warrant making it myself so I just buy busch lite on sale and throw the cans out the window). ;)

ummm....really?
 
Just to get this back on track and away from the endless "there's to many IPA's" argument (as written out as the LoDo argument)
Too many beers are turning into syrup, I don't like Bourbon County or 99% the barrel aged 15% beers I've had. Putting something in a barrel for 3 years doesn't turn it into a great beer
 
Here are some contrarian beer opinions:

1. There aren't too many IPAs. There are too many double IPAs. Many examples are cloying. Others are unbearable. A few are good.

2. NEIPAs aren't bad. As far as fads go, they're just meh.

3. IPAs weren't brewed with extra hops or higher gravities to survive the long voyage to India. That's a myth.

4. Adjuncts have a place in a lot of credible beer styles.

5. American adjunct lager is a fine beer style. Some macro commercial examples are quite good. (Lite beer is the enemy, not AALs in general.)

6. We need more watery porters.

7. Not obvious to me that you owe it to your LHBS or anyone else to shop there. Shop where you like. (I happen to like my LHBS.)

8. The next regional IPA fad will be <rolls dice> Alaskan!

9. It really is a perk of homebrew that it's cheaper. The point of homebrewing isn't to get a cheap buzz, but that it's a potentially economical hobby is a virtue. Compare to cooking versus eating out.

10. Everyone assures you that it's simple to rehydrate yeast. It's not. Have you ever read yeast rehydration directions? Boil water, let it cool down to a narrow temperature band that varies by strain, only stir it after 15 minutes, "attemperate" (?), etc. More of a PITA than sprinkling. (I still rehydrate because I'm convinced it's a better practice.)
 
Here are some contrarian beer opinions:

1. There aren't too many IPAs. There are too many double IPAs. Many examples are cloying. Others are unbearable. A few are good.

2. NEIPAs aren't bad. As far as fads go, they're just meh.

3. IPAs weren't brewed with extra hops or higher gravities to survive the long voyage to India. That's a myth.

4. Adjuncts have a place in a lot of credible beer styles.

5. American adjunct lager is a fine beer style. Some macro commercial examples are quite good. (Lite beer is the enemy, not AALs in general.)

6. We need more watery porters.

7. Not obvious to me that you owe it to your LHBS or anyone else to shop there. Shop where you like. (I happen to like my LHBS.)

8. The next regional IPA fad will be <rolls dice> Alaskan!

9. It really is a perk of homebrew that it's cheaper. The point of homebrewing isn't to get a cheap buzz, but that it's a potentially economical hobby is a virtue. Compare to cooking versus eating out.

10. Everyone assures you that it's simple to rehydrate yeast. It's not. Have you ever read yeast rehydration directions? Boil water, let it cool down to a narrow temperature band that varies by strain, only stir it after 15 minutes, "attemperate" (?), etc. More of a PITA than sprinkling. (I still rehydrate because I'm convinced it's a better practice.)

Number 9 is the one that really gets to me. You get people swearing up and down that trying to save money by homebrewing is like trying to save money on the fish you eat by buying a fishing boat.

But ****, just because you spent a fortune on your set-up doesn't mean that everyone else did. Everyone admits that ingredient costs are lower than commercial beer and you can pay off the costs of a bare bones BIAB set up damn fast.

Not that there's anything wrong with having a bad-ass rig, my friend has his own brew apartment to brew away from his wife but you don't NEED that.
 
The government is putting stuff in the chem trails to poison our home brew so we need to brew inside

Aliens are coming to the planet to receive anal probes, not give them

Area 51 is a hippy commune

Homeless people really do WANT to work for food, just offer them a job and see

Trump is a good president

The best home brew style is Green Irish Ale
 
I dislike IPAs. People seem to make them into hop bombs! I can't stand bitter beer, and that's what most IPAs seem to be -- how much bittering hop can you cram into one beer and still have it be drinkable.
 
I dislike IPAs. People seem to make them into hop bombs! I can't stand bitter beer, and that's what most IPAs seem to be -- how much bittering hop can you cram into one beer and still have it be drinkable.

For me the biggest thing wrong with a lot of IPAs is too high of a FG and a cloying sweetness that goes horribly with high ADV and IBUs.
Basically:
-Sweet
-Boozy
-Hoppy

Choose two. All three is a disaster.
 
OK, my turn.

1. There are too many people saying there are too many IPAs. You don't like em, stop buying em.
2. The assumption that craft beer is or ought be higher abv (> 5%) is garbage. If you can't make a good full-flavor 4% beer, you can't brew very well.
3. If your beer is over 3% abv, it's not a session beer.
 
OK, my turn.

1. There are too many people saying there are too many IPAs. You don't like em, stop buying em.
2. The assumption that craft beer is or ought be higher abv (> 5%) is garbage. If you can't make a good full-flavor 4% beer, you can't brew very well.
3. If your beer is over 3% abv, it's not a session beer.

1. I don't buy them. But it's annoying to waste all that brewing energy on one style or when a bar has 8 taps and carries 5 ipas.
2. Agreed.
3. I'm kinda whatever on this. "Session" doesn't really mean anything to me. I don't actively seek beers based on ABV whether high or low. I just order/buy what I want to drink and if I'm concerned about alcohol content I just don't drink as much. I think the traditional point of a "session" is lost on me anyway since I rarely drink the same beer more than twice in a row.
 
For me the biggest thing wrong with a lot of IPAs is too high of a FG and a cloying sweetness that goes horribly with high ADV and IBUs.

Basically:

-Sweet

-Boozy

-Hoppy



Choose two. All three is a disaster.


Not big on the sweet either. Hoppy and 7% is good.
 
OK, my turn.

1. There are too many people saying there are too many IPAs. You don't like em, stop buying em.
2. The assumption that craft beer is or ought be higher abv (> 5%) is garbage. If you can't make a good full-flavor 4% beer, you can't brew very well.
3. If your beer is over 3% abv, it's not a session beer.

1. There is a legitimate reason for people who dislike IPA's to complain... There are many breweries that are getting rid of their normal beers because they are having to focus on creating new IPA's.
When beers that I love are discontinued to be replaced by a new flavor of the month IPA then that's a bad thing. It's also a bad thing when the majority of a bars taps are IPA's. If there were fewer IPA's on tap then there would be room to accommodate more tastes.

2. I agree wholeheartedly. I've heard many people say that if a beer isn't 8%+ then it's not worth the time to drink.
Personally when I see a beer is 7% abv I really start questioning whether it's something I want to drink. When it's 8%+ it has to be something really special for me to go for it.

3. Wow. You're much more hardcore than even the British traditionalists. They at least allow the beer to go up to 4% abv to be a Session beer.

Edit: I clarified my first point.
 
I dislike IPAs. People seem to make them into hop bombs! I can't stand bitter beer, and that's what most IPAs seem to be -- how much bittering hop can you cram into one beer and still have it be drinkable.

Lots of chicks think that. That's why people make hefeweizen, milk stout, NEIPA, etc... Sadly, 95% of hefeweizens in america suck stale dogbathwater, but I guess chicks don't care.

I do agree that there are probably too many overly bitter beers out there, but I don't really buy much commercial beer, so I don't really care. I do notice that alot of people that try my NEIPA and india red ale say they don't like IPA's, but they totally dig my beers (because they are moderately or lightly hopped in the early part of the boil).
 
Serious question: When did you realize you liked really hoppy beers? Did you have to build up to it or was it just love at first taste? I'm definitely going to be trying some higher IBU beers, but I find that I have a very low tolerance for hop bitterness. The few ipas I've had were all downright unpleasant because of it. Because of their undeniable popularity, I'm convinced I must be missing something though.
When I was being taught how to brew beer, the guy teaching me said to try anything we were putting into the beer to get a feel for how the ingredients worked. He neglected to tell me not to try the hops, so I grabbed a few pellets and chucked them in my mouth...after that even the hoppiest IPAs were like nothing. Those 2 or 3 hop pellets were the most bitter thing I've ever tasted.
 
Lots of chicks think that. That's why people make hefeweizen, milk stout, NEIPA, etc... Sadly, 95% of hefeweizens in america suck stale dogbathwater, but I guess chicks don't care.

I do agree that there are probably too many overly beitter beers out there, but I don't really buy much commercial beer, so I don't really care. I do notice that alot of people that try my NEIPA and india red ale say they don't like IPA's, but they totally dig my beers (because they are moderately or lightly hopped in the early part of the boil).

New England India Pale Ale: The Miata of beers.
 
Lots of chicks think that. That's why people make hefeweizen, milk stout, NEIPA, etc... Sadly, 95% of hefeweizens in america suck stale dogbathwater, but I guess chicks don't care.

I do agree that there are probably too many overly bitter beers out there, but I don't really buy much commercial beer, so I don't really care. I do notice that alot of people that try my NEIPA and india red ale say they don't like IPA's, but they totally dig my beers (because they are moderately or lightly hopped in the early part of the boil).

I do have to say out of the beer drinkers I know a greater proportion of the women love hoppy beers than the proportion of men that do.

Now I mostly know men who drink craft beer but more of them will only drink stouts and malty beers.

The women who don't like craft beer are all about the really sugary drinks or wine...

Stereotypes are just bad.
 
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.
 
I think sanitisation is important, but as long as you're clean from the beginning all you need is hot water and a soft sponge... Never used any cleaning products in my fermenters after my first batch, only use hot tap water to rinse and soak bottles. 54 batches and not an infection in sight. Contrarian, I know....
 
I think sanitisation is important, but as long as you're clean from the beginning all you need is hot water and a soft sponge... Never used any cleaning products in my fermenters after my first batch, only use hot tap water to rinse and soak bottles. 54 batches and not an infection in sight. Contrarian, I know....

I do the same most of the time. Hot water and hose pressure gets them mighty clean. I use PBW if there was something strong smelling in there and there are odors remaining after the hot water wash and sitting dry for a while.
Same for kegs and the brew kettle, out of the six batches so far I have only PBW'ed the brew system twice. I think getting everything clean right away is the key, that then a quick cleaning/sanitizing before use.
 
I try to be pretty good about sanitizing everything but the kettle is where I kinda slack off too. Simple hot water and hose pressure does the job. It might need a soft wash cloth if there's some grain or hop gook stuck on. But you're BOILING with it! The risk of contamination is insanely low considering you just murdered every living thing in that kettle when it's fired up.

And my 2 cents: session beers aren't worth the time. Why waste all that time brewing one and then you need to drink a quarter of the batch just to feel a buzz... but then again I try not to brew anything under 5.5%. So I'm biased.
 
The sanitation thing is funny, people bug out about it. I am of the opinion that anything preboil is not an issue, only post boil, and even then, most things cant survive the alcohol the yeast puts out...that's partially why beer was drunk not water. Some guys freak out.. you need to boil your hands, the dog, cat, sterile room, class five biohazard suit. RDWHAHB
 
ever lick a river? ever eat a tree? Saturday Night Live skit on Euell Gibbons!
I used to go out eat cattail roots and nettles...tough way to get by!

Not sure if I seen those SNL skits. The only good think I can see about eating cattail root and nettles is that they can be found in abundance so at least your not searching for it. Think I would pick those over grape nuts.

"Do you like gladiator movies?"

Not really, unless jason and the argonauts counts.

It was just the two previous post before mine were about the merits of pine in their beer made me think of the old TV commercial.
 
The sanitation thing is funny, people bug out about it. I am of the opinion that anything preboil is not an issue, only post boil, and even then, most things cant survive the alcohol the yeast puts out...that's partially why beer was drunk not water. Some guys freak out.. you need to boil your hands, the dog, cat, sterile room, class five biohazard suit. RDWHAHB


/\ this
 
7. And if I am visiting someone and they offer me a BMC Light, because thats their house beer, I will graciously accept their hospitality and drink it without complaint. And you know what? I'll enjoy it too, because there is a time and place for every beer under the sun.

BAZINGA!! I have a couple very good old friends who I get to drink with every now and again, and we only drink Busch Lights and whiskey. Never gonna change, either.
 
BAZINGA!! I have a couple very good old friends who I get to drink with every now and again, and we only drink Busch Lights and whiskey. Never gonna change, either.

LOL

about 15 years ago a friend came over, fellow homebrewer, and asked If I would drink a beer with him, I said I would always drink a beer with him, he pulled out 2 30 oz country club malt liquors.
OK, that started it, it was on like donkey kong, as we both had admitting to always drinking a beer with each other. we now go find the cheapest beer of malt liquor we can and buy two when going to each others house. And we have found some really bad ones, such as Cobra Ice.
Anyway to this very day we have dealt each others taste buds every insult we can, If one of us admits they do not want to drink a beer, he loses a lot of face with everyone as we both have vowed to drink with each other.
It aint going change
It has to go on

However, somewhere I believe some brewer has heard of this contest and has brewed some crap that would only be bought by us. If not how do you justify some of it?

Tonight he dropped by with Steel Reserve, I think he buys it because I find it particularly awful, I quaffed it down so fast I did not even taste it.

We both walked over to my keezer and had a few ESBs, but we drank the ML.

that is what I drank tonight
 
Ok read most of posts on this thread and have to ask is this really just a place to say how much a bunch of you all dislike IPAs?
I hate every IPA that I have ever tasted. And that includes Grant's Brewery in Yakima from the early 1980s. Yep, I am pretty old.
 
Haha, yeah. With as many people as I hear hate on IPAs I don't feel like it's all that contrarian among honebrewers
 
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