What are your contrarian/"unpopular" beer opinions?

[flars]

What, you just... pry up the cap, let it hiss off, and then stick it back in the capping press?

That is about it with the right style of bottle opener. I'm using the old style combo bottle/can opener. The prong that lifts the cap is only three-sixteenths of an inch wide. Lift gently to release some CO2. The cap will usually self seal. Some bottles will ooze some CO2 after release of the opener. Not a problem. CO2 coming out keeps air from going in.

Line up the bottles. Start from one end of the line and then go back to the first bottle and release some gas again. When foam no longer reaches to the cap inside the bottles you may be at the right carbonation level. Crimp the caps on each bottle and refrigerate. Check again the next day or later for excess carbonation that may remain.

Don't try this with bottles that haven't been chilled for a few days.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Looks like I nailed the contrary opinion part.

I entered a local competition sponsored by the local homebrew supply. It was not a style competition but rather we were all issued the same ingredients and just supposed to brew a good beer.

My carbonation was exactly what I was shooting for. A judge (not certified, just a local pro brewer) took off points for over-carbonation.

I confess to just a little hyperbole. There are obviously great beers that aren't crazily carbonated. But generally the only flat beer I drink comes from my final gravity samples.

WHAT!?!?! HYPERBOLE?!?!?!
I am LITERALLY beside myself with hysteria at your careless and wanton use of exaggerated sentiment, sir. LITERALLY beside myself!

And if there are three things that I hate more than ANYTHING else on the planet, they are:
1: Hyperbole
2: Lists
3: Irony

 

[JonM]

Hyperbole is worse than a million Hitlers.

 

[SlitheryDee]

If I didn't know better I would think the term "maltster" referred to a hip person that serves milkshakes.

 

[oylerck]

If I didn't know better I would think the term "maltster" referred to a hip person that serves milkshakes.

Close. A hipster that makes bootleg liquor.

 

[Lefou]

Mine... really sour beers are gross.

I like slightly tart beers... think Gose, Berliner Weiss..etc.

Malt vinegar is for salad dressing or fish. It ain't for drinking unless you've acquired a certain fetish for the taste.

 

[Mainer]

Close. A hipster that makes bootleg liquor.

You're both wrong. They're misspelled English candies.

 

[Steveruch]

Hyperbole is worse than a million Hitlers.

If I've said that once I've said it two million times.

 

[Beerswimmer]

Appearance in beer is over rated. Who cares what it looks like, as long as it's tasty?

Arguing over the difference between opaque and hazy is ridiculous, and to actually put man labor hours into making it one way or the other is silly.

 

[jodell]

I think hipsters are cool....now that's contrarian

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I think hipsters are cool....now that's contrarian

That's not contrarian, it's just early-onset senility setting in.

 

[jan_b19]

Pilsner beers taste like crap. There's nothing going on in the glass... They're basically extremely boring

 

[Kee]

Pilsner beers taste like crap. There's nothing going on in the glass... They're basically extremely boring

I only drink Pilsner when something with more flavor is not available. That would never be the case in Bruges.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I'm a huge hophead, mostly brew ales. Still, sounds like you've never had a decent pilsner. While not necessarily my favorite style I can appreciate the crisp, clean base supporting the bitterness and flavor of noble hops. Done well it is an excellent beer. But then I feel that way about most styles...if well executed I tend to enjoy them!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Pilsner beers taste like crap. There's nothing going on in the glass... They're basically extremely boring

Then you're either drinking the wrong Pilsners, or your palate has been wrecked by getting used to too much hops.

For most American Pilsners, I would agree with you. Even a lot of German and Czech Pilsners aren't that great (I'm looking at you, Radeburger).

Find yourself a good Bavarian Pils and try it with an open mind and a fresh, attentive palate, and you will find plenty going on.

Unfortunately for that experience, you have to go to Germany or find someone here making really good Pilsners (not easy to do).

A GOOD pilsner is pretty much the pinnacle of brewing craft and one of the most difficult styles to brew well (along with Kolsch and Munich Helles).
As I've said before, IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Nothing wrong with IPAs, but they are about the easiest style to make a decent version of.
Even NEIPAs (which I love). I don't know why there are so many threads with so many people asking advice on making them. They are actually super easy.

 

[roadkizzle]

Then you're either drinking the wrong Pilsners, or your palate has been wrecked by getting used to too much hops.

For most American Pilsners, I would agree with you. Even a lot of German and Czech Pilsners aren't that great (I'm looking at you, Radeburger).

Find yourself a good Bavarian Pils and try it with an open mind and a fresh, attentive palate, and you will find plenty going on.

Unfortunately for that experience, you have to go to Germany or find someone here making really good Pilsners (not easy to do).

A GOOD pilsner is pretty much the pinnacle of brewing craft and one of the most difficult styles to brew well (along with Kolsch and Munich Helles).
As I've said before, IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Nothing wrong with IPAs, but they are about the easiest style to make a decent version of.
Even NEIPAs (which I love). I don't know why there are so many threads with so many people asking advice on making them. They are actually super easy.

The poster you're quoting has the location set as Bruges, Belgium...

It is not much work to get to Germany from there...

That said... It may still be this poster just hasn't had a good pilsner... When I spent my summer in Dortmund I was planning for a weekend trip to Bruges so I was asking all the Germans I talked to what they thought of Belgian beer. I never got a real response other than "They're strong".

The fernseherbier is definitely bland, just easy to drink. But there are a lot of very flavorful pilsners in Germany... I really don't think good ones get shipped across the border even to somewhere as close as Bruges... But with the phenomenal beers available in Bruges I don't know if I'd be searching them out either.

 

[bleme]

Because 99% of it is better than mine. It's hard to perfect your game when it's a part time hobby with limited equipment, especially compared to pros who spent years/decades studying, experimenting, etc...

I've done blind taste tests at work and my beer has won every time. The sample size may not fit in a statistics confidence interval, but it was good enough for me. My club has a table serving at most local brewfests and we usually draw the biggest crowd. We get tons of people coming back for 4th and 5th pours, saying that ours is the best beer here.

Pro brewers have budget and time constraints that homebrewers don't. They also often choose a safe middle ground, because it is more marketable, instead of pushing boundaries. I'd also bet I have been brewing longer than some of of the new ones that pop up every year.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Very true. The vast majority of beer made in Germany these days is Pils, but much of it is mass market swill.
In Bavaria, and more specifically Franconia, you will find the good craft-brewed beers that made Germany famous for beer.

 

[ShareBrewing]

Adding flour to beer is a travesty. It's just as bad as adding green food coloring to beer for all the sheeple who drink it on St. Patty's Day.

And yes, the word sheeple was officially added to the Webster's dictionary. Win.

 

[Bilsch]

Then you're either drinking the wrong Pilsners, or your palate has been wrecked by getting used to too much hops.

For most American Pilsners, I would agree with you. Even a lot of German and Czech Pilsners aren't that great (I'm looking at you, Radeburger).

Find yourself a good Bavarian Pils and try it with an open mind and a fresh, attentive palate, and you will find plenty going on.

Unfortunately for that experience, you have to go to Germany or find someone here making really good Pilsners (not easy to do).

A GOOD pilsner is pretty much the pinnacle of brewing craft and one of the most difficult styles to brew well (along with Kolsch and Munich Helles).
As I've said before, IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Nothing wrong with IPAs, but they are about the easiest style to make a decent version of.
Even NEIPAs (which I love). I don't know why there are so many threads with so many people asking advice on making them. They are actually super easy.

Contrarian? I couldn't agree more.
Except that Radeberger part. I loves me some fresh Radeberg lager!
And apparently Vladimir Putin does too. So there is that.

 

[FatDragon]

Contrarian? I couldn't agree more.
Except that Radeberger part. I loves me some fresh Radeberg lager!
And apparently Vladimir Putin does too. So there is that.

There's a picture floating around the Chinese internet of Xi Jinping drinking Greene King IPA and looking more or less dissatisfied. Greene King has sold a ton of beer in China since then. Imagine if he were smiling into his pint...

What other beers do semi-authoritarian leaders around the world endorse? We know that Trump doesn't drink beer because he can't pull a ring tab or work a bottle opener with his tiny hands, but who else?

 

[jan_b19]

Then you're either drinking the wrong Pilsners, or your palate has been wrecked by getting used to too much hops.

For most American Pilsners, I would agree with you. Even a lot of German and Czech Pilsners aren't that great (I'm looking at you, Radeburger).

Find yourself a good Bavarian Pils and try it with an open mind and a fresh, attentive palate, and you will find plenty going on.

Unfortunately for that experience, you have to go to Germany or find someone here making really good Pilsners (not easy to do).

A GOOD pilsner is pretty much the pinnacle of brewing craft and one of the most difficult styles to brew well (along with Kolsch and Munich Helles).
As I've said before, IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Nothing wrong with IPAs, but they are about the easiest style to make a decent version of.
Even NEIPAs (which I love). I don't know why there are so many threads with so many people asking advice on making them. They are actually super easy.

You're right! You see, I live in Belgium. We have multiple well known pilsners ( genre stella) but I really don't like those European style pilsners. There's nothing going on inside the glass. Maybe it's been a while since i had a good one or maybe they're just really not my thing. I've always enjoyed a good Westmalle, Omer, Orval or a Brugge tripel (that last one is an AMAZING beer).

Maybe I just prefer complicated flavors and pilsner flavors are to simple for me. For example: Brugge tripel has hints of banana, cuberdon, caramel, chocolate and cranberry ALL IN THE SAME GLASS
Sadly the only thing known about the recipe is that they use pale malt, spring water and kent golding and a yeast that adds roasted/smoked flavor.

But my absolute favorite beers are the saisons I brew at home and Rodenbach, brewed in my hometown.

 

[jan_b19]

I only drink Pilsner when something with more flavor is not available. That would never be the case in Bruges.

I actually don't live in Bruges but in Roeselare (where they make Rodenbach). When I made this profile I couldn't pick My city so I took the closest one. Maybe I should check if I can change it now

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Contrarian? I couldn't agree more.
Except that Radeberger part. I loves me some fresh Radeberg lager!
And apparently Vladimir Putin does too. So there is that.

That wasn't my contrarian opinion (because it's not contrarian) - that was my response to the contrarian opinion that Pilsners are boring.

A German friend of mine who is from Bitburger country makes fun of Radeburger. He calls it "That East German Beer" and says East Germans forgot how to make good beer after so many years under the Soviet Union's thumb. lol.

I dunno, I bought a sixer of it recently because I'd never had it before, and I think it's okay, but nothing special (but it has admittedly suffered from importing).
I think pretty much ALL beer made outside the US suffers from shipping and importing and none are what they are actually supposed to be like.
Except Heinekin - They intentionally skunk it because Heinekin drinkers apparently think skunky beer is the norm.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

You're right! You see, I live in Belgium. We have multiple well known pilsners ( genre stella) but I really don't like those European style pilsners. There's nothing going on inside the glass. Maybe it's been a while since i had a good one or maybe they're just really not my thing. I've always enjoyed a good Westmalle, Omer, Orval or a Brugge tripel (that last one is an AMAZING beer).

Maybe I just prefer complicated flavors and pilsner flavors are to simple for me. For example: Brugge tripel has hints of banana, cuberdon, caramel, chocolate and cranberry ALL IN THE SAME GLASS
Sadly the only thing known about the recipe is that they use pale malt, spring water and kent golding and a yeast that adds roasted/smoked flavor.

But my absolute favorite beers are the saisons I brew at home and Rodenbach, brewed in my hometown.

Yes, well, you do have a lot of great local beer to choose from, and there's no arguing the complexity of them.
I believe, however, that a good Pils, while perhaps not as complex, has some very interesting flavors going on (fresh cereal grains, subtle noble hops. etc). However, you will not find that in pretty much any of the big mass-produced European light lagers like Stella, Heinekin (horrible, at least in the US), Warsteiner, Becks, etc.

I don't even really care for Pilsner Urquell. I can't say it's a style thing, because it's supposed to be the progenitor of the style, but my palate likes Bavarian Pils better than Czech Pilsner.

 

[Incubus2112]

I think I am almost too new to have any controversial opinions developed, yet, but I have a story of my adherence to a name of a piece of equipment that was decently frowned upon in the former brewing forum I used to post on.

Here they are. They were listed on Amazon as what was called "Ball Lock Cornelius Keg Pigtails".

I had been super stoked to find these as I wanted to get into kegging and I already had my own kegerator with a top mounted faucet/tap. I needed something to wash out my kegs with and push air through, etc, so I found these and was super stoked. I decided to post about them calling them "Pigtails".

Other brewers believed them to be better referred to as "Ball Lock Corny Keg gas out and picnic tap."

I thought this was kinda ridiculous and indicated I would be using "pigtails" instead.

Someone also posted this picture as something it could be confused with

This is a brewer's pigtail. Singular. Not confusable.

*puts on flame jacket*

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Actually I'd say that's more of a ball lock gas-in line ("in" to a keg from a CO2 tank) and a picnic spout.
You can call them whatever you want.
You can even call them magical blue unicorn horns if you like, but nobody in brewing calls them pigtails.

 

[Incubus2112]

Untrue. I do. Lol.

 

[stonebrewer]

Neither CO2 nor beer come out of pigtails. Pig poo comes out of pigtails.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

The only pigtails I know of are the ones you use as handles for...well...I'll keep it family oriented here and leave it at that...