What are your contrarian/"unpopular" beer opinions?

[TANSTAAFB]

Not using a hydrometer in homebrewing is equivalent to being a doctor in 21st century and treating every illness with blood-letting.

Nah, it's like being a cook who doesn't use measuring cups. I don't need to measure a recipe I've made a thousand times, doesn't matter whether it's my beer or my carne guisada! I can tell when they're done by looking at, smelling, and tasting them.

 

[GrogNerd]

baking requires measurements.... cooking does not

brewing does, but on most measurements, I have a wide margin for error. ounce or 2 of water, ounce of malt, 1/4 oz off on hop measurements doesn't make a huge difference in the final product

I do use a hydrometer, but I'm not so anal I have to measure 3 days in a row to know I'm at terminal gravity. one reading is my FG as it goes into bottling bucket and 9 times out of 10 I've overattenuated and am reading lower than my estimated FG.

NEVER have had a gusher or a bottle bomb. including my Grodziskie, which I bottle at 3.5 volumes

 

[ShareBrewing]

I love sour beers but my opinion is that there needs to be more precise naming and labeling of these beers. The usual style terms used are "sour", "tart", or "wild" beer.

All of these words mean totally different things. I might describe a Berliner-Weiss as a tart beer, but not sour. I've seen "wild ale" used for a clean tasting gose. Totally inaccurate.

Breweries should just actually tell the consumer what the style of the beer is, and not try to mask it for marketing purposes.

 

[Mainer]

Unpopular opinion: I don't have to try a peanut butter stout to know I don't ever want to make one. I'm all for zany adjuncts, but c'mon man.

 

[BrewKnob]

Never wash yeast.

 

[Mainer]

I love sour beers but my opinion is that there needs to be more precise naming and labeling of these beers. The usual style terms used are "sour", "tart", or "wild" beer.

All of these words mean totally different things. I might describe a Berliner-Weiss as a tart beer, but not sour. I've seen "wild ale" used for a clean tasting gose. Totally inaccurate.

Breweries should just actually tell the consumer what the style of the beer is, and not try to mask it for marketing purposes.

I'd describe a Berliner as sour, a sour blended with a fresh beer as tart, anything with Brett as funky or wild.

 

[CGVT]

I'd describe a Berliner as sour, a sour blended with a fresh beer as tart, anything with Brett as funky or wild.

And all of them spoiled.

 

[Trail]

And all of them spoiled.

Right? "Funk" is what a Saison does. Brett is closer to "gone off"...

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

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...

....I think that's actually worse if it's "family oriented." o.o

Hmm, have we hit on the "anything over 8% ABV requires months to years of bottle aging to be 'drinkable'" silliness yet? It's been a few posts here.

 

[jrgtr42]

Hmm, have we hit on the "anything over 8% ABV requires months to years of bottle aging to be 'drinkable'" silliness yet? It's been a few posts here.

Not here, at least not "anything." I've had beers at 15% that drink as smooth as any session beer - and ones at 7% at hot and boozy as they come.
So. Some beers need months or years of aging to be drinkable. Some are ready to go when they leave the brewery.
There is never an "all" or "none" when it comes to aging beer.

 

[NoIguanaForZ]

Oh, wait, I've got one.

When I was chilling my beer earlier, a couple stray drops of water from things I was moving fell into the pot, one from near the sink while it was still well above 200, and one from the outer vessel I was using as a supplemental water bath when it was down around 130.

Should I be worried about the small splashes from those drops introducing enough oxygen to cause Hot Side Aeration and ruin my beer?

 

[Mainer]

And all of them spoiled.

*All* fermentation is controlled spoilage.

 

[CGVT]

*All* fermentation is controlled spoilage.

Could be, but not all fermentation caused beer to taste like ass

 

[soccerdad]

How do so many of you know what ass tastes like?

 

[jrgtr42]

Oh, wait, I've got one.

When I was chilling my beer earlier, a couple stray drops of water from things I was moving fell into the pot, one from near the sink while it was still well above 200, and one from the outer vessel I was using as a supplemental water bath when it was down around 130.

Should I be worried about the small splashes from those drops introducing enough oxygen to cause Hot Side Aeration and ruin my beer?

I'd be more worried about contamination. I think you need to dump the whole batch because of those couple drops, or finish it up and send to me for disposal.

 

[Mainer]

Could be, but not all fermentation caused beer to taste like ass

There's nothing better on cold rainy day than a rich, finely aged Flanders Red. It's a deliberately cultivated style that's older than IPAs, Baltic Porters, or California Commons.

My unpopular opinion is that you're allowed to be a dick about other people's preferences if you want, but it doesn't make you right.

 

[IPAndy]

You can make a sour out of anything. Seriously, I think it's still a largely untapped flavor profile that can truly explode the number of potential types of beers out there. Not all beers should be sours, but they can be.

 

[Mainer]

You can make a sour out of anything. Seriously, I think it's still a largely untapped flavor profile that can truly explode the number of potential types of beers out there. Not all beers should be sours, but they can be.

Yeah. I tend to like it with a Belgian or German profile. I even experimented with a sour lager last winter. It was... interesting.
I'm less convinced on sour stouts. I've had a few stellar ones, and a lot of lousy ones.

 

[CGVT]

There's nothing better on cold rainy day than a rich, finely aged Flanders Red. It's a deliberately cultivated style that's older than IPAs, Baltic Porters, or California Commons.

My unpopular opinion is that you're allowed to be a dick about other people's preferences if you want, but it doesn't make you right.

Looks as if my contrarian opinion struck a nerve

 

[CGVT]

How do so many of you know what ass tastes like?

I hear it's an acquired taste...

 

[Mainer]

Looks as if my contrarian opinion struck a nerve

Yeah, probably an overreaction. I'm brewing all sours this summer. Did a Flanders Red in June, just put up a sour Belgian blonde, and have a Berliner slated for next month.

I do enjoy drinking sours, but they take so much time and equipment maintenance I probably wouldn't bother, except that the missus is a big fan.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[roadkizzle]

You can make a sour out of anything. Seriously, I think it's still a largely untapped flavor profile that can truly explode the number of potential types of beers out there. Not all beers should be sours, but they can be.

Blue Owl Brewing in Austin, TX has this philosophy.

Their entire lineup is soured versions of regular beer styles.

 

[Bilsch]

Could be, but not all fermentation caused beer to taste like ass

Oh that's easy to fix.. just toss in an extra pound of hops or a little peanut butter and coffee etc. Voilà craft !

 

[brinson44]

Whatever happened to dank IPA's? Too much juice these days.

 

[Steveruch]

It is impossible to clone a commercial beer. Clone implies an exact copy which is not going to happen at home or even on a commercial level at a different brewery,
Something similar can be brewed, but you just aren't going to match a beer brewed in 10 barrel batches at home on a five gallon setup.
When I attempt to get close to a commercial beer I prefer to call it a ballpark beer.

 

[Mainer]

Whatever happened to dank IPA's? Too much juice these days.

I always wonder why New England makes all the juicy, tropical IPAs. Look at the damn weather here. We should be making Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.

I guess it's the same reason New England eats so much more ice cream per capita than the rest of the country. When your summers are this short, you have to do whatever you can to stretch them out.

 

[SpeedYellow]

My unpopular opinion: IPAs can never exceed mediocrity. The fact that AHA's recent 50 Best Beer survey is almost entirely IPAs makes me lose respect for AHA members.

I'll go back to my cave now.

 

[bleme]

I always wonder why New England makes all the juicy, tropical IPAs. Look at the damn weather here. We should be making Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.

I guess it's the same reason New England eats so much more ice cream per capita than the rest of the country. When your summers are this short, you have to do whatever you can to stretch them out.

I've wondered that also. While I enjoy dank, citrusy and/or tropical notes in an IPA, everything else about the NEIPA seems so contrived. It's like they combined a bunch of Brulosophy-type experiments to see how much they could change and still end up with beer.

Alaska eats more ice cream per capita than any other state. You need those extra calories to stay warm. When I lived in Fairbanks, I was burning through about 8000 calories a day but I didn't need a jacket to stay warm at -25F.

 

[triethylborane]

Pumpkin beer is disgusting.

 

[CGVT]

Pumpkin beer is disgusting.

Absolutely!