What is your Brewing Pet-Peeve?

[jhoyda]

I wish my local store was only a little higher!

The fact that ingredients (especially Hops!) cost as much as 300% more at my LHBS than I can get them online, shipped to my door is ridiculous.

I have one about 40 mins away, but he will never get any more of my business. Sure, the prices are a little higher, but that isn't a big deal.

The last time, and I do mean last time, I was in there he seemed bothered by my presence. I was looking for a 1 gallon glass jug and some other things.

"Hi, I'm looking for a 1 gallon glass jug."

(Blank stare) "Uh, I'm all out of those."

"Could you order me one?"

(Now, visibly getting aggravated) "I guess I could, it'll be a couple weeks."

"Thanks anyways"

If customer service is too much of a hassle, I can shop elsewhere. At least I tried to keep my money locally.

 

[Grinnan5150]

When a friend who has never brewed asks to join you and after the five hour brewing session informs you that it is too difficult and that they would rather just drink the finished product.

 

[TarVolon]

i hate subway. i don't want to coach someone on how to make a sandwich- i want to point at the picture or say a number and that's it. extra pickle, hold the mayo whatever- but i want you to meet me at the register with a finished product, without me having to hold your f-ing hand while you do your job. If i were an expert at making sandwiches, i would be the one working at the sandwich shop- not you. this doesn't really have to do with brewing but i really hate subway.

I know it's not relevant, but I've been complaining about this all week. Nothing in the fridge, craving Italian, but nobody in my family wanted to get any. Subway advertises a pizza sub $5 footlong. So I ask for one, on wheat. They ask what I want on it. I say I've never had one, I just want whatever comes on it. So they ask whether I want sauce on it. Then they ask whether I want cheese on it. Then they ask whether I want any vegetables on it. No matter how many times I repeat "just put on it whatever normally goes on it," they won't add anything that I don't directly tell them to add. I'm starting to think they don't actually know what goes on their sandwiches.

 

[bobbrews]

I have a few:

*Fads like continuous-hopping by novice brewers just because Dogfish does it.

*Adding fruit, oak, bourbon, or spices if you've brewed less than 5 batches, and sometimes more. This is also a fad.

*New brewers asking for advice to combat a particular issue, and then not heeding said good advice and just rolling with it or making it worse, never learning or growing as a brewer.

*New brewers who think they're connoisseurs in the first 2-3 months of brewing. They subsequently travel to Belgium, buy a few rhizomes, subscribe to 3 beer magazines, visit Oktoberfest, trade for beer on a weekly basis, etc. all in the same 2-3 months.

*People who use the word "Balance" to describe IPAs/DIPAs.

*The entire extract kit bunch who's afraid to move on to building their own recipes, or at least learning about it. I agree that kit instructions are very basic/subpar.

*People who pre-freeze their beer glasses... and the beers themselves (to a point).

*Partial Volume Boils!! I hate them. I'm using the word hate here. I'd rather have 3 gallons of an excellent beer, than 6 gallons of a mediocre beer any day of the week. And yes, before you ask, I whole-heartedely believe that topping off with 2-3 gallons of plain water affects the quality of your beer in a bad way.

*People who use hopped-extract or buy a $29 Mr. Beer kit expecting the world.

*Homebrewers who blindly trust advice, even from the pro's... Like a 1999 Palmer quote on such an ever-changing and highly subjective subject like Dryhopping in 2012.

*Insisting that extract or all-grain is the only way to go without ever trying your hand at partial-mashing.

*Homebrewers who let their wort come to room temperature over the course of 24 hours instead of using an ice-bath or wort chiller or something.

*Homebrewers who stock up on multiple pounds of Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo... and then waste them for a few years in a loose ziploc bag. A friend of mine does this. I called him a bastard for contributing to the higher demand and taking those hops for granted

 

[tom_gamer]

I've done the no chill, not by choice, but had great success.

 

[blakelyc]

As a new brewer, I can say that my biggest peeve is advice from "experienced" brewers who require self-affirmation in the form of: "I never do X and I make great beer!", where X is something I am asking about. It is hard to take advice from folks who don't supply any reason or knowledge other than they do or never do whatever it is...... But somehow I am a clueless noob because I didn't take their advice.

 

[blakelyc]

Oh, and when I forget to make my priming solution. That really gets under my skin.

 

[homebrewdad]

I have a few:

*Fads like continuous-hopping by novice brewers just because Dogfish does it.

*Adding fruit, oak, bourbon, or spices if you've brewed less than 5 batches, and sometimes more. This is also a fad.

*New brewers asking for advice to combat a particular issue, and then not heeding said good advice and just rolling with it or making it worse, never learning or growing as a brewer.

*New brewers who think they're connoisseurs in the first 2-3 months of brewing. They subsequently travel to Belgium, buy a few rhizomes, subscribe to 3 beer magazines, visit Oktoberfest, trade for beer on a weekly basis, etc. all in the same 2-3 months.

*People who use the word "Balance" to describe IPAs/DIPAs.

*The entire extract kit bunch who's afraid to move on to building their own recipes, or at least learning about it. I agree that kit instructions are very basic/subpar.

*People who pre-freeze their beer glasses... and the beers themselves (to a point).

*Partial Volume Boils!! I hate them. I'm using the word hate here. I'd rather have 3 gallons of an excellent beer, than 6 gallons of a mediocre beer any day of the week. And yes, before you ask, I whole-heartedely believe that topping off with 2-3 gallons of plain water affects the quality of your beer in a bad way.

*People who use hopped-extract or buy a $29 Mr. Beer kit expecting the world.

*Homebrewers who blindly trust advice, even from the pro's... Like a 1999 Palmer quote on such an ever-changing and highly subjective subject like Dryhopping in 2012.

*Insisting that extract or all-grain is the only way to go without ever trying your hand at partial-mashing.

*Homebrewers who let their wort come to room temperature over the course of 24 hours instead of using an ice-bath or wort chiller or something.

*Homebrewers who stock up on multiple pounds of Citra, Simcoe, and Amarillo... and then waste them for a few years in a loose ziploc bag. A friend of mine does this. I called him a bastard for contributing to the higher demand and taking those hops for granted

Wow, what a list! I think you could almost sum this list up as "other homebrewers" or "novice homebrewers".

 

[bobbrews]

As a new brewer, I can say that my biggest peeve is advice from "experienced" brewers who require self-affirmation in the form of: "I never do X and I make great beer!", where X is something I am asking about. It is hard to take advice from folks who don't supply any reason or knowledge other than they do or never do whatever it is...... But somehow I am a clueless noob because I didn't take their advice.

Good point. People should back up their advice with reasoning. On occasion, people may not be so thorough to provide a reason why, but all you have to do is ask for more in-depth analysis as to why.

 

[aubiecat]

I despise homebrewers that become beer snobs. People that look down their nose at others because a of a certain beer they drink are the biggest douches in the world.

 

[jonmohno]

Yeast hydrating instructions: Hydrate yeast at 85-95(100?)??? when you pitch at wort chilled to 65?
Anything wrong with hydrating at closer yeast pitching temps? I may never know?

 

[tuskenraider]

Recipes that go through the trouble to list ingredients to the hundreth of an ounce and then assertion that close enough is just fine. Horseshoes or hand grenades?

 

[phenry]

Raising gravity for the sake of raising gravity. Okay, your beer is going to have more alcohol in it. Do you like being drunk? Just do shots of vodka if that's the case. A lot less trouble, a lot quicker, and probably a lot cheaper in the long run. Most of my beers that I brew now, aside from the occasional Imperial Stout or Trappist-esque Belgian, are between 3-5% abv. Why? Because I like drinking beer, not getting drunk.

 

[dannypo]

People who insist that their prehopped extract kit fermented at 85 degrees with no oxygenation is as good or better than all-grain beers.

People who complain about competitions and style guidelines. Maybe if you brewed better beer you would do better. It's not the guidelines fault.

 

[Sea]

people who assert that their way is THE way, and off flavors.

 

[Dawnhulio]

Raising gravity for the sake of raising gravity. Okay, your beer is going to have more alcohol in it. Do you like being drunk? Just do shots of vodka if that's the case. A lot less trouble, a lot quicker, and probably a lot cheaper in the long run. Most of my beers that I brew now, aside from the occasional Imperial Stout or Trappist-esque Belgian, are between 3-5% abv. Why? Because I like drinking beer, not getting drunk.

+1. I have a few friends who ask if I would please up the alcohol content specifically for them to get a buzz off it. 'Uh, no.' But more power to those who want to.

My other peeve ... getting 'ran-over' at the wildly popular LHBS by brewers who think they own the place. Yes, you may spend a lot of money there, and yes, you are likely a more seasoned brewer than I, but that does not give you permission to throw typical civilities out the door. A while back I snapped at a guy because he rudely pushed me out of the mill I was using to grind my grain purchase, all while snidely commenting that I 'obviously ' had no clue what I was doing. (Granted I was struggling but had figured it out). I snapped back and said 'huh, I bet you were new to this once too, and thanks for your overwhelming help.'

He actually apologized the next time I saw him there....said he forgot that new brewers come in the door and that he should have offered assistance. I chalked it up to him just having a bad day.... but I've ran into it more than once.

 

[wailingguitar]

+1. I have a few friends who ask if I would please up the alcohol content specifically for them to get a buzz off it. 'Uh, no.' But more power to those who want to.

My other peeve ... getting 'ran-over' at the wildly popular LHBS by brewers who think they own the place. Yes, you may spend a lot of money there, and yes, you are likely a more seasoned brewer than I, but that does not give you permission to throw typical civilities out the door. A while back I snapped at a guy because he rudely pushed me out of the mill I was using to grind my grain purchase, all while snidely commenting that I 'obviously ' had no clue what I was doing. (Granted I was struggling but had figured it out). I snapped back and said 'huh, I bet you were new to this once too, and thanks for your overwhelming help.'

He actually apologized the next time I saw him there....said he forgot that new brewers come in the door and that he should have offered assistance. I chalked it up to him just having a bad day.... but I've ran into it more than once.

Was this at Steinbart? A place I love, but could TOTALLY see that happening there... Man, I HATE stuff like that... The nerve! GRR! How about "Hey man, is that thing giving you grief? Can I help?". I used to hang out at a LHBS specifically to HELP the new folks coming in... Hopefully this time next year there will be a LHBS on the horizon so I can do that again... (local sore spot... politics... grrr )

 

[MrManifesto]

on this forum? people not using the search function. this forum would have half the threads and a quarter of the posts if people bothered to look instead of asking "did i ruin mah beir?" for the ten thousandth time. no, mashing at 154 instead of 152 didn't ruin your beer.

 

[Dawnhulio]

Was this at Steinbart? A place I love, but could TOTALLY see that happening there... Man, I HATE stuff like that... The nerve! GRR! How about "Hey man, is that thing giving you grief? Can I help?". I used to hang out at a LHBS specifically to HELP the new folks coming in... Hopefully this time next year there will be a LHBS on the horizon so I can do that again... (local sore spot... politics... grrr )

You called it... it is indeed Steinbarts. Staff there is super awesome...its just some of the clientele that I seem to get a hard time from. Hubby's even noticed it and made the observation that perhaps its because I'm SWMBO (and might be looked at as a 'novelty'). I don't agree with this assertion as I feel a large number of us on this forum have probably experienced this. And kudos to you and anyone else willing to look out for the n00bies :rockin:

 

[genes]

The abundance of bad advice.

" I've been brewing for two years and have made pretty much every style"

"so, I'm going to start a brewery...."

Homebrewers that think they can just go pro. There's a huge difference between 5 gallons and 7 barrels . Stop insulting professionals by minimalising their job.

Homebrewers that try to give pros advice.

Amazement over female brewers. This one puts me over the edge. Who would have thought that a woman could bear children AND brew beer? Hate to tell you but, pre industrialization, it was part of a woman's daily regimen to brew.

"! Wah! I can't believe I didn't win a medal. My beer is sooo good.". And your ego is huge. STFU!!!!

 

[dutchoven]

Mine has to be new brewers adding God-knows-what to their first batch ... Half-pound of chocolate, pine branch, slab of bacon, Twizzlers ... then asking why their batch didn't turn out right ... Why, WHY?

 

[whitehause]

I agree with new brewers not going overboard. I think the Double choc. juniper strawberry sour wheat stoudt should wait a till a few brews in.

When I'm in the kitchen for three hours, the last 10 mins when I'm transferring my cooled wort to the fermenter (thats on the floor) is when my wife decides to march our Golden retriever through the kitchen to put him out. He's a dog...I'm pouring sweet smelling liquid in to a bucket on the floor...are you

That and fruit flies....damn you fruit flies....damn you all to hell.( done in best Heston voice)

 

[jonmohno]

Learning the hard way will always be repeated.

 

[Grossy]

Instructions that do not follow a sequential order.

"Do this, then do that, but before you do that remember you first have to do this."

Use bullets.

1. Do this,
2. do other thing,
3. do that,

 

[jtakacs]

any question where the answer can be googled. you can use google to search any website , including HBT. its like using a phone without knowing how to talk.

 

[Grinnan5150]

I agree with new brewers not going overboard. I think the Double choc. juniper strawberry sour wheat stoudt should wait a till a few brews in.

When I'm in the kitchen for three hours, the last 10 mins when I'm transferring my cooled wort to the fermenter (thats on the floor) is when my wife decides to march our Golden retriever through the kitchen to put him out. He's a dog...I'm pouring sweet smelling liquid in to a bucket on the floor...are you

That and fruit flies....damn you fruit flies....damn you all to hell.( done in best Heston voice)

Amen!!!! God forbid I interrupt my wife when she is doing something she enjoys but when she throws a wrench in my hobby I am the *******. Her biggest sabatoge maneuver is to mess with the thermostat and mess with the fermentation. She doesn't do it on purpose but it just irks me because when I complain about it she doesn't get what the big deal is. I think it is time to show her what "rule of thumb" actually means!!!! I need a drink.

 

[jtakacs]

I've done the no chill, not by choice, but had great success.

I no chill most of my beers. but it was the only pet peeve I disagreed with so I let it slide. no chill is fine.

oh wait, winkys ( ) are a pet peeve. and "lol".

 

[Boy]

I'm split on people posting new threads on stuff that can be googled. Yes, googling is very important, but it seems that one thread doesn't necessarily have all the answers. There are probably 10 threads on making beer a deep red color. Out of those about 6 are informative but it takes all of them to get all of the ideas, attempts, and results to get the full picture.

Something simple like starting a new thread for "what is batch sparging?" Ridiculous. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+batch+sparging

 

[bscott1011]

Beer snobbery

 

[Homercidal]

Brewing Pet Peeves.

Isn't this supposed to be a fun hobby? Then why are we all getting bent out of shape? Lots of things on here are things that OTHER people are doing that impact the poster not one iota.