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zarniwoop

Well-Known Member
Joined
30/12/11
Messages
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Hi All,

I'm a very new brewer (just put down extract brew number 3) and I try to restrict my posts on AHB to questions rather than anything that would cause "robust" conversation but I have to ask this one: Is it worth sharing home brew with mates who aren't familiar with different beer styles?

I really enjoy my beer, have been drinking craft beer for a few years and I tend to drink beer more for the taste these days (although last night's consumption would argue with that :D ), I'm still very much a newbie and have a long way to go when it comes to learning about beer styles and subtleties let alone brewing but I can drink a beer and appreciate it (or not) for what it represents for the style, if it's a new style I try to appreciate it for what it's supposed to be.

My second brew was a simple weizen, it's a style I'm familiar with, and I gave a bottle to a friend to try, his response "oh yeah not bad, it's not as fizzy as the corona I just had but the bubbles are still there"...... ARRGGHH!!! :huh:

Ok I wasn't expecting him to comment on the banana and clove balance or the body created by the yeast but really..... fizzy???

Now I imagine it's really easy to get sensitive about your own beers and I do I ask for a honest opinion (nothing worse than producing crap and everyone tells you how great it is) and I wasn't looking for praise but I would have liked it if it got reviewed for what it was supposed to be, or if unfamiliar with the style appreciated for a new style.

So the question is: Is it worth giving unusual styles to friends who are not familiar with beer beyond the standard mass production brews? I'd like to think it would be a good opportunity to introduce them to some alternatives but I can't help feel I'm on a looser....


Cheers

Zarniwoop

(Personally I don't think this weizen is too bad, not brilliant but very drinkable and even my wife likes it and she's a hard task master on beer...oh and the CO2 is about right)
 
If we accept that the US is the home of craft brewing, well the total sales for craft beer there just reached 5%.
That means 95% of beer drinkers in that market just dont get what we are on about. If people like your beer and you want to share great, otherwise more for those that do get it. But I think you could go spare PDQ trying to convert people who really dont care.
Mark
 
Your not alone there Zarni. I reckon the thing is not to try to hard. Just offer them a beer when youre having one, tell them what it is and leave it at that. If they are interested they will raise the subject in good time.
If you really need to share, get feed back and comment join a brew club. You will learn alot too. Cheers.
Daz
 
Hi All,

I'm a very new brewer (just put down extract brew number 3) and I try to restrict my posts on AHB to questions rather than anything that would cause "robust" conversation but I have to ask this one: Is it worth sharing home brew with mates who aren't familiar with different beer styles?

I really enjoy my beer, have been drinking craft beer for a few years and I tend to drink beer more for the taste these days (although last night's consumption would argue with that :D ), I'm still very much a newbie and have a long way to go when it comes to learning about beer styles and subtleties let alone brewing but I can drink a beer and appreciate it (or not) for what it represents for the style, if it's a new style I try to appreciate it for what it's supposed to be.

My second brew was a simple weizen, it's a style I'm familiar with, and I gave a bottle to a friend to try, his response "oh yeah not bad, it's not as fizzy as the corona I just had but the bubbles are still there"...... ARRGGHH!!! :huh:

Ok I wasn't expecting him to comment on the banana and clove balance or the body created by the yeast but really..... fizzy???

Now I imagine it's really easy to get sensitive about your own beers and I do I ask for a honest opinion (nothing worse than producing crap and everyone tells you how great it is) and I wasn't looking for praise but I would have liked it if it got reviewed for what it was supposed to be, or if unfamiliar with the style appreciated for a new style.

So the question is: Is it worth giving unusual styles to friends who are not familiar with beer beyond the standard mass production brews? I'd like to think it would be a good opportunity to introduce them to some alternatives but I can't help feel I'm on a looser....


Cheers

Zarniwoop

(Personally I don't think this weizen is too bad, not brilliant but very drinkable and even my wife likes it and she's a hard task master on beer...oh and the CO2 is about right)


what was the recipe for the weizen ?
 
what was the recipe for the weizen ?

Nothing complex, two tins of coopers wheat extract (50/50 barely-wheat), some saaz and 3068. Similar to the easy weizen in the recipe section. Like I said not brilliant but quite pleasant and very drinkable.
 
Nothing complex, two tins of coopers wheat extract (50/50 barely-wheat), some saaz and 3068. Similar to the easy weizen in the recipe section. Like I said not brilliant but quite pleasant and very drinkable.


sure, just checking if your friend was close the mark, obviously not :p

most of my family and friends welcome all the different beers i make, some they like, some they dont

i have learnt to accept that they dont always share the same enthusiasm with beer that i do, and i respect them for that, which is why i always have fresh water on tap available for them (uncarbonated and at room temperature is how i serve it, and i didnt have to buy any new equipment for the service)
 
Hi All,

I'm a very new brewer (just put down extract brew number 3) and I try to restrict my posts on AHB to questions rather than anything that would cause "robust" conversation but I have to ask this one: Is it worth sharing home brew with mates who aren't familiar with different beer styles?


So the question is: Is it worth giving unusual styles to friends who are not familiar with beer beyond the standard mass production brews? I'd like to think it would be a good opportunity to introduce them to some alternatives but I can't help feel I'm on a looser....

In my experience the answer is NO <_<
 
My second brew was a simple weizen, it's a style I'm familiar with, and I gave a bottle to a friend to try, his response "oh yeah not bad, it's not as fizzy as the corona I just had but the bubbles are still there"...... ARRGGHH!!! :huh:

Ok I wasn't expecting him to comment on the banana and clove balance or the body created by the yeast but really..... fizzy???
I don't think this is something that pertains only to people who aren't beer geeks. Two of the threads on this board that I read the most are the two What's In The Glass threads. You would be surprised how often the only thing people mention about a beer is level of carb or head retention. People actually give enough of a shit about it to give it primary importance. You'd be surprised how often people only post a picture of an empty, dirty glass to show how proud they are of their brew's ability to contain CO2.
 
Mate, stuff the swillers. What we make shits all over the Tooheys and VB crap. SWMBO (a wine only drinker) has seen the light and won't touch factory beer(big headache) but loves my brews...... I think that's good???? lol
Just be careful, this hobby quickly becomes an obsession!!

cheers Peter
 
Some can be converted... my mate has only ever bought XXXX Summer or Corona but he's starting to enjoy some of the craft beers I've been showing him.

He actually had a taste of my Fly-Rye IPA last night and said it was f'ing beautiful :eek:
 
I only share my brews with fellow HBers or family and work mates who are going to give me constructive feedback either way.
Some of them love it, even megaswill drinkers, and some politely say they prefer their Corona.

I ask them what it was they liked or didnt like about it and to describe the flavour they can taste.
When I give them a Galaxy hopped brew I generally always get.."It tastes like fruity lexia" My reply is usually.."Only a homo like you would know what fruity lexia would taste like..."

But they are always keen to try my next brew, and we have Friday knock off beer tasting sessions quite often.
 
If you really need to share, get feed back and comment join a brew club. You will learn alot too. Cheers.

Bayside Brewers have monthly meetings. We have a few members from the Mornington Pennisula. Shoot me a PM if you are interested in coming along.
 
Don't chuck the pearls before the swine.

Seriously - a died in the wool megaswill drinker (esp. VB, Tooheys and XXXX drinkers) will likely not appreciate it.

But.... I gave a glass of Rajadom IPA to a Corona drinker who, I quote says "I buy corona, because I can put lemon in in and it's a nice flavour, you know?". He loved it. Took in all the smells, and flavours and the like.

The other case in question is my Euroswilling, still at home at 30 younger brothers. Both will let me know when they don't like something, but if they ask for extra/my leftover from the keg bottles (even if it's just because they're too tight to pay for their own beer), then I know I'm onto a winner.

I thought a 45 IBU IPA would be more than their 25-30 IBU max palates could take. As it stood, they preferred it to a 35 IBU APA - the only reason I can think of is that it is an excellently balanced beer, with enough malt backbone to support the bitterness, and (my new craze of) FWH seems to produce a pronounced, yet not harsh bitterness.

Goomba
 
Out of curiosity how many IBUs are beers such as Corona and VB?
 
VB is actually fairly bitter, around 25 IBU? Corona would be down around 17 I guess. VB is strange, because CUB actually make some quite acceptable beers with a clean taste, some definite real hop character and no nasty off flavours. Examples, Melbourne Bitter and Reschs Draught (NSW only).

VB is the opposite, nasty metallic twang, unclean finish and fake isohop flavour. Still, it's their best seller.

I don't mind Corona either, in it's place and definitely not with a slice of lemon :p - I'll always remember a brew day when a non brewer turned up with a six pack of Corona so as not to arrive empty handed. After sampling Galaxy ales, stouts, IPAs etc that people had brought, we did a couple of Coronas and everyone remarked that rather than tasting like piss, which we expected, there was some firm malt and a bit of hop still coming through. A very well made beer and easy to sneer at.

Most people conflate it with wankas and yuppies and posers but taken in isolatio as a beer it has its points.
 
It is still headache material... fwiw (corona, i.e.), few times that did have to drink sessions of coronas, nothing bad about the taste, esp with the lemon. I hate myself in the morning though.
 
You can educate some people who are genuinely interested. Unfortunately, it will be wasted on the majority.

I have one friend who has been into wine for years, and even shared a decent few of his Grange collection from his cellar, because I try to understand wine and I'm interested in it. He won't give it to others; as they say "pearls before swine"etc.
He will happily drink all of my beers and ask genuine questions. For example, when I recently gave him a Mild at about 3.5% ABV, he asked me how I got so much flavour, body and colour into a low/mid alcohol beer. That's a man I'll gladly serve my beers.

I no longer give any to my son. He complained a while ago to our son-in-law that my beers are too malty and too hoppy. Nice one, son, you keep drinking your TEDs etc and be happy. I'll save you from my beer in future.
 
I reckon it's not something you can generalise. Some dyed-in-the-wool Megaswill drinkers really appreciate something different.

More about the person than the beer. And it's usually surprising - I gave some megaswill drinkers a bottle of a lager made with Boh Pils and Amarillo and they are still raving about it.

Honestly, it's got more to do with presentation than taste: hand them a green bottle of something well-carbed and super bright and you're 75% there before it's hit their tastebuds.

Hand them a soupy weizen that tastes like bubblegum and it's anyone's guess if they prove to be open-minded or not.
 
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