Most annoying response when you tell someone you're a homebrewer?

Yakima 728
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bracconiere said:
LOL, bierlikör, broke google! everyone started speaking german! what is it? apparently it must be good, if it even gets google and wikipedia drunk!
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Since it doesn't have a clear provenance and lacks an official description, the name covers a gamut of beverages. While living in Stuttgart I had quite a variety of rotgut variously described as bierlikör; ranging from pure white distillate that tasted like vodka to golden, syrupy-sweet concoctions flavored with "bear root". None tasted very much like beer, but in my mind the real deal would have a malty sweetness and loads of hop aroma. I asked my brother if he could 'turn it down' to retain beer flavors, but I guess it doesn't work like that. My idea would be to start with a high gravity finished beer and juice it with high-proof beer and hops distillate until it is of a sufficient ABV to be shelf stable for use in cocktails or enjoyed neat. I also think distilling hops essence to make a schnapps would be interesting. Maybe it's up to us to bring forth into the world!
 
Jayjay1976 said:
Since it doesn't have a clear provenance and lacks an official description, the name covers a gamut of beverages. While living in Stuttgart I had quite a variety of rotgut variously described as bierlikör; ranging from pure white distillate that tasted like vodka to golden, syrupy-sweet concoctions flavored with "bear root". None tasted very much like beer, but in my mind the real deal would have a malty sweetness and loads of hop aroma. I asked my brother if he could 'turn it down' to retain beer flavors, but I guess it doesn't work like that. My idea would be to start with a high gravity finished beer and juice it with high-proof beer and hops distillate until it is of a sufficient ABV to be shelf stable for use in cocktails or enjoyed neat. I also think distilling hops essence to make a schnapps would be interesting. Maybe it's up to us to bring forth into the world!
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Well i've run beer before. and all i can say is you lose almost all the malt flavor, but the hops get concentrated....all be it in a kinda cooked flavor, but adding it back to beer makes for a good hops flavor...
 
bracconiere said:
Well i've run beer before. and all i can say is you lose almost all the malt flavor, but the hops get concentrated....all be it in a kinda cooked flavor, but adding it back to beer makes for a good hops flavor...
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Jayjay1976 said:
Since it doesn't have a clear provenance and lacks an official description, the name covers a gamut of beverages. While living in Stuttgart I had quite a variety of rotgut variously described as bierlikör; ranging from pure white distillate that tasted like vodka to golden, syrupy-sweet concoctions flavored with "bear root". None tasted very much like beer, but in my mind the real deal would have a malty sweetness and loads of hop aroma. I asked my brother if he could 'turn it down' to retain beer flavors, but I guess it doesn't work like that. My idea would be to start with a high gravity finished beer and juice it with high-proof beer and hops distillate until it is of a sufficient ABV to be shelf stable for use in cocktails or enjoyed neat. I also think distilling hops essence to make a schnapps would be interesting. Maybe it's up to us to bring forth into the world!
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LOL - The only thing I've done remotely close to what you're talking about was doughing with light beer. It was a joke that we actual thought it'd be fun to do.

My homebrew club brought 12 packs of beer to a big brew (10 gallon batch) and opened like 140 cans of light beer, brought it up to temp to dough in.....it smelled gawd awful.

The end result was a decent imperial pilsner. ~10% and kinda like an american triple. Maybe could be truly dubbed a malt liquor.
 
BarleyStanding said:
"So when are you going to open a brewery?"
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^^^ THIS!!

A brewer at Allagash told me "If you like working 28 hours a day 9 days a week and spending 95% of your time cleaning for slave wages, go for it.". That was good enough for me to dismiss the idea entirely. Well, that and a quick read of PA state brewing laws. So that's what I tell people.
 
schematix said:
when your hobby becomes a job it's not a hobby anymore. takes the fun out of it.
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i honestly only have short bursts of fun with it anymore, like the new pale malt out of the kiln. But really just making my own is more like cooking dinner at night and washing the dishes. I do it because i can't afford to eat at a restaurant every day....it's actually a little easier to brew my own beer, only have to spend about 3 days a month, and i have to cook dinner everyday!

maybe that should be my go to response when people ask me if i sell it. "What did you cook for dinner last night?", "Oh, my god! when are you opening a restaurant?"
 
bracconiere said:
i honestly only have short bursts of fun with it anymore, like the new pale malt out of the kiln. But really just making my own is more like cooking dinner at night and washing the dishes. I do it because i can't afford to eat at a restaurant every day....it's actually a little easier to brew my own beer, only have to spend about 3 days a month, and i have to cook dinner everyday!

maybe that should be my go to response when people ask me if i sell it. "What did you cook for dinner last night?", "Oh, my god! when are you opening a restaurant?"
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Only part i have fun with anymore is draining kegs.

I only continue to make it because the styles I like are either unavailable or what i consider to be overpriced for what they are. For that I do the slave labor.
 
bracconiere said:
maybe that should be my go to response when people ask me if i sell it. "What did you cook for dinner last night?", "Oh, my god! when are you opening a restaurant?"
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This is pure genius. I've struggled for months with a simple way to put this. Is HB cheaper than buying beer? Yes. But it takes work. Many enjoyable hours spent toiling over a pot of sanitizer. Hard to explain why it's such a fulfilling pursuit, but it really is.
 
bracconiere said:
i honestly only have short bursts of fun with it anymore, like the new pale malt out of the kiln. But really just making my own is more like cooking dinner at night and washing the dishes. I do it because i can't afford to eat at a restaurant every day....it's actually a little easier to brew my own beer, only have to spend about 3 days a month, and i have to cook dinner everyday!

maybe that should be my go to response when people ask me if i sell it. "What did you cook for dinner last night?", "Oh, my god! when are you opening a restaurant?"
Click to expand...

I think there's a lot of truth to this. I've had great fun figuring things out, trying new stuff and recipes and such. New equipment. Diddling with a homemade glycol chiller.

But if I were doing it for money, I'd likely lose most of that. To me, and YMMV, the benefit to brewing professionally would be seeing people enjoy the beer, and go back for more. I have a suspicion it wouldn't happen very much given the other demands.
 
BarleyStanding said:
"So when are you going to open a brewery?"
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Get this all too often. I’ve replied with, “Never, because I don’t want it to lose its fun.”, but I may start using the cooking dinner opening a restaurant line. Although it’s a little snarky...

The other day I when messaging an old friend (beer snob) and talking about beer, I said, “I don’t know, I’ve been spoiled by good homebrew lately and now I don’t really like a lot of craft or commercial beers any longer.” His response was, “I know you’ve got good flavor but there’s no way you get the purity and consistency of the big guys.”

I didn’t even know what to say. The purity???
 
RPh_Guy said:
LOL.
Good homebrew : craft :: craft : BMC

"I know you make good food but no way your cooking's as pure as McDonald's."

Frankly this is why I don't like to talk about brewing with anyone.


Albeit!
:D
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I hate people who think they know all things beer because they drink beer. STFU and drink your beer.

It's like offering unsolicited golf advise when you miss a put.
cartoon.jpeg
 
mongoose33 said:
I think there's a lot of truth to this. I've had great fun figuring things out, trying new stuff and recipes and such. New equipment. Diddling with a homemade glycol chiller.

But if I were doing it for money, I'd likely lose most of that. To me, and YMMV, the benefit to brewing professionally would be seeing people enjoy the beer, and go back for more. I have a suspicion it wouldn't happen very much given the other demands.
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besides me being happy to have something good to contribute. Can you give a link to the thread about this diddling glycol chiller? i still can't afford a pro one, and would love taps at my couch....

And, money and happiness, if everyone stopped worrying about arithmetic so much, and started thinking like that, the world would be a better place! no more bankers, and stock brokers! just help someone out and they'll do the same for you!


(on a dark sour note though, we are talking drugs. and a lot of drug dealers help people with anal lube) But that's why were homebrewers, RIGHT! lol
 
bracconiere said:
besides me being happy to have something good to contribute. Can you give a link to the thread about this diddling glycol chiller? i still can't afford a pro one, and would love taps at my couch....
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https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/conical-cooling-conundrum-spike-cf10.650037/

In the end, it did very well at holding ferm temps, and I was able to crash with it down to the low 40s and even into the high 30s. For the price, it was excellent. I ended up buying a Penguin thinking it would let me get to the mid-to-low 30s, and do it fast. It's fast, but I still am not able to get below about 38.5 degrees despite a lot of insulation on the fermenter. That's with the Penguin.

In my case the homemade system did work, and work fairly well. Your situation is undoubtedly different in some ways, so use it as a source of ideas. And FWIW, there are many threads on HBT about people making homemade glycol chillers. One guy used a small dorm-style fridge on its back (reorienting the guts of the fridge), many have used window-sized air conditioners as the basis for one. I just happened to have an arrangement where using the freezer was convenient and available.
 
schematix said:
when your hobby becomes a job it's not a hobby anymore. takes the fun out of it.
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Unless you can drink at work... And that's your new hobby! [emoji12]
rjs3273 said:
Yes, that's sort of true. My hobby became my job and I still love it, but you are right it is no longer your hobby. You need to find a new one. I found brewing.
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If I win the new Powerball Mega Millions, it might be fun to start a brewery.

It'd still be fun where you design the recipes, supervise the brewing, and do product performance testing. I'd also want to do small 5/10 gal batches for R&D on a sabco system.

I'd have a bar manager and head brewer.

At least I'd some place to go for 8hrs. The thought is have something to do but not too worried in the beginning about thin margins and making payroll, meaning I wouldn't have to take a salary until it was well on its feet. Also that you have people in place to keep it afloat when you want to vacation.
 
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Schlenkerla said:
You roll your eyes not wanting to explain liquor licenses legal bull and how impossible that would be.

He should start a hotdog stand because he has a grill in his backyard. LOL
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@Jayjay1976

My luck, if I did that, brewing on my 10 capacity... I'd have to brew so often that it'd be drudgery.

I picture my wife saying to me... (In a nagging voice)

"If you really cared for this family you'd get off your lazy a$$, stop watching football, and get in the garage and start brewing for Christ's sake!"

I'd move the large TV to garage along with the spare bed.

I'd still be that Dunking Donuts guy...

...but with beer!

 
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Jayjay1976 said:
"Hey I know a guy who works at a bar, maybe he can convince them to carry your beer!"
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I actually had a liquor store owner tell me that if I brought him 6-packs, he'd stock them behind the counter to sell to his regulars that wanted something special. It was definitely flattering, but I have no desire to get into that mess....
 
bracconiere said:
i honestly only have short bursts of fun with it anymore, like the new pale malt out of the kiln. But really just making my own is more like cooking dinner at night and washing the dishes. I do it because i can't afford to eat at a restaurant every day....it's actually a little easier to brew my own beer, only have to spend about 3 days a month, and i have to cook dinner everyday!

maybe that should be my go to response when people ask me if i sell it. "What did you cook for dinner last night?", "Oh, my god! when are you opening a restaurant?"
Click to expand...
+1
 
Amadeo38 said:
Get this all too often. I’ve replied with, “Never, because I don’t want it to lose its fun.”, but I may start using the cooking dinner opening a restaurant line. Although it’s a little snarky...

The other day I when messaging an old friend (beer snob) and talking about beer, I said, “I don’t know, I’ve been spoiled by good homebrew lately and now I don’t really like a lot of craft or commercial beers any longer.” His response was, “I know you’ve got good flavor but there’s no way you get the purity and consistency of the big guys.”

I didn’t even know what to say. The purity???
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That's awesome! I think I'll give that a test drive: "I don't have the purity" Love to see their expression as they take the next sip of my brew.
 
Jayjay1976 said:
Upon hearing that I'm on my 26th batch since last November: "What the hell are you doing with all that beer?!?" Asked my brother.

The guy has a keggle-based RIMS setup and a kegerator, who got me started in brewing AG in the first place, yet no longer brews himself. The same guy who has just finished building a 15 gallon reflux still and only just this week tested her out distilling 5 gallons of old leftover homebrew. He's a member here though he's no longer active. And a complete assclown to boot.

My response? "I give a lot of beer away, and I bring alot to neighborhood parties, etc..." the truth? I drink most of it myself. In my underpants. Life is good.
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so did I over the summer after dark.
Had to be dark since keggerator is on back deck.
can't be walking around in broad daylight in my boxers.

Also when clothed my friends stop by and drink.
They like my beer. :)
 
Unicorn_Platypus said:
Two most common and annoying responses:

1) Do you brew in the bathtub?
2) How do you get the caps on the bottles?
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No.1 seems somewhat legit. Before I did my first brew I was fretting how to keep temps in check after reading Palmers book. Buddy of mine who went pro suggested using a spare bathtub filled with water and a few ice packs. Made total sense after he explained it. Although I’m sure most people are thinking of prison style hooch.

No.2 lets face it, you feel pretty good when you hand someone a bottle of your homebrew and watch their reaction. Right up until the point where they pour like some uncultured heathen and comment on how hazy it is. It wasn’t before you poured it buddy!
 
NGD said:
No.2 lets face it, you feel pretty good when you hand someone a bottle of your homebrew and watch their reaction. Right up until the point where they pour like some uncultured heathen and comment on how hazy it is. It wasn’t before you poured it buddy!
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Or when their “response” is to open the bottle and take a big swig!
 
I'm not annoyed by "you should open a brewery." I also get, every time I cook for relatives, "You should really open a restaurant." Maybe I should. I don't know. I do know that it's a ridiculous amount of work for the first five years or whatever.
But it's an innocent comment without awareness of logistics.
People are fascinated, I've found, that you can actually make beer. They're interested in that and like to learn the very basics.
 
davidabcd said:
I'm not annoyed by "you should open a brewery." I also get, every time I cook for relatives, "You should really open a restaurant." Maybe I should. I don't know. I do know that it's a ridiculous amount of work for the first five years or whatever.
But it's an innocent comment without awareness of logistics.
People are fascinated, I've found, that you can actually make beer. They're interested in that and like to learn the very basics.
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It's really a compliment.
My response: "It's my hobby. Why take all the fun out of it?"
 

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