Comments on: Let Them Down Easy

By: beer_scientist

beer_scientist — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:42:05 +0000

Yum! I still haven’t had that one but I love stuff outside their normal line-up.

By: howardf

howardf — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:34:40 +0000

+1,000,000 on a Saison with Thanksgiving, it’s an absolutely sublime pairing! I did Goose Island’s Sofie with our big dinner last year, and I couldn’t get enough.

By: michael Reinhardt

michael Reinhardt — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:38:51 +0000

Garret Oliver suggests Saison (either Dupont or Hennepin) with Thanksgiving dinner and I can see why. All that herbal spiciness with such a refreshing wheat quality…that’s what I’m bringing this year.

As far as your response being long, don’t worry about it. We like when people write a lot; it means they have something to say. I don’t have much luck with my mom either. She likes my homebrewed oatmeal stout and will try almost anything. Yet, she still goes to Bud. I think she will change her mind at some point but at least she’s trying for now. Most of my friends will try anything but it’s because I try to be gracious. with them.

@Sean. I think you’re right. Already these companies have the potential to be great. To make great stuff, they choose to intentionally dumb their product down. That’s a good way to explain your position.

By: Simply Beer

Simply Beer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:39:06 +0000

Juiceman, try Allagash Victoria. it’s pricey, but its very white wine like.

By: the juiceman

the juiceman — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:55:56 +0000

I run into this situation with music a lot. When I was younger I wondered a lot why so many people around me seemed almost afraid to discuss music with me… I’ve had to learn how to be a little more gentle with my opinion since then. Also, doing as you did and recommending related, easier to approach music/beer/etc. shows effort and encourages exploration.

I’m young in a college town. It’s a hipster college town though, so you run into quite few people who have at least had a few decent beers. I’ve had the opportunity to get one of my very good friends trying different beers (he loves Arrogant Bastard and Stone IPA but drinks anything I put in front of him). I still have a tendency to make snide comments about BMC beers though…

My mom won’t drink anything other than wine and when she does drink beer likes Bud Light. I did some beer pairings with Thanksgiving dinner and didn’t have much luck with her… I’m going to have to try a little harder next time I’m home. La Fin Du Monde and Ephemere would probably do it.. maybe something with a lot of plumb or grape notes?

That was way longer than originally intended…

By: Sean Inman

Sean Inman — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:50:32 +0000

As most of the commenters have noted, we could all probably be more forgiving in our encounters with people we meet who are just starting to see the entire world of beers available.
When pressed on why I may turn down a beer from Inbev or SAB or if I say that I don’t like it, I explain that I wish that they would do better. They have all the tools to make world class beer technically proficient brewers, access to whatever raw materials needed and state of the art equipment. I attempt to end on the hopeful note that maybe the presence of craft beer will encourage them to “up their game”.
Most people I talk to understand this position because we all have dealt with products, be it toasters or cars, that aren’t made as well as they could be.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:16:29 +0000

Good call Zack. I’ve seen a few good bartenders at good beer bars do exactly that – get the man his Corona he ordered, and when he comes back, hands him a sample glass of something similar that he might like. And that approach usually works.

By: Zack

Zack — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:07:44 +0000

Nate – In my opinion, perfect approach. I’ve never understood beer snobery. This situation usually arises in “beer bars”. If someone comes into a bar with a good beer selection and orders a Miller Lite and the bartender makes fun of him, the guy probably drinks his beer, leaves, and never returns. Why not be kind and recommend a quality microbrewed pilsner instead? That way everyone wins. If he still wants the Miller Lite, who cares? It’s his loss.

By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:02:19 +0000

I think you did good Nate. Heck, Liz brought this Golden Wheat to one of our beer exchanges. Sure I gave here dirty looks and shook my fist at her, but the rules we have state that any beer can be brought in. So, I gave it a fair shake, and like you found it better than I had expected to might be. Still, it was pretty bad.

http://thebrewclub.com/2009/10/26/bud-light-golden-wheat-beer-review/

I think the other good thing that comes from drinking something like this once in awhile is that you REALLY get a sense of how good we have it when it comes to beer. People literally have no idea what they are missing.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:38:05 +0000

Props to you sir, as you are a better man than I. As much as I want to be respectful and not such a condescending beer geek, when there’s poo poo beer around and a friend asks my opinion, I’m usually too honest. And that more than likely turns the macro drinkers completely off. Hopefully, going forward, I can learn a bit from this post.