"I hate beer."

I gave a can of D.F.H. Lua luao? Not totally sure of the name. It is a IPA made with coconut water, and had roasted coconut taste.This woman was a NON beer drinker. I left it in her fridge and after 4 months she drank it and loved it.

 

At this point, I don't even try to convert(beer "haters") any longer. Also, I find that many people that grew up on AAL are more willing to try something new and many are finding craft beers that they enjoy. I think the movement towards cans has helped this along. I was at a gathering this weekend with a friend's dad who likes Miller Lite. He showed up with a small cooler with assorted 16 oz cans of MASS craft brews. He was telling everyone how great they were and he is right!

 

Clickworthy.

 

Tripel Karmeleit has always worked for me.

 

Why bother trying to convince them to like beer?

 

I was once a beer-evangelist, and I am over it. Pushing "better" beers on people who don't care is only slightly more welcome than Mormons at their doorstep, and only because Mormons don't offer drinks.

Right. Read the room. Forcing a conversation on someone about your niche interest is going to be annoying and probably pretentious. That person might also be the sort that likes to push buttons, so don't give them the satisfaction. Just say something like "different strokes for different folks" and move on to another topic.

That's different. That's an invitation for a common interest. Even then, you have to be careful not to monopolize the conversation. Of course you probably have more information on the subject of beer than them, but they want a discussion, not a lecture.

^^ This x1000. Listen and respond to them. You SHOULD have the knowledge and depth of experience with beer to respond intelligently to what they say. If you're just waiting to tell them about your favorite beers/styles then you're failing.

 

If it's someone with a sweet tooth, you could start them on a real sweet, chocolatey stout.

 

Depends on why they hate beer. I might try and correct some misconceptions, but that's as far as I'm going if they don't like the idea of beer.

 

Good. All the more for me.

 

Me too, unless I need a ride

 

But if you convince them to like beer then they’ll be as drunk as you and then won’t be able to give you a ride

 

What I hear much more often is "I don't like the hoppy stuff".

 

My wife is one of the "I hat beer" people. For years I tried to get her to like it but then I began to see the advantage to being the only one on the house who likes beer. I could leave on business for two weeks knowing full well that when I return my beer will be untouched and that is fine by me.

 

Helping with a selection and offering a refund is a commendable attitude which I wish other merchants would adopt. I do make a distinction between those who ask my thoughts and those who say they don't like beer in which case it's none of my business to suggest they are mistaken.

 

My wife finally came back around to beer. Now she used to drink Coors Light, and the occasional Blue Moon, or New Castle. Last decade she has been almost exclusively a white wine drinker. About a month ago, I finally got her to try some Goses, Berliner Weisse, and some sours. I really do believe there are beer styles for those who enjoy alcoholic beverages, it just helps to understand what they find palatable about their current drink of choice.

 

Mine is, too. Never tried to "convert" her. As you said, it all but guarantees that the beer that is in the house will stay in the house until I choose to drink it.

 

My fiancée didn't drink any beer but coors when I met her. I got her drinking a hoppy golden ale and worked her into malty ipas. Now she enjoys most ipas. It was just a matter of having her try stuff that I think she'd like based on what she already drank and enjoyed. Then slowly working in more hops and higher abv along the way.

 

me too

 

Thing is, one need not love hops to love beer. There are lots of beers across the spectrum of beer choices that are not sweet or overly hoppy. Oatmeal stouts are the perfect middle ground, and dryish brown ales, and I've always loved Cooper's Sparkling Ale. In this modern era hoppy to some connotes a road to quality. It is a narrow and crowded road.