Beer Tasting with non-beer geeks

I would stand at the door and if you don't approve of the bottle they bring, say nothing, just shake your head no, point towards the street, back away from the door and close it.

 

I do beer tastings on Saturdays at Total Wine...yesterday I had four attractive young ladies sampling the six beers I had for tasting, as I was explaining the merits of Ipswich Original Pale Ale, one of the girls shouted out "this tastes like f^cking sh1t", not exactly the response I was hoping for...by the way the only thing that I was sampling that they liked was Doc's Pumpkin Cider

 

I don't know if you would call this a tasting, but I shared Hill Farmstead Arthur with my sister, her husband, and my mom. And they didn't even blink an eye. That's insanity if you ask me.

 

So far my version of beer tasting with non-beer lovers consists of sharing a few sips with my wife every time I try something new. And I have to say, in the last year she's gone from having zero interest in any beer to insisting on drinking more than I wish she would of certain beers (especially when it's a hard-to-acquire brew such as a New Glarus 750ml--I want all that goodness for myself!! But it is fun to share, too).

 

Non beer geeks will never get it. It's just that they are uninitiaited. When they have the beer that "turns" them for good they will be right behind you in line for the next release, right behind you at the door to the next bottle share and right behind you when you tell your wife that you were not out trading more beer you were tag sale-ing for used furniture.

 

I'm usually in the minority with most of my friends when I'm drinking craft. They still are on Miller/Coors light or Pabst. They even give me good natured shit about my "fancy" beer. I just make sure I am fully stocked on my supply and make it clear that they are welcomed to try my fancy beer if they like and let them do their thing. More for me.

 

I do believe in sharing the wealth, even with the uninitiated. I have a few friends who are more appreciative than most, but I wouldn't call them full-blown "geeks". They will try new beers, talk about them, and make a sincere effort to understand and appreciate them. Actually they are fun people to taste with - they experience a lot of new things and their exuberance and enthusiasm more or less rekindles my own. And the discussion can be pretty lively and interesting. They'll also take off for a week in Maine and stock up on cases of Natty Lite because that's what they do.

But I'm learning that you have to be careful with the generosity, too. Thinking of one relative I'll call The Guzzler. Doesn't matter what beer it is or how many people are sharing. Takes a huge portion and just sucks it down like water and looks for what's next. Not so much fun and actually a bit annoying. Now that I know this, I plan accordingly. But in my opinion this person isn't appreciating the beers or even making an effort - just drinking them because they are available. Definitely lacking in the "play nice in the sandbox" department (e.g., sharing).

Some people "get it" and some people never will, I suppose. Kind of what @utopiajane mentioned. I think the key to the whole thing is not being pretentious - remember not everybody is at the same stage of the journey. It is very easy to cross the line from sharing the experience to being an asshole and not even realize it is happening. People all have different tastes and different tolerance for new experiences. I've had people strongly dislike beers that I think are pretty fantastic - it's all good. There's always another one to try, and there's no reason to make anybody feel bad because they don't like or understand something. As a host, I like to provide the opportunity (some minor exceptions as noted) and always try to have interesting things and more mainstream choices. It depends on the way things are rolling. No arm-twisting either way.