(They also think I’m a bit odd, I think they believe I’m the only female homebrewer in existence!)[/quote]
u very well may be…LOL…A little odd that is :lol:
I don’t think this phenomenon s is a ‘double standard’. It is simply a matter of tastes and Pavlovian response. For a long time, American gastronomic tastes were aligned with mass-produced flavors/textures that appealed to the lowest common denominator. Hence velveeta, American light lager, etc. Not because we were stupid, but because it was all we were exposed to. Cheese is a perfect example. 10-20 years ago, nobody but Manhattanites and San Fransiscans knew what Stilton was. Or Gruyere. Now its at Taco Bell and Wal Mart (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Many point to the craft beer revolution starting up because when the airlines deregulated, Euro travel was much more affordable to middle-class families. Then people started tasting helles and dunkel and Palm and Tetleys and Murphy’s…and came home, and said, “Holy hell, there is nothing to drink here!”. So they started making their own, then they started opening breweries.
Couple that with the fact that for a long time, ‘homebrew’ sucked (due to as previously mentioned, paucity of quality ingredients, and lack of, or mis-information). And, as very astutely mentioned earlier in the thread, early on, most of our beer sucked. Also, most of the time, the early/novice homebrewers are the ones who are proudly bringing their wares into the office/workplace/party proudly beating their chest announcing that “Not sure if you knew this, but I am a homebrewer”. And the beer sucks. And people politely drink it. Then the next time someone offers them a homebrew, they have a legitimate reaction.
If you are hanging out with people who don’t like to cook, and like Benihana, and Applebees, and Olive Garden, etc., yes, they are going to assume that you unequivocally cannot produce what is made behind the magical kitchen doors at those places (in reality, what is driven by truck from distribution facility to behind the magical kitchen doors).
Many people think ‘beef’ is what is between cellophane and plastic wrap. Not a living, breathing, berthing, $#!+ing cow. Many people think of beer as something that is made in a magical smokestack building in a far away magical place known as St. Louis, and cannot be replicated elsewhere. In some cases, smart, educated people think this way. Its a product of having a massive industrial food delivery system between a person and his or her food (beer included). Again, not necessarily a bad thing, as Americanization/industrialization has figured out a way to feed a huge population. Cities would not be possible without an industrial food system, but now it is becoming ‘novel’ for a trendy restaurant to have house-grown garlic and basil on the ‘green’ roof.
My advice is to stop telling people you homebrew. Its the equivalent of someone strutting around the office saying, “you know, I’m an awesome cook”. People that actually might give a $#!+ will understand the ‘why’s’ when/if it comes up in conversation. Further, someone that has stepped beyond the fizz will ask you to try one of your beers…and if its good, they will beg you for more. The reality is, we are not going to save most people from the Mich Ultra in their shopping cart, so trying to push our tastes on them will only make them believe that we are huge weens.
Check out the Brewing Network Sunday Session podcast when they talk to Brooklyn Brewery/Garrett Oliver. He has a great perspective on the transformation that occurred/is occurring and, in some areas, not occurring at all. I know you want everyone to have their eyes opened, but just like Morpheus telling Neo, some just aren’t ready to see the truth.
:cheers:
[quote=“Pietro”]For a long time, American gastronomic tastes were aligned with mass-produced flavors/textures that appealed to the lowest common denominator.[/quote]There might be pockets of “enlightened” consumers who eschew LCD fare, but the majority of Americans still eat crap most of the time, unfortunately.
Hi Aileen, welcome to the forum. Seems to me that it’s been a while since we’ve had a regular female participant and your perspective will be appreciated. Yes, homebrewing tends to be male dominated, but it certainly isn’t an exclusively male domain in my experience.
This forum is one of the first places I direct people when they express an interest in homebrewing to me. A friend of mine just told me how pleasant its been for him to experience the increasing quality of my beers in the five years since I started this, not that it takes five or even one year to brew a good beer, and I attribute much of my growth to the advice and information I’ve received from the good folks on this forum.
[quote=“pashusa”]u very well may be…LOL…A little odd that is 
agreed, and I did allude to that in my statement that the phenomenon not occurring in some areas. However, we can’t ignore the fact that you can now get greek yogurt in Wal Mart. Granted, Stonyfield is now owned by Dannon, but the company actually got shelf space there prior to buyout.
Like anything in an economy that is 80% attributable to consumer purchases, changes (whether its in food, beer, healthcare, music, etc.) must come from, you guessed it, the almighty consumer.
[quote=“Jeff4Amnesty”]Hi Aileen, welcome to the forum. Seems to me that it’s been a while since we’ve had a regular female participant and your perspective will be appreciated. Yes, homebrewing tends to be male dominated, but it certainly isn’t an exclusively male domain in my experience.
This forum is one of the first places I direct people when they express an interest in homebrewing to me. A friend of mine just told me how pleasant its been for him to experience the increasing quality of my beers in the five years since I started this, not that it takes five or even one year to brew a good beer, and I attribute much of my growth to the advice and information I’ve received from the good folks on this forum.[/quote]
Thank you for the welcome! I’ve been reading here since I bought my starter kit and have learned a lot from the questions and answers. I’ve also read ‘How to Brew’ cover to cover, although I admit my eyes glazed over a bit on some of the more serious calculation sections - I definitely don’t need that sort of complexity yet.
