There is this crazy old guy who comes into my store who talks all the time about various stuff. Yes, I know, he's crazy and I shouldn't rise to the bait, but he's wrong so often, I can't help myself.
Some examples:
"The best bourbon out there is Jack Daniels!" (I tried to explain to him that Jack Daniels is not Bourbon, but that fell on deaf ears).
"There is a difference between Scotch and Whiskey" (I tried to explain to him that Scotch is a form of Whiskey (or I guess I should say "Whisky").
"The only reason light beers have fewer calories is because they have half of the alcohol." (First of all, they don't have half of the alcohol. They have less alcohol than most beers, but even many true Pilseners have similar alcohol levels as many "light" beers. Second, if alcohol content was the only deciding factor, then Guiness Draught would have fewer calories than Coors Light (since it actually has a lower alcohol percentage), yet it doesn't. There are other factors as well).
I tried to explain that I was a home brewer and knew a lot about beers because it was my hobby (not to mention that I work in a liquor store and research stuff because of this as well). His reply was that he was a lot older than I was and that since he "had drunk a lot more beer" than I had, that he knew more.
Some other stuff he came up with:
1. The beers in Europe have a lot more alcohol in them (BTW, as I pointed out above, Pilseners are around 4% ABV. Also, Berlier Weisse are around 2.5% ABV). He first claimed that they have about 9% ABV, then later upped that to 12%! I tried to point out that most of them were in the 5-6% range, and that only a few rare styles were a lot higher.
2. He then asked me if I knew the term "Krausening"(which, BTW, he mispronounced, and then tried to correct my correct pronunciation of it). He said that it was "aging for 2 years." Two things came into my mind. First, he was probably thinking of the old tradition of taking the Krausen (which is the foam from an active yeast culture in the early stages of fermentation) and adding it to the bottling to naturally ferment the beer. Second, he might have been confusing the term with "lagering" which is what you are supposed to do with lagers, where you store them for 2 MONTHS (not years) to let them settle and condition.
3. He said how you had to use dark glass ("green or brown") to prevent the beer from stopping the fermentation due to sunlight. As I understand it, if there is much fermentation going on in the bottle (outside of a very small amount used to carbonate it), then you are going to end up with a "Bottle Bomb." We all know about this threat.
This guy said that he's watched the History Channel and found out all this stuff from there. I've watched the same shows and came up with very different information. Apparently, it went in one ear and out the other with him.
The best part is that he says stuff like "I was born in Germany." (So what?) I grew up in Pittsburgh! (So I guess the "Born in Germany" part is worthless now, since you actually grew up in the states). "I know someone who owns a brewery in Europe" (I'm guessing that you don't understand what he says, since you don't understand what I'm trying to say). "I know someone who owns a bar that sells a whole bunch of different kinds of Samuel Adams..." (So?)
Some examples:
"The best bourbon out there is Jack Daniels!" (I tried to explain to him that Jack Daniels is not Bourbon, but that fell on deaf ears).
"There is a difference between Scotch and Whiskey" (I tried to explain to him that Scotch is a form of Whiskey (or I guess I should say "Whisky").
"The only reason light beers have fewer calories is because they have half of the alcohol." (First of all, they don't have half of the alcohol. They have less alcohol than most beers, but even many true Pilseners have similar alcohol levels as many "light" beers. Second, if alcohol content was the only deciding factor, then Guiness Draught would have fewer calories than Coors Light (since it actually has a lower alcohol percentage), yet it doesn't. There are other factors as well).
I tried to explain that I was a home brewer and knew a lot about beers because it was my hobby (not to mention that I work in a liquor store and research stuff because of this as well). His reply was that he was a lot older than I was and that since he "had drunk a lot more beer" than I had, that he knew more.
Some other stuff he came up with:
1. The beers in Europe have a lot more alcohol in them (BTW, as I pointed out above, Pilseners are around 4% ABV. Also, Berlier Weisse are around 2.5% ABV). He first claimed that they have about 9% ABV, then later upped that to 12%! I tried to point out that most of them were in the 5-6% range, and that only a few rare styles were a lot higher.
2. He then asked me if I knew the term "Krausening"(which, BTW, he mispronounced, and then tried to correct my correct pronunciation of it). He said that it was "aging for 2 years." Two things came into my mind. First, he was probably thinking of the old tradition of taking the Krausen (which is the foam from an active yeast culture in the early stages of fermentation) and adding it to the bottling to naturally ferment the beer. Second, he might have been confusing the term with "lagering" which is what you are supposed to do with lagers, where you store them for 2 MONTHS (not years) to let them settle and condition.
3. He said how you had to use dark glass ("green or brown") to prevent the beer from stopping the fermentation due to sunlight. As I understand it, if there is much fermentation going on in the bottle (outside of a very small amount used to carbonate it), then you are going to end up with a "Bottle Bomb." We all know about this threat.
This guy said that he's watched the History Channel and found out all this stuff from there. I've watched the same shows and came up with very different information. Apparently, it went in one ear and out the other with him.
The best part is that he says stuff like "I was born in Germany." (So what?) I grew up in Pittsburgh! (So I guess the "Born in Germany" part is worthless now, since you actually grew up in the states). "I know someone who owns a brewery in Europe" (I'm guessing that you don't understand what he says, since you don't understand what I'm trying to say). "I know someone who owns a bar that sells a whole bunch of different kinds of Samuel Adams..." (So?)
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