Steins Have Lids

Thor: "Why do steins have lids?" I'm not surprised that the wine-drinking, drive-by poster on rec.crafts.brewing didn't know the answer. I am suprised, first, that he cared and second, that so many regular posters also didn't know the answer. The homebrewing galaxy used to be populated by beer-drinkers, but it looks like we've been over-run by Vogons. French Vogons. French Vogon clothing designers who sip their brew out of fluted stemware and judge its quality, not by it's flavor and impact, but whether it's "true-to-style". True-to-style? "Congratulations, you've exactly reproduced the color, nose, bouquet, aroma, texture and flavor of a mass-produced swipes. It tastes like Clydesdale piss, but you win the gold medal." And I've heard this comment more than once: "Even though Bud has no flavor, no color and no alcohol, it shows that the Bud brewers are very skilled because they're so consistant." Right. I know a kid who failed College Algebra 12 times, but received no award for his consistency.

Grandma was consistent when she made bread. The mere sound of the crust breaking was a religious experience. It would never have occured to her that she might try to make a Wonderbread clone as a vehicle for demonstrating her baking skills or even her "consistency". She won ribbons at the county fair for decades, and not even once got a ribbon for almost perfectly copying a mass-produced, store-bought loaf.

Bread is grain and yeast. So is beer. When guests drink our beer for the first time, the consistent comment is "Oh man, that's the best beer I ever had." Thanks. That's what we strive for.

Tyr: I agree, but why do you have to be so heavy handed? At least the bad brewers keep the local homebrew supply stores in business and allow them to stock a wider variety of ingredients. And now the ingredients are fresher than they were in the old days, since turn-over is faster. You're sure right about the Wonderbread though. Heh, and I remember that guy in College Algebra. He wrote on his student evaluation that I was "sum bitch". His spelling skills were no better than his math skills, but he managed a great pun anyway.

I point out that in your fit of rage you 1. dented the tabletop and 2. forgot to answer the question. Answer: "To keep the bugs and leaves out." I don't mind fishing a fly or a gnat out of my stein, but once a small moth dove into my foam and left a layer of mothdust. I did my best to clean the exposed surface, but it turns out (and I suspect this is an official "little-known fact") that moth dust is quite flavorful (and not in a good way.)

While we never waste homebrew on beer judges, it hardly hurts anything if bad brewers do. Homebrew competitions are mostly about getting together and drinking, and not so much about who can make a better copy of Coors Lights. I suppose I should mention that "swipes" is an old, derogatory term for spoiled beer. Myself, I would have spelled it 'sswipes.

In summary: 1. Always use a lid. 2. Don't drink fizzy yellow water. 3. "Swipes" is a word which should be re-introduced.

Prosit,
Tyr and Thor