[BrewBama]

I love it when folks pour a pint of my home brew, look at it kinda like a hog lookin at a wristwatch, then take a sip, smack on it a minute, takin a gulp and saying something like, "Hey, that's pretty good!"  I just grin and say thanks.  That's a great feeling. ...except when they drink it all.

BTW, yrs ago I was one of those folks who was "scared" of "dark beer"  aka stouts.  I've since been educated.  As I write this I am enjoying a Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  It's delicious!

[S. cerevisiae]

But another guy I know must ferment all of his beers in the 90s or something because they're very estery and just not very good and I just take a small amount, wolf it and say, "Oh yeah, that's good"... and then I move onto something else. 

I have been brewing since the early nineties, and I can honestly say that there is as much if not more miserable beer being brewed today as there was during that point in time. 

[The Professor]

...His mind was made up that dark beers taste bad, and are too heavy - he didn't like them at all...

Lots of folks feel that way but often have an "aha" moment (no pun unintended ) when they taste the right 'dark' beer.
When I was in college in Iowa in the beginning of the 1970s, my beloved IPA was not distributed in that state, so I pestered the local grocery store manager into ordering a supply of Pabst Bock...and that beer became my preferred alternative (when it was available) to the Bud, Hamm's, and Grain Belt  that everyone was drinking.  Whenever I offered some of the bock  to my friends they refused, and I was looked upon as crazy (in all fairness and in retrospect, that characterization wold be hard to deny).  I usually got the common "they only make when they clean out the barrels every year" comment.
My favorite though was when I offered it to a collegemate in the agricultural department, and he offered the following very poetic observation: "How can you drink that?  Don't you know that stuff will give you the s***s??"   

[denny]

In college at the same time in IA and I heard the same story about bock!

[klickitat jim]

On occasion I am in a conversation something like this.
Random home brewer: "What do you think?"
Me: "You want the truth?"
at this point if I get a one word answer like ya, or sure, I give a kind but equally short answer like "Its good." Good being not completely undrinkable
if they give a longer answer like Ya, please, tear it apart, I want to learn... well, I give a more thorough answer and turn it into a discussion.

[HoosierBrew]

On occasion I am in a conversation something like this.
Random home brewer: "What do you think?"
Me: "You want the truth?"
at this point if I get a one word answer like ya, or sure, I give a kind but equally short answer like "Its good." Good being not completely undrinkable
if they give a longer answer like Ya, please, tear it apart, I want to learn... well, I give a more thorough answer and turn it into a discussion.

Sounds familiar, man !  I also do the same in reverse - I've brewed long enough I don't need fake praise. I tell brewer friends to critique my beers. It's made me better.

[Village Taphouse]

In college at the same time in IA and I heard the same story about bock!

Many people when I was younger and even now say things like, "Do you know that stuff is made 'from the bottom of the barrel'"?  When I was young I didn't know what that meant.  After brewing for 16+ years I still have no idea why people say that.  Someone actually just said it to me a few weeks ago and I said, "the bottom of what barrel?" and he said, "You know, the bottom of the barrel of... " and he trailed off without finishing.  People will ask me how beer gets its color and I'll show them my big container of specialty malts and it all gets clear at that point.

[ynotbrusum]

I have encountered similar situations with commercial brews on tap at specialty beer bars.  The bartender will suggest a beer to me and it is poured very flat and when asked about the beer, I let him know that it needed additional carbonation to be evaluated properly.  The bartender will often get quite defensive and say something like "it comes carbonated by the brewery"...duh, so what happened to it while it was on your system, then?

[reverseapachemaster]

I remember buying a Budweiser anniversary beer in the mid-2000s that explained the beer was the best beer because it came from the top of barrel.

In spite of the stupid advertising around it, it was a pretty good beer. I'd buy it again.

[santoch]

I often get asked what I think about people's beers.  I usually ask "do you want to know if I like it or do you want to critique it with me like it's in a competition?". Then we go from there.

[klickitat jim]

I often get asked what I think about people's beers.  I usually ask "do you want to know if I like it or do you want to critique it with me like it's in a competition?". Then we go from there.

I'd ask for the answer to the first question first. Lol

[toby]

I often get asked what I think about people's beers.  I usually ask "do you want to know if I like it or do you want to critique it with me like it's in a competition?". Then we go from there.

That's pretty much what I do.  I will also tell them why I like it or don't like it, if they really want to know.  For example, I'm not very fond of coriander, so I won't like a witbier or gose if it's too prominent (for me).  So, I may not like it, even if it's a classic example of the style.

[evil_morty]

I've had a few times where people were handed my beer not knowing what it was and then after drinking some were informed that I made it.  Then a look of shock comes over their face as they ask, "you made this?"

If I can do it as good as the pros in a craft beer drinking crowd that's something.

Since we are patting ourselves on the back it's also very common for my wife to have a beer when we are out and be displeased that it's not as good as my beer.  she is kind of biased though

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I think the best compliment is when a fellow home brewer asks for your recipe.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

I think the best compliment is when a fellow home brewer asks for your recipe.

true that.