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But he's such an angry man, and doesn't like "Homebrew Twats" <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

&amp;quot;Adeptus&amp;quot;:1rrx6hxu wrote: But he's such an angry man, and doesn't like "Homebrew Twats" <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->[/quote:1rrx6hxu]Given that you won't use the word style without inverted commas, I think you're pretty safe from accusations of homebrew twattery. (The debate which started that is here[/url:1rrx6hxu], but I wouldn't recommend reading it. It's depressing.)

Ah, so (after giving up on page 4) now I know where his poll options came from. Mein Gott! I don't know who's worse though <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

And thank you. "I make art, not styles" as yer man from the New Belgium Company said <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:1q50dl4z wrote: (The debate which started that is here[/url:1q50dl4z], but I wouldn't recommend reading it. It's depressing.)[/quote:1q50dl4z]

after reading nearly four pages of that i just wanna top myself, talk about being stubborn, just brew the goddamn beer and drink it and dont get into silly annoying arguments about styles, except when in the right argumentative atmosphere <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: -->

&amp;quot;Adeptus&amp;quot;:1g1oxrkm wrote: "I make art, not styles" as yer man from the New Belgium Company said <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->[/quote:1g1oxrkm]
Yes, but perhaps he's being disingenous, here's an excerpt from the BJCP FAQs.

[quote:1g1oxrkm] [b:1g1oxrkm]Styles are evil. Peter Bouckaert said so.[/b:1g1oxrkm]

OK, that's not really a question, but a common comment that deserves to be addressed. We find it amusing that a professional brewer would attack the concept of styles so vehemently when said brewer produces classic examples of a tripel, a dubbel, a witbier, a Flanders Red, a saison, and several other well-known styles. Why isn't New Belgium's Tripel black? Because consumers wouldn't recognize it as a tripel. Styles exist, whether they are documented or not. Brewers produce and name similar products because they are competing in a marketplace. Confusing your customers is self-defeating.

This type of comment usually comes from people who totally misunderstand the purpose of our Style Guidelines. Our guidelines are descriptive, not proscriptive. That is, they describe similar beers as produced by world class brewers. Our guidelines are not meant to tell those brewers how to brew. As styles evolve, so do the guidelines (not vice versa). We cite commercial examples for our styles to help judges understand how they should taste.

A common argument is that styles inhibit the creativity of the brewer. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of the styles in the BJCP Style Guidelines are very wide open, and allow significant creativity on the part of the brewer. Look at the English Mild and Old Ale categories for examples. If a brewer wishes to create and enter a totally unique and creative entry, we have the Specialty Beer category for just that purpose. Knock yourself out, just tell us what you intended so we have some idea of how to evaluate your beer.

Without beer styles, competitions would be nearly impossible to conduct. Judging would simply become a hedonistic event, where judges would simply pick beers according to their preference. The outcome would be totally arbitrary and would depend on the background and preferences of those who judge their beers. This is not a desirable situation. [/quote:1g1oxrkm]

I thought this one was worth including too <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
[quote:1g1oxrkm] [b:1g1oxrkm]I should be able to brew what I want. Who are you to tell me how to brew?[/b:1g1oxrkm]

So go ahead and brew what you want. We're not your mother and we're also not the beer police. If you want to make beer for yourself and your friends, feel free to do whatever you please. Many people lead full and happy lives brewing beer, blissfully unaware of the BJCP and its Style Guidelines.

Our goal is to provide structure and process for fair competitions. Style guidelines allow all brewers to compete on a level playing field. If you never enter competitions, then the guidelines may not have much value to you. If you do use them to get brewing ideas, that's great. [/quote:1g1oxrkm]

Oh Jebus. <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Well, as you know, like you, I use BeerTools Pro, so you'll know that I must use the style guides alot! Really useful for getting into the ballpark. But I also happen to bend them a little, so end up a bit outside the ballpark, so much so that I don't know really what style I ended up making. But that's fine. I like the style guides, but am sometimes unsure as to whether what I've made fits. But then I say "relax and have a homebrew", as some bloke said <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

My quote would be more like "I make beer that makes farts, I have no style" <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->