David Heath Called out ?

[AdeDunn]

It's the typical problem with modern day "influencers", in that the second they receive any form of "sponsorship" at all, you can no longer rely on them to be 100% honest with you. You're basically been asked to believe that they are honest and above board, even though you don't actually know them particularly. This gets even harder when you find out that they've been hiding the fact that they have been receiving some form of incentivisation...

Old school journalists used to get accused of this all of the time, it only got worst when they were replaced with "influencers" imho as nobody polices them.

 

[AlDaviz]

He does say in some of the videos that items have been supplied by GF etc for him to review !! You don’t get these without some form of relationship. I have watched a few of his films, although they can be quite boring I have found them helpful

 

[DavidHatton]

Can someone help out a poor hard of thinking mod here? So the woman in the vid is say that the grainfather company owner has been making youtube vids about the grainfather and saying how good it is but not stating that their the owner of the company?

Could we be seeing a Victor Kiam moment..

 

[Peter Scandlyn]

Could we be seeing a Victor Kiam moment..

Picked up the wrong quote, but DavidHatton was replying to MyQul -

The Grainfather company owner has not, ever, made vids on the GF. End of story. David Heath does not own them either. One of their (it is a limited liability company after all) employees, viz their General Manager at that time, has made vids, as has a development brewer/staffer in their employ. Before David Heath got fairly universally recognized, the GF operation (IMake) put out weekly updates on their product, recipes, tips and tricks. That all dried up when they picked up Mr Heath. These days, the first I'm aware of any update product from them is when I pick up his YT channel. IMake have given up and handed the lot to him. Obviously a lot cheaper for them to have him do their marketing. At this stage I have to say that while I am a fan of David Heath, for all that he has imparted/passed along, I'm certainly no fan of the outfit behind the Grainfather, even tho' it is a pretty decent bit of gear. Best description for them is gougers.

 

[simon12]

I know nothing of either of the people in the videos except whats in them and whats posted here. My opinion is he should have certainly mentioned his connections when reviewing product or should expect the criticism and even if he is not deliberately making out the grainfather is best he is obviously a big fan of it and biased purely on that basis. ie would you trust a life long BMW driver and fan to be impartial when reviewing an Audi?

 

[Petrolhead]

Hmm. Almost don’t want to step in here but this goes to the root of a lot of issues I have with the media at the moment.

We are just enjoying our part time hobby but that part time hobby probably adds up to a business which turns over at least 100’s of millions a year. The people who appear to be kindly amateur Youtuber’s or even enthusiastic members of forums in many cases earn their living from this publicity, many a good living. How many businesses post on this forum as individuals. So using the earlier analogy of the Ford salesman, if your next door neighbour, friend or someone who was posting on a forum which you had become to trust told you that the Ford Tasmanian Devil was the best car to buy, and you bought it, then you found out that person was a Ford salesman you would not feel good.

This emergence of ‘social influencers’ is here to stay for the immediate future I suspect but we must see it for what it is. This guy David Heath should have flagged his commercial relationship with ANY business where he was publicising their products. End of.

He should also understand his abilities and realise when he needs the help of a spin doctor because frankly his 10 mins of smoke and mirrors with a couple of quick words in the middle confirming he worked for Grainfather, ie benefited financially, was not good enough and just made him look guilty.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

posting on a forum which you had become to trust told you that the Ford Tasmanian Devil was the best car to buy, and you bought it, then you found out that person was a Ford salesman you would not feel good

I did mention this earlier, if you were to buy a car or Grainfather after watching a review by a random guy on a YouTube channel (however much you trust their views) you really do deserve all you get.

 

[Clint]

I have always wondered what Dave did with all the beer he made on his Grainfather...he must be a proper pisspot...
It also makes you think that apart from a metal plug hole strainer and two jubilee clips the GF is virtually perfect..

 

[DavidHatton]

I have always wondered what Dave did with all the beer he made on his Grainfather...he must be a proper pisspot...
It also makes you think that apart from a metal plug hole strainer and two jubilee clips the GF is virtually perfect..

Don't forget the bike pump for when the pump gets blocked, If i am not mistaken alcohol is pretty expensive in Norway. hence the volume, he had (in passed tense as there will be a new kid on the block soon) done over 100 brews on the thing, that alone should be applauded.
Time for a yorkshire tea. :hat:

 

[Slid]

I have watched a large proportion of the videos on DH's channel and quite enjoy doing so, As I see it, the "situation" is that he has a GF, has done over 100 brews using it, makes videos almost always featuring it, Res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself). The suggestion that he is anything much more than a fan rather ignores the way Marketing actually works and what its outputs are. Two simple questions:

How many members here now own a GF?
How many bought one on the basis of a DH video?

 

[Lawrence22]

I own a grainfather but bought it on recommendation of a local home brewer. I have however been influenced to buy other pieces of their kit by David. Particularly the conical fermentor.
A real storm kicked off last night on the Grainfather Facebook page re this. Some posters that he called trolls were accusing him of lying about his past and posting posts allegedly by him suggesting he has only been brewing 4 years or so not the 35 claimed in his video. He claimed the posts were faked in response. All sides received final warnings from moderators and posts have been deleted.

 

[Clint]

I hope they put loads of angry faces emojis up!
Perhaps Dave should bring 20 or 30 GF brews to a venue,invite all his accusers and they could get pissed and have a right tear up.
Then judge his beer.

 

[Lawrence22]

I hope they put loads of angry faces emojis up!
Perhaps Dave should bring 20 or 30 GF brews to a venue,invite all his accusers and they could get pissed and have a right tear up.
Then judge his beer.

I think it has gone past that. He was threatening to get the police involved. His accusers didn’t seem bothered by this. Hard to know what is really going on. I have personally learned a lot from his vids and am hoping he is genuine.

 

[Clint]

The wonder of social media never ceases to amaze...
I haven't got a GF but I have watched lots of his videos and have enjoyed them but...if they have all been a load of covert advertising and a sham ,potential buyers should bear this in mind. Bit like buying those Armani under pants...most of us fat blokes on here will just still be fat blokes in dear knickers ..not Beckham.
I'm not saying the GF is or isn't decent kit for all we know the videos could be very edited and he can't make beer for toffee but then again they might not be and he can. Only Dave knows.
I wonder if those trolls who feel hard done by will drag their GF outside and smash them up and go and get a Braumeister...or a second hand Ace!

 

[BeerCat]

Perhaps Dave wants them charged with a hate crime.

 

[Clint]

It'll be on Crime Watch...
Police are looking for "Beardy Beer Maker" and some other middle aged fat blokes,possibly wearing cardigans and pissed....

 

[strange-steve]

It's all rather silly, I wonder how many of the people who bought a GF on his recommendation (of which I'm sure there aren't many) actually regret doing so. It is a quality piece of kit whether he's paid to say so or not.

 

[-Bezza-]

All a load of fuss over nothing if you ask me.

So a guy who knows a bit about brewing buys a Grainfather and makes a YouTube channel about brewing beer (not a reviews channel). The Grainfather people notice him and his (at this point) impartial enthusiasm for the GF and send him a few bits of equipment to review along the way. He reviews these in what he believes to be an honest and impartial way and has received no pay for doing so. He also reviews other equipment from time-to-time and gives that a favourable review. Some people kick up stink about that. His YouTube channel is free to access.

That doesn't give me any particular cause for concern. He's a fan of the GF and has been before any involvement with the GF people. It's not like he's claiming impartiality yet trashing every other system he reviews. At the end of the day, his channel isn't there for reviewing equipment. The only question mark I have is what subcontracting work he used to do for the GF guys - but at the same time, I'm not sure it matters because he is saying that he didn't think it impacted his videos on how to brew beer. Just because Sarah thinks there is an issue here, and we can speculate as to what motive there might be, it doesn't necessarily mean there is.

This would be different if this channel were CarWow, yet we found out they were being bankrolled by VW - their channel is specifically for the purpose of reviewing cars (and generating sales through their website) and so their impartiality is important.

Also, didn't Sarah used to post on here a while back?

 

[Clint]

Perhaps there's a little element of jealousy involved....

 

[MmmBeer]

I bought a Grainfather a year ago, because I wanted to step up from 10-12l batches, because an all in one system felt more convenient than a multi pot system and because the GF seemed to be the market leader.

I have watched about half a dozen of DH's videos and picked up a few tips, but haven't felt tempted to buy any additional GF branded equipment as a result of watching them.

Ultimately youtube is an open access source with very little regulation. It is ineveitable that companies will use it as a cheap, vested form of advertising. So if you want impartial, regulated consumer advice, look elsewhere.