Was it patronising? And was it an ad hominem? I didn't really read that into it at all. Just another opinion on one man's opinion.

Huh, I don't know, just seemed like a patronizing way of phrasing something. People do it subconsciously a lot. It's not like it offended or bothered me, was just pointing out that it had such a tone, and noting that conversations or debates are better when people just say things directly.

About the ad hominem, saying something sounds like an excuse isn't addressing the argument made. If OP disagrees with the argument, he's welcome to make arguments that address my own.