Worst Beer Ever?

[DapperDave]

I generally enjoy almost any beer. I stay away from Bud,Coors, and Miller, I just don't get anything out of them. But as one of the only beers I've ever truly despised, Old Speckled Hen has got to be it. I drank it as a requirement for my local bar's 'mug club'. Wow, that is nasty swill. I've heard it is popular across the pond, but yuck! Anyone agree with that or have your own despised brew, I'm curious to know.

[Passadumkeg]

Not a commercial brew, but truly the worst beer ever. Forty years ago, my cousin, brother and I were teachers in a small New Mexico town. We got paid the last Thrusday of the month. But at Christmas , we got paid in mid-December and had to go 6 weeks, over Xmas, 'till another check in January. In our ultimate young men "maturity", we decide to take a trip to San Francisco. We came back penniless, and lived the month of January on pinto beans and corn bread. But we were thirsty. I decided to try and make kitchen beer. I cleaned out the cupboards of rice, barley, white and brown sugar and bought baking yeast. I mixed and fermented by "eye" and borrowed a bottle capper and caps from a friend. Boy was this stuff vile. We'd drive up to 10 k feet, so the altitude would give us a buzz more quickly. We agreed that after the third bottle, it wasn't half bad and we made it through the month. This experience got me going into real home brewing, 10 years later, when I moved to Norway to teach, and found out how terribly expensive alcohol was in Scandinavian countries.
Skoal!

[scaryjoe]

I love the Hen, I use to sneek it into packer games.

[DejaDru]

There's a subjective topic, worst beer's, more post than alot of other topic's, lol. I have to put ANY Stroh's (fire brewed ass*#+^ was the nickname) on that list, and Tecate, I have stories that are not fit for this or any other site for that matter....We have all had a skunky beer here and there, and possibly a Sam Adams Triple Bock, that was corked and tasted like you should mix it with Wasabi. But judging by the posts, we know the difference, RIGHT?

[hawkeyeui93]

I agree that Stroh's is truly awful, but I can tolerate Tecate for what it is [a mass produced brew].

[imhungryletseat]

Good thread, but some people need to lighten up as it is subjective!! I love Sam Smiths Beers (and alot of other English beer for that matter but not OSH) , but I can't find them in drinkable condition in beer stores on LI. The only time I can drink them is when I am at a reputable beer bar in NYC
That said, here are a few of my worst beers ever!!!

meister brau, old german, piels, coors light, bud light, iron city, bud, narragansett, natty boh; all off them cheap macro american lagers loaded with adjuncts

[Acantha]

Wild Blue. I recently read a review online that called it 'vile.' I agree.

My husband bought it thinking 'she likes that one apricot beer, and she likes blueberries...'

Just NO.

[hawkeyeui93]

Bought this for my wife when my local retailer was out of Saranac Wheat Pom Beer she enjoys ... It wasn't very good, but I wouldn't rate it as the worst beer I ever tasted ...

[MarkG]

there used to be in minnesota something called Near Beer that came in a blue can. appalling stuff.

[LStaff]

Since I last responded to this post, I have found a new "winner" - White Birch (nano brewery in NH) Oak Aged Tripel.

Here are some excerpts from my review:

Aroma of vomit that made my head snap back as if someone just punched me in the face. Barnyard funk gone bad - reminded my of the way the elementary bus smelled after someone puked and the driver threw down that stuff to soak it up....Vomit flavor upfront that matched the aroma was quickly "relieved" by yeasty flavored maltiness, followed by a sledgehamer of unclean alcohol flavors. Plasticy phenolic, fusely alcohol flavors over ran any esters that were present. Gag reflex kicked into overdrive and I had to fight back my body's reaction to purge itself of this toxic liquid. I had to take another taste just to make sure - yup, all there in its ummm....glory - this time the dry heaves made my eyes water.

[Insidious Rex]

I saw your review on Beeradvocate for this beer. Quite a description! I would be a little dubious that you got a bad sample especially since you picked it up from a sample table at a beer festival and didnt get this straight from a tap or from a bottle. Maybe something got into it? Or it was switched somehow? Seems like no brewery in their right mind would want to serve anything that would have that kind of description and all the other reviews for the product seem to imply its mediocre to good.

[LStaff]

No, it was the same sample that the brewer himself poured for me that he was pouring for everyone else - I didn't just pick it up from a table, that's not how beer fests really work. Many of his beers had a milky appearance at that fest - I chose the clearest one. I have talked to many people about his beers - industry folks and longtime beer geeks - and it seems the consensus of opinion is that they range from mediocre to horrible. Also keep in mind that tolerance for off flavors and brewing faults can differ from one person to the next - I know I have little tolerance for off flavors - doesn't mean they aren't there though.

Lot's of fanboy support/hype on BA for his beer regardless of quality due to his trading status before he got into commercial brewing and locals trying to capitalize on the "rarity", so they may be inflating their reviews in order to trade for other beers they want. Half of the reviewers who gave a glowing review are currently trying to trade away White Birch beers. hmmm..... Ratebeer might give you a clearer picture.

Also I get the feeling many give him the benefit of doubt because he's a "nice guy trying to make it in the biz". And maybe he does brew a decent beer here and there, but I don't really care to find out after experiencing something so horrible. But I hope he improves, because its not good for the industry to have beers like that on the market giving the wrong impression about small brewers. Ever wonder why he is only a 7bbl. brewer and can't sell off all his beer locally and has to ship them as far away as Chicago and every month announcing that he's entering a new market? Seems to me he is getting one time sales due to the hype and not getting much repeat business. If you can't sell off a 7bbl. batch in your own state - or region even, you have to be doing something wrong. Many bottles of White Birch are gathering dust at my local shops (in the next state from the brewery).

[sneaker]

I was posted to Nova Scotia when in the CAF... ever tried TEN PENNY? Now that is a BAD beer!

[beerdaddy]

Just on general principle, I'd try an OSH. Traveling across South Dakota in 1959, I drank a Grain Belt. Then another to verify that it was that bad. It was. Grain Belt Premium, some years later, was better. Wonder if the difference was in the can or in me!

[hawkeyeui93]

This was the beer my grandfather drank by the gallons! Grain Belt Premium has made quite a comeback here in Iowa/Minnesota. It was recently bought by a pretty good family owned brewery in New Ulm, Minnesota called Schell and they found an older recipe for it that I find most palatable. It recently came out with a Grain Belt Nordeast that is even better.

[Hasan]

Bier La Rue (vietnamese lager)
Carlsberg
Stella (Don't know if it is different in the states as i wont pay to try it, but in the UK it is chemically enhanced filth)
One of the light versions of your big breweries (Miller i think but can't be definite)
PBR (not the worst taste but the worst inducer if hangovers in the developed world)

Cask kept ales have the potential to trump anything when kept by inexperienced hands.

[The Professor]

<<Cask kept ales have the potential to trump anything when kept by inexperienced hands.>>

Good lord, that's the truth. Cask ale can be pretty dreadful if kept badly or too long without a cask breather. CAMRA certainly needs to loosten up on the breather issue.

I think I have to disagree on Carlsberg though...it's not a flavor explosion by todays increasingly warped standards, but it's not such a bad beer (as long as you get the original from DK, not a contract brewed version from Canada or the UK). I think it has a very nice balance.

[Hasan]

I will take your word for it on Carlsberg, i was referring to the licensed version in the UK. Export isn't too bad though. I also remembered the terrible lower alcohol Heineken they used to sell in the UK 'cold filtered' i think it was called. I have slightly mixed feelings about breathers, to be honest though the pubs that have strong CAMRA support probably have the turn over not to need them.

[The Professor]

Right...unfortunately the licensing agreements rarely amount to anything worthwhile: witness the Lowenbrau disaster in the USA...I think irreparable harm was done to that brand over here (although from what I have been reading and hearing, beer even in Germany has been undergoing a 'generificaion' of it's own lately).

Of course, there are plenty of brands where the 'brewed under license" thing hardly matters. Here in the USA for example FOSTER's LAGER is still heavily marketed as "Australian for beer"...despite the fact that it's brewed in North Carolina and Texas. But being a pretty generic tasting product to begin with, it hardly matters.
Guiness Extra Stout (as sold in the US) proudly lists St' James' Gate, Dublin on it's label, even though the beer comes from Toronto (though in this case, they have really not done too bad of a job of it...they have come much closer to the real thing than most such arrangements. And sadly, retailers still display these licensed hybrids with the imports (at import prices).

I don't live in the UK (though when visiting have been lucky enough to taste "real ale" at establishments that had respect and sufficient turnover for traditional dispense) so really, I probably have no right to comment. But that said, and having tasted keg conditioned real ale in the USA from the growing number of small brewers preaching that gospel (as well as including a few notably rare instances of 'real ale' products from Fuller's served at my local) I agree that turnaround time is everything with these beers. Within 3 or 4 days of breaching a cask, real ale really starts to take on a pronounced and unpleasant 'stale' quality. In the USA, where cask conditioned ale is understood only by beer geeks (a growing group, but still definitely a minority) it is easy to see that some sort of protective gas blanket (whether co2 or a co2/n2 mix) is practically mandatory unless the turnover is sufficiently fast.

[Jim Dorsch]

I believe Guinness XX is contract-brewed rather than licensed, whereas the lagers sold in the UK tend to be licensed versions IIRC.

[monkeyrotica]

You have the same situation with almost every Japanese beer sold in America: Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo...they're all either brewed in Canada or Los Angeles. Love seeing "Imported" on the label, then reading "from Canada" in tiny script on the back. The only major Japanese beer I've found that's still brewed anywhere near Japan is Orion from Okinawa. Why isn't Suntory sold in the US?

[Josh]

Asahi Black is brewed in Japan.

[Hasan]

I agree on the licensing issue. Where is normal guinness sold in the US produced?

i think your view on the cask issues is as valid as any. There are UK pubs that don't turnover enough Cask ale and would probably benefit from it. In the US it makes sense to use a breather. It also doesn't help that most CA producers make very strong beers, limiting personal consumption. Obviously if they where to operate at a weaker level to become a session beer then turnover would be higher.

I do wonder though if the production of strong beers is because the taste of a more mellow, less strong beer is too adversely effected by a breather.

I'm not a fan of Keg conditioning of Real Ales as it is done in the UK. however many keg kept Ale style beers i have tried in the US are very enjoyable. i don't know where you are based but Dogfish are going to be doing a range of cask conditioned, hand pulled beers to be sold at the bar being opened in conjunction with Mario Batali in NY. Be interesting to see how they do with them and whether they have the turnover to dispense them traditionally.

[Horn]

luck beer sucks

[ccoffeegod]

Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic....it is a drainpour every time

[Kenji]

Their Cherry Wheat was or is much worse, IMO. I literally poured the stuff out. The "cherry" taste seemed to derive from low-quality cough drops.

Some time later, I got a kick out of a Fred Eckhardt review of the CW in "All About Beer." Eckhardt's reviews often annoyed me because he was so seldom critical. But he deemed the SA Cherry Wheat as "just sad"!

[cuccubear]

Schlitz and Old Milwaukee pretty much tie for first. A close second would be Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. I’m sure they have their admirers, but that’s a club I can’t join.

Now the nastiest beer tasting I ever had was a can of Miller Genuine Draft that we found in the trunk of my friends Crown Vic after God knows how long. We knew it would be bad, but it was late and, well…Skunky does not even come close to describing it. Crazy kids!

[Bat Guano]

I have a new one: Bud Light Lime. Inflicted this on myself at a music festival with a really limited beer selection (they all started with "Bud"). It was a hot day, I figured, well, how bad can it be? The answer: worse than I could imagine. Tasted like artificial lime soda - not a trace of malt or hops. It's been a long time since I couldn't finish a beer on a hot day, but I gave this away in favor of cold water. I still shudder when I think of it....

[whiskeyhead]

Anything in a green bottle is skunked beer no matter how fancy the label (i.e. Rolling Rock). But the most undrinkable beer I've ever had is New England Brewing Co.'s Elm City Lager in a can. That stuff is nastier than my first attempt at homebrewing years ago.

[tevis]

Worst beer? Old English.

Especially when you pick it out of a trash can.

[Josh]

Drink it like a madman, yes I do...

[viperlush]

I'm changing my vote to Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale.

[Alan N]

I like Harvest Moon. Tastes like the best pumpkin pie I never had.

[bluiewest1]

The WORST, without a doubt, was Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale. I rarely throw out beer, but made an exception in this case. Artificial bourbon/vanilla flavoring with a very unpleasant chemical bitterness.

[DapperDave]

I actually found that to be a decent beer for being made by one of the big guys. It certainly isnt the best, but I thought it was half decent, IMHO

[The Professor]

I agree with you...I'm not a fan of flavored beers at all, but this one wasn't as offensive as most of the really crappy ' flavored' beers out there these days.
Seems like a lot of brewers are starting to get too focused on gimmickry...

[monkeyrotica]

Third. The flavor was actually quite pleasant and not offensively sweet, unlike certain cranberry-wheat abominations.

[Kdoh]

Too many posts to read them all, but in skimming, I didn't see any votes for Dixie as worst beer. Now there's at least one.

I was amused to notice in one post a reference to one beer per six being skunked as a criterium for worst beer. Well, with Dixie, it's six for six. (To me skunked means sulfur dioxide odor and flavor).

With this consistency maybe maybe it's intended to be their styling-it's a regional thing. If Coors can claim pride in its mountain water, it's only fair that New Orleans's Dixie be able to take pride in its SWAMP WATER.

[bobbyj]

ive had everything from old frothingslosh to old german (4.65 for a case of pints including the deposit) and i've always been able to find some redemptive quality in every beer i've ever tasted- (even the forty that i funneled that was being used as an ashtray for about a half a pack- or the bottle that i used to store used brake fluid in and accidentally chugged a swig from, have conversational value) but the sam triple bock really bottoms out my list - splitting a case in 95 with someone for over a hundred bucks seemed nuts, but as lovers of complex, big beers -we were sure it was worth it. Right down to the improper storage instructions on the bottle (many of the corks dried out in the upright position, so we attributed a number of off tastes to oxidation) - this was a beer that started out questionable and got worse over time. Not to say that i didn't savor every sip of the last bottle, over thirteen years after the purchase- it just seemed like a poor investment of my beer drinking funds. Waiting for something to peak and being let down when it doesn't, shouldnt cost so much. maybe disappointed is a better word.
it's real easy to bash bud and hate sam adams- but really aren't they all doing something better than doing nothing at all? A refined palate will never a compliment a closed mind. i kind of thought these posts would be about beers that led to unrequited sodomy or bottles that you got smashed in the face with or something.
how could any beer be that bad???

[Kdoh]

Bobby,

You never said whether you preferred the brake fluid. If you did, what brand was it?

[Insidious Rex]

Just stay away from the anti freeze. It doesnt age well...

[Kdoh]

Rex,

It's still winter, so we have to have some anti-freeze. Unfortunately we have still not heard Bobby's brake fluid reviews, so we don't know whether to try something new or not. I live in Texas and Louisiana and I think the formulations are different here.

[Alan N]

I enjoy Dixie.

[Kdoh]

Alan,

Vive la difference. I comment on various Chow pages and one thing I believe in is that a person's preference should be respected. I am not eating for you and you are not eating for me and unless our taste buds are hooked together, we should enjoy the fact that we have different opinions. I enjoyed your response because it was so simple and direct, but I still want to see the commercial that touts swamp water as the secret ingredient. Ideally it would take place in a southern Louisiana joint with Clifton Chenier, Jr, playing the squeeze box.

Best regards,

Kevin

[Alan N]

I like swamp water too.......

[ciaob]

Hands down...ZIMA! Long gone, but never forgotten. And may it stay gone..

[JessKidden]

Well, "long gone" is relative, I suppose, but Zima's only been gone for a little over a year.
http://www.slate.com/id/2204596/ And the shelves over on the other end of the beer section are still filled with various malternatives, alco-pops, alcoholic energy drinks, flavored malt beverages, etc., so that missing only Zima doesn't seem that big a deal.

[monkeyrotica]

As a beer, yeah, Zima didn't taste like beer at all. But as a mixer (with gin, vodka, and a little lime) it's pretty refreshing.

[Kenji]

Didn't Zima taste an awful lot like 7-Up?

[DejaDru]

Zima, was talking about it tonight, their marketing slogan should have read, "10% abv, that's all ya need to know" and it would probably still be avbl...lol. Gave a great cheap buzz...

[pauliechop]

For a very short time back in the 90's, Colt 45 had this stuff called "Cool Colt". It was menthol flavored malt liquor. Tasted like crappy beer with a shot of mouthwash in it. To this day, it's still the most putrid thing I've ever tasted. I had a real tough-guy friend who I bet 20 bucks that he couldn't finish one can of it and he laughed and said "...there's never been a beer I couldn't finish!" He grabbed a can, took one sip of of Cool Colt and spit it out on the ground and handed me 20 bucks! Hopefully the clueless suit who came up with this racist idea lost his corner office and POSSIBLY HIS JOB! Worst idea ever!

[shayre]

Hands down, no questions asked, my ultimate least favorite beer is Ft. Collins Z. Tastes like burnt baked beans and firepit. l understand they were going for a smoky flavor, and kudos to them for creativity, but l simply couldn't take a second swallow. Anybody really enjoy this one?

[Mr. Mack]

Yet another vote for Sam Adams Triple Bock. I knew it would get many replies here as soon as I spotted the topic. It is truly an awful experience. Straight soy sauce, no carbonation, equally hated by myself and 2 acquaintances who tried it. The soap my uncle put in my mouth as a child once for swearing tasted better. Seriously.

If you consider it more like a cognac, its still equally repulsive.

A distant 2nd is Hoegaarden White. Most people seem to like this one, but on both occasions I tried it I found it undrinkable. Something about one of the spices used in it... was very off-putting.

[Jim Dorsch]

Do you think that at least in the case of Hoegaarden, it's not worst, but rather not to your taste? Have you tried other beers of that style, and have you liked any of them?

I don't think I've ever had Triple Bock, but pretty much everyone I've ever talked to seems to agree with you on that one.

[Mr. Mack]

My first thought is that it is a particular spice they use. I like ground coriander seed, but dislike cilantro, perhaps that is it?

I have not tried another similar beer, but I've been meaning to try the St. Bernardus Witbier, or at least the Sam or Blue Moon version. I have been relunctant to do so however. I will report back when I do though.

[Kenji]

I've never heard of cilantro being added to Hoegaarden wit! Did you mean to say "curacao"?

Supposedly Hoegaarden wit's recipe changed slightly a while back (are oats no longer used in it?), but at last taste, I still liked it.

The Samuel Adams "Triple Bock" I never found too palatable.

[Mr. Mack]

I knew it had Coriander in it, but I wasn't sure if it was just the ground seeds or the plant itself (Cilantro). They're very different flavors and I'm definitely one of the people with a genetic aversion to the leaves.

That and anise-like flavorings are the two things I detest the most. Maybe they put that in there.

[Jim Dorsch]

I believe it's coriander seed and not the plant. Anise generally isn't used in witbiers, although there's nothing to say someone doesn't do it. However, I don't believe you'll find in Hoegaarden.

[Kenji]

Hoegaarden's spicing employs coriander (I agree with Jim that it is surely the seed), curacao, and a third unnamed ingredient which Jackson believed might have been cumin.

I'm crazy about the taste of anise, especially in certain authentic Chinese dishes, but off the top of my head, I don't know of a beer that is seasoned with it.

[Ernie Diamond]

re. beers flavored with anise; Pennsylvania Swankey. Not a common style anymore. Really only exists in the uber-craft market. Something of a cult style for homebrewers.

[HD MM]

MGD = Worst beer ever

[chris100]

The only beer I never finished was a free can of Fosters, brewed under licence in the UK. Even thought it was free it ended up in the garbage. Truly awful. And as for the 'king of beers'...a triumph of marketing over substance and proof that you can fool a lot of people a lot of the time.

[MaddyK]

Oskar Blues' "Chubourbon" which is oak-barrel aged Old Chub.

UGH!! It is truly foul.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

[The Professor]

Haven't tried it, but I do like Old Chub.

I like oak aged beers, so long as the oak character doesn't dominate...it can get pretty cloying in beer, especially if American Oak is involved.

It's kind of funny, really...for centuries, brewers devised various methods of coating the inside of oak barrels so that the oak flavors wouldn't taint the beer to any great degree.

[MaddyK]

I like some oak-aged beer, for instance Weyerbacher's Insanity I think is a pretty cool one. But the Chubourbon was just a whole other ball game.

Then again, not a giant fan of Old Chub either...

[McBoingBoing]

Tsingtao, hands down. I pretty much dislike every Chinese beer though.

[mtndue101]

Iron City (Pittsburgh), Little or Big Kings (Columbus/Cincinnati) are very poor. Taste like skunk..... American Beer (White Can) which was the equivalent of Generic beer is also bad.

Best Beer "Effin Beer" made at Venango PA at Sprague Brewery. Best Effin Beer around. It is made fresh so do not look for it in stores. You can only get it there and a few select Brew houses on tap. If your ever over that way stop you will not be sorry.

[The Professor]

I guess like most beers, Iron City and Little Kings have both changed over the years. They were never anything like the over the top hi-test hop heavy beers that have become the current fad, but they were certainly not "swill" beers...they used to be very good beers with more character than many others.

[Alan N]

Completely blacked out on Iron City. Last had it over 10 years ago. Pretty bad, but it was considered better that Milwaukee's Beast and Natural Ice/light/regular but not as good as Busch/Old Milwaukee/PBR/Old Style/Hamms/Olde/ Shlitz,etc, amongst my underage friends.
I.C. is on a tier of bad beer, but not the worst or most cursed.

[goalie33]

Worst was Colt 45. That's different from tasteless which was Michelob Ultra. Best I've had is Duvel

[Insidious Rex]

Are you saying this is the worst beer youve had or the worst malt liquor you know of? Being a malt liquor simply designed to make your drunk you are probably getting what you pay for. Hardly worth complaining. Its kind of the same as saying Boons Farm is the worst wine!

On the other hand who would be willing to sit down to a Malt Liquor tasting? Id give it a go. Might not remember it the next day though...

[joth68]

Golden Anniversary Ice is the worst beer I've ever had by far and I have put away a lot of crappy beer.

[corneygirl]

I've drank plenty of cheap beer but Beer 30 light put them all to shame. A distributer left a few sample cans at the bar. Poured one for about 6 people and nobody could take it. This is a lot of Old Style drinkers to boot. Kind of tastes like any light beer with the added bonus of a rancid pineapple aftertaste.

[vegasmike]

Brew 102, my drink of choice when I was 12! Only drank it once and threw up.

[Akitist]

Worst beer I ever drank was Schlitz draft, and that was at a county fair when I was I was seriously athirst. Truly dreadful.

[roughriders]

Genesee 12 horse ale; only beer my rugby team has flatly refused to drinkwhen I bought them a round!!

[Passadumkeg]

Hey our rugby team in Allentown drank 12 Horse, even Gibbon's Ale, Balentine Ale too.
give me the 3 ring sign.

[The Professor]

Genny 12 Horse was one of my favorites ... it was a teriffic brew, the best brew Genesee made.

I wish they still made it...I think they discontinued it more than 15 years ago.

[observor]

Red Stripe is the grossest thing I have ever had...sweet beer is disgusting to me.

[JanPrimus]

The more I think about this small question...."Worst Beer Ever?"....the more I have a problem with it.

The worst bottles of beer I have put to my lips have been skunked, well past fresh, poorly capped or some other issue. I have also had some brews that I just don't like no matter how fresh they are and they are some of the worlds best sellers (Sam Adams, Heineken and Guinness).

Peoples taste in beer changes, they avoid certain elements that others love, loves other elements that other hate and some beers are just bland. Of course there are crap beers that make it to a bottle but they hardly ever make it to mass distribution. I have to think that certain places that treat brewing like a kids on a culinary play ground have to be creating stinkers as well as real treats (Dogfish Head).

The truly crap beer never gets to the masses. We call a mediocre beer the worst, some call great beers crap and some call crap beers the greatest.

I almost think beer is the only culinary treat that is more divisive than BBQ.

If you put a gun to my head though....I am still gonna point to Zima. Bland beer with little carbonation, lemon/lime flavors and food bleach.

[JessKidden]

"I am still gonna point to Zima. Bland beer with little carbonation, lemon/lime flavors and food bleach."

You left out "discontinued" (altho', looking at the "replacement" products in the M-C lineup...well.... http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/st... ).

In Zima's defense, it did sell well initially- reached 1 million barrels and was still in the .5m bbl range (i.e., more than any craft brewery other than BBC at the point) up into the early 00's, IIRC. So while it may have been the "worst" beer (and it was "beer" only in the broadest definition), *somebody* was drinking it.

[Ernie Diamond]

I agree with you, JanPrimus 100% and will even go one step beyond...

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD BEER.

Now, please don't misunderstand where I am coming from; If I had it my way, I would have casks of Badger's Best and Brakspear's Bitter, Manchester Star and Nightmare Porter bright and ready in the cellar next to cases of Cantillon Fou Foune, Saxo, Cidre DuPont, Schlenkerla and countless beers to numerous to mention. My tastes are different than yours, yours are different than your neighbor's and your neighbor's are different than mine. While there are beers that we disagree on, every beer has a market and gives that market pleasure.

Recognizing that a good beer is one that gives pleasure to the person drinking it cracks the field wide open; Kaliber, Buckler or O'Doul's may make someone who is struggling with addiction feel less conspicuous when out with friends, Honey Brown serves as a "stepping stone" for people who are beginning to expand their palatte and who after a day at the beach could say no to a Lobster Roll and a cold Bud?

Let's face it; we all started somewhere. If it wasn't for that first Solo cup of Keystone Light at a keg party, I may never have decided to probe this rich, fascinating family of food (yes, food). Beer is gratifying in ways that I will never be able to fully articulate. If a beer that I have since lost a taste for or never learned to appreciate in the first place makes you happy then congratulations, you have in your hands a great beer.

[JanPrimus]

It's just misunderstood beer!

[Ernie Diamond]

Exactly. Who is to say that Icehouse is "bad beer?" It's affordable, it refreshes, it makes the folks who chose to drink it happy. Maybe people like me, shelling out $40 for a bottle of a hard to find variety are the ones who are missing something.

Pleasure is pleasure after all, whether it comes from a Pixie Stick or grilled Andouillettes.

FYI - On the Beer Board, there is an old post entitled, "Favorite Malt Beverages." In the context of this discussion, isn't it great that there are people who enjoy these drinks soliciting recomendations? These are people who find pleasure in what they consume and are looking to broaden their horizons. Who knows? One may be a future Orval devotee.

[Kenji]

But if you really believe that there are no bad beers, then why should a fan of non-beer "malt beverages" take the trouble to appreciate Orval? If you really believe that Zima is the equal of Orval, why go to the trouble of seeking out & paying for Orval?

[Ernie Diamond]

That is an excellent question. I can justify paying for Orval because it gives me more pleasure than does Zima; The benefit outweighs the cost. Rather than the vague notion of "quality," the focus is instead on the pleasure derived from the product. With the cost/benefit anaylsis in mind, the beer drinker has a better understanding of the good/bad distinction; A good beer provides pleasure, a bad beer does not. Since all beer (in theory) has a market, all beer provides pleasure. Therefore, from a purely objective view, all beer is good.

My point is that what another person choses to eat and drink should not necessarily be subject to negative criticism. When it is, it risks becoming a game of culinary one-upsmanship and value judgments. I think that has a negative effect on the uninitiated and is not a productive discourse overall.

As Michael Jackson (The Beerhunter) said, "The best beer in the world is the one you hold in your hand."

[JessKidden]

> As Michael Jackson (The Beerhunter) said,
> "The best beer in the world is the one you hold in your hand. "

Doesn't sound like Jackson - maybe he was quoting Charlie Papazian (AHA founder) at the time? <g> ( Altho', it's the sort of quote that's probably been said by many- I don't think it originated with Papazian, either.)

[Josh]

If I had a Bud Light in my hand I would not be saying this. ;-)

[JessKidden]

It doesn't count if you're just passing the beer to the guy beside you... (the beer version of the 5 second rule).

[Ernie Diamond]

Fair enough. I read the quote some time ago and would have a hard time sourcing it at this point.

[Panini Guy]

Robt. Mondavi said same about wine back in the 60s, and I imagine the phrase predates even that.

[TongoRad]

Deep in the cobwebs of my mind I seem to recall a similar quote's being attributed to Jackson, but the one I remember has the word 'favorite' in place of the word 'best'. If that's the case I can certainly accept it.

[Jim Dorsch]

I don't think Michael Jackson said that, although Charlie Papazian might have.

[Kenji]

I guess what I was trying to get from you was a reason why it would be desirable for the fans of non-beer malt beverages to move to Orval -- when (supposedly), each product is equally wonderful.

I can't believe that Jackson would have made the assertion you attribute to him (how, then, could he justify his beer ratings?). If anyone said such a thing to me, I'd pounce on it. I mean, for example, I hope that the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat I once held in my hand was not really the best beer in the world -- because I dumped the damned thing out! And in times of financial difficulty, I would always downgrade my beer, and I never felt a need to kid myself into believing that what I drank during those times was the best beer in the world.

[Josh]

I'm calling BS. There is absolutely such a thing as bad beer. Drink some beers with errors in them, like oxidation, DMS, acetaldehyde, or butyric acid and tell me they're not bad.

It's like saying there's no such thing as spoiled food.

[JanPrimus]

We are not speaking to individual bottles but to brands.

[Ernie Diamond]

Exactly. It's the concept of pleasure; a beer with flaws (oxidation, butyric acid) offers no pleasure and is a bad bottle. With respect to brands, however JanPrimus and I agree that it is not for either of us to pass judgment on a "Bad Beer" brand.

[JessKidden]

There may (or may not) be "bad beers", but some are better than others.

(I think George Orwell said that?)

I'll always order one from the former list, rather than the latter group. Granted, we all get to make up our own personal list of column A's and Column B's.

That's not necessarily "passing judgment", just "passing" on a particular beer.

Me? I'm still amazed and disheartened that this is longest thread ever (IIRC?) on the CH Beer Forum... Does that happen in the other forums? Worst Wine? Worst Scotch? Worst Hamburger? Worst NYC cafe?

[Josh]

I guess it's more interesting than everyone agreeing how awesome Pliny is.

[Ernie Diamond]

Orwell, nice!

"All beers are equal but some are more equal than others!"

[Jim Dorsch]

I agree in my disappointment that this is the topic of most interest.

[BeeRich]

Doesn't have to be individual bottles. Beers made wrong are simply that. There is a process to the concept of beer. Much of it has to do with sterilization and proper environment to yeast growth, fermentation, wort attenuation, and infection. So you can't say that anything that passes through a brewery is only game for subjectivity. In fact, I think that's what's wrong with the small brewing industry, is lack of importance on basic principles of brewing.

Whole batches and even whole brand campaigns should have been scrapped due to bad practice.

[Josh]

Which basic principles of brewing do you think are viewed as unimportant by the small brewing industry?

[BeeRich]

Taking a random approach to creating new "styles" solely in the name of trying to be unique. How about perfecting a style given your hardware setup, water supply, etc.? Too many people try to create the new one-eyed green monster instead of rising above the crowd with an excellent historical style.

[LStaff]

>Too many people try to create the new one-eyed green monster instead of rising above the crowd with an excellent historical style.

I'm hoping after the next "craft" beer correction, that things get back to that instead of the catering to the tickers who only want new, new, new. After the first microbrew correction of the 90's, I think breweries were headed down that path, and the ones making these basic styles the best were the ones getting the attention instead of all the experimental, one-offs, high alcohol, strange ingredient beers that get the attention today. I don't see what's so "craft" about throwing darts at a wall with your eyes closed hoping you hit the bullseye - or the dartboard for that matter.

[The Professor]

Very well stated, and I agree 1000%.
At least part of the so called "craft" segment of the brewing industry has lost its way, in my opinion anyway...and I know quite a few beer lovers (and very progressive beer lovers at that) who agree.

The worst part of a lot of these "dartboard recipe" beers (besides the fact that they rarely hit the bullseye) is the premium prices they sell for.

[TongoRad]

I think one can get the impression that that stuff is bigger than it really is if you hang out on beer related websites, or in specialty beer bars, but I doubt that in terms of barrels produced (or even dollars earned) it is anything but small potatoes. I personally find it very easy to ignore, and I'm never wanting for a quality selection of beers. Overall I'd say that things have never been better for the beer drinker in this country (superb selection available, and the stuff moves out of the stores!!!), and the proliferation of crazy crap or the ticker mentality isn't really a drag on the situation at all.

[The Professor]

I do agree with you...selection has never been better and even more, it is easier to find at least some decent beers in most establishments now almost wherever you travel. Small brewers that turned big like Sierra Nevada and Boston Brewing/Sam Adams have brought good beer into the commercial mainstream.
The upside of the "new brew" renaissance far, far outweighs any downsides there may be. There is plenty good beer to enjoy, and yes...just as much to try once and then ignore.
But there's certainly something out there for every taste

[Josh]

Missed this thread. Busy month, I guess.

I don't know if I really agree. It makes me think of music lovers who listened to swing that dismissed bebop as "Chinese music". As Frank Zappa so eloquently put it, "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."

I like to look at the difference in brewing traditions between Germany and Belgium. Germany's reinheisgebot led to some really well-made, precise beers, but there's not a huge tonal variation (again, borrowing from music) to their output - at least not compared to the huge variety of flavor that comes out of Belgium. While every Belgian farmhouse ale might not be a success (Fantome Cacao comes to mind), when they do work you have a really unusual and delicious beverage that knocks your tastebuds for a loop (Fantome Saison, for example).

I think that a lot of American brewers find inspiration in this Belgian approach, and are trying to do something similar here using indigenous ingredients, or Belgian techniques with new styles. Would the beer world be better off without Jolly Pumpkin making their sour, barrel-aged beers?

There is already ample production of excellent historical styles. I don't really think the world is clamoring for another ESB or Pale Ale.

[BeeRich]

The Bavarian Purity Law WAS installed because they were killing people with the crap they were putting into their beers. Belgium didn't have to do that because of their wild strains. So the restriction forced Germany to brew better, instead of tossing in bicycles, shopping carts, old boots, etc. Coupled with their love for chocolates and pastries, it would only be natural to incorporate the widely available tasty carbohydrates found there. Germany...not so much. That profile is found in their foods.

I don't see the world clamouring for a pumpkin ale. A decent session pale ale will outperform any specialty whizbang product any day. Always has. The term session has placement for a reason. Going to go swig back 6 pumpkin ales? I'm sure you'd win some money if you did that.

[Josh]

Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery. They make sour, Belgian-styled brews. I don't know why you're bringing up pumpkin ale.

[modigliani]

i once visited Eastern Europe and i 've tried their local beer, to be honest nothing good :)

[MOREKASHA]

Is that like visiting Eastern America?

[Passadumkeg]

The Czech Republic (former Czechoslavakia) is Eastern Europe and makes world renowned beers and is the birthplace of Pilsner beers.

[ohdaylay]

For some reason Red Stripe doesn't do it for me.

[Scotty100]

I recently had a grolsch for the first time in about 7 years and instantly remembered why it had been 7 years...

[The Professor]

So just what was it you didn't like about the Grolsch...

[Scotty100]

To my tastebuds, overly sweet and metallic, "thin" on the palate, cloying aftertaste.

[Chinon00]

What is shocking too is the fact that many people review beers here and on beer advocate for example knowing that the beer is skunked or otherwise compromised yet review it anyway. That would not happen with wine. I don't get it.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/...

[TonyO]

Further evidence of the "nastiness" that sometimes plagues beer threads and blogs. I just don't get it ......................

[The Professor]

It's pretty simple really...taste is a highly individual thing. And the new breed of beer snob is highly opinionated and convinced that his/her taste buds are the world standard.
Fact is, no two people will taste anything _exactly_ the same way. Sometimes even the time of day will alter your taste.
Beer criticism is really an exercise in futility...all opinions whould be taken with a grain of salt.
"One mans poison is another man's elixer"

[Josh]

Meh, that's not really true. It's nothing more than a restating of the middle-ground fallacy. The implication is that if you give two random beer drinkers Westy 12 one would say it's awesome and the other would say it sucks. Don't see that happening, ever. It's easy to say that there're no standards for anything, but it's not really true. If it were, why would this site be here? If anything is as good as anything else, then why aren't we all chowing down on Big Macs and Whoppers?

Things which are well-made have tell-tale evidence of such. A well-made guitar plays in tune and has good sound - similarly, a well-made beer has certain attributes.

Beers can be poorly made. That's not a matter of opinion.

[Jim Dorsch]

Problem is that raters on the main sites tend to ignore stylistic criteria in favor of hedonic reviews. how else do you explain why so few beers of modest strength make the top lists? You'd think all the world's greatest beers must be imperial stouts and imperial IPAs.

(I agree with you, by the way.)

On another note (seeing how far I can derail this thread), I understand 21st Amendment's watermelon wheat beer gets good scores on BA. I wonder how it would score if it were an AB product.

[Josh]

Totally agree about BA and RateBeer. Shaker of salt is required for those ratings. (Though I generally think the Alstrom brothers themselves are pretty objective.)

Watermelon Wheat is a good beer. Or it can be, anyway, depending on the batch you get and the quality of the watermelon used in it. If it was an AB product, it'd be artificially flavored.

[The Professor]

Well, I certainly do agree that beers can be poorly made , and that is true regardless of the size of the brewery (some of the big brewery "craft" product is certainly better than some of the smaller brewery products...and vice verse).
As far as differing taste buds go, there are quite a few beers that seem to be popular that I (and others) think are "made badly"...so there is no universal standard (life would be too boring if there were). And my arrival at the taste assessments comes from considerable practical experience in making beer.
The beer revolution has brought some mighty fine stuff to market, and it has brought just as much drek. So I agree that beer can indeed be poorly made because I've tasted quite a few of them. I also agree with Mr. Dorch that many very worthy (but more modest) beers get overlooked or rated badly in favor of the new fad of alcohol and hop bombs.
As to the rest of my rant, I stand by it...and we can certainly agree to disagree.
In the end really, my opinion, or anyone else's for that matter is totally irrelevant when considering the taste buds. I'll go to the rating sites for general info, but one certainly shouldn't take the reviews very seriously.

Got a little off track...sorry for the diversion...I can be as opinionated as anyone. LOL And now, back to our regularly scheduled thread.

[Chinon00]

"As far as differing taste buds go, there are quite a few beers that seem to be popular that I (and others) think are "made badly"...so there is no universal standard (life would be too boring if there were)."

Of course popularity alone doesn't make a beer "good". You are mixing personal tastes with judgments.

[Chinon00]

I'd agree that what makes a beer "good" isn't an exact science. But I'd hate to think of it as chaos either; where the intrinsic value of the beer is utterly and completely dependant upon the individual sipper and regardless of his or her knowledge base. I think that opinions should be informed and objects must be evaluated on their own terms. Upon this basis there will still be some spread of opinion but it won't be chaotic.

Thanks

[The Professor]

And I forgot to add...that BeerAdvocate is probably the very LAST place I would look for honest and well written assessments of any beer. It's become a bit of a joke, really.

[TonyO]

The whole rating thing is a bit odd to me. I mean, really, who really cares if a beer/wine scores 94 points versus 90 ? Talk about arbitrary nonsense. I keep ratings simple;

Phenomenal: Not sure I have ever had a beer in this range, but would imagine nearly any beer scoring good or above after a long prison term or days in the desert would garner this rating
Great: To me, a nice cold Spaten draft on a crisp Summer night is Great
Very Good: A well made Hefeweizen such as UFO
Good: Magic Hat Circus Boy
Eh: Budweiser
Sucks: For me, it's Coors Lite

Keep the grades in the classroom.

[Josh]

An "A" by any other name would be phenomenal.

[danrob54]

I love beer, any kind of beer. The one that I found that I couldn't stand was Steel Reserve. It tasted to me like someone had taken light beer and put in a shot of vodka. I had to pour it out.

[Jim Dorsch]

I haven't had SR, but what you say is typical of malt liquors, which tend to be very light-bodied, and of course they contain their fair share of alcohol (although not always as much as people believe).

[Kenji]

That's right. I've seen "malt liquors" (of course, in some states, any beer with over 5% ABV seems to be deemed a ML) in the 5 - 6 % ABV range

Steel Reserve is one of the stronger ones, with, IIRC, 8.1 % ABV.

[scaryjoe]

It must have been a bad can or tap. How can anyone hate the Hen? My first try of this was in London.

[Jim Dorsch]

Agreed. OSH is a nice one.

[sadiefox]

Unfortunately OSH comes in clear bottles. I have had an off-tasting bottle of it.

[Chinon00]

That shoudn't qualify OSH as a possible candidate for "Worst Beer Ever". You got a bad bottle.

[Jim Dorsch]

also comes in cans

[sadiefox]

*I* did not say that OSH is Worst Beer Ever or even that I don't like it. I am merely pointing out that unfortunately, it does come in clear bottles, lending itself to easy spoilage, and perhaps the OP and others who say they do not like it have had bad bottles.

For that matter, whenever I have a bottle of beer that tastes "off", I am more likely to wonder if I just have a "bad" bottle, than pass judgement on the character of the particular brew.

[The Professor]

I wouldn't sweat the clear bottles...most beers packaged that way are most likely made with isomerized hops anyway, making the "skunking" factor far less likely (the brewers know full well that light+beer can =yuck if they don't use specially treatd hops and extracts).
I've had quite a bit of OSH and have never encountered a bad one.

[JessKidden]

I wouldn't be too sure about ALL clear-bottled beers using a "light stabilizing" hop extract. While Miller High Life reportedly uses TetraHop (http://www.barthhaasgroup.com/cmsdk/c... ) which also explains the "beautiful, rocky head" some find in the MHL - my experience (very limited, since I know better) with clear bottled beers that have been exposed to light says a lot of brewers still think it's 1945, when beer was sold from the counter stored behind wooden cooler doors.

I recall just standing NEXT to someone who cracked open a Corona Light that had been pulled from an open tub of ice at a picnic (just like in the ads!) and the skunk overwhelmed me.

A bottle of Adelscott (out of the two a friend brought back from France for me) was enough not to open the second. "Say, where did you keep those bottles until you gave them to me?" "On top of my dresser, in front of the window." "Oh...".

And finally I did "take a chance" of a pint of a UK ale (can't remember the brand, now- maybe one normally seen only in "nitro" can otherwise?) figuring I'd reach w-a-y back under the shelf for one that had only briefly been exposed to direct florescent light. Still skunked (it only takes minutes).

After all, most brewers who use green glass seemingly ignore the "light struck" problem (well, some might go so far as print "Do Not Expose to Light" or "Store in a cool, dark place" on the case or on a website), why would it be any different for the majority of clear glass users?

[The Professor]

Good points. Actually I was referring specifically to Old Speckled Hen and the fact that even having bought quite a few, never had one that was skunked.
Other than that, you are absolutely right...some brewers probably do just ignore the science and package it for looks. Most of the gimmicky clear bottle beers are not ones I'd buy normally anyway, but while I have had ok luck with some of the British beers I've bough in clear bottles, I will admit that it surprises me that they elect to package them that way especially given the fact that consumers are getting more saavy about the reasons NOT to use clear bottles.

[Chinon00]

I ONLY purchase cases of pilsner in cans (i.e. Slyfox Pikeland, Pilsner Urquell, Bitburger . . .)

[Jim Dorsch]

IIRC Sam Smith now comes in amber bottles, after many years in clear glass.

[TonyO]

I don't vist the "beer" board often but I must say that the opinions and downright level of judgemental statements issued here are amazing. It amazes me how people are "told" what is "right" and "wrong" with their opinion. You would think this would be more prevailent on the wine board but it isn't.

Once again, any thread with the word "Best" or "Worst" always becomes more about confrontation than about simply stating an opinion. Maybe someone should start a thread titled "Best Beer to Have with the Best Pizza in NYC". Someone better dial 9-1-1 now..................

[Chinon00]

The problem with this post was that the title conflicted with the body. The title “Worst Beer Ever” implies a fair and informed judgment of a beer. However, in the body of the post we’re asked to name our “own despised brew”, which doesn’t imply objectivity.

[Jim Dorsch]

Your comment is spot on. I got a bit riled once or twice during this thread before I realized this.

[JessKidden]

Every time this thread is resurrected, I read the title and think "Worst THREAD Ever". I never quite understood the fascination beer drinkers have with "bad beer"- and it's not just "craft beer drinkers" with their "fizzy yellow beer" comments and attacking the masculinity of "light beer" drinkers,- the US macro drinkers revel in knocking the craft beers ( too strong, too hoppy and then there's the fruit flavored ones), the Heineken and Becks drinkers have to justify their "costly imports" with the "canoe beer" jokes, and on and on. Someone should brew a Schadenfreude Lager.

Hey, there's lots of beers I don't care to drink, but I'm not interested in discussing them (over and over again)- there's too much interesting stuff TO concentrate on. I'm sure there are some snarky comments about house brand liquors on the SPIRITS forum and Boones Farm and Ripple asides on the WINE forum, but are the longest threads on those forums about "bad" beverages? (Last I looked, this is the longest BEER thread, and it's been added to since). It's almost as if the negative image some have of beer creates an inferiority complex among some beer drinkers, and they have to then take joy in knocking others' beer choices. (Kinda like kicking your dog when you get home after your boss chewed you out at work....)

Or, you know, maybe not <g>.

[Passadumkeg]

Hey, Jk, you otta touch base at the chains board too.

[Josh]

"Someone should brew a Schadenfreude Lager."

I would totally buy that.

[JessKidden]

"I would totally buy (Schadenfreude Lager)."

Really? Josh, I thought you had better taste than that- I've now lost all the respect I once had for your beer knowledge, since I heard that:

(a) It sucks (tho' it's better if you can buy the cans- no green bottles).

(b) We don't get the "real thing" in the US- the European version is better.

(c) It's just not the same beer since they got bought out by
that multinational brewing conglomerate.

(d) All of the above.

Altho', if you can find the Schadenfreude Bock, get it. They clean out their tanks every TWO years, so it's got twice the alcohol!

[Josh]

Sorry, I thought you meant the Canadian version made w/ corn and triple-hops brewing. It tastes really cold.

[Panini Guy]

JK,
All good points but one. The masculinity of light beer drinkers should be challenged ;-)

[DapperDave]

Can there really be a worst beer ever?? I don't think this is something anyone can actually prove as taste is subjective. I only meant to start a fun discussion and it seems to have ballooned into this....thing! lol Anyway, I have enjoyed the posts and still do agree with the Hen being absolute swill, but again, my humble opinion...

[Chinon00]

Swill is a strong word. And you used the word "opinion" which again implies some basis of knowledge (hopefully) in the specific object of which you are referring (i.e. Old Speckled Hen).
One has the absolute right to not "like" something. But are you sure that your "conclusion" is the result of an informed opinion? Maybe you just don't like the beer style in general. Which other Pale Ales from England do you like btw? And using a little beer vocabulary could you please express what specifically about OSH made it "swill" to you?

Thanks

[Jim Dorsch]

You've struck the root of the issue for me, which is that many people have stated their choices, but few have explained why. From this we learn nothing.

[Josh]

I don't think it's a question of right or wrong, it's a question of informed or uninformed. If someone said Kraft singles were the best cheese, you'd likely conclude they haven't eaten much cheese.

[TonyO]

I would agree but imagine someone that has only eaten processed cheese and they are given some super ripe gorgonzola. They would likely be even more convinced that the processed cheese was the best ! I'm sure we all know at least a few people that choose to drink Bud or Coors Lite because of taste. Doesn't make them wrong and sometimes ignorance is bliss (which I often think of when I check out with a $9.00 six pack or a $65 bottle of wine !).

[nsenada]

I love most things Dogfish Head, but the 120 minute IPA tastes sickly sweet to me. The worst beer I ever had by far was Kappy's store brand beer (a Massachusetts chain). Tasted like Frito's corn chips soaked in seltzer. Absolutely undrinkable.

[Scargod]

I agree; it's over the top. I don't like it when they get very sweet. I too like almost everything dog fishy headed.

[Kenji]

I hear that a lot about the 120 Minute. However, I had a two-year old bottle of it that was just great. Perhaps it's one of those beers that is best with aging.

[express]

Nothing fancy about bad beer, the worst ever for me was a warm (because I drank it so slowy) Carling Black Label, I was 15 at the time, It took at least 20 years to like beer after that!

[Passadumkeg]

At about the same age, I got really blitzed on Carling w/ my older brothers. It got me over my dislike of beer and I have been a beer drinker ever since. Hey Mabel, Black Label!

[Scargod]

Get back to work, you scurvy dog! The first beer I ever had was home-brew when I was 14. I stole two out of a person's garage on my paper route. It had so much sediment! A friend and I stuck it in cool, Bachman's Lake for a while and since I can't hardly drink pissy light beers!
I'm laughing my ass off at the videos from the trip! Want to hear my falsetto voice? Myyyy feeet are cooold!

[jeremyn]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned New Belgium's La Folie. Maybe some people are actually into that style, but to me and everyone else I was with, it was like sour gummy worms. Way too sour. Yuk. I got it for free and I couldn't finish it.

[Jim Dorsch]

La Folie is a wonderful beer. The fact that you are not familiar with it doesn't mean it's bad.

[sel]

Wow, NB's La Folie is one of my favorites along with other Flanders Red Ales. I love sour beers and in addition La Folie Wood Aged Beer is the No. 1 top rated Flanders red ale on beeradvocate.com so I'm not it's only fan! I wish it were available in bottles in S. Cal. but the closest I've found it in bottles is over 400 miles north!

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers?sty...

[jeremyn]

I admit to not being TOO familiar with the style, but I have had sour ales that I have enjoyed. Petrus makes sour ales that I love (much, much less sour). The difference to me is moderation and balance.

I understand that it is certainly an acquired taste, and maybe La Folie is wonderful to someone who has a taste for it, but I am confident in saying that the majority of the world would find it utterly disgusting.

[Chinon00]

The majority of the world doesn't find craft beer appealing. In the US craft beer is 4% of market share. Does that mean that craft beer should be judged as bad or "disgusting"?

[jeremyn]

The original poster asked about our own despised brew, and that's mine. Several posters chimed in saying that they loved what he hated. To each his own! Let me hate La Folie and I'll let you hate whatever you want!

[Chinon00]

Fine. But as I stated earlier, I really didn't enjoy Orval beer when I was in my twenties. Now (in my late 30s), it's my second highest rated beer on beer advocate.
When it comes to things highly regarded by people who know what they're talking about it's smart to keep an open mind.

Thanks

[jeremyn]

I'd say I kept an open mind by trying it. I guess I'm just not elite enough to enjoy it!

[Chinon00]

Being "elite" had nothing to do with it at all. It's the attitude that you approach the topic with. I love most sushi but not sea urchin; and I've had it a number of times. And maybe I'll never "get it" but I'm down for trying it again and again when the opportunity avails itself to me because it's one of the most celebrated sushi and I want to understand and appreciate why. That level of effort doesn't interest everyone though.

[Scargod]

Level of effort? That's masochistic. I say you two stop feuding... There's too many fish in the sea (or beers) to keep pounding your head against a wall trying to "get it" with any beer.

[Chinon00]

Totally disagree. Orval is now a weekly ritual for me even though I used to dislike it strongly. But no I didn't force down an Orval every day until I could appreciate it. I think that I just sort of nibbled around the edges of the style for a while drinking saisons and semi-sweet to drier and drier sour ales; all of which feature some brettanomyces character like Orval. Until one day I re-approached Orval and my palate was ready.

[Scargod]

You've sure painted with a wide brush. This isn't love it or leave it. There are many craft or small production beers I love. There are some weird, oddball ones that I can't stand. But I love stouts and double this or that, if it's dark. La Folie sounds like something I wouldn't enjoy. There is a clique-like, uniqueness thing going on when you are way out there in the minority. Like driving a Yugo or Pinto. Fine. I am in that 4%, but I'm not into extremes; at least not yet.
I don't think it's a case of if you like Bud, Coors, Miller or Corona you wouldn't enjoy going to a brew pub or having a stronger flavored beer. And, I can still stomach a Bud or Michelob if I need to.

[Passadumkeg]

And Pearl, too.

[TroyTempest]

Back when Pearl was brewed by the Pearl Brewing Co. in San Antonio, it wasn't a bad representation on a light American Lager (not a Light beer mind you). I enjoyed it, for what it was. Now Pearl and Lone Star both had their own "budget" beers, Buckhorn and Texas Pride. I can't remember who brewed which, but both certainly deserve a place on this list.

[Passadumkeg]

I used to drink Buckhorn in the 70's before pay day. At $.89 a six pack it wasn't that bad.

[Scargod]

Once I drank Schlitz. I was young then. I even drank Ripple (for those of you who know of what I speak). Doesn't mean it was good.
Bud's about my lowest beer to drink and only if Long Trail, Sam Adams or similar isn't available. You know, that Yuengling was not too bad...

[Josh]

There are many different kinds of sour beer. La Folie is on the more extreme end of the spectrum, and Petrus's sour is definitely milder and more of a gateway sour beer. If you get more into sour beers, you'll see why La Folie is so well-regarded.

[Josh]

La Folie is one of New Belgium's best beers, easily. You need to get more exposure to sour beers.

[vegasmike]

I had my first taste of beer when I was 12. We were not a beer drinking family, but my dad brought home a quart bottle of Brew 102. It was made in LA. Maybe it is still around, I don't know. I drank some, went outside and threw up.

[Jim Dorsch]

I recall 102 from my can collecting days. Perfected after 101 tries, IIRC.

[JessKidden]

"Brew 102" rates an interesting footnote for the current brewing scene, as it was the first brand owned by what is the "virtual brewing company" now known as Pabst. Paul Kalmanovitz bought the Maier Brewing Company in LA (brewer of 102) in the early 1950's and went on to buy the major West Coast brewer, General (aka Lucky) which eventually brewed (well, marketed) a good dozen or two former West Coast brands.

Eventually, the Kalmanovitz brewing empire, called S&P Corporation, came to included Falstaff (including Narragansett, Hanley and Ballantine brands), Pearl (including Jax) and Pabst (at the time which also owned Hamm, Olympia, Old English 800). As "Pabst" the company, by then owned by a charity set up after Kalmanovitz's death (contrary to IRS rules) eventually bought the brands of Stroh (Schaefer, Schlitz, Goebel) including the Heileman labels that Stroh had bought only a few years before (inc Carling, Rainier, Rheingold, Schmidt's, Lone Star, and a bunch of mid-West brands).

So, one could safely say that 102 started a collection of over a hundred of once-well know local and regional classic US beer brands, the vast majority of which had been turned into "price" beers, bottom shelf cheap-o's that probably have no relationship to the beers they were under the original brewers. Pabst itself only keeps around 75 of the label brands registered, and markets only about half of them (and has sold/leased a few- notably Hamm's and Old English to Miller, Augsburger to Point, and Narragansett, Greisedieck, Lemp, Rheingold, etc., to some start-ups- most which have failed IIRC).

And many of them, no doubt, are mentioned in numerous posts above.

[Scargod]

Great history lesson! Yes, I think all should have been mentioned already, or at least the 90% of them I've tried over a forty-five year span. Was just in Naw'lins and the Jax building shore is purdy!

[JessKidden]

Yeah, it's a great brewery, architecturally, and somewhat unusual, as well. I've never understood why Pabst (and, before that, Pearl) doesn't market a Jax beer (draught or bottles) heavily in alcohol-friendly NOLA- when there's that giant free 3-D POS item sitting square on the Mississippi in the French Quarter. I mean, "free" is the type of promotion the current Pabst company loves the most. Jax was still listed as a Pearl (S&P) brand as late as 1990 but don't know if they still make it at all anymore (not listed on Pabst' current "portfolio" page - http://www.pabstbrewingco.com/portfol... - but, as with all things "Pabst"- that page isn't very accurate and/or complete.) Sure, it'd be a contract-brew, no longer made in LA- same as Dixie, sadly.

[juantanamera]

To my surprise, I seem to be the only poster whose least favorite beer is Corona. I find it lacking in flavor, even when compared to other common pale lagers. But the little flavor I do perceive is unpleasant to me. Even it's fans seem to agree that a healthy squeeze of lime is needed to cover the off flavors.

[monkeyrotica]

A little lime and salt can hide a multitude of sins, regardless of the beer.

I read it was originally used to hide the taste of solder (?!) in the first canned beers, the kind you opened with a can opener, like a can of V8 juice. The practice stuck even when they switched to bottles.

Now, Corona and V8 juice with a little hot sauce, lime, worcestershire, and salt. There's a good post-lawnmowing drink for you.

[Sam at Novas]

Corona is OK with some good hot, spicey South or Central American food!

[Passadumkeg]

So is a Miller w/ a slice of lime for half the price!

[Scargod]

I agree. I don't get the interest in Corona, except for the $$ they spend on flooding the airwaves with cute commercials. I think, if I had a choice, I would drink Coors or even Rolling Rock. Then there is Corona Light, which I have never tasted. I would assume it is like bad water. I love the taste of lime, but I like to reserve it for margaritas.

[gafferx]

Corona is useless and in those clear glass bottles looks like horse piss
Drinking that with lime slice was cool 20 years ago
But St Pauli Girl is going for $9 a twelve pack at one place
That is a bargain due to financial crisis? I get the dark

[monkeyrotica]

Maybe it's the brain damage, but Pauli Girl and Pauli Girl Dark both taste the same to me. Just like Heinekin and Heinekin Dark. Are they the same beer except with food dye in it or what?

[gafferx]

No they are vastly different. My guess is you have little interest in dark beers and that's how most people are in USA. They are more popular in Europe

[Insidious Rex]

I would hardly assume he/she has "little interest in dark beers" simply because they think that St Pauli Girl Dark isnt any more flavorful than a standard lager. I think the issue is it tastes to them like a fairly dumbed down Dunkel such that when you place it side to side with some classic better known German examples like an Ayinger Dunkel or a Hoffbrau or something, that it really seems lacking. That hardly means americans dislike "dark" beers as a rule though. I love me some Imperial Stouts and that’s about as “dark” as you get.

Now Ill grant you can certainly say darker LAGERS are an underappreciated sub category even among craft beer aficionados in the US which is reflected in their rarity here as compared to Germany. I readily admit that. But please don’t assume we don’t like dark beer just because of that.

[Scargod]

Not that I know more about beers than you, and perhaps I know less. I would however, point out the flaw in your argument is that monkeyerotica compared St. Pauli Girl to St. Pauli Girl Dark and Heineken to Heineken Dark, not one of them to some other lager or some other dark lager. I would not agree with this person, but not in the way that you have presented it.
I agree darker lagers are underappreciated. I enjoy Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, Fat Tire and others. I don't know where bock beer fits into this.

[monkeyrotica]

No, I do like dark beers. I've had and enjoyed Hofbrau, Paulaner, and Warsteiner Dunkel. They taste distinctly different from their lighter counterparts. But to me, Pauli Girl and Pauli Girl Dark taste pretty much the same.

[Insidious Rex]

That would be Pink Killer (Brasserie Silly). What is that all about?! Tastes like cherry cough syrup with Vicks mixed in it...

[al b. darned]

My nominees for the Beer Hall of Shame:
Domestic Swill: Olympia, Hamms, Buckhorn, Perl, Knickerbocker, Haffenreffer Private Stock, Narragansett, Iron City, Carling Black Label

Craft beers: Anything by Long Trail, Otter Creek Copper Ale

Foreign: Anything Italian or Greek.

[Josh]

Heh, don't know how I missed this one.

Anything Italian?

You seriously need to upgrade your knowledge.

[al b. darned]

My Italian beer experience was on their home turf. Barffo...I mean Raffo and Peroni have to be two of the worst beers I have tasted. Unless the stuff they sell here is different than the swill they sell in Italia, I don't see why anyone would buy it.

But back then there were no "craft brews."

[Chinon00]

I think that many more of us might have agreed with you if you would have limited your scope to one or two Italian beer (as you have above) and stated as well that your experience with Italian beer was during the "pre-craft" era from the start.
I personally wouldn't consider Italy to be a beer destination yet but they are making progress. And as for Greece, most of the beer (e.g. "Mythos) is pretty standard euro lager. However (and this is probably an exception) I enjoyed a pilsner at a cafe in front of the The National Archaeology Museum of Athens. It was brewed by a Greek brewery named 'Craft". Surprisingly good.
Thanks

[Eat_Nopal]

Al your beerdar is way off if you didn't at least find Birra Moretti... not Chowhound material but certainly in the Sam Adams, Newcastle, Modelo league.

[Jim Dorsch]

Moretti La Rossa is tasty

[Josh]

Italy's craft brew industry is significant, and their beers are some of the most highly regarded, and unusual, in the world of craft beer. They incorporate native ingredients like chestnuts, grapes, herbs, resulting in really complex Belgian-influenced beers.

Italian macro-lager is hardly representative of the state of Italian brewing. That's like judging American beer based on Bud Light and Schaefer.

[Chinon00]

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/...

[Passadumkeg]

Anything Korean. That's why they drink So Ju, which is pretty bad too.

[al b. darned]

How about Billy Beer!!

[njmarshall55]

Agreed. That was the absolute worst beer I ever tasted. We were re-doing the basement and the other 5 cans got put behind the panelling....never to be dug up again!

[Gene K]

Golden Eagle (an Indian brew) -- had a nasty smoky/musty/spoiled vegetable flavor. I should have listen to the waiter when he said I wouldn't like it.
Among US beers, a tossup between Mich Ultra and Iron City.

[mpalmer6c]

Much of the bottled microbrewery stuff in the SF Bay Area is so hideous it makes you wonder what they were thinking (Anchor Steam, of course, is an exception). But my prize winner is Good Old Guckenheimer.

[adrian]

I'd say most of the American massmarket beers are pretty foul compared to the european brews..

[Chinon00]

Which european brews? Heineken, Stella, Amstel . . .

[bobjbkln]

Becks, Carlsberg, Moretti...? the list of European beers no better than (or inferior to) BUD goes on.

[Chinon00]

True, true.

[Jim Dorsch]

While typically not all that distinctive, I'd say that these international-style lagers have a bit more body and hoppiness than Bud. Of course, the hoppiness can combine with a green bottle to produce a skunky beer, in which case I'd certainly prefer the Bud.

[Horlachers]

You need to realize that just because "you" don't like a style of beer, that it is not always a bad beer. I dont care for Belgians. Doesn't mean the Belgians I drank are "bad". They just were not my style.
Get to know the style and then do an un-biased eval.

[Whisper]

You don't care for any style of Belgians? There are a number of different styles of Belgian beer (as I'm sure you must already know, but from your post it seems you are lumping them all into one) and I'm surprised you don't like a single one of them.

[Passadumkeg]

Horlacher, I remember Horlacher Beer in Allentown, Pa. Any connection?

[sadiefox]

I'm not saying it's the worst beer ever, but in my opinion, the worst beer that people pay a lot of money for and think is great is Heineken in bottles (in the US). It always tastes skunky to me and gives me a headache. Beck's is another one. That being said, I did drink quite a bit of Heineken on tap in Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) and it tasted WAAAYYYY better and I enjoyed it more than I ever expected.

[BeeRich]

Chinika. I bet nobody's heard of that one actually. Two points for anybody that has tried this.

[mwliechty]

The worst beer I've ever had is Red, White and Blue. About 20 years ago it was sold for $2 a case. And, to kill the flavor you had to drink nearly frozen.

[girobike]

Miller, Coors, Budweiser in the States, in that order of heinousness.

I'd settle for alcoholized ditchwater first.

[monkeyrotica]

Miller High Life + salt + lime = indistinguishable from Corona and half the price.

[Chinon00]

I recently reviewed Orval on another website. I really enjoyed it. I described its as having "brett twang in there with spice, bubble gum and green apple".
But I recalled not liking it at all in my twenties. And I swore then that I would never order that beer again because it was the worst beer ever. If this string can teach us anything it is to keep an open mind and to always be curious.

[Jim Dorsch]

I totally agree. I've had similar experiences with music.

[bobjbkln]

I think I have two winners:
1) Bad Frog: a beer brewed only so they had something to put in the bottle while actually marketting their distinctive and slightly risqué label (frog with middle "finger" extended).
2) And, although I only had this once on a trip to Paris a few years ago, I am sure that Desperados, a tequila flavored beer from Fischer has to be the worst beer ever brewed.

[doho95fu]

Although I tend to steer clear of beer in clear glass bottles - Old Speckled Hen was a pleasant surprise to me when I first had it. I have had it numerous times since. Nothing special, but solid.

Worst beer ever for me - GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY - used to have to drink it warm in college since we couldn't put it in the fridge due to my double secret probation.

[dkbk]

Worst ever would be BEER (someone's got to remember that generic garbage). Close second Red, White & Blue. Genny Cream Ale had its' place if you were an upstate NY college student.

[Lapis]

Fascinating thread and, while I am no expert, I learned the hard way to avoid: Ballantine's, Blatz, Carling Black Label, Colt .45, Country Club Malt Liquor, Falstaff, Genesee Cream Ale, Icehouse, Keystone, PBR, Olde English, Old Milwaukee, Mickey's Big Mouth, Milwaukee's Best, Moosehead, Natural Ice, Pearl, Rolling Rock, Schaeffer, Schlitz, Steel Reserve 211 and Strohs.

I am rather surprised that Yuengling Lager and Newcastle Brown Ale were mentioned. I like both of those with dark chocolate. Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Michelob may not appeal to the avid beerophile, but they are far from the worst in my humble uneducated opinion.

[The Professor]

Ballantine is decidedly not what it once was (it was in its day a very distinctive and well regarded beer)...but it is still several notches above most other beers of its type. For the price, it's a real bargain.
I do wish though that the current makers of that brand would do a little more homework and go back to the original formula. I know that I'm not the only one that misses it; it was once a truly great beer.

[Kenji]

The current Ballantine Ale has some hop flavors -- offset, unfortunately, by some cheap grain tastes. It's just barely a notch better than Bud, Coors, and the beers of that ilk.

I remember occasionally coming across a fairly robustly hoppy Ballantine IPA in the late 80s and early 90s.

[The Professor]

Ballantine IPA was a beer that you really had to experience before 1980 and preferably before 1972. Experts agree that this beer defined the word "craft" and that it remains unmatched to this day.
It _was_ an expensive beer to produce, and that was certainly reflected in the price of a six-pack.
But damn, it was good.

[Jim Dorsch]

Even a bit later than that, BIPA was a wonderful thing on the east coast, where few craft brews were available. In the early to mid-'80s there wasn't a whole lot of choice. (Prior Double Dark comes to mind ...)

[Passadumkeg]

Hey! Yuengling used to be a cheap coal miners' beer( my grandfather was a cheap coal miner) until it was "discovered". Genny Cream Ale may be next.

[Jim Dorsch]

I think what was discovered was the amber lager, whereas you might refer to their regular lager.

[JessKidden]

Yuengling always had a toe in the proto-"good beer" market in the US as craft brewing started up, in that they were still brewing a porter, a somewhat hoppy ale (both bottom fermented, however, like many other US brewers' at the time) and a US-style "bock". OTOH, they seemed not interested at all in contract-brewing, something that helped save the few local and regional brewers left, nor have they ever strayed into an all-malt beer (which keeps them off the "craft" list of the Brewers Association).

As I recall the chronology, their first "hit", in the mid-80's, was their Black & Tan, which in itself was a "dumbed down" version of the somewhat popular "Half and Half" that was made at local bars with their Porter and Chesterfield. The "pre-made" B& T substituted their "Premium Beer" for the Chesterfield - thus, eliminating most of the hop flavor- essentially just making "Porter Light" in my mind.

The Yuengling Black and Tan was so popular for a time, they even had to contract it out to the Stroh-owned Schaefer brewery down the road in PA. Only after that, did they come out with what was then called "Traditional Lager" which seemed to me to be somewhat influenced by SA's Boston Lager - in color, at least ("lager" in the US long meant "light yellow" beer previously), tho' it was still a corn-adjunct beer.

What to me is somewhat interesting is how the good beer internet crowd talks about "Yuengling" as a beer, rather than a brewery, seemingly ignoring their other products. (Granted, even more amusing is that "Lager" in PA often *means* Yuengling Trad. Lager.) Those other brands seemed to have been also forgotten by the brewery themselves- I was shocked when they dropped their returnable bottles, dropped the Chesterfield kegs (recently revived) and seemingly "dumbed" that beer down, as well (gone is the great hop nose it once had). As Jim notes, they still make the their version of "US light lager" (what they called "Yuengling Premium"). I see it ocasionally (and think that some folks may buy it by "mistake" and be somewhat shocked) and, IIRC, in NJ it's priced the same as the other Yuengling product. I wonder if the pricing is the same in the Pottsville area or is it still a "less than BMC" alternative there?

[JessKidden]

"Genny Cream Ale may be next."

Genesee Cream Ale already *had* it's "fifteen minutes" of popularity- back during the great "cream ale" scare of the late 70's-early 80's. They expanded their distribution to most of the Northeast and near mid-West, taking enough market share from the other regional brewers that a number of other brewers revived their old cream ales (Ortlieb's Neuweiler, Schmidt's Kodiak, Pittsburgh's Robin Hood) or came out with new ones (Schaefer, Falstaff's Narragansett, Pearl & Ballantine cream ales, Heileman's Blatz), etc. Also, Schoenling Little Kings expanded it's own market east at the same time.

Unfortunately, that was still in the era before "craft beer pricing" and the normal method of entering a new regional market was to underprice the nationals and strong regionals, so Genesee was left with the "cheap beer" and "college kegger" tags, something that's pretty hard to overcome when trying to revive an older label.

Seems as if the brewery, now itself called High Falls, is putting it's money into the Dundee line (and a pretty nice "gateway" line-up it is), with the Genesee branded beers seemingly shrinking to a NY state local, cheap brand. OTOH, they *did* revive the Genesee Bock last spring, so anything can happen in this modern beer market.

[Passadumkeg]

JK, thanks for the cream ale info. I left New Mexico the the lat 70's and was overseas until the early 90"s. there are big gaps in my knowledge of American "culture" during that period.
In Heaven there is No Beer.(A polka from the Polish Falcons, South River, NJ)

[TongoRad]

Hey- let's give credit where credit is due: that song is likely taken from a Frankie Yankovic album (though Yankovic himself didn't write that one), and it's a classic indeed.

As to the beer, I haven't had a Genny Screamer in a long time myself, but it did have a ceretain cache back in the day- not at the level that PBR seems to enjoy these days, but the same sort of thing on a smaller scale. I don't personally see it getting any better than that.

I like Dundee better, anyway.

[hawkeyeui93]

This polka is played by the University of Iowa Band after each Hawkeye victory ...

"In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink it here (Right Here!) When we're gone from here, all our friends will be drinking all our beer!"

[Chefmonty]

I use to realy like Genny's 12 Horse Ale. IMO the best beer to come from that brewery and they discontinued it. There was a time before the craft beer movement that I would search out bars that had it on tap. Maybe they should consider bringing it back

[podunkboy]

I think the worst beer I had where I really had to FORCE myself to drink it was a Kaiserdome Rauchbier from Germany that I drank for a "round the world of beer" promotion at a local restaurant. I know that rauchbiers have their place in beer society, but it was like drinking runoff from a chimney scrubbing. Ruined my whole meal.

[Jim Dorsch]

I love rauchbier, with its wonderful beech smoke flavors.

[The Professor]

Ditto here.
With a lot of "specialty" beers (like Rauch, Barleywine, Dopplebocks, the Sam Adams Triple and Utopias, etc) , I think some folks get turned off because they try to drink them like a Budweiser....although since individual tastes do vary there are some folks that really just don't like certain flavors in beer (I have pretty eclectic taste, but there are a few beers that I generally don't like even, if I appreciate the craft that goes into making them).
Rauchbier may be a somewhat acquired taste, but once acquired, it's a nice "sipping" beer.
It also makes for a very good and interesting braising liquid in cooking.

[Kenji]

I just tried my first Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, after learning about it in Jackson's books and TV series decades ago. What a beautiful beer. I've got to find some of the same brewery's smoked Ur-bock.

Rauchbier is a style that a lot of people seem incapable of "getting"; the smoked malt seems to rub some palates the wrong way. Some people can't handle even the subtler smoked beers, Alaska's Smoked Porter, Oskar Blues' Old Chub, etc. Yet I find these some of the tastiest beers around. The smoke flavor really adds something beautiful to the other malt tastes.

[TongoRad]

The first one I ever tried was Kaiserdom (a very long time ago- at the original location of the Peculiar Pub for those keeping score at home...) - it was a chore to get through and I was pretty put off on the style for a while. The beer that brought me around was the Rauchenfels Steinbeer, then Alaskan smoked Porter and now it is among my favorite types of beer. I adore the Schlenkerla beers. Oddly enough, I've never revisited the Kaiserdom, so I don't even know if it was the style that put me off at first or a not so good rendition of it.

[TNBear]

Schlitz, Olympia, Mickey's Big Mouth and anything with light or (worse yet) lite in the name.

[kjmerz]

well, i confess that I have *not* read all 242 replies to this post (before my 2), but i note (with a chuckle) this post on a *blog* within chow.com just today: http://www.chow.com/grinder/6338 ('blizzard of beer')

[kjmerz]

ever try Old Frothingslosh from Western PA...?

[The Chemist]

2 words: Lucky Lager

This is brewed to be as cheap as possible to satisfy that crucial 50 cent/can demographic. Worst beer ever. In fact, I blame this and other super cheap lagers for me taking so long to appreciate beer. I don't think that I ever had an ale until I moved provinces.

[malibumike]

I believe it was discontinued years ago, It was Brew 102, I think it was based in los angeles, 4 of us roomates used to get it at the navy exchange in long beach, CAlif. we were young and dumb, it was all that was in our fridge, haha. A close second was
Rainier Ale, tasted like what makes snow yellow. Nowadays I would have to rate Bud as the worst.

[hyde]

"mabel, black label"

[hudsonvalleyfoodblog]

A beer called arrogant bastard was the worst I ever had. The funny thing is that on the label it even says "you will probably hate this beer". I guess it's an aquired taste but no one in my group of friends was willing to finish it.

[sel]

I think Arrogant Bastard is an ok brew, far better than ANY of the macro brews but that said, I recently had 2 versions of Stone Brewing Co. Double Bastard, both barrel aged, one in bourbon/whiskey barrels and the other in cognac/brandy barrels. Now those were world class brews but alas they are not bottled so hard to get!

[Chinon00]

The label also states: “Arrogant Bastard Ale: This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory . . .”

So it's sort of a tongue-in-cheek thing to go along with the name of the beer.

[Jim Dorsch]

I think hudsonvalleyfoodblog is sensitive to the issue of 'worst beer' vs 'the beer I least like'.

I'm a huge fan of Arrogant Bastard, by the way, although I must admit that I once had it on a hot day and really didn't care for it; I should have ordered something lighter, and in fact, I ordered Pilsner Urquell after that and enjoyed it much more.

[hudsonvalleyfoodblog]

It's all about personal preference. I didn't enjoy it.

If you want to talk about worse beer then I think Bud takes the cake.

[healthyscratch]

I believe a great philosopher once said,
"Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you, may not be right for some."

Arrogant Bastard, to ME, is the definition of what "beer" should taste like. Not saying it's the best, not saying anyone else should think the same, definitely not saying I'm not surprised some people don't like it. I just know that when I first ran across it, I realized this what what I was looking for, even if I didn't know I was looking. Always keep at least one bomber of AB in the fridge, and I can't imagine a world without it...

[Whisper]

Never cared for any of the Bastards. I've tried the regular Bastard, the Double Bastard and the Oaked Bastard, each more than once, and to my taste they (especially the last two) were nothing more than a boozy syrupy mess, almost like a cough syrup on steroids. Nothing complex about them, just a sweet, thick brew with a heavy alcohol taste. To each his own of course, and I'm glad so many people enjoy them but IMO there's a ton of better balanced and better tasting beers out there.

[Chinon00]

I really appreciate a fleshed out opinion such as what you left us above. I really enjoy AB but did not like Double Bastard. Just seemed to gild the lilly.

[sel]

Funny thing is, tonight I shared my first bottle of Stone's Double Bastard Ale and thought that it had a deeper and more balanced flavor than any of their regularily available brews, we really enjoyed it!

[healthyscratch]

>>IMO there's a ton of better balanced and better tasting beers out there.

Oh, I don't disagree at all. But I'm not sure if Arrogant Bastard is intended to be either.

Certainly one of the most polarizing beers among the micro-drinker community.

[Whisper]

You're right, it probably isn't intended to be very balanced and I should have mentioned that. Thanks for pointing that out.

You're right again, it does seem to be a real "love it or hate it" brew among beer aficionados.

[Jim Dorsch]

I'm with you. My first such beer was Dremo Tibetan Sasquatch at Bardo Rodeo in Arlington, VA. That's long gone, but I have AB, and also Gordon from Oskar Blues, to keep me going.

[drmoze]

Wow, I used to hang at the Bardo! Outside tables, the sandbox, the projection screen... I liked most of their beers a lot (esp. a super-hoppy IPA!) but all of their wheat beers failed, imo.

[hudsonvalleyfoodblog]

Beer and Food for that matter is about personal preference. I'm simply sharing my own personal experience. I just didn't enjoy AB, that's all.

[scubahood10]

There have really been only a few beers that I haven't been able to finish and they would be Sam Adams Triple Bock, Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic, and St. Pauli girl dark.

[DougOLis]

Ha, Sam Adams Triple Bock is one of my least favorite beers ever as well. That was pretty early in my beer drinking days so today I'm not sure if it was bad or if I wasn't ready for it yet, but it was horrible at the time. Tasted like drinking a bad port.

[Kenji]

I thought the SA Cherry Wheat was worse than the "Triple Bock" or "Cranberry Lambic." The fruit flavor in the so-called CL at least tasted as if it derived from fruit or fruit juice. The "cherry" in the CW tasted like bad cough drops!

[Chinon00]

I've had Southern Tier Creme Brulee and I don't like it however I can't call it the worst or even call it a bad beer because they executed it so well. They accomplished their goal of making a beer that tastes like a creme brulee. The bigger question for me is: was it a good idea in the first place.
Now I previously mentioned Dixie White Moose which again was a white chocolate beer. Now we have some outstanding Chocolate stouts out there, but Dixie White Moose was so poorly executed (e.g. they used artificial white chocolate flavoring) that it was truly abominable.

[Chinon00]

I'm retracting my statement about Soutrhern Tier Creme Brulee. Tonight I actually ordered one (rather that merely taking a sip) and it was one of the most cloying and uncomplex beers I've ever tasted save the roasted stout flavor in the finish. Completely unimaginative. A disaster. It doesn't taste like a creme brulee, it just tastes like a bottle of vanilla extract. Equally bad as Dixie Whiet Moose.

My apologies.

[lsrider]

Southern Tier Creme Brulee. Dessert topping? Maybe. Beer? I don't think so.

[Jim Dorsch]

I only had a few sips of this beer, but found it quite rich and interesting.

[lsrider]

Funny because the first couple of sips were, as you put it, rich and interesting. By the end of the six ounc pour I had, I felt it was just a cloying mess. Again, I believe it would go well over ice cream but is quite awful on its own in a glass.

[Jim Dorsch]

That's a good example of why it's generally good to live with a beer through an entire glass to get a more accurate evaluation.

[The Dive]

I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think a beer should taste like a coffee drink, but the first sips were actually interesting and rich and, maybe, good. I think it shouldn't be served in pint glasses -- this is really a small glass kind of beer.

[foodiesnorth]

I had to chuckle when I saw Old Speckled Hen in your post....during a trip through Jolly Old England twenty years ago, after getting used to warm beer, the one beer that epitomized truly undrinkable beer was that one. The wide and I agreed it was the absolute worst beer in the world (siad with a Keith Olbermann emphasis).

It was many years before I saw it again (after the sale of liquor in this province became privitized) and I had the same reaction...a sort of involutary desire to vomit. LOL.

Truly the worst big label beer I have had lately is Brahma from Brazil...blech. All the big boys make below average brew, but Brahma makes my mouth scream uncle. Oh and McEwans Strong (9%)...I brought it to a party in my University days ...I thought I might get a bigger bang for the few bucks I had as a student and instead had in hand 6 bottles of turpentine. Made a sober, poor student wanna cry.

[chuckl]

there was one called generically beer many years back, it was truly awful and got flat about a minute after you opened it

[TonyO]

I remember a local grocery store chain, Price Chopper, had one called Valupak at .99 / 6 pack. Truly awful.

[dchan]

Miller Lite is surprisingly not bad at all. It almost tastes like a full American-style lager rather than a light beer.

Bud Light, on the other hand, tastes like cat piss. It's really awful tasting. I don't know why anybody drinks this stuff.

[monkeyrotica]

I demand a Bud Light/cat urine blind taste test.

[The Professor]

...the piss would win.

[TonyO]

MIckey's Big Mouth Brew. Disgusting.

[Passadumkeg]

We have 5 kids aged 19-29 visiting during this summer. I saw mixed 12 packs of Sam Adams beers on a very god sale and bought 8. I was cleaning up after a some mores camp fire last night and reordering the empty bottles and refilling the fridge and noticed all the beer is now gone except a 12 pack of rejects---- all Cherry Wheat Ale. I've raised a bunch of good beer drinkers w/ good taste.

[Kinnexa]

Congratulations! Kids at a campfire and not a 'suitcase' in sight...good job.

Cherry Wheat is the one reason I've passed up all those good sales on Sam Adams mixed packs. Vacationland and Best Brown are the two reasons I don't buy Gritty's mixed packs. (do they sell Black Fly Stout by the 12? Never seen it, wish I had.) I do like Red Hook's Greatest Hits, especially when the box includes Blonde Ale or Copper Hook as the seasonal. This month I've been in luck: $13.99 ++ Geary's at the supermarket. We're drinking up the Summer Ale before it's gone--I expect to see autumn brews on the shelves any day now. Pity.

[Taylor.Watson]

I've become a bit of a beer snob, so the bud light, miller light, coors light - all that stuff is not sufficient for me.

Anyways, the worst beer in the world was a beer I forget the name of. My friend and I, a number of years ago, got a 6 pack of the cheapest beer in a deli late one night. It was a Hispanic beer, possibly Mexican, that was the worst tasting thing I've ever had. Literally undrinkable.

[jacquelines]

Ohh boy Natty Ice and Keystone Light, and I'll still throw back a few when my friends and I go back to our college. Old English 40oz too, not sure how I ever drank them or why?

[Scott in FL]

Cave Creek Chili beer is by far the worst beer I have ever tasted. Stay away. Far, far away.

[Jim Dorsch]

I believe that brewery recently went out of business.

[MIKELOCK34]

Everything Bud.

[MattInNJ]

Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic and Leignenkugels (sp?) Sunset Wheat, the only two beers that I have ever poured down the drain...

[Jim Dorsch]

Leinenkugel's

While I (perhaps) have everyone's attention, I suggest giving specific reasons why we don't like these beers.

[MattInNJ]

It tasted like bananas!

[BaltoPhilFood]

Fruity Pebbles Beer

[EX500rider]

I come from a long line of beer drinkers. I have had it all from just about every country in the world. I cannot remember any that I can say is the worst, since they are all unique in character, each to his own. But I think I can say that one I was most disappointed in would have to have been one called Yuengling Lager, the very first time I had it. Now, in regards, every beer after a while can begin to grow on you. Since then I have gotten used to the Yuengling beers, as I have the Guiness Irish Stout since my first time with it. Now it is one of my favorites of all time the Guiness is. And my wallet does not argue with my taste buds, as I am not the wealthiest man in America.

[18465]

genesee cream ale. wretched.

[MOREKASHA]

Only after 4-5 of them and only if you're not in college upstate. Yeah, it's pretty awful, but so are all the Genny's.

[The Professor]

Don't know about the present day product...it's been a while since I had any Genny. From what I recall the lager and cream ale were neither great nor terrible, though I certainly wouldn't call them swill either. They just tasted (and probably still taste) like dozens of other light American beers...and their products were even better than some of the other mainstream malt pops.
HOWEVER....they once made a beer called "12 Horse Ale" that was really quite good, being very nicely balanced and with great hop character. I think they discontinued it 15 or 20 years ago. Hard to understand why they would stop making the one product in their range that was distinctive...especially at a time when consumers were becoming more tuned in to more flavorful beers.

[LordOfTheGrill]

Miller Genuine Draft Light in the can. Undrinkable at any temperature.

[MOREKASHA]

Amy Romanian beer.

[scarsdalesurprise]

Worst beer I've ever had is IC Light - dishwater!

[FrankJBN]

I might have one on which we can all agree (and I am surprised that no one has listed it yet)

Cave Creek Chili Beer

[Chefmonty]

I've drank alot of diiferent beer in my days, good, bad and indifferent. When thinking of the worst beer ever, the only one that comes to mind is Iron City.

And any fruit flavored beer

[Kenji]

There are plenty of atrocious fruit-flavored beers. But what about authentic lambics? What about Ommegang Three Philosophers? What about Dogfish Head Aprihop? In other words, there are plenty of great fruit beers as well.

[Chefmonty]

Good point. I guess the no fruit in beer is more of a personal preference.
I do not find Lambrics to be bad tasting, it is just, if I'm in the mood for a good Belgium, I'm having St Barnarbus 12, a Maredsous 8 or a Chimay.

I never understood the trend in the U.S to produce fruit flavored wheat beers. To me there is nothing like a good Heffe-Weisse, and it doesn't need to be masked with fruit flavors.

For those who don't care for Heffe-Weisse, try the original, Scheinder-Weisse from Munich. My all time favorite

[Kenji]

I go for dunkelweizens or, better yet, dunkelweizenbocks myself.

I suspect that the way for all the bad fruit wheat beers was paved by the longer-standing trends of insipid pseudo-pilsners and wine coolers. There's an infantilism of the palate which tolerates either blandness - or Kool-Aid-types of "fruity" flavors.

[Chefmonty]

M opinion for Weizenbock is Aventinus, made by the same brewery as Schneider-Weisse

[Kenji]

Aventinus is a beautiful beer. I'm also very fond of Victory's Moonglow Weizenbock. It's lighter-colored than Aventinus, sort of orange-red, and full of fruity, spicy tastes. It's a strong brew without a trace of the high ABV on the palate.

[Josh]

Sometimes fruit can be used to complement the flavor of a beer. It's not always for masking. Try Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek, and you'll see how good fruit beers can be.

[FrankJBN]

We made a movie right out of high school - a monster movie.

To illustrate just what an awful being the monster was we showed him not only drinking Iron City, but enjoying it.

That's a bad monster.

[The Professor]

I had my share or "Arn" (as it was often called) in the past thanks to its price...not a beer of distinction perhaps but certainly not the worst I've had. That said, let me just play devil's advocate for a moment; just wondering...exactly what was it you disliked about Iron City? It certainly was always a cleanly produced product. Did your distaste for it have to do with a "blandness" factor? It still tasted better to me than a lot of other American lagers both big and small. Granted, it was always pretty "standard" stuff...no better, but certainly no worse than other beers in its category.
In canvassing beer drinkers over the years an interesting pattern has emerged, especially with people talking about beers they encountered in their college years...mainly that much of the time there is a definite bias against whatever the "local" beer of the area was, usually if only for the fact that the "local" beers usually had no cache or image marketing.

[FrankJBN]

For me, I would have drunk iron City in the early 70's, when the water sources arouns Pittsburgh were horrifically polluted. I think that had something to do with an unpleasant finish or aftertaste.

Oddly enough, from what I read, Philadelphia beer popularity is driven by local college students drinking local beers, Rolling Rock & Yuengling..

[Chefmonty]

When traveling, I always try the local fare. I am from eastern PA and on a resent trip to Pitteburgh, Iron City was being served on tap at the Hotel I stayed at, so I gave it another try and I have to tell you, I think it just has a awful taste. I drink my share of American lagers, but there is just something about Iron City that I can't get past. And that is from a guy who has drank more then his share of Schmidts

[kenito799]

In college (near Philly) we drank National Bohemian (Natty Boh) from 16 oz returnable bottles. A local brew. Even then we knew it was BAD, not because our eyes weren't glazed over by excessive national marketing, but because it was cheap, bad, get drunk for the fewest $$$ BAD. We also drank shots of Cuervo Gold. To this day just the memory of the smell of either of these products makes me retch. Good times!

[FrankJBN]

"it was cheap, bad, get drunk for the fewest $$$ BAD. We also drank shots of Cuervo Gold"

Why in the world would you pay the extra money for gold tequila - not to mention imported beer from Baltimore?

TTBOMK, Natty Boh has never been considered a Philly local beer.

[The Professor]

<<Natty Boh has never been considered a Philly local beer>>

And until reading the comments here, I never thought it was considered to be a particularly heinous beer either. Cheap, yes. Distinctive? Hell no. But again, no better or worse than dozens of others both cheaper and more expensive, They all taste practically the same.

[kenito799]

ah, we were young and stupid...gold tequila is artificially colored, heinous stuff, no matter what the price is. I did not know Natty Boh was from out of state--we certainly never saw it in Chicago where I went to high school. But it was the cheapest case in the beer distributor (especially with 4 extra oz per bottle!), MD-PA import duties included ;)

[Mr Siegal]

I drank Boh Ice all through college. Case after case. 8 bucks. You gotta love the guy with one eye.

[Passadumkeg]

"beers they encountered in college years...mainly that much of the time there is a definite bias against whatever the "local" beer of the area was,..."
I find it funny in retrospect that I went to college in Allentown, Pa. in the 60's and turned my nose up at Yuengling's (and a Yuengling was my room mate), the local beer. Well, at least, I didn't drink the ilk from the new Schaeffer's brewery that came to the Lehigh Valley and put a lot of local beers out of buisness.
"Beer is proof that God exists and loves us." Benjamin Franklin

[Td61]

The new Narragansett.
Horrible!

[al b. darned]

OMG!!! The "Save the Bay Beer" is back? The previous incarnation of this brand was one of the worst ever!!

And, let we forget....Haffenreffer Private Stock aka "green death."

[azhotdish]

Oh that's an easy one for me - Gluek Honey Bock (in cans!).
http://www.coldspringbrewery.com/bmb-...

[Passadumkeg]

Close your eyes and imagine the near future; an icy cold Walmart Beer, perfect w/ frozen corn dogs.

[Whosyerkitty]

WORST??
Old Milwaukee, Hamms, Olympia. Unless you're already really loaded.

[The Professor]

Bland, but I don't know about worst. Just because they are inexpensive? Just because they are made by big breweries? The mentioned brews are certainly beers without any distinction, but hardly the worst. "Worst", to me, would indicate bad off flavors, crappy balance, and any one of a number of off flavors (things that, sadly, you are more likely to find these days in the avalanche of small brewery products...and please, before I get flamed, yes, there are many notable exceptions among a few very fine micros).

Beers like Old Milwaukee, Hamms, Olympia and other of that ilk are simply beers that don't taste like ANYTHING. In a blind tasting, I would venture a guess that you couldn't tell the difference between any of the above referenced beers and Bud, Miller, and the like. They are cleanly brewed. They just basically have no flavor profile. It has become very fashionable to "hate" certain beers simply based on the fact that they are an inexpensive or a mega brewery product. Truth is, in the category of bland American Lager/Pilsners, they are basically all the same. The ones that don't get mega budgets for hard sell advertising selling an "image" rather than beer are cheaper mainly for that reason.

[Josh]

I think it's a little too easy to take the position that people hate on macrobrew because it's fashionable to do so. It's a flavorless product. Viewing the desire for flavor as trendy seems strange to me.

[The Professor]

Good point, but that's not what I said. Hell...I am all for flavor and good flavor is no fad...my main beers 40 years ago during my college days were a bock beer and an 80IBU IPA (interestingly, both megabrewery products).
Yes, most macro brew is by and large all the same, but still, within the macro category there are plenty of good beers with flavor, and flavorful beers with balance. The point I was making was that lots of times people (especially old farts my own age) seemed to hate on a beer simply because it was a lesser known local brand. These days there is no doubt whatsoever that many people hate on macro beers just because they are that. There are lots of beers out there...micro, macro, and mega... with lots of flavor. But lots of flavor without the neccesary balance and finesse is far worse to me than a macro that may be too "normal" for some folks,

[Josh]

Which macros would you categorize as good beers with flavor and balance? Are you including Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and Guinness in the macro category? I do find that, like spiciness in food, the perception of balance and finesse is really relative. If you're more used to drinking highly hopped beer, then your sense of how much sweetness is appropriate with those bitter flavors is going to be different than someone who doesn't care for hops.

[missoulagrace]

"In a blind tasting...etc..."

Funnily enough, a bunch of friends a number of years ago did just that-- blind taste tested PBR vs. Hamms. The theory was that PBR (which was the "cool" cheap beer among many hip types at the time) was all reputation and no reality.
The result? Hamms, definitively. 12 out of 13 people who took the blind test agreed.
I can't explain it.
Neitehr am I arguing that either is a great beer --I'm an IPA or pale ale drinker, myself-- but it has been demonstrated that there IS a difference among them :-)
Oh, and I'll take ANY of those cheapos (especially on river trips etc) before a Bud. For some reason, Bud smells and tastes like a bad college drinker's tomorrow morning's beer breath, from the first sip.

[The Professor]

Wow.
When I saw the topic I figured this would be a pretty wacky place. It is though, in the end, a rather pointless argument since one man's elixer is another man's poison. Hell ...there are people that actually LIKE soda pop beers like Budweiser, Ultra and other flavorless brews of that sort. Some of the "most despised" listed in this thread are my very favorites.

Having a personal "worst" beer certainly doesn't make it a "bad" beer though.
To prove that point, topping MY list of despised beers would be almost anything coming out of Belgium...which are very, very popular, so there you go...What do I know? I guess I appreciate the craft of making the stuff and will taste one from time to time (since tastes do change) but as of last week anyway, it is still bile.

As far as Old Speckled Hen goes, it is actually a fave of mine, as long as it's dispensed properly and without a lot of fizz. With very little carbonation and not served at a frozen temperatures, it's really good. Fizzy and cold, yes...it sucks.

[monkeyrotica]

Same here. Love Old Speckled Hen, but hate Yeungling. Go figger.

[Foodnerds]

Kennebunkport, aka Sea Dog, blueberry wheat ale. It's really wretched stuff I have been tricked into tasting not once but twice.

I also find Heineken to have an off taste I dislike.

[kenito799]

Magic Hat Kucky Kat is horrible--like licking an ashtray. I like bitterness, I like hops...but I don't like chewing burnt hop ash.

[emdeef_notsuoh]

i will drink and appreciate all types of libations for what they are, but that being said.........sam adams tripple bock! 18% alc in a 9oz bottle...... start with some very cheap red wine. uncork it and let it stew in the sun for a few days. then mix in some burnt coffee. chill. serve. cheers!

[porker]

Quite a lively thread!
I agree, there should be a distinction between the worst beer and beer which simply has no taste.

I've had my share of cheap American suds, but being in Canada am not totally abreast of current brands, so a couple of questions;

Panini Guy mentions "Red, White, and Blue". I last saw this (and it still makes the beer drinking stories once in a while) in upstate NY for 99c a six pack about 28 years ago. It was mysteriously on sale, go figure, and was never to be seen again. Does somebody still brew it?
BTW, Panini Guy, Black Label does indeed taste pretty bad.

Another is the no-name, white canned generic "BEER" which used to be sold in price chopper or grand union - do they still sell this somewhere in the US?
Both were like making love in a canoe: pretty damned close to water.

Finally one of my worst beers is an import from England called St. Peters Organic Ale. It comes in a medicine-looking, green bottle (which should have tipped me off).
Anyone tried this?
Here's a pict

http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/stor...

[Chinon00]

I've had it and it wasn't particularly memorable but I wouldn't call it the WORST beer I've ever had, not in a million years. What was wrong with it to you? And what other British ales do you drink?

My worst (and thankfully it is retired) was Dixie White Moose. My recollection is of artificial white chocolate flavor. Just awful.

Thanks

[monkeyrotica]

The tip off should have been that there are no moose in Dixie. Would you drink something called Desert Beaver Ale or Swamp Penguin Lager?

I'm not even going to get started on the fact that moose aren't white. So many things wrong with that.

[Catfish47]

I think RWB is out of commission. They were big in Wisconsin during my college days. Point was BAAAAD!!!

[Jimmy Buffet]

Miller Chill... there was a guy trying to give away six cases of it on Craigslist here. I don't know if he was ever successful...

Orval - I was trying to build a collection of the duckpin shaped bottles for homebrewing. No way I could have ever gagged through enough of it.

Stony's - tasted salty to me.

Any Rauchbier. Just can't develop a taste for it. Nope...

[niquejim]

Rauchbiers are an acquired taste that I acquired first sip.
Same goes for Orval.

Now for my worst
The last bottle of Newcastle Brown I ever purchased at a bar was so skunked and so old and so nasty that I will now only drink it on tap

And Busch lite. I've discoverd that 6 bottles in a large pitcher with 1 Bigfoot is a nice malty, hoppy lite beer. If only some one would make a beer like that

[Throckmorton]

Newcastle is another beer, along with Old Speckled Hen, that comes in a clear bottle. I don't know why these brewers put bottled beer in CLEAR bottles. The light gets to them and makes them skunky. I'm shocked that I haven't come across a skunky Corona.

[The Professor]

Clear bottle does not automatically guarantee "skunky". I'm told by a brewmaster friend that if the beer is brewed with isomerised hop extract, it is practically immune to the effects of light. That's how they get away with putting the stuff in clear bottles with no ill effect.

[Throckmorton]

Interesting... never heard of that before.

[BeeRich]

Iso hop extract does not avoid sunkiness. I am a brewer. They package NCA in clear bottles specifically to get skunkiness. Some breweries that package in clear and green bottles (bad for skunkiness), apply light to get that flavour. Some people think that is what good beer tastes like.

NCA was originally a mistake by a new brewer, and they then tried to package with brown glass and create a real long term product, but sales went down. A real brewing industry story.

[The Professor]

I'll have to disagree about the ISO hops...maybe not all ISO hops offer this protection, but light stable ISO hops are and have been used by brewers worldwide. It may not totally eliminate the problem, but it does minimize it to a very high degree. There are even ISO and other light stable hop products available now that for the first time impart hop aroma and flavor characteristics (previously ISO hops provided only bitterness).

You're right that some people actually like a bit of that particular "light struck" flavor in their beer (although I don't) . But it's also true that some folks do mistake the result of certain late-hopping procedures as skunkiness. Everyone's taste perception is different. If it is to one's liking, it is not a defect. No right or wrong anyway when it comes to taste buds...it's all just a matter of preference in the end.

The term "skunky" is often misapplied.
I have often heard people refer to the intense hop oil profile of Ballantine Ale (the pre 1980's version) as "skunky", which it most certainly was not.

[BeeRich]

Professor, I'm not mis-applying it here. This is a story from a professional brewing school in Scotland with strong ties to (then) S&N. Lightstruck mercaptans is definitely skunky, which is the term used to describe exactly that.

[thew]

skunky = bad for budweiser good for bud

[Throckmorton]

I actually like Busch Lite. I drank it all through college in the late 80's early 90's and hated it. An uncle reintroduced me and I was surprised how much I didn't hate it anymore. Believe it or not, Consumer Reports rated it as a best buy. It's actually quite good cold and carbonated... unlike the warm flat stuff I drank at most keggers. Like it better than Miller Lite of Bud Lite.

[sel]

Orval is one of my favorites! Except for the price but I still enjoy it.

[Throckmorton]

DapperDave... was this out of the bottle? There is a possiblity that the beer may have been bad. Old Speckled Hen comes in a clear bottle, so sunlight can easily get to the beer. Was it skunky? If it was, don't blame the beer, blame the folks that stored it improperly. Gotta keep it out of the light.

I saw someone mentioned Yeungling. I personally love the stuff. For inexpensive beer, its damn good. I'd put it against a lot of microbrews. We always drink it on vacation when we are driving through to FL. It's not distrbuted throughout the US... only near PA.

As for me, I can't stand Old Milwaukee. Hated it in college... hate it more as an adult. In second place is a batch of homebrew that I made back in 2003. It was a hefewiezen with the aftertaste of burnt rubber. I couldn't handle throwing out 5 gallons of beer, so I doused the stuff in lemon and chilled it to almost the freezing point to get through it. Only bad batch I've ever made.

[missoulagrace]

Worst beer that thinks it's a good beer: Summer Honey (made by a great local brewery called Big Sky -- I love most of their stuff)
Worst beer that thinks it's the definition of beer: Budweiser
Worst beer that has no pretensions at all: Mickey's

[monkeyrotica]

Are we making a distinction between beer and malt liquor? Mickeys gets the job done, but it's nowhere near as nasty tasting as Schlitz, Colt 45, or Old English 800.

[missoulagrace]

ew, Olde English. Does that even come in a bottle smaller than a "40"?

Ok, you're right though... Mickey's is out-of-the-category. I hereby replace it with Keystone Light.

A side note: Having participated in several (admittedly late-night) blind taste tests, Hamms beats Pabst Blue Ribbon every time.

[Kenji]

Olde English can be found in 24 oz. cans.

[monkeyrotica]

Why would anyone want to? I mean, if the whole point is just to get stinko, wouldn't one opt for the forty? I suppose there are some small-frame connoiseurs who only want to get partly blitzed.

[Throckmorton]

Have to agree with you there Monkey. I like Mickey's OK, but the rest are quite nasty.

[adrienne156]

Hahahah. All crap my friends and I drank in high school in 40 form. Old English was known as "Shakespeare."

I second the Keystone Light and match it with Natural "Natty" Ice. $5.99 a 12 pack.

Someone mentioned Grolsch above... That stuff (out of the mini keg) is absolutely fantastic with Indian food.

[goalie33]

I can't believe it took this long for someone to mention Colt 45. That stuff is absolutely vile!

[monkeyrotica]

I respectfully disagree. Colt 45 may be vile, but there are a whole slew of malt liquors that are exponentially worse: St. Ides, Steel Reserve, King Cobra, but the absolute WORST would have to be Private Stock. It's the Adolf Hitler of malt liquors. It sneaks in through the Rhine Valley, annexes the Sudetenland, and before you know it, your "Danzig corridor" is full of "anschluss."

[Josh]

This may be the first occurrence of Godwin's Law I've seen on CH. Well done.

[roze]

How about the Budweiser and Clamato. Wow this was pretty gross.

http://nyctastes.blogspot.com/2007/11...

[vino5150]

I saw it...then saw the early morning peeps buying it at 8 AM...not a pretty site

[roze]

I can only imagine...

[monkeyrotica]

Alright, I have to come to the defense of cheladas. The idea is pretty nasty, but with some lime, I like them. Kinda remind me of a watered-down shandy.

[vino5150]

i can do 1 after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day, but to drink multiples is tough. It's like drinking a bag of wet Tostidas with lime flavoring.

[monkeyrotica]

That still sounds better than Yeungling.

[Throckmorton]

Have to agree on the name. Sounds like an Asian beer. But I still defend the taste.

[Josh]

Not for me. I find tomato juice in any form pretty tough to stomach.

[chazzerking]

Summertime bloody beers are pretty good to me. I've done them several different ways; the true Michelada, with tomato juice, clam juice and lime, with just tomato juice and with tomato(or V8 which is better) and a little bit of Gates' BBQ sauce, for a BBQ(bloody beer 'que) which is pretty good on a hot day with some ribs or a burger.

[vino5150]

Just thought of another....Shiner Bock...forced to drink it becuase it is the thing to drink in Texas

[Throckmorton]

Not a huge fan, but I wouldn't classify it as bad.

[Passadumkeg]

Shiner Bock sure as hell beats Bud and its Texas German named ilk.

[vino5150]

2 words...MILLER CHILL.....uuuuhhhh!!!

[Throckmorton]

Haven't tried this yet. Maybe I'll give it a whirl when I'm on vaca next week. In Chicago, there was a "retro" trend where a lot of the old sytle beers (Old Style, Hamms, PBR, etc) were the in thing in Chicago bars. I'm not defending the taste, just that they were in style for awhile... not sure anymore.

[monkeyrotica]

I WISH I could get Old Style here! Have to make due with PBR, Miller High Life, and Gennesee for my I-just-want-to-get-drunk-on-the-cheap beers. I have a hard enough time finding National Bohemian. Can't wait to try the new Schlitz in bottles.

[Alan N]

Regarding worst beer:
SA Triple bock. But like it was mentioned before here, I did not really drink it like a cognac. I wanted it to be something it wasn't. Thick, sweet, flavors that were unpleasant was my impression.
Throckmorton, you still can get a lot of classic American brews in Chicago, just had a draft $1.25 Blatz (bland but fine) in one bar last night, before heading to the map room for an Orval on tap. Total $7.25 + $2. tip

[eightlegeddj]

Funny you should ask about the Worst Beer Ever. Saturday was the World Beer Festival here in Raleigh. A friend of mine walked up to me and handed me his glass and said, "Lemon Grass Wheat." I'd tried it years before and knew what he was thinking. My response was simply, "Outer Banks Brewing Company?" He said yes. I replied, "tastes like a citronella candle, doesn't it?" "Yup," he said. I love wheat beers. When it's 95 degrees out, I like something a little lighter. In theory, it sounds good. But seriously, y'all, this tastes like a mosquito candle.

Other than that, I'm generally not a fan of beer in green glass bottles. Can't explain it, I'm just not. And I, too, am morally opposed to light beers. It's like decaf.

[monkeyrotica]

Wow. 90 responses and nobody's mentioned Yeungling.

Even for a cheap-just-to-get-drunk beer, I'll still take Miller High Life. At least that tastes like nothing instead of wide-open-butt.

[cdog]

Olympia gets my vote as well as HAMM and i would also throq in natural light...although i did drink a fair amount in college.

[Throckmorton]

Have to disagree with ya monkey! I love Yeungling and pick it up whenever I'm traveling through their limited distribution area.

[JessKidden]

Yuengling's distribution has expanded (slowly) in recent years, thanks to their two new breweries (built a new one outside of Pottsville, and bought an old Schlitz>Stroh facility in Florida when the latter threw in the towel in the late 90's) to the point where they're now in the entire East Coast, save for New England ....oh, and some unnamed "grey" state between SC and FL -g-.
http://www.yuengling.com/distrib.htm

Still a "regional" brewer, but that's a pretty populous chunk of the US and they're in the top 5 of US brewers nowadays (neck and neck with Boston [Samuel Adams] Beer Co. for the last few years)- not too long ago I recall when they weren't even in the top 10 of breweries in Pennsylvania.

[Throckmorton]

Do you like Yuengling Jess? I think it's a very good beer. I'm pretty sure the first time I had it was in SC a couple years ago when we were vacationing in the outer banks.

[Passadumkeg]

Funny as a young child not far from Pottsville, I remember my dad and uncles refer to Yuengling as a coal miner's beer (Similar aspersion upon Rolling Rock too.), in college it had no panache, we thought Henniken was "cool", but today Yuengling is much sought after outside its home range. Funny how beers come and go and people talk of Michelangelo.
T.S.

[chazzerking]

Yuengling and Greenies are clear examples of the "a prophet is without honor in his own country" notion. I can remember when Coors was only available in about 4 states, and friends would drive station wagons to CO or KS to bring back 20-30 cases of the stuff. Couldn't understand it then, still can't.We used to drink Rollling Rock( the aforementioned Greenies) in HS because a case cost $3.95, b ut still like the stuff okay, and have been sorry that they were bought out as it doesn't taste the same. Yuengling thte same, except it still tastes the same and I've always liked it.

[Passadumkeg]

Funny again, I too,in the 60's, brought cases of Coors back from visiting my bro in New Mexico to the Lehigh Valley, thinking I was cool. I now drink an enjoy Yuengling when I go home, more like a tourist, and wonder what all the fuss is about.
I still have a fond memory of a headache for Gibbon's Ale, which may rank among the worst (but cheapest) beer ever.

[bosun]

Yeungling in a bottle is drinkable. YL from tap is, for some reason, one of the most disgusting things I have ever tasted.

Gubernija Grand 9.5 (not sure if it even passes for beer) has to be the worst "beer" on the planet.

[Chinon00]

I'm not going to tell you that the product bottled doesn't often taste different from the same product on tap but I'm finding it hard to buy that the difference is "drinkable" versus "most disgusting things I have ever tasted". Hyperbole IMHO.

[JessKidden]

"Hyperbole"? In a thread entitled "Worst Beer Ever"? I'm shocked! -g-

(Not to mention the fact that some of the nominees are among the best selling beer brands in the US. Granted, that doesn't make them good -I certainly don't drink most of 'em- but it sure implies they might not be the "Worst Ever".)

[bosun]

Well, I have drank it from the bottle, and it was drinkable. I have had it on tap, at several different places, and it tasted like snot. It was disgusting - on more then one occasion.

[Chinon00]

Could you be a little more specific in what exactly they both taste like to you using some beer terminology? (i.e. bitter, bland, malty, grainy, yeasty . . .)

Thanks

[bosun]

I wouldn't say that the tap YL had a bacterial taste, it was slightly salty and yeasty. There was something else in the flavor that I can't quite describe. The bottled YL, to me, is sweet, clean, and sort of fruity.

[Josh]

Sounds to me like you're experiencing poorly maintained tap lines, not a flawed beer.

[Scargod]

If I'm geting off-topic, just shoot me. I subscribe to a "Beer of the Month Club", http://www.greatclubs.com/beerofthemo.... I am because it was a Christmas gift.
It seems to me that a lot of these beers are inferior or just plain mediocre. I think one out of 12 I am familiar with (not that I am a big beer expert).
Have others had this negative experience? Are there good beer clubs?

[Throckmorton]

Never tried a club, but my first thought is that these beers are in the club for publicity? Total guess on my part.

[im hungry]

piels light is the worst beer ever!!!!

[Passadumkeg]

We returned from Costa Rica a couple of hours and we have a new worst beer: Rock Lite Lemon.I got caught in a bait and switch. We were too tired to drive down the mountain side to get beer at the supermarket, so I popped into a local dive bar, and the kid behind the bar said that the only brand he had was the barely drinkable Rock Ice. When I got back to the lodging, I pulled the six pack out of the bag and it was Rock Ice Lemon. My wife (a great beer drinker) wouldn't drink it, finished one can and threw the rest into the 4WD to give to our son and He wouldn't take it (I raise 'em right.)! I finally left it behind at the last place we stayed. Imagine Coors Lite w/ a packet of Wyler's lemonade mixed in. Back in Portland we picked up some Longfellow and Joshua Chamberlain Ales; ah, Maine, the way beer life should be!

[Phood]

I concur with your summary of the Costa Rican Lemon "beer" product.
In 1977, 8 serious beer drinkers used a case of Red, White, and Blue beer for a seat after passing around one can of the vile stuff. We decided, without discussion, that we'd rather be thirsty on a hot summer night than open a second can.

[Passadumkeg]

I'll be subjected to Korean beer in a month. I think I'll switch to So Ju, which is pretty bad in its own right. My son who lives there has learned to home brew.

[jhopp217]

The worst beer I ever had was in Boston at Cambrdige Commons. It literally came out of the tap like old motor oil. I drank it on a bet, and couldn't finish it. It had the consistency of corn syrup. UGH I wish I could remember the name of it.

Beers I wont drink if they are the only thing there are -
Bud & Bud Light - not sure why but the only beer around that gives me a hangover.
Heineken - I hate the bitter taste. Oddly enough H-light is decent
Amstel - see above
Gennessee - so sweet and does dameg to your Intestinal system
Saranac has one in it's sample pak that is absolutely horrible. Not sure which one.
Newkie Brown - my vote for worst beer you can find everywhere

[Josh]

Last night I was at a local pub that has an amazing selection of great craft brew, you literally have to work to order a bad beer there. And lo and behold, someone came up and ordered a Bud *and* a Bud Light.

[MDBBQFiend]

A bottle of Stella Lager from Egypt...

A friend who's father grew up in Egypt said "Stella, hah! That's an acquired taste, isn't it?"

Maybe the "secret ingredient" is mummy dust!

[Panini Guy]

oh hell... even though I replied above you just reminded me of my single worst beer. But I cannot remember the name. It was at Ye Old Beer Can Museum and Bar in Northampton, MA back in the mid-80s. There was a "wildlife" series of beers from some brewery in like Zimbabwe or Botswana or something. Each can had a different animal - hippos, giraffe, wildebeest, etc.

This beer when poured looked like it came from something that has a urinary tract infection - pale yellow and cloudy in a very unfortunate way. No head to speak of. We tried to drink it anyway, but it wouldn't go down.

[MandalayVA]

I know the beer you're talking about--I believe it was called Zimbabwe, I saw it in a pub in Greenwich Village back in the eighties. And you're right, it was foul stuff.

[Catfish47]

I was in Egypt for Desert Storm and we put Stella through the engine oil tester for airplanes - it had more metal than jet fuel!!! Yuck yuck yuck!!

[JCap]

My first reaction when I saw the post was to my fraternity days- and Piels and Piels Light would easily take that prize for me.

[Whisper]

Easily the worst I've ever had was Josef Bierbitzch Golden Pilsner. Tasted like someone dropped a stick of butter into a beer. I bought a six pack and managed to coax my way through about half of one bottle before my gag reflex started to kick in and I ended up pouring that and the other 5 bottles down the drain.

The only amusing quality about this beer is that it probably gets some interesting reactions from cocktail waitresses when someone places an order. "Hey, gimme a Bierbitzch!"

[newJJD]

Gotta say the worst I've ever had is Big Bear. Not sure if it is available in the USA, but up in Canada, especially Alberta, it seems to be in every trashy liquor store. The stuff is just plain nasty.

[BeeRich]

That is Diacetyl. Either infection, or over-adjuncts.

[Kenji]

I'm not even going to mention any mass-market pseudo-pilsners; I hate them all.

No, but here are two beers allegedly from small brewers that I loathed so thoroughly couldn't finish them: Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat and Naked Aspen Raspberry Wheat. The basic problem with both brews was the same: They did not taste of real fruit; they tasted as if their fruit flavoring derived from bad cough drops. They seemed designed to appeal to juvenile palates.

[sailormouth]

I like OSH, especially but not exclusively from the tap.

The worst beer ever, was Dixie Chocolate. Gag-inducing, vile stuff. I'm sad we won't (likely) have real Dixie again, but good riddance to that terrible chocolate nonsense.

[kenito799]

1. Pete's Wicked Starwberry Ale--tastes like you are sucking on a Strawberry Shortcake doll (remember them?) all artificial, perfumey strawberry taste.

2. Blue Moon. It's not the style, I like witbiers...and this stuff might have once been made well...but the Coor's mass-produced stuff being forcibly pumped into every tap in every bar is horrible, grassy undrinkable nastiness.

[FrankJBN]

Every time I've tasted it over the course of years, Sam Adams regular brew tastes very soapy to me, so of course I think it is awful.

In my younger days, when the price of a six-pack was of utter importance, for a period of time we drank Knickerbocker beer. $1.60 a six=pack, guaranteed one skunk beer out of every six, sometimes a bonus skunk or two.

i just had some OSH over the last couple of weeks. Beer looks better than it tastes. Not the best I've ever had, but far, far from the worst.

[newhavener07]

Almost any beer tastes good if you're thirsty enough, in my experience. That said, they'll be serving me warm Bud and skunked Pilsner Urquel in hell.

[MOREKASHA]

Skunked Plzen is a crime against humanity. Bud must be served ice cold, almost frozen, preferably in a can. But Corona, is really vile. I can't imagine Corona light...

[Passadumkeg]

Aside from the fore-mentioned lite psuedobeers, Maine breweries make a number of blueberry ales. Blueberries belong in pies, not beer. I don't care for any of them.
Has Old Milwalkee (sp?) been mentioned? Keystone? Busch?

[monkeyrotica]

Ah, Old Swill. "Tastes as Great as its Name" was the catch phrase. WTF thinks Milwaukee has a great name? I wouldn't say it tasted bad; it didn't taste like much of anything.

[FrankJBN]

"Old Milwalkee (sp?) been mentioned? Keystone? Busch?"

In my recollection, these are all ordinary beers. I recall Keystone was the least palatable, but I doubt anyone should complain if handed a cold glass of Old Milwaukee or Busch.

I think we should try to keep in mind the difference between the worst beers and the beers we dislike.

I don't like Bud, never have - too foamy for me. Really, when you get right down to it, there's nothing wrong with it, I just don't like it and wouldn't drink it on a bet (well, not on a small bet).

[viperlush]

As I see it, the worst beer ever is one that makes the person gag or physically ill. Even on a bet they would not drink it and when they did order/buy it they could not finish it. For me that's the wheat beers. On the other hand a beer that is disliked is one that someone can drink w/out any adverse affects (maybe a grimace) . For me those are the real hoppy beers.

The funny thing is that Beast, Natty Light,Bud all tasted alright in college, but the minute we turned 21 we moved on to Killians, Guiness, etc. and never went back.

[chocchipcookie]

I was just going to add my .02 for Keystone and Busch. But it may have something to do with the fact that an old bf would wake up and drink this sh*t first thing in the am and it just made me sick. Cheap and disgusting-the 2 go hand in hand. These beers were my first experience with the stuff so I always thought I hated beer, until I discovered others. As Frank says, "worst beer ever" has lot to do with personal preferences and experiences. And I agree, they should leave any kind of sweet fruit out of beer. Ick. I will also throw in a vote for Heiniken-always seems skunky to me but again it is all personal preference.

[jhopp217]

Nomrsally I'd agree with you but Boston Beer Works (Right across from Fenway) had a Blueberry Ale with tons of actual blueberries floating in it that was incredible. They also had a pumpkin ale that was out of this world. Watermelon was a little too weird!

[Chinon00]

I remember that from Sunset Grill in Alston too. Dudes would drink them from yards glasses. Thanks for the memory.

[kubasd]

yeah! that beer has the small wild blueberries floating in it, i was seriously impressed.....

[healthyscratch]

Michelob Ultra.

We had to leave unfinished most of a 12-pack at a tailgate, it was so bad. Mind you, at our tailgates, no beer is left behind. I've muscled down warm, stale, frat-room keg beer out of taps that have never been washed, but not this stuff.

[jhopp217]

I don't get it. It's not like Ultra has a terible taste. It's so light you barely know you're drinking beer. You could drink warm keg beer but not this ice cold? Odd to say the least

[Eric in NJ]

Beck's Light is pretty much like drinking Club Soda no flavor at all.

[healthyscratch]

Hey, what can I tell you. It was probably 5-6 years ago, and since I've never had it again, I couldn't tell you exactly why I thought it was so bad. I just know it was one of the only beers (and maybe THE only) I've never finished. That's noteworthy in my book.

At our tailgates, a few drink ONLY Coors Light (again, what can I tell you), and I'll drink that towards the end when I want to sober up a bit... So I'm no stranger to almost-beer. Ultra was more like almost-not-beer. I'll put it this way, it reminded me the most of when I mistakenly tried a free sample of O'Douls.

[Panini Guy]

Why odd? You want a beer and you get an Ultra, it's not what you want. At all. Tastelessness in a beer is no a positive attribute to many folks.

[SyntaxPC]

Try drinking your favorite Belgian trippel ... chased by a swig of Michelob Ultra. I was forced to do this in a Wine/Spirits class I took a few years back. I had drank Ultra before (on my own volition, but making sure it was thoroughly thorougly chilled). It wasn't until I drank Ultra back-to-back with a really good beer that I could fully appreciate its total crapulance. I've never been able to stomach it since without a gag reflex. Worse than a case of Steel Reserve. Worst. Beer. Ever.

[magool27]

Nice topic by the way...I lived for a year in China and I have to say that Tsingtao was the best of a VERY bad bunch. Most beer in China tends to be around 3.0 vol., which means it tends to taste like bitter, beer flavoured seltzer. I think the reason for me despising Tsingtao so much is that I absolutely hated it, but then again a man (and woman) needs his beer.

[aburkavage]

A tie between Newkie Brown and Heineken - only from the sinus-infection green bottle.

[ecustard]

Sam Adams Lite lager. A true disappointment, especially since they did such a nice job with their regular Boston Lager. I generally drink lite beer about 90% of the time I drink beer and this one doesn't live up to its hype. I'll stick to Amstel or Beck's lite.

[Diana]

There used to be a little Brewpub in Northridge, CA. I can't remember the name of it now, it's long gone. The Sportsman? Probably not even close.

Anyhow, we had a hefe there tat was more like a rotten banana milkshake. It just didn't have a little banana, it was infected and bad. The poor little slice of lemon they served with it (and one should NEVER serve lemon with hefe unless it's gone off) couldn't stand up in the face of the infection.

it was so Awful, we went to BJ's brewery, where I washed it away with Tatonka Stout, which is OK.

I have no problem with OSH, but I absolutely LOATHE the ultra-hopped, unbalanced beers so popular now.

[invinotheresverde]

Beer Works, in Boston (et al.), makes a Watermelon Ale which is positively vomit-inducing. Other than that, it's 100% Heineken: putrid, vile stuff. I wouldn't drink it for free.

[Josh]

Interesting. I had a watermelon wheat beer at 21st Amendment in San Francisco that was surprisingly good (though I thought it would be disgusting).

[invinotheresverde]

My husband enjoyed it, but it was a bad flavor combo for me. I'd probably dig a wheat a bit more.

[kubasd]

was that the hell or high wata-melon at 21st amendment? cuz i've bought that in mass and loved it.... surprisingly so.... it was cool and refreshing!