We have all had one at some point and time.  Lifting that all mighty pint glass to our lips, taking a sip only to have our faces pucker like a baby tasting a lemon for the first time. -.it is (enter dramatic chipmunk music) the “bad” beer.  But, my brew brothers and sisters, what makes a beer, “bad”?  I think so many blogs are dedicated to the, “greatest beers ever”, we try never to mention the ones we don’t enjoy, and that is what I want to address with you in this blog.

Now before we get into the depths of beer despair, we need to draw a line in the sand and distinguish the difference between a, “bad”, beer and a beer you do not enjoy.  A personal example I like to use is my own experience with Smoked Beers.  If you have never had one, let me break it down. They are big and malty, neutral or no hop character and have a forward taste of smoked Gouda, BBQ sauce or sweetened liquid smoke.  I have tried more than my fair share of this style and can say without a doubt in my mind that I can’t stand them.  Yet, I still taste them anytime they are in a flight or if I find a new one in the store. Why do I inflict my pallet with this self induced taste bud torture?  Because I love to stretch myself as a craft beer drinker and what I consider to be a beer.  Smoked beers are not bad beers, I just don’t enjoy them, and just because I don’t enjoy a beer does not mean it is a bad beer, so what is?

I define a bad beer as a brew that has been affected by some malefactor during brewing/fermentation, storage or serving.  Now I will say I am generalizing a bit, but if anything, these three are a great place to start with the subject.  So onto bad beers -..

As a brewer I have found that brewing is a somewhat forgiving craft, especially extract brewing.  You can over/under boil the wort, add hops at the total wrong time and still end up with something that you will be able to enjoy. What is not forgiving is the level of sanitation wanted, no, REQUIRED throughout the entire process.  Many a brew have been cast away due to something not being sanitized properly.  You can tell you’ve got a few extra bugs in your brew when you go to taste your hard earned beer and you end up thinking someone dumped a bottle of vinegar or souring agent in your fermenting bucket.  It happens to every brewer at some point and while it is rare to find in a commercial/craft beer, I have seen it in the form of exploding bottles!

The next and probably most common case for a bad beer is when the bottle has not been properly stored.  Direct sunlight, over exposure to fluorescent lights and high temperatures will accelerate the deterioration of hop material in the bottle causing the all too familiar, “skunky-ness”. I have also seen it occur when rust is present on the inside of the bottle cap. Most places that sell craft beer keep their stock cool and out of the way of the sun.  Any reputable craft beer establishment should be more than willing to accept a skunky bottle back in exchange for a new fresh one.

Last and the most frustrating for myself, is when you are poured a pint and it tastes as if it was poured though an old sock. This is a result of draft lines not being cleaned between changing of kegs or just not being cleaned at all. I have only found this at places that normally don’t focus much on craft beer, but when this happens it does qualify a beer as, “bad”, and worth sending back to the bartender.

In any brewing or beer appreciation book you will find a chapter or two dedicated to this subject.  It is one that brewers fear and which makes craft beer patrons around the world cringe.  What is your experience with bad beers?  Have you sent a beer back or seen the elusive exploding bottle?

Al the Brewer