What do you do with beers you don't like?

[Beermonster66]

Hold my nose and think of Scotland!

 

[bug-bier]

Recently had a batch that was awful. Gave it to my brother in law. He even likes Radlers.

 

[RichK]

I've only ever ditched a couple that were truly undrinkable. Even then, I'll hang on to a couple of bottles for a while (months) to see if they change - one (a porter IIRC) tasted fabulous after around 3 years!

 

[Bergenson]

If I make one I’m not fond of I just add lemonade and turn it into shandy

I also make shandy's or add lemon juice or grapefruit juice for a "radler". Dark beers I add to oxtail or beef stew and lighter beers would go into curries.

 

[Kit-brewer]

I brew it I drink it, just got through an IPA man it was a struggle. I really should stop brewing IPAs, but I'm a sucker for a good deal. 2 coopers kits for £10. When beer is that cheap you really cant complain.

Depends on how hopped it is!! Force it on the wife, father in law, and lots of lemonade is the way to go!
Bust as others said, keep a while, normally improves, use for cooking, good for batters and stouts making stews and slow roasts.

 

[dreaddan]

Cheers.
I have passed some to friends, some are going to people at work.. I'll try aging the others

 

[dad_of_jon]

So I've brewed a beer recently that I just don't like, nothing wrong with it just not to my taste.
Not sure I can throw it away, but not sure what to do with it.

What do others do when you make a beer you don't like?

I am "Persuaded" to make a hoegaarden clone which I call no-gaarden and even brewed a batch for my son's wedding.

I'd rather not use up a brewing slot for something I think is 'average' - others disagree so I have to brew it as a public service.

I only have 3 or 4 out of a 50 bottle batch. After all I have others I prefer to drink. but it gets me brownie points.

Generally I give bottles away to the fans of it.

 

[Clarence]

I've made beer which has been under-par, but drinkable. I've also made beer which, while not infected or anything, is carap. Then I've made up recipes for styles I've never heard of and I can see that I've made a really good beer, but I just don't like it. I tend to persist and see if I like them any better the next time I try them. Invariably I don't and I should really just give or pour them away.

 

[Joetp]

I don't think I've made any absolute **** beers, but I have definitely messed up things like water additions or had things where the yeast has over attenuated, so the beer is dry and thin. The odd strange off flavour from fermenting too high before I had control... I've never had any that aren't drinkable to the point where I'd toss them though! Most of the time I find it's myself being overly critical and I give them to a friend or family member and they like it, even though I'm there saying I think it's a bit ****! I think when you make a recipe sometimes, it's hard not to feel down when you imagined it'd come out one way and it doesn't come out quite as expected.

Sometimes a bit of conditioning clears things up - I've noticed this a lot on really hoppy beers that come out a bit astringent. I think time can be a healer and I've been guilty of rushing the conditioning part in the past, but I'm in a better position to just let beer set for a while now without the need to rush the beer drinking to make room for the next brew!

 

[Druss]

I'll generally choke it down but if it's truly awful it goes in the sink.

I recently tipped away about 30 bottles that weren't awful but just sub-par really, I made the decision to get serious about brewing beer and resolved to give it my all (I've been a bit of a slap dash beer brewer until recently).

Hopefully, going forward, my worst brews will only be 'very good'...that's the theory at least.

 

[MashBag]

.... I've made up recipes for styles I've never heard of and I can see that I've made a really good beer, but I just don't like it. I tend to persist and see if I like them any better the next time I try them. Invariably I don't and I should really just give or pour them away.

I have given that up. I buy one. Farmhouse kveik took up too much space for too long. So did a sour. Tried real hard but weeks later they were still sh...ocking.
Nope I trip out to Saino's and buy one.

 

[Leon103]

So I've brewed a beer recently that I just don't like, nothing wrong with it just not to my taste.
Not sure I can throw it away, but not sure what to do with it.

What do others do when you make a beer you don't like?

Send them to people on thr forum

 

[Sadfield]

Then I've made up recipes for styles I've never heard of and I can see that I've made a really good beer, but I just don't like it.

I see this quite a bit, and it is possibly a big part of this topic. Without trying the benchmark beers of a style how do brewers know they've achieved the subtle balance and nuances of flavour, aroma and body that make a great beer of a style work. Like trying to make, and expecting to like, Vietnamese Pho with little knowledge of how it should taste. A little too much fish sauce or chilli, not enough black cardamom, over or under cooking an element could turn the dish into something unpleasent, or bland.

 

[Caramel Ox]

I have made a lot of beers I haven’t tried before. I think your ability to try examples is limited both by where you shop and your knowledge, as shop beers don’t always come in labelled styles. In terms of Greg Hughes I’m pretty confident in the description and reading the recipe to imagine if I will like it. I certainly could be missing nuances but that isn’t necessarily impacting my enjoyment.

 

[Sadfield]

I certainly could be missing nuances but that isn’t necessarily impacting my enjoyment.

But it could be why others have brewed beers they don't care for, missing the subtle balance that makes a beer great. Which was my point, and not that you can't brew a beer styles you've never tasted.

Recipes are only a small part of the equation, and can be easily affected by good, bad or inappropriate process. Mashing and fermentation for a lager, bitter, hefeweizen can be completely different.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I see this quite a bit, and it is possibly a big part of this topic. Without trying the benchmark beers of a style how do brewers know they've achieved the subtle balance and nuances of flavour, aroma and body that make a great beer of a style work. Like trying to make, and expecting to like, Vietnamese Pho with little knowledge of how it should taste. A little too much fish sauce or chilli, not enough black cardamom, over or under cooking an element could turn the dish into something unpleasent, or bland.

Yup, when I find a beer I like or food I try and re-create it, especially if its hard to get on a regular basis or pricey perhaps.

So I made an Aventinus clone I enjoyed more than the original and finally after a few attempts have dialled in Verdant & polly's style dipa's. As beerriff are local to me I leave the lower abv pales and ipa's to Rhys. They always have something 4%-6.5% and tasty with it. I've not been able to get Tripels or Krieks right - I've given up on those for now. I don't really have enough brew slots in the year for all i'd like to brew , so can only afford one attempt/experiment a year. I stock up on those on my yearly visit to belguim.

Same applies to food, I've not been able to do a good tiramisu, but my Mac 'n' Cheese is way better than any i've had out and that included where I discovered it in Brewdog. Cornish cruncher, spoon of mustard , butter, full fat milk - De-licious.

 

[Clarence]

I see this quite a bit, and it is possibly a big part of this topic.

Do you? Where, for example. I don't recall coming across them!

Without trying the benchmark beers of a style how do brewers know they've achieved the subtle balance and nuances of flavour, aroma and body that make a great beer of a style work.

You really shouldn't judge others by your own standards, @Sadfield , some of us have been at this a lot longer. Some of us engage in painstaking research, not only into a new style, but into a beer- tasted or untasted. Sometimes there's a wealth of information on ingredients, sources and process. Sometimes there's nothing. Tasting benchmark beers is not always going to be enough to formulate a recipe, especially for styles that belong to a different tradition than ours. But it is gratifying to find that, when a commercial example is tasted, the result was pretty much as intended. I should add that the research is 50% of the fun.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It’s rare I brew anything I don’t like but it has happened a couple of times and I tipped it down the drain.

Drinking beer for me is a real pleasure so what would be the point in forcing down beer I’m not enjoying

 

[Sadfield]

Tasting benchmark beers is not always going to be enough to formulate a recipe,

True, but even that statement conceded it's part of it.

Secondly, I didn't say you didn't do research, nor did i judge your brewing.

But it is gratifying to find that, when a commercial example is tasted, the result was pretty much as intended.

FFS! And if it wasn't? Then my point is made, the lack of prior sensory information would be telling on the end product.

 

[dad_of_jon]

It’s rare I brew anything I don’t like but it has happened a couple of times and I tipped it down the drain.

Drinking beer for me is a real pleasure so what would be the point in forcing down beer I’m not enjoying

As long as its better than fosters it's being drunk, but I do agree why waste your alcohol units on rubbish beer. I think I've made 3 beers that were a bit of a struggle and one of those was my first! - My night hawk I used too much molasses and that took 2 years to come good.