After the Drain-Pour, What Then?

Since this specific drain pour example is a beer that you’ve had multiple times in the past but had a spoiled/infected beer, I’d contact the brewer, while also seeing on social media/Beer Advocate if others are mentioning the same thing. Style dependent issues ( fruit smoothies for example) )could be an age issue or poor refrigeration from the Distributor or retail seller.

 

Earlier this year I had a beer I enjoyed on tap at a small brewery in St. Augustine, so I got a six pack to go. The canned product was “off”. As I was in town for the week, I returned the beers, was introduced to a brewer and a marketing guy, and my cans were replaced and were fine. No fuss.

I rarely have drain pours, but typically just move on and don’t re-visit brewery if draught or don’t buy it again if purchased off-site.

Cheers!

 

I had interesting drain pour experience the other day with Vibrissa. Only one beer of a four pack was bad. The bad one (brown and cloudy instead of clear yellow) actually did not taste off or infected, just not tasty. It was the second beer from the four so I knew something was wrong. If it had been the first I might not have known and never drank another from the four pack. All four were canned on the same day. I took a few side by side pictures of good and bad beers in glasses and the cans and sent them to Vibrissa. I received a very quick initial response with a promise that someone else would follow up for more discussion. That second contact never happened. But I was satisfied with the response and have no reason not to by their beer in the future.

 

For me, it depends on how extreme the issue is and how old the beer is. If it's fresh and it's a major issue (clear diacetyl, acetaldehyde, butyric, etc.) I'll contact the brewery about it. They probably don't want that sort of thing in the wild. If it's super mild or even debatable, I'll let it go and just probably avoid buying that beer again in the near future. Ditto if the date was questionable or if I bought it off a warm shelf.

 

A few weeks ago I created a thread entitled DRAIN POURS if you wanna comment there as well. Cheers!!

 

@seakayak - Was this a canned beer? What kind of beer? Was this from a brewer in your area? This could be an issue with getting too much oxygen in the can before being sealed. This can be in every can of a pack or just one.

 

Depends. If the beer is fine (not over-carbonated or infected) and I simply don't like it, then I don't do anything other than not by that beer again. I wouldn't contact a store or a brewer just because I didn't personally like a beer. If it's a beer I don't like from a brewer I trust, then I will just avoid that particular beer but keep supporting the brewery. If it's the first beer I try from a brewery then there's a good chance I'm not buying anything from them ever again.

If, however, there is a legit problem with the beer, then I would contact the store. I bought a four pack of one of my all time favorite brews last winter (Celebrator Doppelbock) and it was over-carbonated. Total gusher. I told the folks at the store and they gave me a full refund.

 

Yeah. That one feckin' eejit sullied the thread. I complained but nobody did anything.

 

Depends on what and why.

Case 2+ year old beer, tough shit that's on me.

Case where I buy it, fridge it and drink it in reasonable time, then I may contact the brewery. If it's a sour/wild, probably not. If it's a beer that should be clean and I think I won't be screaming into the void then I may reach out. If it's some rando brewery I'll probably never buy from again either way then I won't really bother.

i.e. If I buy a Sierra Nevada IPA and it's sour, I'd probably reach out. If I buy an IPA off the shelf at Sprouts from *insert in-region brewery with four IPAs all with hop/haze puns in the name that all taste roughly the same* then I probably won't bother and just won't buy from them again

 

Yes, because since childhood I have enjoyed the sounds and visuals of liquid going down the drain.

 

This is why I tick. I never have to worry about the rest of a multi-pack being bad because I usually buy only one. I will note in my review that there was a possibility that I got hold of a bad batch, but I wouldn't buy it again. Once bitten, etc.

If you contact the brewery about the problem and they ignore you, you could fill the empty can with STP, take a video of it being poured into a glass, post the video to social media, and grab some popcorn.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/coors-light-keystone-light-recall.667416/

 

Good point at @John_M I didn't think about the personal taste aspect. I usually check what people are saying here and on Untappd. If it just seems to be universally hated, I pour it and call it a day. If the brewery is one I like/love I'll just chalk it up to an idea that's not for me or most. If everyone else is fine with it, I read the notes and see if they had it at a different temp or if I got a bad bottle or what.

I had this happen with one of FW's cocktail beers, it was... not good.

 

I rarely drain pour - I'll make the sacrifice for the sake of science and state my opinion, maybe a PSA beer warning. I'll usually power my way thru a beer I don't like. I've only had one or two infected beers, but plenty with flaws. It's been pretty rare that I've had a beer that's so terrible I run to the sink, and I definitely feel fortunate about that!

But in general, it's highly situational what happens next. If it's a beer I've squirreled for longer than it should exist, that's on me. If I don't like it, I'll get through it and not revisit it, but I'll give a brewery I enjoy a mulligan sometimes and try again. Flawed beers, especially from a brewery with no history of issues, I'll contact them directly. Rarely bother going back to the store. I can think of many more ways I might respond depending on a ton of factors, though.