Revisiting Duds

If you don't like curry...goes great with southern indian food.

 

Hopslam is a dud, yet I find myself buying it again EVERY year just TO MAKE SURE.

 

Yeah the Curry got me....not a fan, but a lot of guys I talk to really like that beer. maybe my palate needs to grow up a little hahaha

 

I had a beer once that was supposed to be "As cold as the Rockies." I didn't enjoy it much, and I'm thinking it may have been due to the cold sensitivity of my teeth. After some recent dental work I'm considering revisiting.

 

If I think I had an "off" bottle than yes, I may revisit it, but there's got to be a date for me to bite. I'm not a huge "must be just capped 15 minutes ago" fresh person, as I'll easily grab something that's two or three months old, but if there's no date and especially if it's been at TW, than there's a good chance it's well past 6 months. Heck, I see a lot of dated stuff there pushing the one year barrier.

 

I rarely do this. There are just too many easy to get beers that I know that I will enjoy. The only times that this happens are: if I am at a gathering over someone's place or if I buy a mix pack.

 

For the most part. Especially if the reputation is opposite of what I thought. It could have been what I was eating that night, the age of the beer, dirty glass, dirty lines, etc.

 

In theory, sure, I'll give it a second chance. But in practice I can't remember buying a beer for a second time that I didn't like the first.

However, in the event I already have a second (or third or 5, 6...) bottle, I'll obviously be inclined to have another.

I recently had to adjust my rating for DFH Palo Santo Marron, which I really disliked the first time through, but after a couple months in the cellar (and a couple of warm up beers) I really, really liked. Things change.

 

If someone else pays for it.

 

I can think of a specific example of giving a beer not just a second but even a third chance. I am now considering a forth chance just because it seems to be so popular and generally like. The beer is New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale. I just don’t get it. Every time I have tried it I find it very unpleasant, but I find myself wanting to try it again because it is so popular. I keep thinking it must be me.

 

Tastes change, batches vary, and aging can change things so unless it was so offensive that it was a drainpour I'd give a brew a second chance. The first time I tried Dragon's Milk I was new to craft, it was my first barrel aged, and I found it too bourbony. I tried it again a few months later, and it is now on my favorites list. It's gone the other way too - first time I tried O'Dell Mountain Standard I loved it. The next time I tried it, I found it way too bitter. Turns out the first time I had it, it was months out of date and the bitter had faded.

 

This is where beer advocate ratings really come into play for me.

I'll try almost any beer at least once, and I try to avoid looking at a rating for a beer until I've had a chance to drink at least around half of the beer. If it's a beer that I'm not really digging, but ends up having a really good BA rating, there's a much better likelihood that I'll be willing to give it a second try (assuming that I might've missed something the first time) than I otherwise would be.

 

A very qualified yes ... why I didn't like the first one is a big factor (and whether I think there's a reasonable chance that the first one was off - and another example might be better).

 

It mostly depends on my perception vs the masses perception. Personally, I thought 3 of the 4 Tree House IPAs I've had were average on a good day but I would give them a second chance. But there are others that I have a low opinion of that mirror others' thoughts so it's likely not worth the time to give them a 2nd go.

 

There are a lot of beers that I once hated that are now semi-regular purchases (bigfoot comes immediately to mind). Granted, it was usually years in between a lot of them, but tastes do change.

 

This poll only goes to show that 64% of BAs never had Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Abomination. Or Indian Wells Rasberry insult http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/619/43360/

 

No, unless there is a reason to suspect that the first time was off - such as age or infection.

 

If playing the mix-a-six game, I'll usually pick up 2 anyway. No 3rd chances though, although I am anxious to give LM Timber Beast a second chance the next time I'm down south. I reviewed as a 3, remember it being pretty poor, but most BA'ers give it the thumbs up.