I thought it was a good beer but I agree with your sentiment, don’t drink 19.2oz of a 9.5% beer unless you’re really enjoying it
I also used to drink a lot of bombers, it used to be the way to get interesting beers. I’m also trying to cut my beer consumption to cut my weight. I try to buy 12oz cans, but in Vermont, many are only in 16oz.
Not surprised by the PBR pickle I forgot the beer I once had with a hot pepper in the bottle (Cactus Jack’s?) but it was basically drinking hot pepper juice. It was definitely a drain pour
My one and only drain pour to date was Ballast Point's Calm Before the Storm. It happened 10-years ago, and I still remember it like yesterday. I had picked up one of these as part of a sixer I made at a Total Wine. I recall drinking it with a grin on my face expecting it to be something special...Dear God, what a shock. In the most simplest terms this beer tasted like a liquid ashtray. I tell you, it was - an ashtray they poured water into, bottled it and carbonated it and then sold it. It was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever drank. The taste of it (now recollecting it for this post) is vivid in my mouth. I've had some bad beers since then, but nothing - nothing - to date comes close to this visceral experience...
Tiki Sour from Corporate Ladder: I try not to pour beer down the drain, but I agree with lots of people here, if its a beer I don't like I won't waste much time on it, I'll review as honestly as I can, dump it, and move on to the next. Tiki Sour was a surprise for me, no carbonation at all and it felt and resembled wine more than anything else, a few reviews said otherwise, and the taste wasn't too bad, but I'm feeling this Tiki Sour today, so maybe I'll buy this one again just to give it a second try.
Most of our drainpours these days are the 'extras' that show up in beer mail, or from buddies picking up beers. I have a limited ability to consume alcohol before my innards force me to stop. I literally don't have the space to consume beer that's meh at best. I appreciate being able to taste and analyze them for the ticks, but that's all they are for me.
Most most recent drain pour was Golden Lion from Rushford & Sons. Kind of had the consistency of drool when I was pouring it from the can. In the glass, it just kind of sat in suspended animation. I couldn't stand the mouthfeel so I dumped the entire 4 pack because I knew I wasn't going to drink it.
“Temperance” English Dark Mild Ale from Wild East Brewing Company. The can was a a year and a half past the date… just awful.
This is actually a timely thread for me this weekend. I seldom drain-pour a beer, but … I did that twice this past week. I assumed that because I very much enjoyed last fall’s BA Big Beers Box, I ought to order the Untappd Top-Rated Box (Batch 4). That … was a mistake. I’ve so far only tried four of the six beers in it, and have ended up drain-pouring the remnants of two of those I’ve tried: The Anchorage Brewing “Reclaim Me” was more pastry than stout — way, way, way too sweet — and I could only tolerate the first half of it. Then, the RAR Brewing “Deadstock Green Jacket” went from very plain in the attack, to way too sweet in the middle, to a nuclear hop bomb in the finish. Balanced in a sense, I suppose (!), but not at all in a well-ingested way, and I only survived the first 3/4 of it. Don’t think I’ll be spending $100+ on another Untappd box in the future.
I've read some good reasons for drain pouring, but it definitely seems like there is a dichotomy. Some take the first sip and immediately pour it out because it tastes bad. Others will drink some of a beer, but it ends up being "too much" and some of the beer ends up in the sink.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/674557/ Darkness--Cola Barrel Aged. Chalky and soy-saucy. Criminal given the excellence of the base brew. I almost finished it before the shock wore off.
About two weeks ago, I picked up a Hop Warrior from Ice Harbor. I really wanted to like it, but I couldn't get through the glass. The dominant note I got was cooked green beans, and it just kept intensifying as the beer warmed. What started as a subtle vegetal character turned into a full-on canned vegetable aroma and flavor. By the end, it was distracting enough that I decided the flowers could enjoy the rest of it. I'm not sure if it was an off batch, age-related, or simply a flavor profile that didn't work for me, but it was one of the few beers this year that I couldn't finish.
That’s a good observation. It also really rings true personally — the beers I’ve immediately discarded are those non-sours that have apparently gotten bacteria in them somehow, and have turned sour. A good example of this was “Almost Heaven,” an amber ale from Mountain State Brewing (WV) I had a can of a couple years ago. Had to be a batch production problem, because it was within a decent date range, and other reviews of the beer were good. Smelled sour, tasted sour — dumped it almost immediately. Note: “a well-ingested way” from my post above should have read “a well-integrated way”. Auto-correct , and too late to edit it!
A few months ago I had to dump 8-9 16oz cans from a 12pk of Surly This Beer Is Nice Blonde Ale. There was something wrong with it, like infection or something. I tried the 1st two cans and was like, meh. It's just not a good example of the style. And it's not and still isn't. But then my tummy had some different things to say about it. Bad beer. Not expired, just poor beer that got sick and about made me sick. Surly is down low on my list anyways so no loss here. Just the $ is all.
I ended up drain pouring the Bottle Logic Will it Blend? last night. This was a big rum barrel aged stout with pineapple, coconut, and nutmeg. It just start to get overwhelming with the pineapple and coconut notes. If it was a small 8oz bottle or can, I could have handled it.
Sometimes beers morph with warming in a highly dynamic way and I can barely make it thru a pour. Other times it's more of a good thing. Even lower ABV brews. Also, I respect a 12oz serving of a beer with colossal gravity, gigantic taste, and higher ABV vs a big bottle mainly because I can't share beers often enuf. Enter the morph.
Dang it. This one was horribly old. My lovely wyfe picked it up recently. I would enjoy it fresh because there are still some faint berry notes and wheat, but after 2 sips it almost destroyed my tongue and taste buds and tummy. It grew into becoming a wild dry cider on the way outa town.
