tpitman

Recipes 

I've got a brown ale I brewed (extract) based on two other batches, with this one as a compromise between the two (one too mild, the other a bit too "roasty"). The one difference is I used so-called fresh hops instead of the pellets I usually use, and I'm not so sure the hops were that fresh. A bit over-carbonated for the style, but it's got a bit of a taste to it that kind of sucks.
I've also got about a case and a half of a Coopers Stout kit that ain't exactly Guinness or Murphy's. Kind of a sour taste to it.
Neither of these are undrinkable, but at what point do you consider dumping beer if you're not really enjoying it? Seems kind of sacrilegious, but it's come to a point to where I'm drinking it because it's there, not because it's particularly good. The stout is about three months old, and the flavor isn't changing, so I'm guessing this is it. The brown ale hasn't changed either. The two batches I'd brewed before this were decent, so I'm wondering if it was the hops that might be a contributing factor.
Drink my way through them or cut my losses?

Paramecium

Recipes 

I've dumped a few that just weren't that spectacular. Nothing really wrong, just not what I was hoping for. Some people consider it sacrilege to dump any beer. In my opinion, if you don't really care for it and don't have friends that want to drink it, dump it.

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Primary~ Empty

Secondary~ Mosaic IPA

Kegged~

Ransack Port Oak Aged RIS

Blood Orange Hefe

Bonne Nuit Saison

thood6

Recipes 

I'd keep it at least until you have a need for more bottles. Also keep a couple to try a year from now. Otherwise I have no problem with dumping a bad beer to make room for a potentially better one.

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"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools."
~Ernest Hemingway

Primary: CDJ IPA #1, Sea Cow Pale #1
Secondary: HUH?
Bottle: Scroatmeal Stout, Kolsch, Honey Blonde, Imperial Stout, Raspberry Stout, Blackberry Stout
Keg: Pumpkin Porter, Vanilla Porter
Future: Irish Red, Centennial Blonde, White Ale, Whiskey Imperial Stout #1, Saison #1

axivanax

Recipes 

Don't want to irritate the beer gods, so I haven't dumped any batches so far.

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Hopfen und malz, gott erhalt's!

mjdonnelly68

Recipes 

While I agree dumping for taste is a beer crime, I plead guilty to having done it from time to time.

Back in the day, borderline beer would have been drunk up by my idiot friends before you could say 'Amber Bock'.

Nowadays, less than stellar beer can sit for months, and sometimes I just want to free up the keg or tap for something better.

I'll take my confession one step further, I'll sometimes dump perfectly good beer to make room for another batch if I find myself too heavily weighted toward one type of beer or another. For example, in the fall and winter I get the urge to brew batch after batch of big heavy winter beers. By March, I'm ready for something different and will clunk whatever's lingering to make room for something lighter.

While I agree it's a sin, I see it as more venial than mortal.

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"I feel sorry for people who don't drink because when they get up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel all day" - Francis Albert Sinatra

Braufessor

Recipes 

I am usually not in a hurry to dump a beer.... so, if I don't need the bottles/kegs or space, I let it ride for a while. But, I have absolutely no problem dumping a beer if I don't like it. I brew a lot, and I am not going to choke down something that tastes bad while I have good and great beer sitting there.
I think you need to ask yourself about your process though if you are getting several dumpers....It could be the hops (or amount of hops) but that seems unlikely to me.

Sanitation - Use PBW or Oxyclean to clean, Starsan to sanitize. Make sure you are taking apart things like spigots on buckets, bottle fillers, autosiphons, etc. Don't use bleach. Don't rinse your starsan (or iodophor) after sanitizing.

Fermentation temp - fermenting in lower 60's. High temps throw off flavors.

Healthy yeast - if liquid yeast, make a starter.

Water - if your water is really hard, and you are brewing extract, consider using Reverse Osmosis water - .39 cents a gallon from refill machines at grocery stores or walmart.

Just some other things to look at and consider, beyond the hops.

cklages

Recipes 

Last week I dumped the last case of a coopers stout I made a year ago when I didn't want to bother with an all grain brew day. I tried to use it in cooking and whatnot, but progress on disposing of it was a little slow, so down the sink it went.

It was not very good, and I overcarbed it to boot.

I figure that my liver has a limited capacity to deal with alcohol over my lifetime, and I don't want to waste even a little capacity on crappy beer.

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The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.

Remember, nothing says 'good job' like a firm, open-palm slap on the behind.

millsware

Recipes 

I say take it the next time it's your turn to bring beer to a pickup game/tailgate, etc. Usually people aren't that picky as long as its not bad.

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SagamoreAle

Recipes 

If I don't like it, I dump it. A total waste but you have to realize that it's not a failure. You're building experience, and sometimes things don't work out.

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Ex fermentum, scientia.

smakudwn

Recipes 

This is usually the case with me. The beer doesn't taste all that good and I need the keg. I try to dump as little as possible. Sometimes I will fill up multiple growlers, or bottle some from the keg if I think it might get better.