Strange tasting Draft at bar last night...

Just recently, I've become a HUGE fan of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale-- however, last night was the first time I've tried it on tap (actual commercial beer at a bar).

I was horrified by the 'off-taste' of the beer I had. It was so unpleasant, I almost returned it for another beer. I've never had a 'bad' beer from tap-- how typical is this?

How would you describe the off-taste? Could be as simple as they need to clean their lines.

the_bird said:

How would you describe the off-taste? Could be as simple as they need to clean their lines.

Click to expand...

I've heard the Homebrew Buzz word "Astringent" a lot-- and that's the first thing that came to mind.

If it's getting sour, they probably need to clean their lines. Sometimes, it can be a bad keg, too, but that's rare.


TL

There is a bar here that never cleans there taps. Every beer they have tastes like ass. It's a shame too because they usually offer a few of the microbrews around here and some of the more well known craft brewers. The only beer that tastes good there is what's in the bottles and BMC (does not really taste good as much as taste like BMC) beers since people drink enough of it that the lines keep flowing. I only go there when my friends go there. It's one of the few times I'll order a BMC since I know it will at least taste clean.

I would also add +1 to bad lines.

I was at the Landmark in Milwaukee one time and they had New Glarus' Stone Soup on tap and it tasted like mushrooms because of the bad beer lines. There was even particles in the bottom of the pitcher! Needless to say, we didn't drink any after noticing the weird flavor and particles.

We try to get our lines cleaned once every two weeks. Our distributers usualy just come in and take care of it. I've worked at bars that did not do this regularly and the beer realy suffered. Poor suffering beer.