It's so cute when SWMBO tries to do something nice, but...

I think she should have asked first. I mean, I do appreciate the gesture but it turned out that I have to drink some rot gut beer to make her feel good.

The story:

Today SWMBO went to the grocery store down the street to buy a few odds and ends. She came back with a big smile on her face and told me she saw something on sale and picked some up for me. I went out to the car to help carry in the groceries and I saw them...2 six packs of Michelob Shock Top.

"They were on sale and I know how you love Belgian beer..."

I replied, "Oh, this isn't Belgian...it's Belgian style." As the smile went away from her face I added, "But I'm sure it's going to be good!"

Whew...good save. The smile came right back. I thanked her and gave her a big kiss while I cried inside. Now, I haven't tried Shock Top before, but I know what to expect being a BMC product combined with what I have read on this site about it. I decided I would keep an open mind and give it a try....

I nearly spit it out as soon as I took the first swallow. WHAT A BUNCH OF PISS! HOLY CRAP! Not only is it bad...it is awful. Those who have tried and reported on this site did not do enough to quantify just how bad this swill is. It tastes like salty club soda to me.

To make matters worse, I know exactly what she passed up to bring me twelve bottles of urine. I'm not saying that my local grocery store has a tremendous selection of beer, but they do have Leffe, Chimay, and a decent selection of imported lagers (which I do enjoy as session beers). I stocked up for Christmas already for crying out loud. All she has to do is look in my beer fridge at the bottles of La Chouffe, Delerium Tremens, Duvel, and Tripel Karmeliat to know that this purchase was unacceptable. Why did she have to pick Shock Top? Is she secretly trying to punish me? It's Christmas for crying out loud...How am I going to get rid of this crap and make her believe that I drank it?

Christmas has gotten off on the wrong foot that's for sure...

Nah it got off on the right foot. You just need to rethink it all. It's only beer, but SHMBO'ed is a wonderful woman. That is your Christmas present. You are a lucky man.

just poor a few down the sink when she isn't looking and leave a bottle or two laying around so she can see that you "drank" it. then once it's gone say, "it was pretty good, not my favorite. . . dunno if I'd buy it again."

I dont really have a lot of experience with women, but my approach would be to carefully say, "Honey, I know you were thinking about me, and its the thought that counts the most, and I really appreciate it, but this stuff isnt something I like, but I tried it to see"

really anything you say could go and blow up in your face honestly, but hell if I honestly know.

bobthebiker said:

I dont really have a lot of experience with women, but my approach would be to carefully say, "Honey, I know you were thinking about me, and its the thought that counts the most, and I really appreciate it, but this stuff isnt something I like, but I tried it to see"

really anything you say could go and blow up in your face honestly, but hell if I honestly know.

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-1

You are a lucky man, your lady supports your habit. LOTS of women resent their SO's obsession as they feel it threatens them. Your lady, on the other hand, went out of her way to get a present that sends a message to you. I would say that what she did was a gesture from the heart AND she is paying some attention because she knows you like Belgians.

Now she missed the mark, no question, but this is one of those times where "it's the thought that counts". Not in the "my parents got me socks for Christmas kind of way, but in the true meaning.

Try a thought experiment. Lets say your lady is obsessed with shoes (imagine that) and you are the one guy in the world that supports her obsession. You pay attention and notice that she always gets blue shoes with heels. So you buy a pair. Us guys will never be able to buy shoes for a woman and she'll open it and (hopefully) say thank you but really she's thinking "doesn't he realize that this style makes me look fat."

She did a good thing. I'd say you got a keeper on your hands. Tell her it's not as good as some others but it's really different and you can appreciate the taste difference after trying it between traditional belgians and belgian styles.

Drink the beer.

BrewOnBoard

BrewOnBoard you pretty much got it right there. I like your subtlety, although its not my thing. I'm the kind of guy that just prefers to be brutally honest, even if it hurts, unless its someone who happens to be in a kitchen full of hot liquids on stoves and sharp pointy things all over the place.

Shock Top isn't that bad. Heck, I wouldn't say it's bad at all. It holds its ground.

INvite some buddies over... say, "Hey, look what my wife got me for Christmas", and hand out the Shock Top. It gets consumed, you have to drink only a percentage of it... she's proud, that makes her happy.... and we know what that means!
But, consider yourself lucky...many a SWMBO hates her mates obsession and goes out of her way to be unsupportive.

Shock Top to me isn't BAD, it just tastes like a light Belgian Wit that is fermented with lager yeast. Not something I would go out of my way to buy, but I would still drink it...

At least she bought you some beer. -Now gently educate her on which beer to buy...
If you blow it-you'll be buying your own beer from now on (unless you don't mind doing it yourself).

Classic example-About fifteen years ago, my wife caught me re-ironing a shirt (it was pretty wrinkled). Anyway that was the last time she ironed a shirt for me....

All she has to do is look in my beer fridge at the bottles of La Chouffe, Delerium Tremens, Duvel, and Tripel Karmeliat to know that this purchase was unacceptable.

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Was I imagining things or has the retail price of Duvel's gone from eight bucks to eleven in the last few months?

+1 to the guys who say you are lucky! My SWMBO know how picky I am and prefers to let me buy my own beer...she will buy her own if its something I won't buy. The fact that she knows enough to know that you like Belgians and to know that Shock Top is a Belgian style is a great foundation. She needs a bit of education but I'm you are up to the task...

there's an old saying, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

drink your beer and be happy.

uglygoat said:

there's an old saying, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
drink your beer and be happy.

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+ 1 to this! Please don't pour it down the drain either - she'll see the empty bottles accumulating too quickly, assume you've had too much, cut you off and you won't be able to have any of your coveted "good stuff"
Also, enjoy every bottle because each one was bought with love!

The trick is to direct your praise strategically. Don't emphasize the gift, emphasize the action. Instead of lying and saying "that beer was great, thanks so much!" say "I love how you went out of your way to make me happy. I'm a lucky guy!" It doesn't have to be that cheesy, but a lot of women like the cheesy stuff (some don't). But my point is, direct your praise at what she did (went out and got you some beer), later you can drop hints about which beers you do like. And make sure you give back.

One word:

Bratwurst

mew said:

The trick is to direct your praise strategically. Don't emphasize the gift, emphasize the action. Instead of lying and saying "that beer was great, thanks so much!" say "I love how you went out of your way to make me happy. I'm a lucky guy!" It doesn't have to be that cheesy, but a lot of women like the cheesy stuff (some don't). But my point is, direct your praise at what she did (went out and got you some beer), later you can drop hints about which beers you do like. And make sure you give back.

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Best advice in the entire thread!

It all depends on your wife's personality... With MY wife, sugarcoated honesty would be the best bet...

Though I suck at sugarcoating...

"Honey, it's awesome you bought me beer - and this is close to what I like. I really appreciate it. However, next time, it'd be awesome if instead you stayed with the stuff that gives major sticker shock..."

Beer battered shrimp, beer boiled shrimp, etc. Use it to cook with if you can't drink it.
Don't pour it out though. Send it to me and I'll drink it.
Praise SWMBO for what she did. You're a lucky guy.

Just to make the OP jealous, here’s what my daughter brought me for Christmas . . . . .

i'm with some of the guys up there /\ /\

use that stuff for cooking

Thank you everyone for helping me put this into perspective. I will admit, I had a pretty good buzz when I made the original post and probably wasn't thinking straight. SWMBO is a great lady and I do appreciate the gesture.

I definately do not want to be unappreciative that's for sure. It made her happy to try and make me happy and I don't want to take that away from her. That being said, it does taste really bad and hopefully I can pawn some of it off on the family members coming to dinner tonight. They drink beer but don't know enough to know how bad it really is, lol. I just won't give one to my mother as she is the only one in my family who appreciates good beer almost as much as I do. I've got something special tucked away just for me and her, lol...a few lovely Waterloo Tripels. God I love Belgian beer.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all

I'm trying like hell to like the Mich & Bud "special" offerings, but most fall painfully short of drinkable, let alone good. The Porter is good, the P.A. & Irish Red drinkable, the Amber bock rates as Belly Wash at best. Most have the telltale AB yeast flavor. I'd rather drink Natty Light and save a few bucks than have lousy "Super Premium" swill.

Sully

Sometimes it really is the thought that counts.....

I got a huge kick out of that original post, and also from some of the responses. I loved the way you played out your act by the smile on her face ... it was like a pilot landing a hot airplane in a tricky crosswind. Ha ha ha, well done sir, nice save indeed!

Sorry about having to suffer the crappy beer, but take it from a guy who's still a bachelor at 49, it really wasn't a bad price, all things considered.

Gammon N Beer said:

Nah it got off on the right foot. You just need to rethink it all. It's only beer, but SHMBO'ed is a wonderful woman. That is your Christmas present. You are a lucky man.

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Just drink a couple good beers first, to numb your taste buds. Or a couple shots of vodka.

look on the bright side, now you'll have 12 more bottles to bottle with.

I disagree with almost everyone!! I would take a drink of the beer, spit it all over the curtains, then throw the bottle at near her head and tell her if she EVER buys that crap again, the next one won't miss her!! Then go out into the garage and drink a good beer.

Of course, if I did that, my wife would kill me in my sleep that very night.

All joking aside, when people who don't know much about beer try to buy us presents, they often fall far short. I use these opportunities to educate them. My wife has tried and failed several times, but now she brings home some good stuff. Usually what I do is tell her how much I really do appreciate it(and I do, it's the thought that counts), then I'll bring home something in the same style within a couple of days, and let her try them both. Usually her eyes light up when she tastes the better beer and she will say something along the lines of, "Wow, that is much better. Maybe we should put the stuff I bought into the pantry for when Bill(her sister's husband) or my dad come over." She won't even look at a beer now if it's made by Bud, Miller, or Coors. And I was listening on the cell phone once when she berated a guy at the paint store who had the audacity to suggest a BMC product to her and try to convince her that it was better than something that she actually wanted. I kind of felt sorry for the guy.

Were the bottles reusable at least?

I would have to agree that shock top is not that bad. I first tried it when I was in vegas on vacation, as some of the places we went to didn't have much else besides the standard BMC lagers.

Granted I have not had it since, and I would probably not buy it in stores as there is plenty of other better beer to buy. but still, its not bad.

I'm sure you've decided what to do by now, but none of us can tell you what to do, after all you know her much better than us! All I can say is what's kept my marriage together this long is stubborness, hardheadedness, and resolve! We would've been divorced long ago if not for both of us being too stubborn to give up. Not a day goes by that I don't P.O. that woman! But alas I know her... I dare say I'm the only one on this forum married to a woman whom actually shot someone .... on purpose! My SWMBO is not a woman to be messled with!

I say dispose of as need be and then tell her it was okay (and thank her for being thoughtful), but you'd prefer something else next time!

fwiw I've tasted it on tap and it was drinkable, a step below blue moon(which I'm not much of a fan of either). I do enjoy the Mich. Dunkle Weizen, it's about the only super premium BMC product that I like. Several of the Michelobe offerings are drinkable if not good.

Schlante,
Phillip

Ps you guys make me sick! I'm in MS and most of the best bier is bootlegged in, or there are a couple we can actually get... but not many!

curt656 said:

I know what to expect being a BMC product

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See, I have a problem with this. Expectations will always colour your experience, so if you assume that a beer is bad before you've even tried it you'll find it tends to live up to your expectations. It is admittedly impossible (short of completely blind tasting) to prevent past experiences from affecting your current perception, but holding your nose and drinking a beer that you're already convinced will be bad is not the same as being open-minded.

Does this mean you're wrong to think the beer is bad? By no means. The only objectively bad beer is one that causes physical illness or death. Everything else is subjective, from the person who thinks Michelob is the ultimate beer and everything else is crap to the one who drinks Rodenbach Grand Cru as a palate cleanser between beers and wouldn't dream of even trying a light lager.

I'm with you curt... It sucks!

Yea, chock me up in the "Bad" category as far as Shock Top goes. I bought a 6 pack of it about a month ago to just try it. After all you never know unless you try...... right?

Most definitely a "Do Not Purchase Again" beer IMO, but the bottles are good for bottling so it wasn't a complete waste...lol

Hats off to your wife for the gesture though. My bride did the same for me once (Tequiza... Ack... Stomach just flopped thinking about it) and it meant a lot to me knowing she was thinking about me.