Commercial beers that let you down?

[bjl110]

Lija's Hellhound Brown by Pangea brewing. The label talked about how it was a luscious, smooth brown. At 6% and 90 ibu, there was nothing smooth about it. Worst beer I have ever had.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Piraat was another one. Heard good things, tasted very bad things.

Had it twice, because the first was spoiled (had that belgium brewers mixed 6 pack which had been mishandled and all had a terrible aftertaste (probably from highly variable temperatures during shipping)). Tried a big bottle the second time, and although this one did not contain that awful, spoiled taste, it still wasn't in any means a good beer.

 

[Portah]

This would be the new BLUE bottle...

 

[tom_gamer]

another plus for guinness:

The irish car bomb!

+1000

 

[Duckfoot]

Another plus for Guinness:

The Irish Car Bomb!

My neighbors "kidnapped" me a few years ago and took me to a local hole in the wall... I lost count after the 5th Irish Car Bomb... Mind you, I was drinking Guinness in between shots...

 

[dukes]

Here's a recent list:

Stone Cali-Belgique (Don't think the flavors blended well)
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière (Tastes like water with a little bit of beer flavor)
Saison Dupont (Just not a lot of flavor compared to other Saisons)
Arcadia Hopmouth DIPA (Did they forget to hop this thing??)
Bear Republic Racer 5 (Nothing special)
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (Too light and watery)

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

My neighbors "kidnapped" me a few years ago and took me to a local hole in the wall... I lost count after the 5th Irish Car Bomb... Mind you, I was drinking Guinness in between shots...

My buddy's B'day is on St. Paddys Day. A couple of years ago, we rang up a $400 bar tab buying car bombs.

Work the next day sucked, but it was worth watching 4 drunk woman sign his ass in the bar for his B'day.

 

[tom_gamer]

Work the next day sucked, but it was worth watching 4 drunk woman sign his ass in the bar for his B'day.

Nice, I have a new goal for my birthday!

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

I'm a big fan of Left Hand's products, but had a 6er of Milk Stout a while ago and just bought a 6er of 400 Pound Monkey that both had this heavy mineral taste to it, iron I suppose, like tasting blood from a cut.

It got to the point where it was undrinkable, which sucks, because when their beer is fresh, it's great.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Sam Adams has been letting me down across the board. I don't know if we are getting the contract brewed stuff but whatever it is the quality has taken a nosedive the past couple years.

There is some brewery in Las Vegas or near Vegas T...something creek. Some people rave about the beers, I found them extremely watery and bland. Maybe it's better fresh or whatever but I was disappointed by them.

 

[bigbopper]

budweiser,definatly not the KING of beers.i thuoght pliny definatly lived up to the hype.so many flavors in that hop bomb

 

[jonmohno]

Sam Adams has been letting me down across the board. I don't know if we are getting the contract brewed stuff but whatever it is the quality has taken a nosedive the past couple years.

There is some brewery in Las Vegas or near Vegas T...something creek. Some people rave about the beers, I found them extremely watery and bland. Maybe it's better fresh or whatever but I was disappointed by them.

Thomas Creek? I dont think thats vegas but if thats what your talking about i agree.

 

[jonmohno]

budweiser,definatly not the KING of beers.i thuoght pliny definatly lived up to the hype.so many flavors in that hop bomb

Agreed about the pliny but im thinking Avery majarhja is the king of imperial ipa's (maybe) Not in the same bracket although they are both double or imperial ipa's.Just not a fair specific style to compare them.

 

[D0ug]

One of our local breweries Shipyard surprised me. They're no gold standard, but usually decent.
I've been on a cider kick lately, and enjoyed a bunch with out disappointment, the woodchuck crisp, Sam Smith's Organic, Angry Orchard Dry, etc...

So I saw Shipyard's Applehead and thought "Yummy! Why not?" I was expecting something sort of like Brandon's Graff, what I got was just foul. I mean atrocious, I couldn't believe they drank this and thought "Winning, let's inflict this on the world!"

The problem is they're pushing the hell out of it around here and the stores are jammed packed full of the stuff, and it's displacing things that actually taste good.

 

[dannypo]

Almost anything from Lagunitas except Hop Stoopid. I don't understand the rave reviews they get. Same for Flying Dog. Everything I've had from them has either been boring or off.

 

[usfmikeb]

Almost anything from Lagunitas except Hop Stoopid. I don't understand the rave reviews they get. Same for Flying Dog. Everything I've had from them has either been boring or off.

Have you had Lil Sumpin Sumpin? That stuff is a staple in my beer fridge...

 

[nymtber]

Sam Adams Boston Lager. GROSS. Same with their Summer Ale. YUCK!

Drinking a Noble Pils. Not as good as I remember last year's, but I have drank a lot better beer in that year time...

I will say, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has yet to disappoint me! It is always good and goes down far too easily Although my homebrew NB Sierra Madre is close enough, and quite a bit cheaper. I also find that Saranac is consistant, and good for the money craft beer. Not the best, but if nothing else good is available, Saranac is a very safe bet around here

 

[exhumedatbirth]

One of our local breweries Shipyard surprised me. So I saw Shipyard's Applehead and thought "Yummy! Why not?" I was expecting something sort of like Brandon's Graff, what I got was just foul. I mean atrocious, I couldn't believe they drank this and thought "Winning, let's inflict this on the world!"

.

I keep seeing Applehead at the store, and keep wondering if it would be worth trying..thanks for saving my hard earned cash.

 

[duffbeer71]

DFH 120 min.

Yeah, was hoping for more. Maybe after aging some for a while it will taste better.

 

[djfriesen]

Mighty Oak from Sam Adams really disappointed me. I was hoping for something better from a sampler referring to itself as a "Brewer's Choice." The Whitewater was also a bit of a letdown.

 

[dukes]

Just had a Green Flash West Coast IPA and was quite a bit disappointed. I don't know if it's a lupulin threshold shift from all the DIPA's I've had recently, but I had this and an Ithaca Flower Power IPA back to back, and the Flower Power whooped its butt in aroma and taste. I found the Green Flash to just not have enough of a hop character for being a west coast IPA.

 

[TBAY]

This thread is exactly what the title says; What commercial beers, if any, have not lived up to the hype? I'm around a lot of beer fans and we talk about craft beer a lot. I'm also fortunate enough to work near a great craft beer store, so i have sampled some of the well marketed beer offerings.

Which beers have just not lived up to expectations? I DON'T want this to be a "bashing" thread, just a discussion. Some beers are released in limited quantities to drive up demand, and it often works.

My $.02, I just tried Bell's Hopslam. I have heard so much about this beer that I just had to try it! I have to say I was let down. The aroma was good, but not the big hop nose I was hoping for. The honey taste was present, and overall the flavor was nice. Alcohol was present, which I expected, but in general the beer just seemed unbalanced and definitely not my favorite.

Which commercial offerings have made you as anxious as a 5 year old on Christmas morning, only to find out you got socks from Santa?

-Cheers

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. Too pale wAAAAAAy too sweet without any real malt character. Maybe it's just me but after hearing everyone rave about I'm just not feeling it. What am I not seeing?

 

[jonmohno]

The date on the bottle?

 

[TBAY]

The date on the bottle?

I don't recall but it was purchased in a high turnover store so I don't believe it was past its prime. It had good hop character but was too cloyingly sweet.

 

[jonmohno]

Hmm 102 ibu's and noted for having huge rich malt in description.I liked it alot. Maybe the new stuff has changed.Its a double are you use to double ipa's?Some of the bigger imperial or doubles can pick up alot of malt sweetness sometimes. It also use to be under description of farmhouse ipa which may explain the paleness but i dont get the paleness matching sweetness are you referring to dry as in pale or just color?

 

[944play]

Stone Cali-Belgique (Don't think the flavors blended well)
Bear Republic Racer 5 (Nothing special)

I'm in agreement on Cali-Belgique. It has an unpleasant topsoil nature.

Racer 5 seems to be unusually variable. When it's "on" it's glorious, but it is too often dull or cheesy or something off.

Beck's Oktoberfest was really a disappointment. I like the malt profile in regular (especially canned) Beck's and was hoping to get more of the same from the festbier, but it just tasted like it got a disgusting colorant added.

 

[dukes]

Racer 5 seems to be unusually variable. When it's "on" it's glorious, but it is too often dull or cheesy or something off.

Yeah I'm not completely writing it off just yet. I have a feeling that being on the east coast, it's very difficult to find it when it's really fresh. I will try it again, and I'll try it with an IPA that I know I really like so I can calibrate my palate next time.

Another disappointment from Green Flash that I just had last week is Palate Wrecker. Definitely does not live up to its name, and was way too malt forward for the description on the bottle. Again, I don't know if it's a freshness thing, but I had Sierra Nevada Hoptimum a week before that, and the hoppiness just blew my away. Now THAT beer is a palate wrecker (in the best way possible)!

 

[TBAY]

Hmm 102 ibu's and noted for having huge rich malt in description.I liked it alot. Maybe the new stuff has changed.Its a double are you use to double ipa's?Some of the bigger imperial or doubles can pick up alot of malt sweetness sometimes. It also use to be under description of farmhouse ipa which may explain the paleness but i dont get the paleness matching sweetness are you referring to dry as in pale or just color?

I generally enjoy IIPAs and double/triples but I think for my taste, if the majority of the malt bill is prob just 2 row or Pils then it needs to be drier. Without some additional complexity to balance the sweetness to me it just seems to be too saccharin. I liked the hop profile overall.

 

[Burgs]

Yeah I'm not completely writing it off just yet. I have a feeling that being on the east coast, it's very difficult to find it when it's really fresh. I will try it again, and I'll try it with an IPA that I know I really like so I can calibrate my palate next time.

Another disappointment from Green Flash that I just had last week is Palate Wrecker. Definitely does not live up to its name, and was way too malt forward for the description on the bottle. Again, I don't know if it's a freshness thing, but I had Sierra Nevada Hoptimum a week before that, and the hoppiness just blew my away. Now THAT beer is a palate wrecker (in the best way possible)!

I think it was a freshness issue for you on the Palate Wrecker, for sure. I thought Hop Head Red and West Coast were mediocre/crappy at best, but then had Rayon Vert and decided not to give up on Green Flash.

I saw Palate Wrecker last night and figured I'd run into a similar freshness issue. There was no bottling date on it but I figured I'd give it a try anyway and I was really impressed!

If they keep it around and ever start to put bottling dates on it - you should grab a fresh one if you see it!

 

[JohnnySardonic]

I really didn't enjoy Sam Adams Infinium. I could barely finish a pint of it. Just too sweet for me (I think, there have been many beers in my mouth since then).

I also don't really like Fat Tire or DFH 90m. I like the 60 though.