Confession: Drinking Stale Beer

[Clint Yeastwood]

Am I the only one here who finds it really hard to throw out beer that's over the hill? I made a lager in December of last year, and somehow, I got the idea the keg was empty, so I quit drinking it. Maybe the Flotit got a kink or something. I decided (finally) to clean the keg, so I pulled the tap to make sure it was empty, and beer came out. Well, the beer is definitely past its prime, but I can't make myself throw it out. I keep drinking it just to get rid of it.

 

[MaxStout]

I bottle my HB, and sometimes a batch gets past its prime before it kicks. I drink 'em anyway.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It's hard to say goodbye to your babies.

 

[rmr9]

I don’t really dump it either unless it’s truly awful. I had a cask of brown ale a couple years back that I worked through (with help) almost all of it over 2 weeks while it was fresh. Came back maybe 6 weeks after tapping and finished it. Flat? Yes. Stale? Yes, but I drank it all just the same!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Stale good beer is better than fresh bad beer.

 

[Rish]

Everything I've bottled I've drunk so far. Working on a stout that came out way too astringent but is slowly getting more drinkable; one year in the bottle right now.

 

[lumpher]

I have some Mild Brown I still will finish regardless of age. Too good to toss even though it passed it's prime a month or so ago.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I guess I'm the odd one out. When I've had batches that either turn out bad, or completely miss the mark of what I was going for, I dump them. Sometimes I'll make a correction in the brewing software and re-brew it right away, or other times I'll just scratch that one off my list and brew something completely different.

Life is too short to drink bad beer.

 

[Broken Crow]

Get yourself a nice big pork-roast or some ribs and use the beer on those. It goes great in a crock-pot and depending on the brew, some even work well on chicken destined for the grill.

 

[mac_1103]

Am I the only one here who finds it really hard to throw out beer that's over the hill?

The only beers I've ever thrown out have been really old bottles or cans of low end commercial brews. I suppose I might dump a batch someday if I ever make something truly undrinkable and don't have any plans to marinate an entire pig. I did just try brewing a 100% fig cider that very well might get dumped - it isn't horrible but it just doesn't really taste like much of anything.

 

[Ed_from_Dorset]

Am I the only one here who finds it really hard to throw out beer that's over the hill? I made a lager in December of last year, and somehow, I got the idea the keg was empty, so I quit drinking it. Maybe the Flotit got a kink or something. I decided (finally) to clean the keg, so I pulled the tap to make sure it was empty, and beer came out. Well, the beer is definitely past its prime, but I can't make myself throw it out. I keep drinking it just to get rid of it.

First, I have to confess that the beer in my house hardly ever gets enough time to itself to make it over the hill. On the rare occasions that it does, I use it in beer traps for unsuspecting snails out on the prowl in my veg patch. But wait! If the veggies, fruit -- including a very well-established Fuggles hop -- get fermented, having been spared the escargot-chomping fate, isn't this a case of alcoholic reincarnation? Or should I just go and get myself another glass of home-made cider..?

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Way, way back when I was still bottling extract beers, I tried an Optimator clone kit. It didn’t carbonate in the bottle. I was a rookie and had no idea how to correct it. I just had to suck it up and consume two cases of a heavy flat beer.
I keg all grain batches now, so non-carbed beer is not a problem. In retrospect, I wish had at least enough sense back then to use it in the crockpot, or for boiling bratwurst.

 

[rallenhall]

Old beers ... usually ones I don't like for whatever reason ... are fertile ground for blending. Nothing to lose if they're on the short list for dumping anyway.

 

[bwible]

Get yourself a nice big pork-roast or some ribs and use the beer on those. It goes great in a crock-pot and depending on the brew, some even work well on chicken destined for the grill.

Or for boiling hot dogs or any kind of sausage

 

[hottpeper13]

Do you find it odd that chefs say to cook with wine you can drink but beer that's not quire right is awesome in a braise or a brine for turkey, chicken or pork?

 

[Miraculix]

I brew to have great beer and because I enjoy the process of brewing it. There's no point in keeping or drinking mediocre or bad beer. I even can enjoy brewing sooner if I throw away the bad or mediocre stuff!

 

[MaxStout]

You could give the mediocre beer to friends who drink BMC, as they won't notice the lack of quality anyway.

 

[Miraculix]

You could give the mediocre beer to friends who drink BMC, as they won't notice the lack of quality anyway.

Well, BMC is not a real thing in Germany I'm afraid.

 

[sibelman]

can't make myself throw it out.

Life is too short to drink bad beer.

no point in keeping or drinking mediocre or bad beer.

I've only dumped two batches in my many years of brewing.

I wasn't raised with a strong "clean your plate" ethos, but even as a kid I found food waste kinda shocking. My instincts align with @Clint Yeastwood but my intellect, such as it is, connects more with @BongoYodeler and @Miraculix .

I've certainly dumped bottles of wine that needed dumping, with little hesitation - painful when it's a theoretically really good one I've kept for a long time, but necessary. I also discarded four of a sixpack of lamentable DIPA (Boatswain branded, from Trader Joe's).

Nowadays, I really can't drink that much, so it's good that my brews are almost all very good, even though "truly great" remains less frequent. I tell myself I'll dump anything I don't really enjoy, but I certainly tolerate minor flaws in my own beers.

 

[scrap iron]

Life is too short to drink bad or old beer. That and I'm older and don't drink near as much as before.
If a beer has been around for too long, that's not a high alcohol dark type, it gets dumped. I usually dump it on the compost pile. It can also be used in the garden.
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2023/01/10-gardening-hacks-using-leftover-beer/

 

[hottpeper13]

I had one once that was straight up band-aid, we fed it to my brothers pigs. If it's used for a good purpose is it still a dumper?

 

[sibelman]

is it still a dumper

Yes. But I imagine those were some happy pigs.

 

[mac_1103]

we fed it to my brothers pigs!

Marinated from the inside? Just feed the tuna fish mayonnaise!

 

[Lampy]

I've found that beers I don't really enjoy tend to be OK in beer bread; the flavor gets diluted and a lot of off flavors get baked off.