Failure or.......

[psychobrewer999]

A little over two years ago I brewed my very first beer. It was an extract kit for Irish Red. I had next to no clue what I was doing but was so excited at the prospect of my very own beer. As can be expected with your first try at home brewing it didn't come out quite the way I expected. I over sanitized my bottles and under cleaned them. Hence the flavor was off. It had a plastic taste which often is caused by phenols. I set that beer aside and tried again. Two boxes full of 16oz bottles sat in my garage for two years. Yesterday I was spring cleaning, I looked at the box and considered dumping all the bottles and reusing them for other beers. I said to my wife, "I wonder if these are even drinkable". The thought of disposing so much beer bothered me. I grabbed a bottle, rinsed it off and cracked it open. Kids, science is an amazing thing. That plastic taste was gone and a rich flavorful beer was in its place. So you see, even a fail can turn into a win! This is why I love home brewing, like a box of chocolates.....you never know what you're gonna get!

 

[RM-MN]

There was a thread on here where a new brewer dumped his batch because it had sort of a sour taste when he bottled it. I felt bad for him because to me he described acetaldehyde which likely would have fermented out had he given it more time. I'm glad you let your beer have the time it needed, even if that time was accidental.

I have one bottle left of a batch of stout that has gone just over 2 years in the bottle and it is soo smooth. It makes me wish I hadn't drunk the rest of the batch before they got to that point.

 

[Cyclman]

One other great use for "bad" beer is serving it to BMC lovers. I feel so sorry for people when I serve them a "mellow" homebrew like a blonde and it's too much for them. If they're not going to like good beer, why serve it to them? And I refuse to buy BMC.

 

[psychobrewer999]

I don't think there really is such a thing as bad beer, just bad or careless prepwork sometimes.


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[lowelldw]

One other great use for "bad" beer is serving it to BMC lovers. I feel so sorry for people when I serve them a "mellow" homebrew like a blonde and it's too much for them. If they're not going to like good beer, why serve it to them? And I refuse to buy BMC.

I AGREE COMPLETELY!! I like to give it...the "mellow" homebrew to people that drink good beer!!