How long have you suffered through bad batch of homebrew?

[corkybstewart]

I call those punishment beers and I'll drink as much of it as I can stand to make myself do better next time. But I won't share it unless another brewer was involved with the catastrophe. Luckily it's only happened a few times. If it just tastes bad and is not too hoppy, I'll rack it to a carboy and either make malt vinegar or add brett and lambic blend bugs just to see what happens. I did turn a crappy porter into a fantastic sour porter.

 

[jonny24]

My first batch ever was pretty rough... not sure I'd keep it now. But I drank it all.

Third batch was a Irish Red that went wrong- it wasn't great to start with and must have had a bit of an infection because it got progressively sharper and gushier. I kind of stopped drinking it, and then sort of needed bottles and used that as the excuse to dump them.

I had a cream ale that I did not care for- I think I sparged too hot or something. Tasted soapy to me. Luckily my dad thought it was good so he drank the rest of that one.

 

[swampbrewcrew]

I haven't had too many bad batches. The ones I have had go in the bottom of the garage fridge. Whenever we have game day parties at my house and someone didn't bring enough beer, they get directed to the "good stuff on the bottom".

 

[catdaddy66]

I haven't had too many bad batches. The ones I have had go in the bottom of the garage fridge. Whenever we have game day parties at my house and someone didn't bring enough beer, they get directed to the "good stuff on the bottom".

Lol! Thats just evil, man!

 

[michaelhult]

Made my first batch back at the start of the year. Still have probably 12-18 bottles. It was a red ale that came out awful. I had been trying to drink one now and then to get through them, but now it just tastes like onions. Think i'm dumping the rest.

Thankfully I haven't hated any other batches so far.

Onions? Yikes! Dump that sucker

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

your not alone buddy, Ive had a few just like that, Ive even bought beer eek..good thing the next brew came quick

 

[BrewSavage]

It's like hunting, you have to eat what you kill.

In brewing, you have drink what you've mashed.

 

[TwistedGray]

it's like hunting, you have to eat what you kill.

In brewing, you have drink what you've mashed.

+1

 

[bobeer]

I choke down as much of it as I can. If I don't have any other beer I'll drink a commercial beer for every few crappy beers I consume. Once I cannot stand it anymore I dump it and move on. It's only happened a few times out of 70+ batches.

 

[b-boy]

The only keg I ever dumped was an Arrogant Bastard clone. It actually tasted really good, That's what made it so hard to dump.

It was loaded with fusels and gave me unbelievable hangovers. I'd drink 2 pints and barely be able to get out of bed the next morning. I got through half the keg before I finally gave up.

 

[b-boy]

If it just tastes bad and is not too hoppy, I'll rack it to a carboy and either make malt vinegar or add brett and lambic blend bugs just to see what happens. I did turn a crappy porter into a fantastic sour porter.

I did this with a bad stout. It came out pretty good after a few months.

 

[corkybstewart]

I did this with a bad stout. It came out pretty good after a few months.

A friend dropped a keg of porter off for a party, nobody would drink it. I put it in a carboy and every time one of us drank a sour or an Orval we would put the dregs into the carboy. It grew the most beautiful gray fuzzy bubbles. After a few months I kegged it and it quickly disapappeared

 

[JimboVorlaufski]

On a batch of lager I got a little too carried away with the flavor malts in the grain bill. It was ok but too heavy, and just off character. I choked down half the keg before I said f it, and poured in a 12 pack of Miller Lite I had left over from a party (dont give me no grief, neighbor ladies only drink Lite).

The pisswatered down heavy lager became quite enjoyable and I happily quaffed down the keg.

 

[RTL]

I've said it before I'll say it again.

I drink my mistakes as a sacrifice to the beer gods, with the hope that they bless my future batches.

 

[EthanH]

I've dumped 2 batches that were outright ruined (autolysis is real, folks), but I think I've only ever actively ruined a batch...

Batch #6 (I'm closing in on batch #60) was a Stone Ruination Clone. I guess I didn't realize that it would be a big deal to leave it dryhopping for 6 weeks. Eau de grass clippings. But...I made it through about 60% of the batch before I gave up and dumped the rest.

 

[BisonHeadBrewery]

Never dumped a batch. Been brewing since 1970 and have choked down some nasty stuff but it was all somewhat drinkable.

 

[secondbase]

I've dumped some bad sours. Bad beer is just not worth drinking. I have no shame in admitting defeat, dumping and learning from my mistakes.

 

[BrianGee]

I've only been doing this a little over a year. My second brewed batch was made in early November last year as an epic plan to be opened on my 40th birthday late March this year.

I started with a NB oak bourbon porter kit. I learned about yeast starters. I bought a second carboy for a long secondary. I read up on using vanilla beans and bought two. I bought a 5th of Maker's Mark. It was probably an $80 batch.

Brewed, primary, secondary for several months, bottled and sat for 6 weeks.

Cracked open the first bottle on my 40th birthday. Tasted like chewing on toothpicks. Unbearable overpowering oak. I drank it though.

Tried another about a month later. Poured it down the drain. Same the next month and the next. It finally was drinkable about 3 months ago, though I still wouldn't call it good. Every once in a while I'll have one as the last beer of the night. Probably 30 bottles left.

That was my only bad batch, fortunately. I've switched to AG and the last few batches have been really great.

 

[GJOCONNELL]

unless someone dies no dumping......don't want to mess with the juju

 

[jbunton]

Haven't had a bad batch yet. All of them all grain. All very drinkable, some tweaks to make though. Knock on wood maybe I'm lucky!

 

[cyanmonkey]

I force myself to drink it as punishment.

"This is why you don't like Aromatic Malt, you dummy."

I made a quad that tastes like diet coke. It's been in keg over a year...it's the one I throw on tap when I run out of everything else and then immediately remove when I can. I currently have a scotch ale that's way too sweet, but it's 9.7%, so I ain't not gonna drink it.

 

[JimRausch]

I bottle, so any questionable batches can sit for quite awhile. I did dump 1/2 of one batch though a few years back. It was a stout that I added coffee beans which turned it into something that tastes like my compost pile smells. After about 1 year when it still hadn't gotten any better, down the drain the remaining 1/2 case went. I needed those bottles....

 

[dallasdb]

My first beer was referred to as "red sludge." It was a hopped liquid malt extract that was thrown in for free from the guy I bought my gear from. The yeast was expired, I pitched it anyway but had to repitch after a week of nothing.

I can't remember the can of extract but I do remember I could only find VERY limited information online. I want to say it was named after a dog or something and the story goes that the brewer answered the door and burned the malt or something like that.

Anyways, it was pretty awful but HIGHLY alcoholic!

I kept it for almost two years but ran out of beer one time playing cornhole and got so drunk that I puked.

I dumped the last 4-6 bottles after that!

 

[grrickar]

Drink every last drop...or give it to someone you really don't like

In all seriousness, every beer I found lacking to the point I did not want to drink it, someone else I knew loved it and thus was given the remainder of the bottles/keg. I used to swap kegs with my homebrew buddies quite often - that was when I extract brewed mainly.

I find I don't always hit one out of the park when I do AG, but a base hit every now and again isn't so bad...

 

[Patrick87]

To take a break from my usual Citra/Mosaic/Galaxy, etc IPA's, I figured I'd do a little experiment and make a single-hopped Sorachi Ace IPA to get a feel for the hop. The "lemon" descriptor sounded intriguing.

...I'm struggling through this keg.

I get zero lemon flavor/aroma. Best way I can describe the flavor is Green Tea. I don't like tea! Kind of a harsh, earthy, noble-hop-gone-wrong sorta taste.

But, it's not completely undrinkable, so I'm gonna power through it.

 

[chudsonvt]

I'm nearing the end of my fuselly double IPA keg. I would dump it if I needed the keg, but I am sooo close to killing it. I can only drink 1 or 2 (usually only 1) before I have to switch to something else. I like the whole "punishment for my mistake" point of view. ..Especially since this was an expensive batch.

 

[JimboVorlaufski]

Life's too damn short for self flaggelation. Ive dumped batches that sat on the tap line too long to make room for something better. No regrets.

 

[brokebucket]

I am flabbergasted by those who refuse to dump beer. I couldnt even tell you how many I have dumped! I drink most of mine by myself, and will let a beer sit around until I need the room, then off to the snails it goes. I brew good beer mostly, so a dud has no room in the fridge.

And I would NEVER give away beer that is bad. Talk about pissing off the beer gods.