The worst beer I have ever had in my life...

[bbohanon]

Without a doubt the worst I have had is the "French Toasted Joe" from Heist Brewery here in Charlotte.
I am not sure WTF this beer is supposed to be, but here is a screenshot of what it looked like beside my own stout after being poured out of a $30 growler my wife got me as a gift that turned out badly.


My RIS Stout is the nice dark one with a head on it on the left, the HB FTJoe is on the right...no head, nothing..just sick looking.

Literally looks like lake water and tasted about the same.

I had 4 other beer lovers try it and every one of them looked at the glass suspiciously before taking a sip and promptly spitting it out. Ended up dumping the rest of the growler.

On a good note, their tap room is nice and the food selection is off the hook. Their beers just suck.

 

[JayDog]

Green Man IPA
To their defense, it was a gift, After I took a few sips, I realized it was a year old. Could not drink anymore.

 

[Longtrain]

Although, Dogfishead 60 is one my favorites, at the brewery in Delaware, we sampled their Lobster beer. It was a dark beer with chocolate notes, basil, followed with a very fishy taste on the finish. Asked, it was explained that they indeed add basil and lobster shells to the brew. Positively the worst beer I have ever tasted. Just like the GEICO commercial with the raccoons eating garbage and edging their fellow raccoons, "Hey, this is really bad, you need to taste beer, it's like someone put old lobster shells in it. Really, you need to try this..."
Only available at the brewery, thank goodness.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Although, Dogfishead 60 is one my favorites, at the brewery in Delaware, we sampled their Lobster beer. It was a dark beer with chocolate notes, basil, followed with a very fishy taste on the finish. Asked, it was explained that they indeed add basil and lobster shells to the brew. Positively the worst beer I have ever tasted. Just like the GEICO commercial with the raccoons eating garbage and edging their fellow raccoons, "Hey, this is really bad, you need to taste beer, it's like someone put old lobster shells in it. Really, you need to try this..."
Only available at the brewery, thank goodness.

I had that one as well. Super strong basil flavor, but overall wasn't too bad.

 

[GrogNerd]

world-wide, I'd say the worst I've ever had was Egyptian Stella.

US beers, worse ever was Magic Hat #9. menu said it was an English pale ale and no mention of apricot. ****ing gak

HB, my own red barleywine, where one hombrew club buddy described the taste as "superelasticbubbleplastic"

 

[dmattinson]

Winter Garden! If you come near New Smyrna at all shoot me a PM. The brewery is still in it's testing phase during build out and we'd love another local brewer's opinion on our core brand contenders

I just might take you up on that offer - have some family coming into town for a couple of weeks and I might need to take break from them

 

[gitano]

I lived in Heidelberg for a year. The city of Heidelberg's beer is Schlossquelle. (Or was when I was there in the late '60s.) Absolutely the worst German beer I ever tasted. Of course lots of folks liked it the point being; taste is very often "in the palate of the beholder". However, the Guinness-in-a-can that I had a Red Robin was swill. Period. It is not possible to imagine that ANYONE would like that crap. I will repeat because I am not exaggerating; it tasted like someone filled a 12 oz glass with water and put a tablespoon of REAL Guinness stout in it. Again for emphasis, before that can of Guinness, the most watered-down beer I had ever tasted was Coors Lite. Exaggerating only slightly, if Coors wasn't yellow-ISH, you wouldn't know it wasn't water. That can of Guinness made Coors Lite taste "strong".

Interesting the list of bad beers this thread has generated. I am surprised at the preponderance of "craft beers" that have been listed as "the worst beer I have ever tasted". I lived in Up-state New York for a while, and the 'local' beloved beer was Genesee. I could drink it in a pinch. PBR was WAY better. Still is. San Miguel - sold in the Philipines when I was there - was pretty rank. We (sailors) drank it because it was the most widely available, and the CHEAPEST. Rumor was, it was preserved wtih formaldehyde.

Paul

 

[Steveruch]

Tsing-Tao is actually one of the better macro beers in China. I've had most, and some are so bad they make an MGD look good.

That's sad.

 

[GHBWNY]

Mmmm, warm Tiger beer.

Sounds about as tempting as warm Tiger-something-else if you get my drift.

 

[sabotenfighter]

I only ever saw one offering each in Tiawan and China. Both were super light lagers but a million times better than BMC.

The only beer I haven't finished is Upslope Brewing Thai White IPA. Sounded good but nope.

"Taiwan Beer" is seriously bad. Very very thin and cidery, especially the Gold Medal one.

PRC macro beers tend to skew regionally, kinda like the old days in the US. The south gets mostly Tsing Tao, north you get various versions of Yanjing, and north east you mostly get Snow, which is even worse. Luckily, in most cities, the convenience stores have a lot of locally brewed German brands, so having a decent beer wasn't hard. Lots of imports as well. I went to a lot of dives with friends though, which meant slightly cooler than room temp Yanjing Lite (forgot the real name, but the 3.6% version).

Hands down worst beer I've ever had was Odaiba Beer. Only sold on Odaiba Island in Tokyo, it really shows why there was a huge microbrewery market crash in Japan in the early 2000s. It was so horribly infected. Tasted extremely farmy, but not pleasant horse blanket, more like horse-**** blanket with a sweet weird background of fresh cut hay and old straw. I don't think I could make a worse beer if I **** straight in the fermenter. I tried, and failed, to find another bottle last year. I am fairly confident that one of the medium current micros, that sells contracted brews made it.

 

[TooDogly]

People keep referring to "Guinness Stout" but I think what you mean is "Guinness Drought"? The stout is strong, the drought is not strong.

 

[TooDogly]

Worst "beer" was Olde English in college. Mickey's was a much better malt liquor.

Worst beer recently was a sixer of Lagunitas IPA I got on a trip to Titusville, FL. Went to a liquor store to get beer for the party we were attending and could not find anything other than bud/coors/miller etc. then finally spotted the one single six pack of an IPA they had. I should have known when I went to pay and the guy couldn't find it in the computer. I had to go show him the spot on the shelf where the price tag was. Of course it wasn't in a cold case either. By the taste of it that six pack had been sitting in the Florida heat for a year or more....

Lesson learned I guess.

 

[planker101]

Mine was "Game Day" It came from a grocery outlet and was something like $4 for a 12 pack. We ended up using them for target practice, and I'll drink some pretty bad beer just so it won't get wasted.

 

[Hanglow]

I couldn't narrow it down to one beer

McEwans Lager for mass produced lager crap
Boddingtons for mass produced ale crap. Or maybe John Smiths. It's been a long time since I've had either.
For modern craft beers, I had a bretted citra pale from a brewery called Chorlton in England that was horrendous - all higher alcohols, rotting fruit, overpowering butteryness. Terrible but apparently they tend to make some good beers so I'll give them another go once I've recovered from the experience in a few years perhaps.

Guinness also continue their complete inability to make a decent beer outwith strong stouts - their Red, Blonde, lagers and so on have all been awful.

 

[myndflyte]

My worst was Beer30. Imagine someone mopping up the floor at Miller and then proceeding to wring the mop into a can. That's probably also why it cost $4 for a 12 pack.

 

[madscientist451]

If you want a decent burger, find a local, independent restaurant that uses real meat, not a national chain that uses "pink slime" which is "100% Beef"
but is made by processing the meat left on bones and in hard to reach places like the Anus of a Cow:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZxArzatz5E[/ame]

Your Local, Independent restaurant will also most likely have a better beer selection or let you bring your own, if they don't have a licence.
I haven't eaten in a national chain restaurant in 20 years.

 

[Longtrain]

If you want a decent burger, find a local, independent restaurant that uses real meat...

I'm pretty spoiled, besides making my own beer & wine, friends raise our grass feed, hormone free, black angus every year. Friends can't believe the difference between this and grocery store beef.

 

[gitano]

People keep referring to "Guinness Stout" but I think what you mean is "Guinness Drought"? The stout is strong, the drought is not strong.

You're probably correct TooDogly. It looked like stout. I was told it was stout ("All we have is Guinness stout"), but the can most certainly says "Draught". I am perfectly fine with being corrected. While the name doesn't change the taste, I acknowledge that it is important to get the name right. That's why I posted the picture of the can.

Paul

 

[dallasdb]

Great post OP.

I am shocked that Guinness in a can was that bad. I've had it from the can before and it wasn't as good as draft but it wasn't bad.

I bet a lot of people don't order Guinness and that can had probably been "ageing" for a long time.

Anything in a 40oz bottle.

I'm actually a fan of Mickey's. A group of friends used to have "Thursday 40's" and we'd go to the skatepark drinking our 40's. These were 30 year old men drinking 40's and trying to relive our youth!

Pretty comical but the 40's helped ease the pain of falling all over the place.

"Thursday 40's" led to "Really sore and bruised Fridays"

 

[Steveruch]

Worst "beer" was Olde English in college. Mickey's was a much better malt liquor.
.

Michael Jackson called it the worst "beer" in the world.

 

[brewbama]

Oriental Brewery ('OB') in Korea back in '82-'83. OMG it was rank.

 

[Beernip]

Mmmm, cough syrup.

 

[JayDog]

Michael Jackson called it the worst "beer" in the world.

I personally like Olde English. Kept me through high school. A nice 64 oz. worked good.
Aahh what does Michael Jackson know.

 

[Steveruch]

I personally like Olde English. Kept me through high school.

I must admit to downing some Colt 45 during my misspent youth.

 

[thunderwagn]

Upslope White Thai IPA
2016 Bleeding Heart from Grimm Brothers
?? Several Beers from Atwater
Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat

LOL! I can totally second the Bleeding Heart from Grimm. It was truly terrible. I was incredibly disappointed in Grimm Brothers for actually releasing such a sub-par product. While some of their brews may not be the styles I would 'go to' they are still well done.

I don't think I've ever seen a Guinness can like the one in the OP. Then again, I can't remember the last time I purchased a Guinness.

 

[Dizzey]

Upslope White Thai IPA
2016 Bleeding Heart from Grimm Brothers
?? Several Beers from Atwater
Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat

Atwater for sure... I wonder how they sell them? They werent very cheap here, and I can get way better beers for cheaper, like 7-8 dollars for 6. The beer I brew is not very good at all (it gets better every time though), and up until you reminded me of Atwater, I was telling myself it doesnt even come close to being "store bought" quality. Not necessarily true, but I dont say that in a good way for Atwater.

Their Chocolate Java beer or whatever, it tasted like ... metal and something else. Like old, reheated coffee served mixed with weak brown beer, served out of an army canteen that's been sitting in the mud in Vietnam for the past 40 years. Ive tasted some bad fake chocolate beers (my sister loves them but I think the artificial chocolate they use in them, I drink it and immediately taste tootsie rolls), but that fake cheap chocolate flavoring they use in other cheap chocolate beers would have actually been an improvement on this.

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

Koch's Golden Anniversary beer. The Fred Koch brewery, Dunkirk NY, was the second smallest in the US in the late 70's. The reason .... The quality of the beer

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1z-7YhNLQAhVH9YMKHRD7CbEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.taverntrove.com%2Fitems%2FKochs-Golden-Anniversary-Beer-Bottles-Paper-Label-Fred-Koch-Brewery_31082.php&psig=AFQjCNH30HgiDettRlr86scPqbj-AHd0wg&ust=1480648780379625

 

[robc311]

I had Sea Dog blueberry beer at a restaurant and it tasted like cough syrup...hated it. I also got a variety 12 pack of Sam Adams beers which included Bonfire Blonde which has smoke flavor added. I found it undrinkable.

 

[gitano]

Just for the record, Guinness calls THIS beer "Draught STOUT".

Paul

 

[JayDog]

I had Sea Dog blueberry beer at a restaurant and it tasted like cough syrup...hated it. I also got a variety 12 pack of Sam Adams beers which included Bonfire Blonde which has smoke flavor added. I found it undrinkable.

Stopped at the Sea Dog pub in Orlando. Had a flight of beers and a pulled pork sandwich. Couldn't finish the flight. The pulled pork tasted like something from the freezer aisle.

 

[Spyk'd]

Worst "beer" was Olde English in college.

Puleeeeease don't disparage my OE!

OE wasn't quite as highfalutin as your Bend offerings, but there were worse choices back then...

 

[Atlmustang]

Anything magic hat puts out has been disgusting IMO.

Guiness Nitro IPA is disgusting.

Yuengling black and tan is undrinkable to me.

I can't stand Rolling Rock.

 

[violinguy]

My wife and I regularly visit a Japanese steakhouse near us and I always order a Sapporo. One time we went and when my giant can and glass arrived, I opened it and nothing happened. It was like opening a can of kool-aid. No fiz, no nothing. No head, no carbonation. I sent it back and got another one. Same thing. Must have been a bad case or whatever. It's not great beer anyways, but it's really bad flat.

Years ago I got a case of Sam Adams strawberry lambic (or something like that - don't really remember) for my birthday for my birthday . I drank exactly 1 of them. Ew.

 

[gitano]

how do you get a musician off your porch?

Pay for the pizza.

Paul

 

[GnenieGone]

Beside a home brew gose, this was the first thing that came to mind. I'd take bUD anyday of the week to this..

 

[JusticeBrewers]

PBR.....

my wife and I went to Miami for my brother-in-law's college graduation and went to the beach with him and his buddies. Doesn't help that it had been sitting in the trunk of his car in the Miami heat.

 

[gitano]

I gotta say, for "over-the-counter" beer, PBR is 'right up there' among my favorites.

Paul

 

[Upthewazzu]

I gotta say, for "over-the-counter" beer, PBR is 'right up there' among my favorites.

Paul

Gotta agree, love me some PBR.

HOWEVER, I swear it tastes different in different regions on the country. I grabbed a case down in TN a couple weeks ago and it seemed much sweeter than what I'm used to drinking up here in WA.

 

[gitano]

I had probably gone 30 years without drinking a can PBR when the son of a friend of mine shows up at the cabin with a case of PBR. (Dad has been making ALL the beer he drinks for decades. The son is so tight he squeaks.) I wasn't too excited to see it, but then I'm not too excited about any OTC beer. Since we were a long way from anywhere, I just drank it. It was good. I drank more. When I got back to town, I actually bought some.

Paul

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Am I the only one wondering how a thread titled "the worst beer I've had in my life" turned into a lengthy rant complaining that Red Robin wasn't providing a good enough burger for free?

Anyways, I've had plenty of bad ones; I've tried most of them again to see if there was something wrong with the batch, and most of them have not tasted consistently (providing at least a little redemption for the brewery).

But as a general rule, there is a Trader Joes that had a great beer selection but the beer was always horrible. I think they may have been storing it in their unconditioned dock, or something.