We only know good beer when we taste it by having experienced bad beer.
We all have memories of certain bad beers. In my college years, I drank Buckhorn Beer (Olympia Brewing), at 85 cents a six pack. I knew it was truly bad stuff but I never poured any on the ground. Price is what motivated my choices back in the 1960s.

By the early 1980s, my beer sophistication was still lacking. At the Scottish Highlands Games outside of Fresno I tried my first Guinness. It came from the bottom of the keg and was relatively warm. I made a sincere effort of finishing the Guinness but it became the only beer I ever poured on the ground because I was unable to finish it. These days I'd finish it.

As with the Guinness, appreciation of some beer is an acquired taste. My first sour beer (Petrus), a guest beer ordered at my local brewery, left me with the thought that I'd never again order another sour beer. Months later, a sampler taste of another sour beer, Supplication (sour red/brown, Russian River Brewing), had me thinking, "I could learn to like this stuff." I brought some bottles home with me and now I do like it.

Truly bad or just unappreciated, what are your worst memories of beer?

my first endeavor into a hoppy beer was surly furious. grainbelt premium had been my standard for years. it was WAY too big of a jump! I gave away 2 of the 4 cans I bought. from premium I moved to summit epa, from there I got back to the hoppy stuff. ipa's and double ipa's are the only brews I drink now. side note, furious is highly overrated. I have had it since my first try but only when its the only hoppy available.

Kanoes reminds me of my most recent disappointment. I bought a six pack of Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin. I gave away 3 bottles to 3 different people. None of them liked it either. My wife, who can't tolerate even a single sip, used a forth bottle for cooking.
The Habanero was fresh stuff that probably tasted exactly like it was supposed to but "wet fire" is not what I want from any beer.

I do like regular Sculpin and love Grapefruit Sculpin.

quote kanoes: "...furious is highly overrated..."

Is this a pun? Surly Overrated is a great West Cost IPA but note that the name was chosen to pointedly mock the surging ranks of 'IPA-is-the-only-good-beer' evangelists.

quote schweady: "

quote kanoes: "...furious is highly overrated..."

Is this a pun? Surly Overrated is a great West Cost IPA but note that the name was chosen to pointedly mock the surging ranks of 'IPA-is-the-only-good-beer' evangelists.
"

I wondered about that myself (never had Surly but I've researched it) but kanoes made a point of saying it's the last acceptable beer for him. I don't think it was a play on words.

Edit: Maybe he doesn't like being mocked and is lashing out ;)

Don't get me wrong: I just picked up 4 different 6-ers and 3 were PAs of some sort. (Although all were new-to-me brews) Love the hops, but always mindful of widening my horizons.

Whenever I shop in a store with lots of variety, I am mindful to get an old favorite (there's security there) plus something new that I am curious about. The second 6-pack is almost always a different style from whatever old favorite I bagged. So I am broadening my horizons, as you say, while dragging an anchor to keep that secure feeling.

This is a "Really Bad Beer" thread and I realized that there was a second brew that I was unable to finish. This happened in San Francisco International Airport near the end of a return trip from either Australia or South Africa. Anyway, I had a strong yearning for a beer at that time. I thought I'd try something light so I tried my first (and as it turns out, only) Coors Light. I don't know if that is the way Coors Light is supposed to taste or if I just got hold of a bad bottle but it was terrible and went into the trash.
I did eventually learn to appreciate Guinness (mentioned in my first post) but, as yet, have not tried a second bottle of the Coors Light.

When the beer looks sketchy, it's time for bourbon.

quote mr.barley: "When the beer looks sketchy, it's time for bourbon."

It'll have to be Jack Daniels. Not only is it already in the pantry, along with vodka, rum, tequila, scotch and gin but I have an aversion to bourbon.
Bourbon was about the only hard stuff I drank up until I was about forty. At some point I must have gotten sick one-too-many times. Now, even the faint smell of bourbon makes me queasy.

For me bad beer falls into 2 categories.

1. Cheap beer that was never intended to be good. For me Northern Reserve out of Cold Spring MN gets the nod in this category.

2. A well meaning craft beer that was either poorly executed or was poorly conceived. The Salted Watermelon beer from Paradox in Colorado. I just can't wrap my head around what they were thinking when they put that one together.

Texas Pride, horrible stuff.

I was given a Bud Thursday night at the bowling center. I haven't had one for a while and I guess I won't be having another for a while. I find it hard to believe that used to be my beer of choice. Now I prefer a red IPA or a good regular IPA. I do find a good sour an interesting thing.

Rainer Ale: I bought a six pack in order to give one to a friend who has been pining for "the good ole days." After trying one myself, I will be giving the rest to him too. Really nasty stuff. Actually a malt liquor.

Along with five buddies, we have what we call a "Beer Club" (I know, witty). We have been meeting roughly once a month on a Sunday afternoon for nearly 3 years now, rotating houses and the host picks(and pays for) the beers and provides appetizers and a light meal. We routinely sample between 14-20 beers, usually around a certain theme which could be a style of beer, a geographic area, or some other creative criteria. Several of the group travel a lot so it is not unusual to have a beer day centered around Oklahoma beers, or Colorado beers, etc. Sometimes it is just new releases of all styles. Anyways, it is great fun. I must say though it is getting quite difficult to find a selection of 15ish beers that this group hasn't tried before. Samples are usually around 4 ounces so we don't necessarily get sloshed, although there often tends to be a couple "bonus" beers. Also, we always have rides, nobody drives.

At our second meeting we tried a beer from a company called Staple Mills, not knowing anything about it. Turns out is wasn't even brewed by them but reconstituted from a concentrate. Worst beer ever, proven by a unanimous pour out by all six of us. It seems that they no longer exist, hmm wonder why?