Not, of course, to be confused with the "craft beer" thread!

So, let's talk honestly here: What was the absolute worst swill you ever imbibed? And, what made it so terrible? Awful flavor? No flavor? Or - to paraphrase a famous quote by Al Jolson - should they have left it in the horse?

Opinions, anyone?

Signor V.

I don't know the name of the beer, but a friend served us a German beer once. Many years ago, the little German town this beer came from had a fire and the grain in the silo was burned. Since everyone in the town depended on the harvest and beer, they decided to make it with the burned grain. It proved so "different" that they became famous and they decided to make it that way all the time. It was horrible - burned and bitter.

probably steel reserve malt liquor, its technically beer. the combination of high alcohol content and cheap ingredients just leads to a horrible taste, bordering on hairspray. the fact that its most commonly found in the infamous 40oz containers doesnt help as by the time you are halfway through its warmed up quite a bit really letting the fusel alcohol flavors shine
if we are talking plain beer i would say keystone ice outta the can. the stuff has a taste that i struggle to describe, like rotten aluminum birdbath water.

Years ago they used to serve a type of swill disguised as lager called Tuborg, which was like drinking a mixture of battery acid, piss and toilet water.....

Awful stuff, which then vanished, although it has come back lately

I will not be drinking it!!

Ye Gods! What an image!

I do remember the stuff - a number of years ago here in the States, there was quite a marketing campaign on television to get people to try it. Comes from Denmark, and the Gold variety (they make several) was being pushed on an unsuspecting populace. I remember it was being promoted as a premium imported beer. I may have tried it at the time, but if I did, it didn't make any impression on me. (Though I see it did on you!)

Wikipedia article

But, as the saying goes, "Each to their own taste." And, this proves it:

Click here

Signor V.

not a particular brand, but i find more often than not any beer in a green bottle is alot more likely to have that dreaded skunky taste, thoughts?

I don't know, Stella Artois comes in a green bottle and that is the beer of Kings

It's really not the worst beer, but perhaps the most overrated is Corona, its kind of considered "cool" to drink it in a club but its pretty much tasteless IMO.

Another Mexican brew, Sol, is fairly poor as well i reckon

in some of the kitchens i worked in the mexicans would pour a modelo in a glass and ream it with some hot sauce and lime as a hangover cure but i think that it was bullshit and just a good excuse to drink in the morning not bad though.

And Rolling Rock is good. While it may not be the beer of kings, I know many a court jester who's enjoyed it.

Rolling Rock rock is damned good beer, Klyd.

This is a nice thread, and I do like to try all the new beers when I can, but the under 40 crowd here has to realize that when we were coming of age these local "trendy" beers didn't exist.

Our fathers' beers were Schaefer and Rheingold and Pabst Blue Ribbon and Piels and Schmidts and Rolling Rock and Ballantine's and Genesee and Old Style and Carling Black Label and on and on and on.

So these are the beers that we drank when I was a young guy, because that's what our fathers drank. When I go into my 20's, I thought that Saint Pauli Girl and Michelob were exotic beers .

as a member of the under 40 crowd, i have nothing against the more mass produced beers, but leave the word trendy outta it those beers are great for a bbq, or if you are on a budget and i will happily drink them, but the majority of people dont even know that there is beer out there besides coors/bud. if im relaxing after work i enjoy something a little bit higher in alcohol as it cuts down on the need to consume all that liquid. also cuts down on all those trips to the can!

Hamm's gets my vote for horse piss of the century.I never drank any until I went away to college.... it ALMOST turned me off beer. Thank God I found another brand.

That wasn't directed at you, buddy. You're a great poster here .

I'm talking about the trendy, hipster, beer-nerds and foodies who troll the Internet for Yelp reviews, sleep four to a one bedroom apartment in East Williamsburg, and act like they've traveled the world at 22 years old because they managed to move from Ohio to New York. When these kids turn their noses up at beers (and foods) that have been around for a hundred years, it just bugs me.

To them I say, open your mind and live a little first. That's all.

^^^ haha i know just messing with a buddy! i admit though, some people take it too seriously. after all, its about relaxing so drink up! when i went to culinary school at some local college we had a mixology class and we had to sit through this sommelier go through all this bullshit about wine. i guess you could call him a trendy frenchman

Now, of course, this is only my opinion, but one local toad piss of a beer that I thought was quite vile was Schaefer. It's slogan was "Schaefer - the one beer to have when you're having more than one!"

In other words, "If you're drinking to get shitfaced, try our brew!"

Well, I certainly wouldn't want to get drunk on that stuff. No, thank you.

A long time ago, Schaefer was a local, Brooklyn phenomenon. Years ago, I understand it was the biggest selling beer in Puerto Rico, as well as being extremely popular with the NYC area's Puerto Rican population. I think it was also the featured beer at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. But, as I said, that was quite a while ago. Though Schaefer Pisswater is still being manufactured, I don't think the Brooklyn brewery has been around for many years.

Lousy stuff you'd be better off avoiding.

Signor V.

I second Steel Reserve, that shit is fucking ghastly. The aftertaste takes like 48 hours to finally go away. Jesus I only tried that shit once and it's still burned into my memory as vividly as the painful recovery from my shoulder surgery.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned The Beast yet.




In an amusing coincidence, as I read this I had a chat window open with my friend who thinks he's all sophisticated and shit... because he moved from Ohio to New York. He lives in a tiny apartment with two other guys in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Wow. Should I inform him of what a "real New Yorker" thinks of his kind?

I'd actually pay you to do it .

I usually buy Miller Lite and Yuengling Lager because I know that just about all of my friends, who drink beer, can agree on these brands. I like them too. And I like Rolling Rock like pizzaboy.

When I step it up, I like Smithwick's and some of our local brews, Appalachian Brewing and Troeg's. Of course, a cold Guinness beats everything. I used to enjoy Moosehead, but haven't had it in years.

Anymore I rarely have more than two beers when I'm out or having friends over. And that might be once a week.

While those of you who know my hatred of the Steelers, I swear that has no bearing. Iron City is a beer from Pittsburgh that is about as awful as it gets. From name brands, the two worst are Coors Light and Genesee. I always imagined that Coors Light was brewed from toilet water.

I really enjoy Rolling Rock, too.

Coors is a "light" beer to begin with.... making a Lite version of it is just watering it down.

i would like to add miller 64 to the list of garbage. people often talk about beer tasting watered down, it doesnt get much more watered down than 64. it tastes like a glass full of seltzer with a splash of coors light thrown in for kicks. now some people have an issue with wanting to drink to get drunk, but whether or not your goal is to get drunk, most people at least drink to relax or get a little buzz going. this is impossible with 64 as its only 2.8% abv. maybe a preschooler could catch a buzz. also, this whole low calorie thing thats made to have some health freak think "this is a good choice". kinda like low-fat mayo. either enjoy the real stuff or nothing at all.

We get some imported beer over here from the Brooklyn Brewery. Not a lager, but a strong malty ale. Delicious, but alas expensive. My favourite beers/lagers would be Stella, Becks, Heineken and Kronenbourg (quite possibly the only reason for France existing)

I am fond of a Guinness or a Brown Ale and when up in Scotland with my kinsfolk i enjoy Tennants or Belhaven Best. They will put hairs on your chest

You made my day, Yogi Bear!

Guinness Extra Stout is the best of these IMO. It's like drinking a loaf of bread.

Two dozen posts into the awful beer thread and I'm the only one who has been victimized by Milwaukee's Best?



If you really hate the Steelers you might want to check out the new Batman film, as the Steelers are in it and most of them get blown up by the villain.

I try my best PB

Oh god, Rolling Rock. Does that one bring back memories. When i was in high school that was one of the cheaper beers and maybe the cheapest in my area at the time. But if we didn't have much cash left over after buying our weed then that was what we got. Cases of those pony bottles. I haven't drank that stuff in years.

Saint Pauli Girl was pretty good. They really were considered exotic at the time. Same with Dark Lowenbrau and Dark Heineken. We used to really like the dark beers back then.The Dark Heineken's were our favorites.

ha, when i was on an extreme budget, the beast kicked my ass plenty of times. $7 a 12pack isn't bad as it leaves you with enough to get 3 items off the dollar menu at your local fast food joint and really make it a classy night. for what it was it wasn't terrible imho, after all its union made it needs to be served ice cold, like cold enough to hurt your hand cold. anything else and it could get funky. i look at beer like MB/busch as kinda like those shitty no-name gas stations that take all the old/leftover gas from the better stations, try to jazz it up and then peddle them to people looking to save a buck as miller produces milwaukee's best and anheuser busch produces busch. just remember the saying "you get what you pay for" could't be more true when it comes to beer!

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do..."

Over the years I've tried 100's of brews from around the world, Guinness and Franziskaner Weissbier are incredible.

After years of that I switched to Miller Lite to save on calories. Can't stand Coors Light Water (tho I like Original Coors). And I really like Blue Moon (a higher-end Coors wheat beer; it's delicious).

In my broke '20s we drank Old Milwaukee tall boys a lot. Now, to save on calories and cash, the Miller Lite became Milwaukee's Best Light. It's also a Miller product, but has more taste than Miller Lite.

In moderation, I haven't had any problem with Milwaukee's Best. Then again, I get so damn bloated on beer any more way before I've had too many.

I remember that many years ago (possibly the late 1970's?) there was a series of radio commercials for Kronenbourg featuring John Cleese. I'm not sure if there were also TV spots, but I remember the radio ads. In one, Cleese described the taste of Kronenbourg beer as good, and "doesn't taste at all like it has a dead rat in it."



Ahhh... Now, there's a man after my own heart. Yes, there are definitely times in one's life when nothing short of a Guinness will do. I've even used the stout in a recipe or two.

Signor V.

Somehow, I don't think this is legitimate. If it was, however...



Beer-lover that I am, even I have my limits!

Signor V.

\

Speaking of beer anyone ever try M. Yass Lager

Guinness is about as good as it gets, as far as I'm concerned. I also have a weakness for Heineken and Sam Adams Boston Lager.

I agree that Corona is seriously overrated. As far as Mexican beer is concerned, Dos Equis is much better, and Modelo is pretty good, too.

Coors Light and Miller 64 should be stored with the wine coolers, in my most humble of opinions. I also hate Steel Reserve (as many others have mentioned), and I'm not a fan of Budweiser, Bud Light, or any other variation of the Bud franchise. Unless...you know...it's THAT kind of bud.

I tried this stuff a few weeks ago called Arrogant Bastard Ale. Pretty strong stuff, and one 22 oz. bottle was all I needed to get a nice buzz going. Although honestly, if I want something that strong, I'll stick to bourbon.

Corona is for people who get their ideas about "good beer" from advertising.

Budweiser is nasty. IIRC, it's 50% hops/malt/barley and 50% rice. Rice! Which I guess makes it really shitty sake?

XDCD: Isn't Arrogant Bastard the beer that's like 80 proof or something? I have trouble imagining what that might be life.

I've always hated Budweiser and won't even drink it. Growing up my friends thought i was crazy because i'd drink just about any beer but bud. I hate the taste of that beer and it's cousin Michelob was just as bad IMHO. Maybe it's the rice, i really don't know but how that crap is so popular is beyond me.

I don't think Arrogant Bastard is 80 proof. Same company has another brew called Double Bastard Ale and that ones ABV is around 10% which is pretty potent for a beer.

The 10 worst beers of all time

The comments are hilarious.

had some Narragansett lager here today. it's a lager brewed in i think providence. i was told it was the beer that you would see in jaws, but i can't remember. not really a trash beer, but the at about $5 a six pack for 16oz cans it would lead you to believe it. this beer reminds me of a more honest representation of a bud/miller/coors type of macro-american lager. in other words, a great bbq/ballpark beer that lacks the cheap aftertaste of its american brothers.

a must try for anyone on a budget or just looking for a better tasting alternative to more of the same. the only problem is that its definatly not easy to find but my brother works at a liquor store so he is able to keep it in stock.

They sell a beer over here now called DESPERADO which has tequila in it

Im surprised keystone light wasnt on that list, i hate natty light sooo much. These two beers were the default beer at college/frat parties, i used to stock up on good beer and keep it in my room while occasionally popping back in for a refill. It was a good strategy.

Whilst on my recent weeks soujourn up to bonny Scotland i was out drinking with my cousins husband(and life long best pal)and we were sampling the delights of a Scottish ale called BELHAVEN BEST.

Very nice if like a bitter sort of beer as opposed to a lager

Utica Club beer in New York state was awful as was "Billy beer" a novelty beer made during jimmy carters run named for his brother Billy. Genesee was bad, however Genny cream ale was very good. Don't drink anymore so not familiar with a lot of the Yuppy beers.

It has been years since I've tried a Tsing Tao beer, and I'm almost wiling to check in to see if it was as bad as I remembered.

I tried it in Honk Kong a lifetime ago and remember it as being bitter and off-tasting, like someone's idea of beer who had never really tried beer before.

It was like someone making beer by having the taste described to them.

I think Natty Ice definitiely belongs on that list, but I was surprised to see Ballentine absent. I think it was way worse thanMilller Hi Life.

With all the good beers out nowadays, its funny to remember how people once thought Michelob was a premium beer.

Yikes -- ze Germans founded that brewery in the early 20th Century!

Foster's is pure dirt. Someone bought me a pint of it a few months back and I couldn't finish it. Liquefied winnets.

I am surprised that Coors Light was not on the list. I think that may be the most tepid tasting beer.

My dad used to drink this crap called Wiedeman, which is dreadful. Strohs & Old Milwaukee are also some of the worst tasting swill that I have had the misfortune to drink.

I didn't read this until after I posted. I think the all-time worst beer I have ever had was called Iron City when visiting Pittsburgh.

I am at a loss to describe its incredibly bad taste. If I were running an ad campaign for it, I guess that I would say "Iron City: where dirt and ass collide."

The worst beer I ever had was something called Spearman's Beer. I think they have long gone out of business.

We used to drink lots of Tuborg when I was stationed in Turkey in the early 90s. I don't remember what it tastes like but I know I drank enough of it to float a battleship. lol

Every Monday night I join a bunch of guys in a friend's garage where drink beer, eat pizza, ribs, sausages, nachos or whatever, and kind of watch Monday Night Football.

There are cases of different kinds of beer, and last night I had a Genny Light for the first time in over 20+ years. I was able to drink it, but it had very little taste. I'll have no problem waiting another 20 years.

Mickeys Malt Liquor is pretty nasty. We used to buy those bigmouth bottles by the dozen back in the day. I'm so glad I'm not poor anymore and can afford decent beer. lol

Mickeys Malt Liquor sounds nasty, never mind tasting it

I remember Mickey's widemouth bottles in the 80s. It was as bad as it sounds.

On monday night when I was tasting my Genny Light, we were talking about some bad beers, and someone mentioned Piel's. I haven't had or seen Piel's in a long time, but remembered that I liked it.

Anyone remember these? We used to pack them with ice and put them in the bathtub in our barracks. 5 gallons of crap beer!

Hamm's Beer. I first had it when in college (I guess it's big in the midwest). I never tasted horse piss, but I bet it tastes like Hamm's.

Red bull for those who are old enough to remember it.

Mickeys is good the 40's of mickeys. We'd get a case of them, and get trashed at some of the concerts in Jersey

If you stare at the horse long enough, it winks at you

I've stared at a few old nags, who winked at me too.

Now's your chance! It seems that truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction.


Signor V.

Well I have not had any beer for 16 days now. Now that's CRAP

I had two cans of Genny Light last night with the guys in the garage. I drank it only because my friend has seven cases of it he has to get rid of. Most of the rest of the crew drank Miller Lite and Miller 64.

Once October is done with Klyd, I will come and help your pal get rid of any unwanted ale

Genny Light is a challenge. It goes down well, but doesn't have much taste.

Mix it with some other beer and hold our noses. It will go down a treat

I only like Blue Moon with an orange or Corona or Modelo with a lime..in other words it has to be all fruity and colorful

"What was the absolute worst swill you ever imbibed? And, what made it so terrible? Awful flavor? No flavor?"

The drugstore chain Walgreen once released their own beer called 'Big Flats'. It hardly had a taste and what little taste it did have was bad. I can describe it like this:

Take a can of Busch beer. Dump half of the can out and fill it with tap water. The beer is now a Natural Light. Take the can of Natural Light and dump half the can out. Refill half the can with water. This is now watered down Natural Light. Dump out half of the can of watered down Natural Light. Urinate into the can. Now it is a can of Big Flats.

211........hands down

I've never really liked beer but anything with 'Light' is basically like drinking water. I've tried quite a few 'imports' in the different bars in Manhattan that cater strictly to those type of beers and some are decent.

Heh, that's because most "light" beer is just regular beer of that brand, and they add water to it.

I remember the awful taste of St. Ides malt liquor. This stuff was pretty rough. Now their special brew wasn't too bad from what I could remember, not saying it was good by any means either. We use to pour a little vodka into the special brew to make it stronger. A cheap buzz. Hell, that was almost 20 years ago. I was really surprised to find out that Pabst makes St. Ides.

All beer is crap to me. Incidently the Rich Germans don't drink German beer they drink czech beer.

When I was a kid the Spanish started to invade italiam Harlem. They would drink beer in our hallways. Then they would piss and throw up.

So when I got home I would smell the beer, the piss and throw up. After that I can't drink a beer without having those smells in my head.

Worst ive had is fosters in tins, half way through a crate i got a really disgusting beer and started projectile vomiting.

Rarely touched fosters since, other than the odd pint out of the tap.

Prefer cider these days, henry westons is strong stuff.

St. Ides might be the worst tasting beer ever.

Because of the influence of music videos(nothin but a G thing, in particular)....we had fridge full of 40s.and we drank each and every kind of 40 available.
olde english, private stock, "Crazy Horse", ides, colt45

I think private stock had puzzles or rebuses under the cap....and you haven't lived until you tried to solve a rebus after taking 2-3 40s to the neck

malt liquor is rotgut.

midnight dragon is actually the WORST tasting beer ever made though

really really cheap.....

if you go to the worst neighborhood you can think of.....go to the liquor store there and walk out with Midnight Dragon Beer.......the winos outside will say "there goes the neighborhood"

Never heard of Midnight Dragon and I lived in a tough neighborhood in east Oakland for almost two years. A block away from a liquor store.

You are a block away from a liquor store anywhere you live in Oakland though. Haha! I'm sure I woulda gave it a try if I saw it. If it was cheap, I gave it a go.

I was thinking a little bit more about the beers I have had in my lifetime and remembered one that takes the cake as the worst beer EVER! It was just god awful! *drumroll*

Hurricane smelled funny.....I was scared to drink that.


Hurricane seemed to be the new version of St Ides after I think they pulled Ides. Super strong beer so I guess people put up with the taste.

Midnight Dragon tasted like garbage and didn't even give you a buzz.

Just the picture of that Midnight Dragon alone is enough to convince me its just bad news in a bottle my friend.

Bad choices are made after drinking a 40oz of that stuff, I can tell. All starting with the bad choice of buying it in the first place.

yeah, right?


The joke used to be that in interrogation rooms, cop would bring in the arrested guy and his first words would be "ok, we went to the store to go get some St. Ides...and then"





luckily back in the day people weren't online and posting pictures or else a WHOLE lot of now middle aged men would be haunted by photos of themselves like this



standing next to fridge full of beer(and being under 21)

malt liqour is so pathetic that different regions of the country have their own bullhit

around chicago "211" is about as low as it goes

Trouble as Stroh family loses $9B fortune

The youngest generation of the Stroh family — whose brewery empire was once valued at $9 billion — has almost no money left to fight over, so now they are bickering over the family‘s reputation.

The Stroh heirs are furious with fifth-generation family member Frances Stroh, of San Francisco, for cooperating with a Forbes magazine story headlined, “How To Blow $9 Billion: The Fallen Stroh Family.”

In the July 21 issue, Frances talks about snorting cocaine while the family was having Christmas dinner and said, “My life with my father felt like being inside a gilded bubble.”

One Stroh recently told a friend, “My family is now the laughingstock of the entire American family trust community.”

Frances’ father Eric quit the company — which owned the Schaefer, Schlitz and Old Milwaukee brands, as well as Stroh’s — after a fight with his brother in 1985.

After taking on debt to expand into the nation’s third-largest brewer, the company collapsed and was sold in 1999. The heirs received their last checks in 2008.

A friend of the family told me, “Frances fed the story to Forbes because she is preparing a legal battle. She is alienating her mother from the rest of the family, and trying to get her mother to disinherit her two brothers.”

http://pagesix.com/2014/07/26/trouble-br...1260.1406383010

Corona. The stuff smells like someone farted when you pop the top open.

Cannot stand Guinesses, and would rather stay away from lights in general(4% or less), unless it's a cooler out in the summer heat kind of deal.

This beer though.... the taste itself is not pleasant, but I would swear this beer has special effects, adverse ones. This one night we went out after drinking some of these to a BK, and I exited the place by clearing the stairs on my skateboard, later on two of my friends duked it out in the middle of the street, I swear this obscure brew is the devil's concoction!

Natural Ice to me was the worst. I drunk half of a pack and got sick. Sooo bad I went to get the Blue Alize 5th Bottle later down the line. Thats was yeeears ago.