The worst beer you’ve ever had?

[tchafe1978]

I love craft beer, but I'm not a huge fan of IPAs or anything overly hoppy. But there have been a few I could drink. One I couldn't was Leinenkugels IPL (India Pale Lager). It. was awful, it tasted like drinking pine tree sap, it was that piney tasting. I forced down one, and then I used the rest of the 6-pack to boil brats. The brats actually tasted pretty good after boiling them in it, but drinking the beer straight was straight blech. I'm also not a fan of most beers that come in a 30 pack, especially Busch Light. For some reason my store sells about 2 pallets of it a week. Must be because it's a college town.

[gonealookin]

Frank Thomas, the baseball player, put his name on a product called "Big Hurt Beer".  I tried it because of the name.  It was actually a malt liquor with 7% ABV and it was wretched.  An Internet search shows posts about it between about 2011-2013; I presumed it is now retired along with the Big Hurt himself.

[kurumi]

I had a Gose around 2017 that I remember taking a few sips and then ordering something else. Don't remember the label.

[Ned Weasel]

Tie between these two:

Natural Light because it kind of tastes like water, and if I want something that tastes like water, I'd rather drink water.

Some fruit-flavored beer, which made me realize that fruit and beer do not mix well.

[NWI_Irish96]

Frank Thomas, the baseball player, put his name on a product called "Big Hurt Beer".  I tried it because of the name.  It was actually a malt liquor with 7% ABV and it was wretched.  An Internet search shows posts about it between about 2011-2013; I presumed it is now retired along with the Big Hurt himself.

It was still available in-stadium as of 2019.

[1995hoo]

Frank Thomas, the baseball player, put his name on a product called "Big Hurt Beer".  I tried it because of the name.  It was actually a malt liquor with 7% ABV and it was wretched.  An Internet search shows posts about it between about 2011-2013; I presumed it is now retired along with the Big Hurt himself.

I saw some cans of Billy Beer at an antique store in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the 1990s. I didn't buy nor try it–given that they were produced in the 1970s, I imagine they would have been undrinkable. But that beer did have one of the best taglines ever. Billy Carter was quoted as saying, "This is the best beer I've ever had. I should know. I've had a lot."

[JayhawkCO]

Some fruit-flavored beer, which made me realize that fruit and beer do not mix well.

Depends on the beer.  My local brewery makes a grapefruit double IPA that's delicious.

Chris

[OCGuy81]

Frank Thomas, the baseball player, put his name on a product called "Big Hurt Beer".  I tried it because of the name.  It was actually a malt liquor with 7% ABV and it was wretched.  An Internet search shows posts about it between about 2011-2013; I presumed it is now retired along with the Big Hurt himself.

I saw some cans of Billy Beer at an antique store in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the 1990s. I didn't buy nor try it–given that they were produced in the 1970s, I imagine they would have been undrinkable. But that beer did have one of the best taglines ever. Billy Carter was quoted as saying, "This is the best beer I've ever had. I should know. I've had a lot."

"We elected the wrong Carter!"  - Homer Simpson

[jp the roadgeek]

Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale is pretty bad.  Was just reminded of it while shopping yesterday.

[Takumi]

Some fruit-flavored beer, which made me realize that fruit and beer do not mix well.

Depends on the beer.  My local brewery makes a grapefruit double IPA that's delicious.

Chris

Yep. A lot of east coast breweries are making fruit-influenced beers like goses and sours that taste absolutely amazing (and some of them hit hard, at that). A lot of the hazy IPAs that are currently popular also can have some citrus influence to them.

[roadman65]

Iron  City.

[gonealookin]

Frank Thomas, the baseball player, put his name on a product called "Big Hurt Beer".  I tried it because of the name.  It was actually a malt liquor with 7% ABV and it was wretched.  An Internet search shows posts about it between about 2011-2013; I presumed it is now retired along with the Big Hurt himself.

I saw some cans of Billy Beer at an antique store in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the 1990s. I didn't buy nor try it–given that they were produced in the 1970s, I imagine they would have been undrinkable. But that beer did have one of the best taglines ever. Billy Carter was quoted as saying, "This is the best beer I've ever had. I should know. I've had a lot."

I happen to be reading Jonathan Alter's biography, His Very Best:  Jimmy Carter, A Life wherein the truth comes out:

Shortly after his brother was elected president, Billy Carter hired a big-time Nashville agent, and by late 1977 he was hauling in $500,000 a year in celebrity endorsements, including peanut-flavored liqueur and, most famously, Billy Beer, which tasted so bad he would often pour the contents into the toilet and fill the can with vodka instead.

[kphoger]

Some fruit-flavored beer, which made me realize that fruit and beer do not mix well.

I recently tried a grapefruit-flavored beer that my sister-in-law's roommate was drinking.  That was really strange:  it tasted like beer and grapefruit separately.  Like, the flavors didn't mingle at all in my mind.  What made it especially strange for me personally is that I love grapefruit but dislike beer.

[1995hoo]

I saw some cans of Billy Beer at an antique store in Fauquier County, Virginia, in the 1990s. I didn't buy nor try it–given that they were produced in the 1970s, I imagine they would have been undrinkable. But that beer did have one of the best taglines ever. Billy Carter was quoted as saying, "This is the best beer I've ever had. I should know. I've had a lot."

I happen to be reading Jonathan Alter's biography, His Very Best:  Jimmy Carter, A Life wherein the truth comes out:

Shortly after his brother was elected president, Billy Carter hired a big-time Nashville agent, and by late 1977 he was hauling in $500,000 a year in celebrity endorsements, including peanut-flavored liqueur and, most famously, Billy Beer, which tasted so bad he would often pour the contents into the toilet and fill the can with vodka instead.

Heh, that doesn't surprise me one bit. Thanks for posting that. I wish my father were still alive so that I could send him that reference. He'd laugh his arse off.

[Throckmorton]

   
Perhaps this shouldn't count because neither youthful indiscretion nor lack of funds come into play.   
   
That being said, the worst commercially produced, widely available beer I have ever tasted is Heineken.   
   
I have not had it for many years, decades in fact. But every one I ever tried was terrible. Judging from online discussion, that still seems to be the case.   
   
   

[DandyDan]

Tie between these two:

Natural Light because it kind of tastes like water, and if I want something that tastes like water, I'd rather drink water.

Some fruit-flavored beer, which made me realize that fruit and beer do not mix well.

I can't really say anymore because I haven't had beer for years, but I agree with that assessment of Natural Light. It is the worst I ever bought for myself. However, when my grandpa was still alive, he had cans upon cans of Old Milwaukee Light whenever I was there. He had a beer fridge full of the stuff. Frankly, I don't how he could drink the stuff, although I suspect it was really cheap.

[triplemultiplex]

I love craft beer, but I'm not a huge fan of IPAs or anything overly hoppy. But there have been a few I could drink. One I couldn't was Leinenkugels IPL (India Pale Lager). It. was awful, it tasted like drinking pine tree sap, it was that piney tasting. I forced down one, and then I used the rest of the 6-pack to boil brats. The brats actually tasted pretty good after boiling them in it, but drinking the beer straight was straight blech.

Hoppy beers are the ones best for cooking, in my opinion.
Bizarre craft flavors aside (which I'm sure everyone could find one they think is awful) I'll throw some shade at one of my college beers:

When a beer's best quality is that it's super cheap, you're going to take a hit on taste.

[kphoger]

Hoppy beers are the ones best for cooking, in my opinion.

This is what I usually cook with:



That's partly because it isn't super hoppy, partly because it doesn't have any other weird flavors, and partly because I don't really care for beer as a beverage, but I have a good friend who really likes this.

I've had good luck cooking with Guinness, too.

[OCGuy81]

Hoppy beers are the ones best for cooking, in my opinion.

This is what I usually cook with:



That's partly because it isn't super hoppy, partly because it doesn't have any other weird flavors, and partly because I don't really care for beer as a beverage, but I have a good friend who really likes this.

I've had good luck cooking with Guinness, too.

Yes! Guinness is great for cooking. It usually finds its way into both my beef stew and shepherds pie