Why is it that the last sip of beer tastes so nasty? Someone once told me that the alcohol seeps further to the bottom, so the “asshole” of the beer is actually the strongest part. Someone else told me this is complete nonsense and it has something to do with saliva. But if that’s true, wouldn’t the beer just get progressively grosser, rather then just the last sip? As an aside, I love beers that have yeast in the bottle, like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, one of my faves, so when you get to the last sip, you can swirl it around and it tastes yummy. Okay, it doesn’t taste that great, since it is still the last sip, but it does make it more bearable.
cuz it’s warm and flat. nasty.
Just the way it’s supposed to be 
Don’t listen to the Limey when it comes to beer
Drink quicker! It won’t go cold and flat that way.
Yeah!! What Coldfire said.
Take the nipple off the bottle! 
The last sip is intentionally nasty. That way, you are forced to open another beer to get the taste out of your mouth. The cycle is then repeated until the last bottle is gone and/or you are sufficiently buzzed to not notice the last sip. Anyway, that was how it worked in college…
I’d take a pint of Theakstones’ “Old Peculiar” over some fizzy, flavourless American brew anyday 
That’s Old Peculier, but I heartily concur.
I think the last sip tastes the best – it’s usually at room temp by then, which brings the flavor out. Then again, that isn’t always a good thing. Perhaps you just need to spring for a better quality brew.
He said he was drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s not a problem with the quality of the beer.
Tzel, I think it’s the backwash issue. Try pouring everything but the last sip into a glass. (Then you can have your last sip first!)
I agree that it’s because the last sip (or last few sips) are usually warm by the time you drink them.
I say this because for Father’s Day I was given a set of mugs with liquid between the double-walled sides of the mug. You freeze them and they keep bevvidges cold without diluting them. I’ve noticed that the last few sips of beer are actually colder than the first, because the transferrence of heat (or cold, same principle) is more efficient with a smaller amount of liquid in the mug. The last sip is now as refreshing and tasty as the first.
I can tell with certainty it’s not because the alcohol seeps to the bottom. I really don’t think the components are going to separate like that. But if we look at it logically, the alcohol is lighter than the water that makes up the remainder of the liquid in a beer. That would make it rise to the top anyway. Also, I the action of raising the bottle to your mouth and tipping it to drink would going to keep things pretty well mixed.
It’s gotta be an accumulation of spit. Yuck.
Well, I’ve got to disagree with the ‘Old Peculier’ posse. It’s not a bad drop for sure, but the one for me is Fuller’s ‘London Pride’ - preferably out of a barrel. Nothing to do with the name, it’s just the nectar of the Gods.
Backwash. Use a glass like a civilised person.
Just to correct a misconception regarding British beers:
Manny Americans think British beers are sour, flat, and warm. In fact, they are bitter, still, and served with the chill off. A very different situation…
You mean, backwash, Uncle Beer?
I only drink rootbeer
Hey, he also said that was the only kind where the last sip didn’t taste nasty. I’d stand by my original statement 'til we had some more information, but come to think of it, the backwash explanation makes more sense. Get thee some proper glasses, Tzel (and NOT frozen mugs for God’s sake – those are for Budweiser) and report back to us.
I’m partial to pilsner glasses for lighter brews; ales and stouts seem to need a nice dimpled pint mug.
As for the warm/flat explanation, that seems to suggest that the taste should degenerate evenly throughout the drinking process. As it is, the true nastiness that is the last sip seems to only occur in the bottom inch or so of the bottle. Well, I’ll be back to college in a little under 2 weeks or so, so I’ll be able to conduct extensive experimentation. I will test this hypothesis by pounding all but the last bit, then drinking that. Or have someone else taste it, so my taste won’t be altered by the chugging.
Backwash doesn’t seem plausible. When I drink from a bottle I’m basically pouring the beer into my mouth. Although, now that I think back on the keg party days, I don’t seem to specifically remember the last sip phenomenon occurring in a plastic cup. Of course, it could have faded from my memory.
And for the record, SNPA’s last sip tastes just as bad as every other beer’s, it just has the yeast that makes it a distinct pleasure.
speaking of most excellent tasteless amrican beer, allow me to digress a bit.
why is drinking natural light (milwuekees best, red dog or any suitable cheap american beer) so simliar to having sex in a canoe?
cause theyre both f—ing close to water!
please excuse the profanity and if your heard it before.
American beer is chilled so that you cannot taste it.
It is weak.
It is fizzy like pop.
I know there are special limited brew ales and they are excellent.
British beer is warmish, flattish but the strength of taste would come as a shock to Americans.
A large percentage of British beer is poor stuff.
Once big brewer get hold of a smaller one they market the brand for all it is worth whilst degrading the quality.
There is some good stuff out there but you have to look.