# What is the worst beer you've ever had? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [August 2, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678 "2014-08-02T21:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/21 "2014-08-03T00:49:45Z")
Fruity beers are pretty much all disgusting to me. As far as regular flavored beers, Tsingtao was so gross I almost vomited. Could have been a bad batch, or skunked, but I haven’t tried it since. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/22 "2014-08-03T01:05:07Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Does “Old English 800” count? Ghastly! Nah, no malt liquors. They almost all taste bad. The only one I could ever stand was Steel Reserve from a can. But it’s still pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/23 "2014-08-03T01:07:54Z")
Back in the 80s I drank some Carling Black Label. Horrible, horrible stuff! More recently, Tequiza. Ghastly! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/24 "2014-08-03T01:33:32Z")
China has a regional beer called “Shancheng.” It’s weak and undistinguished, but relatively drinkable. At twenty cents a (large) bottle, it was the go to beer in the city where I lived. Until one day, a batch went bad. Something went wrong at the factory, and suddenly every beer in town was just gross tasting. Everyone quickly switched to spirits or another brew. But the vendors, loathe to lose money, held on to the bad beer. So for about a month, it was a game of chicken. Now and then someone would order a Shancheng and learn that yup, the bad batch hadn’t run out. Time passed, and eventually someone, somehow, managed to drink through the bad batch, and all was well in the world again. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/25 "2014-08-03T01:46:45Z")
Ortlieb’s (“Joe’s Beer”). Disgusting. 1980-1983. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/26 "2014-08-03T01:47:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Nah, no malt liquors. They almost all taste bad. The only one I could ever stand was Steel Reserve from a can. But it’s still pretty bad. I actually kinda like Steel Reserve in a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/27 "2014-08-03T02:31:04Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Pabst. From age 6-12, or thereabouts. I also grew up on PBR. And Schaefer was the worst beer I ever drank. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/28 "2014-08-03T02:55:02Z")
Tuborg Gold, in the late 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/29 "2014-08-03T03:04:30Z")
Hamms. When it was owned by the Olympia Brewing Co… Tasted green and skunky at the same time. the absolute worst, however, was some crap the Navy used to give to enlisted personnel in the Phillippines. Tasted like formaldehyde. In fact I believe it actually _was_ formaldehyde. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/30 "2014-08-03T03:16:55Z")
Wow, what an amazing coincidence. I had the worst beer I have ever tasted just yesterday. I only took one swig and can’t remember the brand, but it was a sorghum beer (drinkable for the gluten-free). It was like a bad dream of beer. It looked like urine, had a sickly sweetish flat taste with a faint representation of decay, and and a despicable aftertaste of, well, sorghum. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/31 "2014-08-03T03:27:51Z")
I live in China. Supposedly, “imported” beer sold in China is actually brewed here, so I should be insulated from the “Beer tastes worse the further it’s shipped” maxim. That said, I had a Boddington’s last night that tasted like an ash tray. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/32 "2014-08-03T03:50:23Z")
Friend of mine used to bring Labatts 50 to every party. He could guarantee that no one else would take it out of the cooler. I am not a beer drinker, bit people keep trying to get me to like it. I have had clove-tasting ones, cinnamon-tasting ones, raspberry-wheat, darks, reds, Lagers, ales, stout and various others. I don’t really like the stuff, but on a hot day when it’s icy-cold, it’s okay. I will say I have ruined some for others since apparently I can taste notes they can’t, until I tell them about it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/33 "2014-08-03T03:51:30Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > That said, I had a Boddington’s last night that tasted like an ash tray. Just out of curiosity, was it on-tap, bottled, or canned? I had an on-tap pint of Boddington’s last week and it tasted okay. Incidentally, reading this thread is giving me [an odd feeling of déjà vu](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=541531). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/34 "2014-08-03T04:12:31Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Heineken. For years I kept thinking I was continually getting old, skunked Heinekens, then one day I realized that’s just what it tastes like. > > And barley wine as a whole. Beer shouldn’t be sweet! The Heineken I’ve had in the Netherlands actually isn’t bad, but I agree with you about what ends up here in the US. I’ve always been a bit skeptical about claims about how so very different beers are in their home countries, but Heineken and, even more so, Pilsener Urquell proved to me that there is merit to this claim. My normal answer to this is Busch Light, but I had this one-off anniversary beer called Baltika 10 Jubileum in Moscow that was flavored with basil and almonds. It was terrible and tasted not unlike putting a teaspoon of pesto into a beer. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/35 "2014-08-03T05:12:36Z")
Tesco Everyday Value Bitter. Four cans for a pound. Cheaper than homebrew, and twice as vile. [Reviews](http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/tesco-everyday-value-bitter/151670/) ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/36 "2014-08-03T05:27:25Z")
The worst I’ve had I think would be Arrogant Bastard ale. I know it’s supposed to be good, but I didn’t finish half before I threw it away. I believe it even says on the bottles “you probably won’t like this” and they were right. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/37 "2014-08-03T05:32:05Z")
Concord Grape Ale. In all my beer drinking experience, this is the only commercially available beer I could not finish. And for those of you who said Olympia, I’ll be outside if you want to discuss it further. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/38 "2014-08-03T12:43:09Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Tesco Everyday Value Bitter. Four cans for a pound. Cheaper than homebrew, and twice as vile. > > [Reviews](http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/tesco-everyday-value-bitter/151670/) 2.1% alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/39 "2014-08-03T13:38:54Z")
I was a can collector way back when so I’ve probably drank more rank beers than anyone in this thread. Two of the worst were Griesedieck (which we pronounced, of course, “greasy dick”) and Stortz. ---
**Author:** ![Evin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@Evin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678/40 "2014-08-03T15:15:29Z")
Early 70s. Jax Beer. New Orleans brew. Untreated swamp water. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-beer-youve-ever-had/694678.md?page=3)