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Every day, new beers hit the market. And not just the latest take on American lagers like Budweiser or Miller Lite: More likely than not, the newest draft at the neighborhood pub is a craft beer, often times in a style or from a brand that patrons aren't familiar with.
Ironically, drinkers who are already converted craft beer snobs are even more likely to encounter beers of which they have little knowledge. Beer geeks seek out these unique experiences, hunting down a draft from the newest brewery or clamoring to try a non-traditional style so they can be the first to ponder these products' worth.
Most beer drinkers fall somewhere in the middle: familiar with some craft beers and occasionally want to try something different. The question becomes, though, if you don't know exactly what you're ordering, how do you know if what's in your glass tastes right?
How do you know when a beer has gone bad? And how should you handle it?
First, look for obvious warning signs like dirty glassware or a general lack of cleanliness. Unclean glassware alone can ruin a beer. "Serving a beer in a dirty glass is like serving food from a dirty plate," says Julia Herz, Craft Beer Program Director of the Brewers Association -- a group who's goal is "to promote and protect small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts." As she points out, dirty glasses "could and likely will affect the taste of the beer."
Another major issue can be uniformed staff. Before ordering an exotic beer, get a feel for who's serving it. Ask the bartender what he thinks of the beer and see if the response sounds knowledgeable. That way, if concerns arise, complaints won't fall upon deaf ears.
Additionally, most bars will let patrons sample beers. If a place seems especially suspicious, sometimes beer lovers can even benefit from sampling something they know. Brewery reps occasionally drop in for a quality control check; there's no rule that says customers can't quietly do the same.
The vast majority of bars are serving all of their beers at the highest level. As a representative for craft beer mainstay Stone Brewing pointed out, serving bad beer doesn't look good for anyone: bar owners could potentially lose customers and brewers certainly aren't getting proper representation for their product. And if a bar has too many warning signs, craft brewers like Stone will simply avoid stocking their products there. For them, reputation is too important.
The number one cause of bad brews being served is simple ignorance. Uninterested owners and staff don't know they are serving an inferior product if they have little knowledge or care of what's being served. The Brewers Association is attempting to attack this issue with education. Last year, they actually published a guide called the Draught Quality Manual with the goal of maintaining draft beer integrity in mind.
"As craft beer has come on the scene and more beer styles have become available so too has an increased importance for proper beer service," says Herz, . "However, I do sometimes encounter bars and restaurants who come up short in proper beer service, proper beer presentation or knowledge and/or proper draught system maintenance."
This fact underscores the need for server education, but the manual doesn't do anyone any good if bar owners aren't reading it, and the kind of establishment that would serve up beer that's gone bad probably doesn't keep guides like this one handy.
So in the end, the only way for beer enthusiasts to guarantee they are getting their beverages as the brewers intended is to educate themselves. "Beer lovers can get to know their beer styles and then they can understand more on the flavors of specific beer styles," suggests Herz.
But just in case, what's the best course of action when encountering a bad brew?
Say something! "Any customer should feel comfortable to address any issue (about their food or drink) with a manager of an establishment," says Herz. "If a restaurant prides themselves on their beer/craft beer selection they will certainly want this type of feedback."
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4-03-2010 @8:15AM badfrog said... If you can't tell by the taste whether your beer is good or not--then it really doesn't matter, does it?
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4-02-2010 @8:47PM Wasted beyond redemption said... BEER........WHY??......Why have I forsaken my beloved marijuana to love YOU instead??.......I was fine when I was just a "pothead"......I worked a job....Had money.....Was a taxpayer......Had friends....etc......
THEN I DISCOVERED BOOZE after my divorce 20 years ago.......Now I'm COMPLETELY worthless.
This thing is BIGGER than me!
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4-02-2010 @9:21PM John said... Just a suggestion...stick with a known brewery. There is more consistency
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4-02-2010 @9:39PM Larry said... This article says absolutely nothing.
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4-02-2010 @9:44PM nogard0 said... i know tanqueraut is not beer but it is well known and even they have QA problems now and then where the gin is way too juniperish.
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4-03-2010 @12:13AM susan said... Gee, ya THINK that MAYBE a dirty glass would spoil your beer????? DUH!!!! This is one of the top ten stupidest articles ever put on here..
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4-02-2010 @10:53PM Baccala said... I am a beer snob and this article has absolutely no worthwhile information. When they say a beer is "bad" it seems like they are talking about a beer that is flat or served after it expires, but then they talk about beers that you may not like because of the taste. That has nothing to do with it being "bad". Most non-beer people probable will not like the taste of what some would consider the best beers in the world.
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4-02-2010 @11:08PM Larry said... Right On!! What does uniforms or dirty glasses have to do with "bad" beer? Other than style and poor cleaning habits I would say nothing.
4-02-2010 @11:00PM liza-jane said... Agree this article says Bothing at all!! You know your beer is bad when it tastes like water when it
when it has no hops at all (flat) when the taste is no taste that is when you know your beer is BAD!
I know Bud has been turning out some not so good beeer back in November it was a bad batch.
went to different stores and it was still the same. This happened last year also around i believe it
was in March. I don't know if it has anything to do withthe change over or not, but it was terrible
could not drink it, i wasted alot of money and still did not get the taste!! Always check the date
on the beer because the store will continue to sell it even if it is over 120 from the date. I thought
the company was supposed to pick it up after the 120 days but if you notice some places have
it longer, ifit does not sell then i think the company does pick it up. this is Budweiser i am
speaking of, not sure about the other companies.A good beer is a goood beer, a badd beer is
baddddd beer!!
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4-02-2010 @11:00PM Doug said... Ok...as far as it goes. Those of us who ARE beer drinkers can tell you a few things more...1)...most beers do not produce a head of foam without a counter action with something in the glass. Many Pubs will increase the amount of air in order to create a foam when they are doing a great job at cleaning the glasses because a really clean glass will not produce the head most amateurs expect when they ask for a beer....2) Most of us beer drinkers can smell a difference when the beer is heading south. Doesn't have to be the overtly obvious 'skunky' smell but if you are a regular drinker and that aroma whiffs up as you are about to take a sip and you back off thinking something is wrong...well...there probably is...3) Finally, if you can't taste when a beer is going bad then you are not a genuine beer drinker....and yes, I agree, always say something but remember this - if you are on some sort of medication (even over the counter) this can interfere with your ability to properly assess the quality of the beer.......well, enough said...cheers!
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4-02-2010 @11:16PM scott said... I am at your service concerning bad beer, unless it is a "lite" one (all of which are bad). Simply call me, pay my transportation to your beer site, let me swill the beer in question, and I will advise. I have had years of experience. Only $110 per hour. Trust me.
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4-02-2010 @11:34PM Beer Can said... There's all kinds of beer and who cares how the beer looks...It's all about taste, if the beer tastes good-drink it!...There's nothing like a goood beer buzzz at the ball park...Enjoy...
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4-02-2010 @11:51PM BTDT said... Lesson #1: Bad beer is called skunky because it stinks. You'll know before you taste it.
Lesson#2: All wheat beer is piss. Pour it in a toilet.
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4-03-2010 @12:18AM vicky said... from reading this article i still don't know if my beer is bad..... oh well if it's good drink if not hand it to someone who will :)
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4-03-2010 @12:14AM Susan said... um....I think it ends up there anyways, BTDT
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4-03-2010 @12:34AM John said... Have to agree with numerous writers. This article is worthless and does not live up to the title at all. Think, someone got paid to write this tripe. Some got paid at AOL to approve it. Someone at AOL got paid to post it. Apparently the free market system is not working here. Maybe Obama should take it over to add to his larder. But then again, would you really want your taxes increased to pay for this?
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4-03-2010 @1:13AM Phil said... avoid pubs w/ multiple taps ( dozen or more ) as they can't possibly serve all micro brands regularly enough...dirty old beer lines!
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4-03-2010 @1:35AM Wayne said... If your beer is warm and flat and has a couple of cigarette butts in it you know it's bad. Of course that doesn't mean that if nothing else is available when you wake up feeling like a dog slept in your mouth and you want nothing more than to juice up the bender you're on,.... just take the cigerette butts out and slam it down.
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4-03-2010 @4:53AM Henry said... Beer doesn't go "bad". The expiration date was started bt Bud. It's all a marketing ploy. I have drank beer that is 3 or 4 months past the date and you can't tell the differience.
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4-04-2010 @7:19AM Barbara said... Good recipes with Beer you can find here: http://terarecipes.com/recipe_search_engine/specialrecipe/beer
Enjoy cooking!
Barbara
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