I absolutely HATE to preface a post this way, but here goes:
This one time, in Amsterdam....................................
I sat in a sidewalk pub waiting for a bus. (I used to live in Germany, and spent lots of time in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Austria, etc). Anyway, I had about a two hour wait for the bus to Frankfort (where I lived). I drank Heineken, fresh from the tap about 5 minutes from the brewery. It was awesome! No skunk, and a lovely lager perfect for a warm summer day. Unfortunately, I drank too much, missed that bus, and spent a couple more days in Amsterdam. Or, fortunately, depending on how you look at it. My boss didn't look on it too kindly, since I missed a couple of days of work.
Anyway, much like any European lager served in green glass (Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell, Heineken, St. Pauli Girl, Beck's), the beer is actually pretty darn good at the source. Pilsner Urquell without the skunk is a mighty fine lager. Heineken in the metal "keg" is pretty darn good, as I had some last fall at the neighbors. Don't write off a whole wonderful class of beers that have been stored and served improperly. That's like saying "I had a bad Sam Adams in Chicago, and I'll never buy one in New York!". Pretty short sighted.