When To Dump A Beer

[uberg33k]

http://immaculatebrewery.com/when-to-dump-a-beer/

In this blog entry, I try to turn a failed brew day into a positive thing.

 

[Homercidal]

Pretty good read. Of course everyone has their own ideas about what constitutes a dumper, but this pretty much nails all of the relevant points in homebrew.

 

[uberg33k]

Thanks man!

 

[chisena]

Interesting read. Gushers and beer that I simply do not like / care to drink has caused me to dump several cases in my 3 years of brewing. Now I have improved my results. I also keg so dumping has become less common.

 

[djonesax]

Wow, great article. If I don't like a beer for any reason, I may as well dump it because I wont enjoy it. If its off, and every pint I am going to worry over it and complain that it doesn't taste right, I may as well dump it and start the next batch. I have found that the beers that I feel went wrong, sit in the kegs and take up space until I finally dump it anyway to make way for a new, hopefully better beer.

David

 

[amcclai7]

Great article, but I think you might have been a bit hasty on the dumping front. Read this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

Even if a beer is bad or you don't like it you can make vinegar out of it, cook with it, give it to friends when they're too drunk to care, etc, etc. Some flaws are unfixable but its really amazing what time will do. Also, its nearly impossible to ruin a beer with oxidation. That's something that takes months to show up. If you've messed up somewhere and oxidized your beer too much, then just drink it quickly.

Again, great article, but I'm of the belief that you should only dump beer in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

 

[djonesax]

Even if a beer is bad or you don't like it you can make vinegar out of it

But then I'd just have 10 gallons of vinegar laying around, and I'm no good a frying fish

 

[uberg33k]

Great article, but I think you might have been a bit hasty on the dumping front. Read this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

Even if a beer is bad or you don't like it you can make vinegar out of it, cook with it, give it to friends when they're too drunk to care, etc, etc. Some flaws are unfixable but its really amazing what time will do. Also, its nearly impossible to ruin a beer with oxidation. That's something that takes months to show up. If you've messed up somewhere and oxidized your beer too much, then just drink it quickly.

Again, great article, but I'm of the belief that you should only dump beer in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

I cover some of the points you make of "when to save", but the point of the article is to try and cover what's a dumper and what's not. I think too many people repeat the "never dump a batch" mantra have never actually tried some of the solutions they're suggesting. For instance, you're not making malt vinegar out of a bad IPA. In fact, I can't think of a single thing I've made with hoppy beers that works well in any cooking application. Malty and yeasty beers work though, so it's an option.

Letting it sit isn't really an option for many people. You only have so many carboys/buckets/etc. and you can't tie one up forever hoping something might change. You also have only so much space with which to store them. It's better to tune in your pallet to know what might be salvageable and what isn't. If the flavor profile hasn't gotten even a tiny bit better after 3 months, it isn't magically going to get better with 3 more months (IMO).

 

[chisena]

Great article, but I think you might have been a bit hasty on the dumping front. Read this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

Even if a beer is bad or you don't like it you can make vinegar out of it, cook with it, give it to friends when they're too drunk to care, etc, etc. Some flaws are unfixable but its really amazing what time will do. Also, its nearly impossible to ruin a beer with oxidation. That's something that takes months to show up. If you've messed up somewhere and oxidized your beer too much, then just drink it quickly.

Again, great article, but I'm of the belief that you should only dump beer in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

I'm of the belief that if you don't like it, certainly don't cook with it and don't serve it to your friends.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

I have rethought dumping lately. I was about to dump 2 kegs for reuse when a miracle occurred. I had one Mocha Cherry Stout I brewed back in June of last year. Mash temp was off and there were too many non-fermentable sugars and resulting nasty heavy taste. I dumped in some ECY20 BugCountry and then forgot about it. I was ready to dump it and tasted it out of habit. Out of 5 gallons I have 6 22's left. Same thing with a Rye Saison that was aged in a rye whiskey barrel. An extra month made the world of difference.
Good things do come to those that wait. This wouldn't work for a commercial brewery, but it's amazing what some extra time and some Brett will do to your failures.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Great article, but I think you might have been a bit hasty on the dumping front. Read this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

Even if a beer is bad or you don't like it you can make vinegar out of it, cook with it, give it to friends when they're too drunk to care, etc, etc. Some flaws are unfixable but its really amazing what time will do. Also, its nearly impossible to ruin a beer with oxidation. That's something that takes months to show up. If you've messed up somewhere and oxidized your beer too much, then just drink it quickly.

Again, great article, but I'm of the belief that you should only dump beer in the absolute rarest of circumstances.

Life is way too short to bless with bad beer. Its just beer.