On our latest podcast, Don and I discussed beers and whiskeys that are well regarded, but we can’t stand. My beers included Duchesse De Buorgogne, a Flemish red ale that it just waaaay too sweet for my tastes. Other people rave about this beer and I just cannot understand what all the hubub is about. Bell’s Oberon is another beer I’ve heard a lot about and finally got to try this week. I found it tremendously average and think it’s a bit overrated.
This points to one of the great thing about craft beer – tastes vary and all that really matters is what you the drinker enjoys. There is no “right” and “wrong,” there’s only “like” and “loathe.”
Don and I had fun going negative on the podcast and burning a couple of bridges as we went, and now it’s your turn. Hit the comments below and let us know which popular beers just rub you the wrong way based upon your personal tastes. After all, you can’t please everybody, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bitch about it!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Belgians.
Sorry.
Don dissed an entire brewery on the podcast (New Belgium) but you just took out a whole country!! I called his attack a carpet bombing, but your is more like a thermonuclear putdown.
And I get tired of Belgian yeast too, but for some reason I keep buying beers with the stuff in it!
I just hate the yeast. I’ll smell every Belgian my beer geek friends raves about and tell them not to waste a taste’s worth on me. I have found a few that I can drink, but the same can be said for cough syrup and antifreeze.
But yeah, New Belgium kind of sucks, too, especially their flagship. I once got an angry message about trashing Fat Tire on twitter, so I picked up the bottle I hadn’t finished the night before and gave it a second try. It didn’t age well overnight.
LMAO! I would guess that Fat Tire aged at Room Temp and opened tastes a little like the time I went to drink out of a glass of Pepsi that my Mom had used as an ash tray the night before!
Way to destroy an entire country! I too get tired of the Belgian Esters, but some are way better than others. Some just taste like crap and people rave about them.
You don’t get to be the Andrew Dice Clay of beer reviewers by not putting your money (amongst other things) where your mouth is.
Magic Hat Wacko. I had a dream I bought a 12 pack of it, and I woke up in a cold sweat. I’m not sure who came up with this idea. Or who actually brewed it, then drank it, then came to the idea to market it. It’s revolting, the idea of it is revolting. Also DFH 120 min IPA, stuff tastes like petrol. In fact, the whole IPA thing needs to stop. I get it, hops taste like weed. But beer needs to taste like beer, not like Bong Water.
I love going negative!
Haven’t had the Magic Hat, but agree 1000% on the DFH 120. Is a matter of fact that was one of the beers we trashed. I don’t get Bong Water from IPAs but to each their own.
Magic Hat wacko is made with Beets. Nuff said.
‘Nuff indeed, Andrew!
I’ve largely ignored Magic Hat as a brewery because I have the feeling i won’t like their stuff (too mild for me). You’re take on Wacko makes me feel good about avoiding them.
Don also doesn’t like 120 Minute IPA, and he actually touches upon that in the podcast (while we were bitching about high ABV beers and BrewDog). I haven’t heard it compared to bong water, but I don’t know a lot about how they brew it. You might be on to something 😉
Okay Guys, Bong Water is a bit strong. I was trying to express my frustration with these ‘craft brewers’ who forsake any sense of balance in their brews, and instead embrace hoppy flavors in excess of 100 IBUs. Like its some sort of ‘whip it out and see whose is bigger’ contest. Why not make a beer thats 1000 IBUs put a picture of a Bugatti Veyron with a naked woman sprawled across the hood and call it, Definitely Not Inadequate. I love a nice IPA, but I need balance.
That beer would have to be brewed in Abu Dhabi and bottled in chrome!
120min is a WONDERFUL beer when aged for 4-5yrs. One of the best beers I have ever tasted was a pour of 6yr old 120min IPA poured for my by Sam Calagione himself at a brewers gathering a few months ago. When it’s fresh though, it’s not so awesome
The 120 I had was about a year old and tasted like molasses. Perhaps if you cellered it for about 100 years it would be good.
I don’t love or hate the 120 Minute IPA, but I appreciate the effort by DFH to make a big ABV beer that is drinkable. I use it as my example for how far brewers can go in the big ABV battle and still make something that resembles beer.
I’ve had to sit and think on this for a bit, and the only ones that seem to come to mind are anything from Green Flash, and Yeti from Great Divide. Yeti is especially surprising for me, because I can’t think of another Imperial Stout I truly don’t like. Green Flash makes the worst IPA I’ve ever tasted; their Imperial IPA. Blech
I have friends that love Green Flash, but they just don’t click with me. I do like my Yeti’s though (regular, oak aged, espresso, whatever). I could see where some might not like it’s flavor profile, which is unique, but it floats my boat!
You know what I think about Pumpkin Beers! The one from Buffalo Bill’s tasted like horrid vegetable puree’. I’m also going to agree on the Wacko comment, whoever came up with that beer needs to stop messin’ around!
Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale = Win
Give up Evan, there’s no finding a pumpkin beer for Scott. We’ve been down that road before. I still hold some hope for the Bruery’s Autumn Maple, as it’s brewed with yams not pumpkin, but I still think it’ll be a tough sell.
The lady who served it to me looked like she broke out of prison too, which just made it even more revolting. Whoever thought that beets and beer mixed, thought wrong. I bet it was the guy that come up with Coke 2.
Sounds like the gangster mom in The Goonies.
Sorry, I forgot that these were supposed to be ‘great’ beers. Overhyped stuff. I see. Well, the pumpkin beers and the Wacko don’t fit into that category so I guess I suck!
I dunno, there are a few pumpkin beers folks rave about, and Magic Hat gets lots of props. So you don’t suck Scott, you’re only slightly inadequate!
It’s a shame but Fat Tire is indeed crap beer with a massive marketing campaign (around here). Better than Coors but otherwise an embarrassment for Colorado. Can’t comment on other New Belgiums because there’s no reason to try them when I can have a Twisted Pine Hoppy Boy or Oskar’s Gordon or….. FYI Boulder Beer sucks too.
Hmm…so maybe Don wasn’t that far off when he blew New Belgium up on our last podcast.
New Belgium’s Lips of Faith line of beers is actually fantastic. Their others, not so much.
I have a La Folie I need to try. Perhaps tonight…
I just tried my first Fat Tire last night and I’d agree completely. Not sure what the big deal is at all with this beer.
I think it is great marketing. I guess in one sense if it helps people move from the majors into craft beer it could serve the purpose of gateway beer, but that is about it.
The general public buys marketing, not greatness
That is true in all walks Evan. Beer, Food, Politics, Sports, Relationships, Body Image…
Blogs… 😉
Not this one of course…
Honestly mine is Bigfoot Barleywine….I just dont get it. I had the ’05 last fall and it was tolerable, but what good is a beer if you cant drink it for 4 or 5 years!
I agree. If it needs to be aged, then the brewery should keep it until it’s ready. If you can buy it and drink it, then you can judge it as harshly as you like.
I know I’m a bit late on this…for me it’s thumbs down to Fat Tire, any pumpkin beers, Walt Wit, Rogues Chipotle Ale and Stone’s Cali-Belgique.
Good Call Rob on the Cali Belgique! That stuff is just weird.
90% (give or take) of Stone’s stuff. Arrogant bastard just doesn’t do it for me. I wrote a post like this a while ago in which I stated that HopSlam (Bell’s), –while good–was WAY overrated.
Yeah, Stone has a bit of Attitude as well that I have a hard time with. I like Arrogant Bastard tho, but lately some of their brews have been disappointing at best.
Does Utopias even count? I remember being thrilled to have some of that at GABF and then being horribly disappointed in its sludginess. Same thing happened with their Triple Bock.
And I like Bell’s a lot. I love their Two-Hearted, and I think they make great beer. But people need to chill on the HopSlam and the Expedition. They’re good (Expedition is very good), but not worth the raves on the ratings sites.
Basically, any beer that got its zealous following by just making the beer bigger, richer, darker and more alcoholic I’m going to think is overrated.
I loved Utopias when I tried it, the sludginess didn’t bother me at all.
I need to try Expedition, so I had bettergrab some while I’m still in Wisconsin. Thanks for the heads up!
I too really didn’t like Duchesse De Buorgogne because I thought it was too vinegary.
And while I don’t hate them I find Pliny the Elder, Gubna and Rochefort 10 to be very over rated brews.
I agree about Gubna and Rochfort 10 (the 8 is better) and would love to try Pliny so I can dis it. 🙂
Pliny used to be the end all be all of IPA for me. But I’ve found it to be seriously lacking since they moved over to their new, bigger production facility. I think between that, and (what I’m noticing) is a very onion/garlic flavored Simcoe crop last year, that beer has gone down a few notches.
My new “tops” IPAs are Laurelwood Workhorse, and Firestone Union Jack
Pliny was rated as the top beer on the planet By BA readers. Lota Hype there!