Kids these days!
I was walking my dog this morning and came across two beer bottles in someone's front lawn on Kent Rd. At first I assumed they were a couple of empties, which I don't mind picking up, but then noticed they had caps on. I kicked one and it was full! What's wrong with people that they can waste perfectly good premium beer like that? If I were ten years younger I would definitely drink them. They are pretty crusty with road salt and that makes me a little nervous. Another thing you should know is that today is my birthday. My wife says that it's a sign. If I were cleverer with this whole internet stuff I would post a survey but I need to know; are these beers drinkable?
Comments
I would at least dip the part your mouth would touch in boiling water for a few seconds before even considering it.
Posted by: Nate | March 29, 2008 11:36 AM
Rinse off the bottles and pour the beer into a glass. The beer may or may not taste stale, but it certainly won't hurt you.
Posted by: Nick | March 29, 2008 11:55 AM
1. rinse the bottle for a few seconds under the sink
2. pour the beer into a glass
3. drink
Posted by: jordan | March 29, 2008 11:59 AM
You can always dump it out after you taste it..
OR, if you're really worried, try giving it to your wife first. :)
Posted by: Pear Head | March 29, 2008 12:09 PM
Nate said:
"dip the part your mouth would touch in boiling water"
No! The bottles are probably not designed for 100 deg C, especially if the heat is unevenly distributed. In other words, there's a small possibility it could explode on you. You would think the cap would blow off from pressure before the glass breaks, but many homebrewers that over-sugared their beer before bottling have ended up with broken glass.
For the mysophobes, you can use cold water with a _very_ small amount of bleach to soak it in.
Personally, I'd just rinse it thoroughly in water.
Posted by: huitz | March 29, 2008 12:13 PM
Oh, and smell first. Toss it if it smells of ammonia, if you know what I mean :)
Posted by: huitz | March 29, 2008 12:26 PM
...hey, those are mine...I'm just keeping them cold. Don't touch.
Posted by: clip | March 29, 2008 12:27 PM
Definitely worth a try.
Perhaps the greatest day of my college years in Fairbanks was the time I went for the first run of the spring, got tired and thirsty, and then found four cans of Coors Banquet Beer sitting a ditch filled with run-off. Ice-cold beers after a long run ... gold.
Posted by: cork1 | March 29, 2008 12:31 PM
cork1 - was that on Farmer's Loop? GAWD - those were MINE also!
Posted by: clip | March 29, 2008 12:44 PM
My first thought is: someone broke a case of good beer sometime this winter. They were able to round up most of the bottles, but a few went stray in the dark slushy snow.
I don't think the kids are wasting booze, they just don't know how to take care of it properly.
Posted by: Bad Cat! | March 29, 2008 12:44 PM
If you think about it, it's not like they've been out there that all winter or anything. Beer freezes pretty easily in the deeply cold weather, so the bottles probably would have cracked open in the harsh subzero temps. Hell -- they've probably only been out there for a week or two. They might be a little skunky from basking in the sun, but other than that, they're probably perfectly good.
Posted by: Barrett | March 29, 2008 12:55 PM
Nice try, Clip. They were on Yankovich, by the Musk Ox Farm.
Unless, of course, you'd been drinking in the graveyard and they fell out of your truck as you were driving back to Farmer's Loop. In which case, thanks and sorry.
Posted by: cork1 | March 29, 2008 01:00 PM
It's almost unanimous then. Happy Birthday to me!
Posted by: chadp | March 29, 2008 01:14 PM
Did someone just used the term "Premium Beer" to describe Blue Moon?
::slaps knee::
Posted by: Sjixxxy | March 29, 2008 02:06 PM
Sjixxxy
Blue Moon is a lot more premium than the Schmidt in my fridge. :)
Posted by: SaumZ | March 29, 2008 02:44 PM
One day last summer, I picked up what I thought was an empty Red Stripe bottle on our way back up from the 42nd Ave. beach. When it turned out to be full, I, too, confronted this issue.
Based on the fact that my first action upon returning home was to put it in the beer fridge, you can get a sense that I was kind of kidding myself about there being any question that I was eventually going to break down and drink it.
Posted by: The Big E | March 29, 2008 02:47 PM
Not like it's unpasteurized COORS; drink it you wussy...
Posted by: rex | March 29, 2008 03:03 PM
given that they were outside, at least partially exposed to elements that severely affect the flavor, namely the sun, I'll have to go along with Barrett's assessment...if you're used to drinking Schmidt, a bottle of skunky Blue Moon would probably be a slight improvement...though personally I'd pass on it solely on the variety. With few exceptions, I'm not too into beer I can see through. However, a bottle or two of Bell's Porter or Stout would be a lot more difficult to pass up.
Posted by: zra. | March 29, 2008 06:04 PM
Maybe you should just play "The Beer Hunter" with them. Buy a fresh 6-pack of Blue Moon, take one out, and replace it with a found beer. Have someone uninvolved mix them up. Then take turns with a friend pulling out a bottle and drinking it.
Posted by: Barrett | March 29, 2008 11:24 PM
Its Blue Moon. That means its only drinkable if you're a girl.
Posted by: Kirk | March 30, 2008 06:49 PM
We used to get so pickled on old crow that swilling Scope seemed like a good idea when the bottle ran out, and now you're questioning whether or not to drink these beers?
Circular, chadp, it's all about circles. I can't help but think back to the days of getting "pulled over" while walking. The hip dressed street beat with the badge on a string outside the H.O.D. (that's House of Doughnuts for some of you youngsters). Anyway he forced us to dump out our pockets full of Colt 45. I think I would take these two beers and put them up on a shelf. Every day you can look at these beers and think about that higher power that nobody really believes in, circles man, it all comes back around.
Thanks Jesus - F--k the Po Po
Posted by: matt kelly | March 30, 2008 07:53 PM
Blue Moon...you saw me standing alone....
Posted by: Dean Martin | March 30, 2008 08:00 PM
Posted by: Deano | March 30, 2008 08:05 PM
The Marcels, baby!
Posted by: Girl From the North Country | March 30, 2008 09:01 PM
It's your birthday! When blowing out your candles make your wish to be 10 again and unabashadly drink!
Posted by: heysme | March 31, 2008 08:56 AM