The best part of working in a homebrew shop is...

[Oregone]

Originally Posted by MalkavianX

The not so best part is when they bring you a bottle saying "This tastes funny, will you drink it and see what's wrong?"

It's what my brewing buddy used to call "spit out beer". In your shoes, I'd first explain that I wasn't allowed to drink while working, thus avoiding spitting out in front of the guy. I'd also ask him to describe what he means by "funny", because if he has any tastebuds at all (and he might not have) you should be able to pinpoint the problem without actually having to taste it yourself.

The only beer I've ever refused to actually taste was a competition beer that slid out of the bottle into the glass and went "gorp." Oh, and it reeked of pedio. But I've spit out far more than my share; one of the reasons I don't judge beers anymore.

In most cases, it's just "funny" because the balance is whack, or because the brewer didn't use any malt to speak of, or because he put in three pounds of black malt. Even the beers that are clearly contaminated are generally just kind of yuck, and certainly not dangerous. Trust your nose before you commit to putting it in your mouth, though.