I did the Brita experiment back in college. I took a bottle of decent vodka (I forget what, it was in the ~40 a bottle range) and a cheap bottle (~8) and ran the cheap one through a Brita pitcher 3-4 times. I conducted a blind taste test, and most people either couldn't tell the difference or picked the filtered cheap one as the 'premium' vodka. This was drinking it straight as a shot or sipping. There was, of course, no difference at all in the sex on a beach. This study proves that, well, the people who came to my parties in college were probably idiots, but also that maybe top shelf is not always all it's cracked up to be.

As for beer, I used to feel that way, that everything was really bad. Then I hung out with some beer snobs and I learned to appreciate it. Good beers have actual taste to them, so you might not like all of them but they have something, as opposed to the really cheap mass-market stuff that is incredibly watery. I often recommend Dogfish Head 60m IPA as a beer for people who don't really like beer. Or that do.