Skunky Beer
Beer Off Flavours
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
As Chris posted earlier today, we visited Whistler over the weekend and held our very own beer festival in lieu of the canceled Whistler Beer Festival. Most of the beers we consumed over the weekend were delicious; however, we did come across a few mediocre beers and even one that was terrible.
On our way home we made a stop at Howe Sound Brewing where we ordered the sampler, after one of the three samplers we ordered arrived at our table we quickly changed our order to only one sampler - we decided sharing would be a good idea. We found some of Howe Sound’s offering to be stellar, Father Johns Winter Ale and the Blond Ale were my two personal favorites, but the large majority was average at best. One beer stood out as particularly bad – the Pilsner had an unpleasant pungent aroma reminiscent of Sulfur. It turns out sulfur is a common off-flavour in lager and is often the sign of stressed yeast or green (young) beer.
When visiting small breweries and brewpubs it can be expected that a few beers along the way will have an unpleasant off-flavour or aroma. Craft brewers do a great job and create fantastic beer, but because most brewers do not pasteurize their beer and are forced to operate on a tight budget, some of their product is not always on point. I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out some common off flavours found it beer.
Cabbage/Cooked Vegetables – DMS: This flavour is generally unwanted and is often a sign of a brewer/brewery error. If wort is not chilled quickly after the boil or a lid is placed over the brew kettle during the boil, DMS off-flavours can develop.
Wet Cardboard – Oxidation: Oxidized beer is unpleasant and tastes like wet cardboard – this is not a good flavour. Excessive exposure to oxygen during the brewing process can cause oxidation and will only get worse with age.
Buttery – Diacetyl: A strong butter or butterscotch flavour is acceptable in small quantities in some English ales, but too much Diacetyl is overpowering. Diacetyl is also found in some oaked Chardonnay commonly called “butter bomb” for their intense buttery flavour.
Apple – Acetaldehyde: A green apple flavour can be found in some lagers, a traditional Budweiser will have a green apple note. In large quantities Acetaldehyde becomes unpleasant and is a good indicator of green beer. Good beer cannot be rushed.
Skunky – Light Struck: Beer and light do not mix. When beer is exposed to certain light sources, the sun for example, a powerful skunky aroma will develop and can quickly ruin a beer. Skunky beer usually means one of two things, poor product packaging (clear or green bottles are just not good) or it is a hot summer day and relaxing with a beer on a patio is the only way to cool off.
Sulfur – Sulfur is not a good aroma or taste and can make for an unpleasant beer drinking experience. Sulfur off-flavours are present in young lagers.
These are just a few of the common off-flavours found in beer. Finding these off-flavours does not necessarily mean you are drinking bad beer – it means you are drinking a healthy quantity of beer.
Cheers,
Erik
Protect your beer from the sun
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
Have you ever been outside on a hot day and craved a cold beer ever so badly? I have and I can remember finding that first sip of ice cold Corona (with a lime) gloriously refreshing. Have you ever noticed how that same Corona doesn’t taste nearly so good a few minutes later? Note: noticing this might depend on how many Coronas you’ve already had. I’ve noticed, but I thought it had to do with the beer warming in the sun. Turns out I was wrong, the sun hates beer. It is an indisputable fact of science. Okay, I made that up, but the sun can turn a beer “skunky” in a matter of minutes. Scientists have noted that UV light interacts with certain hop byproducts found in beer. When UV light hits these chemicals they breakdown into the very same chemical that humans revile in the scent of actual skunks. Who knew? Turns out these scientists did.
Apparently humans are super sensitive to this chemical and can detect less than a milligram in a swimming pool. This is why you might find yourself enjoying your beer a little less if you’ve been out in the sun. I’m writing about this because I found myself turning my nose up at a glass of delicious beer this past weekend. I was really concerned there was something wrong with me until I recalled reading about the sun’s malicious intent in a recent issue of Beer Advocate. I figured I’d best blog about this and spread the word. This Summer, if you plan on drinking your favorite beer out of a clear glass or drinking Corona, Sleemans, Dead Frog, Heineken, or Stella Artois out of the bottle, shield your drinking vessel from the sun to preserve the taste.
Have you seen those Corona commercials where two people are sitting on a fabulous beach with their bottles of Corona? They are advertising skunky beer and I find that funny. If only you could taste ads, more people might be drinking quality BC microbrew, no lime required.
Cheers,
Chris
Who wants a clear bottle anyway?
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 | Breweries | 3 Comments
Fresh Hops
Sleeman Breweries, Canada’s third largest brewer, is suing Langley, BC based, Dead Frog Brewing over their use of a clear bottle. This brings me to the question, who wants a clear bottle anyway? Clear bottles, and green bottles, are not a good choice when it comes to bottling beer. Believe it or not, many people assume that Heineken, packaged in green bottles, is supposed to taste “skunky”. Nothing we consume should taste “skunky”, especially not beer.
Like most food, beer is affected by light (UV exposure) and oxygen. Any regular glass bottle will eliminate the oxygen problem, but not the light problem. The hops in beer are extremely sensitive to UV light, and when exposed to most light sources a compound from the hops will make the beer taste and smell like it lost a fight with a skunk. A proper beer bottle should be brown or opaque; a brown bottle will filter out most of the UV light that causes beer to go bad.
I understand that in order to sell more beer, marketers are coming up with new creative ways to package beer to make it look sexier. But rule number one of marketing is to make sure you have a good product to sell. Good products need less marketing support and sell themselves. Packing in a clear bottle is taking a good product and turning it into a bad product – why do that?
I hope that both brewers realize the error of their ways and switch to a more appropriate bottle.
Erik