Love Good Beer

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

Tags: Beer Advocate, corona, dead frog, Heineken, science, Skunky Beer, sleemans, stella artois, uv light