Skunk Beer

This is another in our continuing series on educating the masses in the intricacies and nuances of beer and craft beer in particular.  Today, we will talk about how your beer turns skunky.

A lot of people seem to think that the taste of beer is affected by temperature changes.  Technically, that's true.  Temperature can change taste, but it has nothing to do with making the beer smell and taste skunky.  Most ales are meant to be drank at temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  The only beers meant to be drank as cold as possible are the adjunct lagers.  Since there isn't all that much taste in thjem, cold doesn't effect much.

So if it isn't temperature changes, what causes beer to turn skunky?

This from Beeriety:

Although there are plenty of ways to ruin a beer, overexposure to light is the only way to skunk it. Storing beer at room temperature won’t do it; re-chilling cold beer that’s warmed up won’t do it either.  These are common misconceptions, but the fact remains the only way to skunk a beer is to overexpose it to light.

The reasons why light is so damaging to your beer gets technical fast, but basically, the light causes alpha-acids (the key component of hops) to break down and combine with other chemicals in beer to create 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, a sulfur-containing substance which produces the strong sulfur smell which is extremely similar to isopentyl mercaptan, or skunk spray.  It’s easy to see why light-struck beer got its skunky nickname; it’s almost the exact same smell.

That's why you shouldn't buy beer in clear bottles unless they've been kept from sunlight.  Brown bottles are the pretty good at keeping sunlight out and green isn't quite as efficient as the brown.  These days, cans are best and you no longer have to worry about the can interfering with the flavor. 

Bottom line:  If it's in glass, keep it out of the sun!

Cheers!

VW

Comments

[Chris]

Keep up the good work and thanks for the Twitter follow.

Chris @ Beeriety