Let's talk good beer

[RedskinMike]

Originally Posted by over the mountain

thanks for the info Mike. good the know. where do you hear/learn all this stuff?

BD - yes, its nice to have bells and 2 hearted around now. maybe founders and deschutes will come to MD next? they dist in DC like bells.

I am quite serious about drinking beer.

[over the mountain]

Originally Posted by RedskinMike

I am quite serious about drinking beer.

you are ahead of the intel game my friend. i just show up to one of my craft beer stores friday after work and throw my money at them.

I would love to see founders in MD. ive never tried any of their selections.

i understand founders wanting controls on having their beer be fresh ... magruders on conn ave in dc had founders beer brewed in 2014 sitting on the shelf when i went a few weeks ago.

----------------------------

does anyone home brew?

[BDBohnzie]

Drinking a Bell's Oberon as we speak. I love the cloudiness. Not big into wheat beers, but this one drinks nicely. I love Two Hearted. It'll be nice to have a consistent supply of Bell's in MD now. Also got 2 bombers of Heavy Seas/Yards Philtimore. English style Pale Ale. It'll be a nice change of pace from the hoppy beers I've been sucking down lately.

[Chico23231]

Here in Va my beer store guy and I were talking Saturday about the awesomeness which is Avery Brewery, specifically this: The Maharaja - Avery Brewing Company and this: duganA - Avery Brewing Company.

He was mentioning how Maharaja didnt show up this last round due to his store to distribution disputes. I dont understand all of it but he was saying that Avery distribution company had recently been sold and Avery might have to pull out the market here.

I really hate stuff like this and this isnt the first time. We have loss Great Divide and Sweetwater for years, only for them to return at a later date.

Its beer, its important, i need it available to me. Im willing to go 15 miles away from where I reside to get a 6 pack of something I can only find there and pay $14.00 or $10 for a bomber in some cases. Im certainly not the only one in doing this, so there is demand. So WTF?

[Chico23231]

Born on date is good to see or a date that says best by this date...but ive been screwed before where the bottle date like a month ago and the whole sixer was skunked.

Ive always heard going from warm to cold to warm again (and vice versa) is terrible for beer and will skunk it for sure.

[over the mountain]

The saddest thing about skunking is that it is easily prevented. Once you understand the cause of this flaw, you’ll see how:

Almost all of the world’s commercial beers contain hops. In fact, American and German beers are required by law to contain at least a small amount of hops. Hops give the beer bitterness, and can also be used to impart a spicy, fruity sort of aroma best described as “hoppy.” (Obviously, I’ll never be writing a dictionary.)

The hop compounds that are responsible for making beer bitter are called isomerized alpha-acids. These chemicals, along with sulfur compounds found in beer, are also culpable in beer skunking. When light hits beer, it provides the energy necessary to drive a reaction that transforms the iso-alpha-acids into 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. The “thiol” part of that somewhat cumbersome name indicates that there is sulfur present. Sulfur compounds often have strong, offensive aromas. Some musteline animals, like skunks, have evolved the ability to produce this chemical, and use it for self-defense.

In a sense, the aroma of light-struck beer doesn’t just resemble skunk spray, it is skunk spray! It’s the same stuff!

This photochemical reaction is the only cause of skunked beer. Warm storage, while damaging to the flavor of beer, does not skunk it. Cycling the temperature of beer from warm to cold and back again is also not implicated. Storing beer in the dark is the simple way to prevent skunking.

Blue light, and to a lesser extent green and a bit of near ultraviolet are the most damaging to beer. Most wavelenghts of ultraviolet light are not a concern because glass blocks them quite effectively (that’s why you don’t get sunburned in your car). The color of glass is the color of the light that it transmits, so green bottles allow the green light though. Similarly, blue light passes unhindered through pretty, cobalt-blue bottles. Clear bottles transmit all of the visible light. That is the reason beer in green, blue, and clear bottles is almost always skunked. Yes, even some very expensive imports.

The photochemical reaction that skunks beer occurs very quickly; a well-hopped beer in clear glass can become noticeably offensive with just 30 seconds of exposure to sunshine. Brown glass transmits less visible light than the previously mentioned colors, and therefore offers some protection from skunking. It does allow some light through, so beer in brown bottles will skunk after a few hours of light exposure.

Since light is an essential ingredient in the skunking process, beers packaged in kegs, cans, and opaque bottles cannot be skunked. Beers with very little hops, like all of the insipid mass-market American lagers, cannot become as skunky as overtly hoppy styles like pale ales, simply because there is less iso-alpha-acid available.

There is a way to skunk-proof beer, and it is used by the Miller Brewing Company. Instead of using hop flowers to bitter their beers, they use a special hop extract called tetra-hop. The isomerized alpha-acids in this product have a slightly different molecular structure than naturally isomerized alpha-acids, and are immune to the effects of light. This extract has the added benefit of greatly increasing the foam retention of a beer.

Tetra-hop extract is only used for bittering; it has no aroma. If one brews with any hop constituent other than tetra-hop, the beer will no longer be light-proof, so any beer with hop aroma is subject to skunking. Hop aroma is not desired by Miller’s marketing department, but clear glass bottles are, so tetra-hop works nicely for them.

The marketers that sell Corona figured out a different way to skunk-proof their product: they advise shoving a lime wedge or three into the bottle, and consuming the beverage directly from the package. The strong aroma of the citrus fruit serves to mask the inevitable skunkiness, while the narrow mouth of the bottle prevents the drinker from actually smelling the liquid.

It is easy to skunk a beer for educational purposes, but almost impossible to find beer packaged in green, blue or clear glass that is not already skunked. Homebrewers can simply put some of their beer into clear bottles, expose one to sunlight light for one-half hour while keeping the other in the dark, and then comparing their aromas.

Professor_Beer_Skunked_Beer


basically keep it away from light and store cold if possible. why a lot of craft beer is coming in cans and moving from brown glass.

[RedskinMike]

Originally Posted by over the mountain

The saddest thing about skunking is that it is easily prevented. Once you understand the cause of this flaw, you’ll see how:

Almost all of the world’s commercial beers contain hops. In fact, American and German beers are required by law to contain at least a small amount of hops. Hops give the beer bitterness, and can also be used to impart a spicy, fruity sort of aroma best described as “hoppy.” (Obviously, I’ll never be writing a dictionary.)

The hop compounds that are responsible for making beer bitter are called isomerized alpha-acids. These chemicals, along with sulfur compounds found in beer, are also culpable in beer skunking. When light hits beer, it provides the energy necessary to drive a reaction that transforms the iso-alpha-acids into 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. The “thiol” part of that somewhat cumbersome name indicates that there is sulfur present. Sulfur compounds often have strong, offensive aromas. Some musteline animals, like skunks, have evolved the ability to produce this chemical, and use it for self-defense.

In a sense, the aroma of light-struck beer doesn’t just resemble skunk spray, it is skunk spray! It’s the same stuff!

This photochemical reaction is the only cause of skunked beer. Warm storage, while damaging to the flavor of beer, does not skunk it. Cycling the temperature of beer from warm to cold and back again is also not implicated. Storing beer in the dark is the simple way to prevent skunking.

Blue light, and to a lesser extent green and a bit of near ultraviolet are the most damaging to beer. Most wavelenghts of ultraviolet light are not a concern because glass blocks them quite effectively (that’s why you don’t get sunburned in your car). The color of glass is the color of the light that it transmits, so green bottles allow the green light though. Similarly, blue light passes unhindered through pretty, cobalt-blue bottles. Clear bottles transmit all of the visible light. That is the reason beer in green, blue, and clear bottles is almost always skunked. Yes, even some very expensive imports.

The photochemical reaction that skunks beer occurs very quickly; a well-hopped beer in clear glass can become noticeably offensive with just 30 seconds of exposure to sunshine. Brown glass transmits less visible light than the previously mentioned colors, and therefore offers some protection from skunking. It does allow some light through, so beer in brown bottles will skunk after a few hours of light exposure.

Since light is an essential ingredient in the skunking process, beers packaged in kegs, cans, and opaque bottles cannot be skunked. Beers with very little hops, like all of the insipid mass-market American lagers, cannot become as skunky as overtly hoppy styles like pale ales, simply because there is less iso-alpha-acid available.

There is a way to skunk-proof beer, and it is used by the Miller Brewing Company. Instead of using hop flowers to bitter their beers, they use a special hop extract called tetra-hop. The isomerized alpha-acids in this product have a slightly different molecular structure than naturally isomerized alpha-acids, and are immune to the effects of light. This extract has the added benefit of greatly increasing the foam retention of a beer.

Tetra-hop extract is only used for bittering; it has no aroma. If one brews with any hop constituent other than tetra-hop, the beer will no longer be light-proof, so any beer with hop aroma is subject to skunking. Hop aroma is not desired by Miller’s marketing department, but clear glass bottles are, so tetra-hop works nicely for them.

The marketers that sell Corona figured out a different way to skunk-proof their product: they advise shoving a lime wedge or three into the bottle, and consuming the beverage directly from the package. The strong aroma of the citrus fruit serves to mask the inevitable skunkiness, while the narrow mouth of the bottle prevents the drinker from actually smelling the liquid.

It is easy to skunk a beer for educational purposes, but almost impossible to find beer packaged in green, blue or clear glass that is not already skunked. Homebrewers can simply put some of their beer into clear bottles, expose one to sunlight light for one-half hour while keeping the other in the dark, and then comparing their aromas.

Professor_Beer_Skunked_Beer


basically keep it away from light and store cold if possible. why a lot of craft beer is coming in cans and moving from brown glass.

You sir are correct. Light and specifically uv light are the main issue. Florescent lights which are the normal light sources in stores and coolers will destroy an ipa in no time. I've had beer skunk in my glass outside in july.

[Hog1]

SOON to be available.......

Duff Beer: 'The Simpsons' Beer Is Coming To Stores - But Not In The U.S.

[Schneed10]

A lot of the craft brews I buy though are bottle conditioned, so more age = good thing. Also here in PA you can't buy quantities less than a case (our blue laws are ridiculous). So the beer is almost always stored in cardboard anyway, away from light.

[Schneed10]

Best beer I ever had was a bottle conditioned imperial stout that was stored in bourbon barrels for a year before bottling. 10.5% alcohol. A case of 12 750mL bottles cost me $300, but it was soo worth it.

Bought it 7 years ago and just drank the last bottle at Thanksgiving. That was the best one of the bunch.

[over the mountain]

redskins mike - do you know of a good craft beer store around laurel/odenton?

im looking to try someplace else beside perfect pour in columbia or bo brooks in balt. the place in silver spring price gouges so i dont go there out of principle.

schneed - by the case??? wholly snikies that is a commitment.

[MTK]

Got to try Maine Lunch on tap this weekend along with Hill Farmstead Harlan IPA. Both were excellent.

[over the mountain]

you tried hill farmstead? doesnt that guy only distribute his beer for a 50 miles radius from the brewery? (i exaggerate but i thought you had to live in the state to get it).

not to dead beat the dob issue but i havent had union jack or sculpin in a long time bc they are always over 70 days or so. i check them every time hoping for a fresh batch but they just get older and older.

i went to perfect pour this friday and they had 2 sixers of union jack w a 5-16-15 dob or something (score) right next to union jack sixers from jan.

amazing how these craft beer stores who pride themselves so much let old beer sit there. dont they have a tacking system?

im convinced bo brooks has the same sixers of sculpin just sitting there for the past few months. im tempted to take a marker and mark the bottom of the sixer and see how long that same sixer juts sits there.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by over the mountain

you tried hill farmstead? doesnt that guy only distribute his beer for a 50 miles radius from the brewery? (i exaggerate but i thought you had to live in the state to get it).



not to dead beat the dob issue but i havent had union jack or sculpin in a long time bc they are always over 70 days or so. i check them every time hoping for a fresh batch but they just get older and older.



i went to perfect pour this friday and they had 2 sixers of union jack w a 5-16-15 dob or something (score) right next to union jack sixers from jan.



amazing how these craft beer stores who pride themselves so much let old beer sit there. dont they have a tacking system?



im convinced bo brooks has the same sixers of sculpin just sitting there for the past few months. im tempted to take a marker and mark the bottom of the sixer and see how long that same sixer juts sits there.

I'm lucky enough to live close to the border of Vt. When a keg of their stuff is available it's like a major event.

[Chico23231]

Is there honestly a better beer than 2 hearted ale? Tough to beat IMO