| Bad Beer is Bad Beer Before you send the beer back read this! While enjoying a pint with my buddy Karl the other day he told me that on his last visit to a local brewpub he though one of the beers just didn't taste right. He didn't send it back because he wasn't sure if the beer was bad or for some reason he just didn't like it. To help Karl and any of my readers who have had a similar problem here are some things to consider. First, trust your nose! Look for these smells - •Rubber (from yeast) •Cabbage, cooked vegetable (from yeast) •Medicinal aromas (undesirable fermentation by-product) •Cider (undesirable fermentation by-product) •Vinegar (by-product of bacterial action) •Sour milk (by-product of bacterial action) •Burned butter (Technical name is diacetyl) •Acetone (by-product of the fermentation of corn) The cause of this is improper brewing techniques; the off-putting order is a chemical by-product of fermentation. If you smell any of these send the beer back - it's gone bad. Often times a problem with your beer is not due to the brewery but to the place serving it. Simply put, the beer is out-of-condition thanks to poor handling, improper storage, and/or less than rigorous stabilization before packaging. Here are some things to look for •Beer is "skunked." This flaw most commonly afflicts beers packaged in clear glass bottles. Hop oils are converted by ultraviolet light into rancid- smelling chemicals. •Oxidation has taken place: This manifests itself by telltale aromas of paper or cardboard, indicating a beer that is past its prime. It is a common problem with draft beer that has been in a half-empty barrel for too long. •Poor head formation: Head formation when a beer is poured is a property that can be controlled by a brewer, so a lackluster head is not a cause of alarm in itself. However, when a beer is supposed to form a rich head, such as classic pilsner or Germanic lager, and fails to do so, staleness is usually the answer. If the hop oils degrade through age, the head will be proportionately poorer. (Detergent traces in the glass might equally cause lack-luster heads). It is also possible that your beer is "bad" due to the serving lines being infrequently cleaned. The beer sits in the line overnight, and the bacteria in the line chew on the beer and sour it. First or second pour of the night? Dreadful. If the problem is contaminated draught lines also look for a diacetyl and DMS character or cloudiness in the beer. However once the lines are cleared, the fresh beer from the keg will taste fine. Remember that an average keg of beer has a shelf life of a few to several months, if kept in an optimal environment. Also consider that up to a third of that time is spent sitting at the brewery or in a distributor’s warehouse. Of course if you drink locally brewed craft beer it's more likely to be fresh and you'll be supporting a local business. I'd be remiss if I didn't remind everyone that there is a distinction between bad beer and beer that is not to someone's preference. Sending a beer back, simply because you don't like it—unless you're relying on your server or bartender to cater to your tastes- really isn't the proper thing to do. You should always ask yourself and your server a few questions about the craft beer you're thinking of ordering. Request a small tasting sample, almost all quality beer bars will gladly comply. Just doing that will usually keep you from having to decide about sending the beer back. Before I go I want to thank all of you who have sent in articles for me to publish. Please keep them coming! If you haven't tried your hand at it - what are you waiting for? While we only select the most interesting ones to print there's no reason that won't be yours! |
| BeerNexus proudly presents Bob Montemurro "the ombudsman of beer" Bob and Friends Speak of Beer...... |
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| Cheers! See you next time to "speak about beer". Bob Montemurro |
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