Some bad in the beer

So we’ve seen some of the basic flavors in beer and from they originate. Other flavors and aromas persist, though, and these aren’t so good. Let’s take a look at some of the common ones now, and how they invade your beer.  Bad flavors originate from different sources. From the brewing method, to storage, to serving and sometimes drinking.

Perhaps the most popular bad taste is the ‘skunk’. This is a particular taste (and smell) that is akin to the skunk’s, uh…defense mechanism. There are two main causes of this:
One: The beer has been ‘light struck’. This means that light (ultraviolet and visible) motivates present riboflavin to break apart certain hop molecules. In turn the free pieces attach to sulfur atoms to produce the skunkiness. Certain brewing techniques (e.g. Miller) use a different hop extract lacking these certain molecules and is thus more resistant to skunking. To protect against light, some breweries use brown bottles or enclose their 6 and 12 packs with more cardboard packaging. Some have even moved to canning their beers, a trend gaining more and more momentum as canning technology advances. Green and clear bottles offer minimal, if any, protection from light.
Two/a: To assume a skunked beer is the result of light damage is just that, an assumption. In fact some beers are designed to offer tastes similar to that of skunkiness. While similar in taste and smell to skunked bottles, these beers derive their taste from natural sulfur tendencies in yeasts or hop strains used in brewing. So, if you taste a beer that has a skunkiness characteristic, it might be due to light damage, or as the brewer intended.
Two/b: You could find yourself sipping a beer from a glass at a restaurant, a brewery, a party or by yourself outside, enjoying the sun. Chances are, if you are in the straight sunlight for more than a minute or two, your beer will suffer from the beginnings of light damage. The beer might taste different from start to finish. It ain’t the beer’s fault, it’s the lucky ole sun.

Diacetyl: This a volatile compound found in the fermentation. While low levels can give a beer a “slick” feeling in the mouth, it is most noticeable at high levels as a butterscotch flavor. This can, in large part, due to poor maintenance of tap lines. Diacetyl can absolutely ruin a beer.

DMS (dimethyl sulfide): This volatile compound is developed during the brewing process from the malt at high temperatures. During boil the DMS is expelled, but as soon as the boil stops DMS builds up again and the wort must be cooled quickly to limit its presence. DMS will give off a cream corn aroma and slight taste. While this may be normal, in small amounts, in some lager it is most commonly an error in brewing and sometimes by infection.

Chlorophenol: This is a plastic-medicine like aroma, kind of like a Band-Aid. It’s more prominent in the aroma than taste when present and is due to residual cleansers and sanitizers in the beer. Could also be a yeast problem.

Those are the more common imperfections in beer. So the next time you taste or smell some of these you will be able to identify what may have happened to the beer and if it's avoidable next time you try that particular brew. 

Updated reviews

Date           Beer Name    Brewery   Style   abv   Grade/Rating  %deviation

11/9/2009 Euphoria Pale Ale Ska Brewing Co. American Pale Ale (APA) ? B- / 3.4 -12.10%
11/8/2009 Sierra Nevada Estate Brewers Harvest Ale Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. American IPA 6.7 A- / 4.1 0.20%
11/8/2009 Warrior IPA Left Hand Brewing Company American IPA 6.6 B / 3.7 -6.50%
11/5/2009 Spruce Goose Steamworks Brewing Co. American Strong Ale 7.3 B- / 3.4 -1.50%
11/4/2009 Bourbon Barrel Stout Odell Brewing Company American Double / Imperial Stout 10.5 B+ / 3.9 -11%
11/4/2009 Le Fleur Misseur New Belgium Brewing Inc. Belgian Pale Ale 6.5 B- / 3.4 -14.10%
11/4/2009 Lips Of Faith Transatlantique Kriek New Belgium Brewing Inc. Lambic - Fruit 8 B+ / 3.85 10.90%
11/4/2009 Mountain Standard Reserve Odell Brewing Company American Brown Ale ? B / 3.75 0%
11/2/2009 Imperial Porter (Brewmaster Reserve 2009) Full Sail Brewing Company / Tasting Room and Pub American Porter 7.5 B+ / 3.85 -4.70%
10/31/2009 Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale Stone Brewing Company Belgian Strong Dark Ale 8.9 A- / 4.1 -0.20%
10/26/2009 Alaskan Baltic Porter Alaskan Brewing Co. Baltic Porter 9.9 B+ / 3.95 -2.30%
10/26/2009 Urca Vanilla Porter Dry Dock Brewing Co. Herbed / Spiced Beer 5.3 A / 4.4 5.90%
10/26/2009 Seven C's Dry Dock Brewing Co. American Double / Imperial IPA 10.8 A- / 4.1 1.20%
10/26/2009 Alexander Nevesky Russian Imperial Stout Dry Dock Brewing Co. Russian Imperial Stout 9.5 A- / 4.25 -3.80%
10/21/2009 DuganA IPA Avery Brewing Company American Double / Imperial IPA 8.5 A- / 4.2 1.40%
10/18/2009 Shipyard Export Ale Shipyard Brewing Co. American Pale Ale (APA) 5 C / 2.95 -14.20%
10/15/2009 Racer X Bear Republic Brewing Co. American Double / Imperial IPA 9 A / 4.4 2%
10/15/2009 Jingle Ale Spiced Ale Coopersmith's Pub & Brewing Herbed / Spiced Beer ? B- / 3.45 -13.90%
10/14/2009 Ironbound Ale Williamsburg AleWerks American Double / Imperial IPA 9 B / 3.7 2.20%
10/10/2009 Hop 15 Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port American Double / Imperial IPA 10 A / 4.35 2.80%
10/7/2009 Beatification Russian River Brewing Company American Wild Ale 5.5 B- / 3.35 -29%
10/7/2009 WinterCoat Double Hop WinterCoat American Double / Imperial IPA 8.2 B+ / 3.95 0.30%
10/1/2009 Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel Brasserie d'Achouffe Belgian IPA 9 A- / 4.25 -0.20%
10/1/2009 Pride Midnight Sun Brewing Belgian Strong Pale Ale 6.5 B- / 3.3 -25.20%
9/30/2009 The Great Pumpkin Elysian Brewing Company Pumpkin Ale ? B+ / 4 -8%
9/30/2009 Poor Man's Double IPA Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port American Double / Imperial IPA 9 B+ / 3.85 -8.80%
9/29/2009 Black Orchard The Bruery Belgian Dark Ale 5.7 C / 2.9 -29%
9/29/2009 Humulus Ludicrous Half Pints Brewing Company American Double / Imperial IPA 8 A- / 4.15 0.50%
9/29/2009 Taras Boulba Brasserie De La Senne / De Zenne Brouwerij Belgian Pale Ale 4.5 A- / 4.15 2.90%

Basic Flavors in Beer

Ok, so we have a basic understanding of how the tongue works (for tasting purposes—get your mind out of the gutter). This will help understand what flavors you detect based, somewhat, on the region of the tongue are stimulated. Beer is complex, yet is made from only a few ingredients; malted grain, hops, water and yeast. Yet these ingredients are obtained from a wide range of options. For instance, there are dozens of varieties of hops, each with their own flavor, aroma and bitterness. And these can be blended and/or added at different times during brewing. Let’s take a closer look at these ingredients.


Malted Grain

Notice this is not limited to barley. While barley is the dominant grain used in beer it is important to note that other grains (rye, wheat, oats, rice…) can be used. We won’t get into those other grains quite yet and just focus on barley for now.

Barley contains the starches needed that, when malted, produces sugars on which the yeast will feed later to produce ethanol. There are two types of barley; 2-row and 6-row. Both are used in the beer industry with 2-row for all-malt beers (no additional grains) and 6-row used for blends (like the macro-brews that use adjunct grains). Basically, the 2-row kernels are plumper and offer a maltier flavor, while the 6-rowers produce a grainier taste and contain more protein and enzymes, which can produce shelf instability and chill haze for all-malt beers. The extra enzymes in macros can help break down adjuncts like rice and corn that may be added later.

The grain (barley) is allowed to germinate to the point of producing small sprouts at which time the process is stopped through kilning. The kilning process itself can be modified to produce different malted grains; from lightly toasted to heavily roasted. This malt affects aroma, appearance and flavors.

Flavors (barley):

Bready, biscuit, sweet, caramel, coffee, chocolate, toffee, toast, molasses, cocoa, and burnt bread are most common.

Hops

There are many varieties of hops. Basic division is between aroma and flavor. A good aroma can accentuate the flavors of the beer as well as additional appeal. The hops vine is a relative of marijuana and produces flowers in which the lupulin resides. Lupulin is a waxy substance that contains two acids; alpha and beta, the former being more used in beer for bittering. The lupulin also contains aromatic oils. Depending on the hops used (and quantity) will affect the aroma of the beer, the taste and the mouth-feel, which is where bitterness comes into play.

Bitterness is that bite you get on (mostly) the side of your tongue. It often gives the beer a “dry” feeling to it. The measurement of alpha acids determines the bitterness of the beer. But bitterness isn’t the only quality. Here is a very small list of flavors from different hops:

• Saaz (Czech)—spicy, fresh
• German—herbal, minty
• English—Spicy, fruity
• American—all over the map; resiny, piney, grapefruity

Some Double India Pale Ales, or Imperial Pale Ales, have a distinctive resiny/oily feel to them. They are chalk full of hops. To get the most out of the oils of the lupulin, hops are added late in the brewing process. Boiling drives off many of the oils so adding hops late in the boil saves the oil (and a rhyme).

The contributions of hops are plentiful and complex. But I’ve tried to condense it to a manageable summary for the modest beer drinker.

Yeast

That small, unseen, and powerful organism; yeast. Beer needs yeast. Once the grain is malted it is subjected to yeast, which eats the starch and sugars and produces ethanol (alcohol) and carbonation. But yeast does more. It adds flavor and texture. To experience the impact of yeast, the best way is to grab a bottle of a Belgian Tripel or some sour beer (like a Flanders Ale). In the Tripel the yeast will be rich, spicy, and “tingly”; with the Flanders you’ll get a lot of sourness. Different yeast strains will produce different tastes and effects.

Lager Yeast—certain strains of yeast only ferment under cooler temperatures. Beers that use these are called lagers. For the most part, there’s not a whole lot of wiggle room for lagers. All American macro beers (Bud, Miller, Coors, PBR, Hamms….) are lagers. Yet, not all lagers tast like these. The Saaz hops (above) is commonly used in Pilseners (a lager from Czech Rep.) and gives the beer a refreshing, light, biscuit taste.

Ale Yeast—other strains of yeast ferment at higher temperatures and these beers are called Ales. More variety here and flavors range from buttery to apple.

What yeast can provide in the taste:
Buttery, sweetness, roses (floral), spicy, coriander, lemon, zest, sour, and grassy. This is a very limited list, but it gives the idea of how yeast affects the beer in more ways than just producing alcohol.

Water

Yes, water affects the beer, after all it is the dominate ingredient. Hard and soft water are the two basic types, although this is a range. Water is the universal solvent and it dissolves minerals along the way to the brewery (from the lake, river, stream, whatever). Depending on the region and filtering processes used by the brewer (if any) will determine the hard-/soft-ness of the water. The flavors offered are:

• Chalkiness from carbonate
• Sodium and chloride provide roundness
• Plaster and tanginess from sulfate
• Metallic, bloody, iron, bitterness

Again, not the complete list, but it shows how water can affect the taste of beer. It can also affect the other ingredients in the beer. The brewer must know the chemical components of each ingredient and they interact. This leaves room for imperfections and defects, which will be the next episode here.

Any questions or comments, please leave them.










Cheers!