Twin Cities Beer Geek

A blogger friend once told me, “Be careful: once you start blogging, everything becomes a possible post.” So, having ventured tentatively into the blogosphere two days ago, I’ve found the wisdom in this advice:

I was skiing at Wild Mountain on Sunday with some friends. The subject of beer and beer judging came up and somehow we ended up on the subject of skunky beer. It’s a commonly misunderstood flaw in beer; for this beer geek, that misunderstanding began in college. I learned better in my “formal” beer judge education and shared the lesson with my ski buddies.

“Skunking” is the result of hops in beer interacting with light. There are two variables in the equation: light and hops. Increasing quantities of either result increasing likelihood of skunky beer.

Green and clear bottles allow in more light than do brown ones, hence more potential skunkiness. Similarly, hoppier beers increase the likelihood of skunking. So, Pilsner Urquell (a quite hoppy beer) has a much higher chance of being skunky and of skunk intensity than does Corona (which has relatively few hops), for example.

So, the question came back: why do breweries use green bottles, then? Good question. The prevailing theories in beer geekdom are brand and “import taste.” Both are related. If the assumption (historical) that imported beers are better than those produced domestically and green bottles are indicative of importedness, than green bottles are good for imported beers brand image. Further, many drinkers who like “imported beer” consume them believing skunkiness is an “import taste” and thus somehow good or superior.

My advice: stay away from beer in green or clear bottles. Drink Heineken, Pilsner Urquell, Corona (if you must) etc. only when you can get them on tap. Choose better beers in browner bottles when you have the choice.