Not the microorganisms I want

[urbpan]

I just poured almost an entire 12 pack of Bass Ale down the sink. I bought it for belen1974 as a thank you for dogsitting gift, which she suspiciously ignored. Perhaps she opened one up and tasted the mildewey flavor that I did when I opened one. In fact, all the bottles I opened smelled and tasted like a moldy newspaper. While I appreciate the work of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the microorganism that changes the sugars in the beer mixture into alcohol and carbon dioxide, some other little creature has clearly gotten involved. Does anyone know what microorganism can spoil beer in this way? Interestingly, the box that the bottles came in also smelled mildewy. There's no way that whatever spoiled the beer was the same thing that spoiled the box (the capped bottles are airtight) but it makes me wonder if the boxes were exposed to some event that encouraged the unwanted mold growth. Flooding? Heat? What could spoil capped beer?

Sorry about the bad beer, Alex! I bought some replacements, whenever you'd like to come drink them with me!

Comments

[candent.livejournal.com]

It could be lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus lindneri and Pediococcus damnosus, and some Gram-negative bacteria such as Pectinatus cerevisiiphilus, Pectinatus frisingensis and Megasphaera cerevisiae. They can spoil beer by turbidity, acidity and the production of nasty smell such as diacetyl or hydrogen sulfide.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Wow that's a pretty extensive rogues gallery! Do you know what conditions are favorable for these villains?

[candent.livejournal.com]

Oxygen and temperature. The colder the beer, the slower the bacteria growth. The hotter the beer, the faster the growth.

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

That's a terrible waste. I love Bass! It's probably my favorite beer (or at least one of them).

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I suspect this 12 pack was poorly stored. Unfortunately, I've been trying a bunch of different liquor stores lately, and I don't know which one I got this beer at (otherwise I'd bring the shit back).

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I know. It was painful to do. I tasted the first 4 that I dumped, "just in case." My favorite beers are Boddingtons, Old Speckled Hen, Bass, Anchor Steam, Sam Adams Boston Ale, and Tremont Ale. I'll drink whatever you've got, but those are what I'll reach for first.

[iandavid.livejournal.com]

Mmm, Old Speckled Hen. That and Belhaven are why I still occasionally make the trek to Matt Murhpy's, despite no longer living in Brookline Village.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

Write to Bass. Tell them everything you said here, including that you can't remember where you bought it. Maybe you'll get some free beer.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say that if you write to them, give them the number off of the case or carton or bottle or something. They love that stuff.

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

I like Old Speckled Hen too, they don't sell it over here. I really like Black Butte Porter and McMeniman's IPA. I also like Guinness a lot.

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it's just not skunked beer? (http://beeradvocate.com/news/stories_read/527/)

Oh, FYI, season 2 Life On Mars trailer leaked (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a41914/in-video-life-on-mars-returns-to-bbc-one.html). It's cute. ;)

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

You know, there are much better beers. Bass is fine, but c'mon man, there are amazing American microbrews available out there. :)

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

I can't help you out on the science, but I'm willing to take a stab on solving some of the mystery, based on my observations of human nature. I suspect there was more than one carton of beer that went bad and a bottle from one of those other cartons broke, splashing funky beer on your carton. That seems the most plausable explanation of how the mold got from inside the bottles on to the carton.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Nope, I'm sure of that. I got a six of skunked Haitian beer and it caused me to research the problem. I was actually considering writing an entry all about things skunky because of it.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, if I'm someplace that has local beers I'll try them. I'm not averse to microbrews, although they tend to go way overboard on the hops.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Excellent detective work, sir!

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's the best part. :)

Hop-a-licious! HOPTACULAR! Hop-a-riffic. Hopzilla!

I *heart* hops. :)

The main ones that are like that are the IPAs and double IPAs. Look for English style bitters (which are very smooth and not bitter at all, go figure), porters, stouts, or ESBs.

So, you know, avoid things like Lagunitas' Maximusm IPA. :) Try their Imperial Stout, though.

Or anything that says "lager" or "pilsner" on it won't be too hoppy.

I'm one of those people that never knew he liked beer until I discovered ales. Growing up in the 70s I thought all beer was terrible because, well, you know, beer equalled Bud, Miller, Bud Light, Miller Lite, etc. But then I discovered full-bodied wonderful ales, and then I discovered the American IPA and that sealed the deal with my becoming a beer love and retroactively learning to appreciate good lagers and pilsners (although for the most part, they are often still too light for me).

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Of course, the hoppier the beer the less likely of this sort of thing happening with it since hops specifically is a preservative for beer. (That's the history of the IPA, after all. India Pale Ale - More hops for preserving it for a longer time in transit from England to India.)

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

I found a possible answer. Take a look at this beer tasting wheel:
http://www.alabev.com/tasting_and_evaluating_beer.htm

Check out item number eight:
8. Oxidized, Stale, Musty (ODOR)
0800 Stale (old beer)
0810 Catty (skunky)
0820 Papery (cardboard)
0830 Leathery
0840 Moldy (damp cellar, wet soil)

It is odd that in a commercial brew you experienced it, as it seems to be an issue among home brewers trying too hard to clarify their beer by moving it beyond a secondary fermentation tank or beyond a secondary bottling tank.

So, I have two sites that describe oxidized beer almost the same way you described what you smelled, as "papery" or "newspaper".

This site (http://www.carolinabrewmasters.com/examstudy/Offflavors.htm#Oxidized/Stale) discusses oxidation: "Oxidation manifests as stale, sherry-winey, rotten-fruit or vegetable, cardboard, & papery. The characteristics are perceived in either aroma & flavor or both. Primary causes are old beer, extra oxygen introduced via bottling/kegging, & controlling temperature throughout the process. Avoid too much airspace in the bottle, warm temperatures, & excessive aging; drink your beer when it’s still viable!"

So, technically, the fact that there was mold on the actually outside leads me more to think brush_rat hit it on the head with someone spilling some on the case, but I don't think the beer itself was moldy. I think the mold on the case just represents the fact that it was old beer. In that case, it's a shame you dumped it because you could have taken it back to the store and pointed out that they are not cycling their inventory in a timely manner. And it's not a surprise. Most store owners probably don't know that much about beer except that they sell it and which one's sell. They may think that it keeps longer than it really does. I would have poked around on the container for any clue of a date. So, I would say that it's just a normal process that beer has is handled improperly or kept too long. I personally don't think anything beyond our yeast buddies were at work as normal, but that over time they, well, just kept doing their job to the point that it went to that flavor you got. i.e. I personally don't think the beer was contaminated. Contaminated beer would yield different smell, like hospital smell, or sulfur, or sour flavor.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, now that I can recognize the flavor of hops I find it to be overused. I think the microbrewers use it as a way to distinguish themselves from the major brewers: "You have to be in our bitter club to enjoy our beer." Inversely, Newcastle nut brown had an ad campaign designed to deliberately distance the beer from "bitter" associations. I find that beer cloying.

I prefer ales myself, but I'll drink just about anything. I recently bought myself a suitcase of Black Label, just for fun. A nice cold can (yes, can) of pilsner is just the thing sometimes.

These days it can be hard to distinguish microbrews by label alone, since the major brewers have snuck some faux-micros into the fridge. It bothers me more to find that the six of Killian's I bought is just disguised Coors, than to just go ahead and buy some Milwaukee's best.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I was astonished to have this problem with Bass, a high-selling import that usually has good turnover. I'd expect it from Heineken, my new least favorite beer. It tastes the same as Rolling Rock, but since its made in Holland (or more often, the Dutch Antilles) it's sold as an "import." It's often the only imported beer available, in small bars, on airplanes, and so on. It's always skunked. Apparently some Americans are under the belief that imported beer is supposed to be skunked (probably from drinking Heineken or Tsingtao) and so some brewers intentionally expose the beer to light to meet the expectation.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure which store I bought it at, but I have an idea: a small one with a suspiciously exotic stock--I suspect they get lots of reduced rate/salvage merchandise--bargain bin booze from bigger stores and warehouses. If I'd saved the receipt I'd definitely go back and return it.

Cans...

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Actually, like everything else, depends on the beer. 21st Amendment (http://www.21st-amendment.com/) here in San Francisco cans two of their most popular brews and I've had it from the cans and it's great.

Re distinguishing, yeah, it's becoming more an issue. I find that the big brewers, though, tend to stay away from the 22oz tallboy these days. They stick close to six pack or 40oz containers, so I spend a lot of time in the tallboy section. My local grocery, while not big on variety over time, does have enough beer variety that they have domestic on a different aisle from imports. Single large bottle imports can be quite yummy too, like the Paulner stuff. But I like the tall boys for microbrew because you can spend less than a six pack and usually there is more information on the bottle from the brewer about location, ABV, IBUs, etc. Lagunitas is, in fact, making label screeds and art form. :) My favorite label from them was the one for Undercover Investigation Shutdown Ale (http://www.beerlabels.com/labels/labels.pl/4434/lagunitas-undercover-investigation-shut-down-ale.html). :) (That link goes to a scan of the label.)

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Green bottles are simply more likely to skunnk because they don't filter UV light as much as brow bottles, and sunlight and fluorescents cause the breakdown of the very things that keep beer fresh.