How Bottle Color Affects Beer Taste

Beer is typically packaged in one of three different bottle colors: brown, green and clear. Now, selection of the bottle colors usually boils down to a marketing decision – what looks good with the corresponding label and logo. From a beer protection standpoint, brown bottles offer the most bang for the buck.

The brown tint of the glass protects (but not completely) the beer from wave-lengths of blue light that cause beer to become skunked. Green and clear bottle offer virtually no protection from damaging light and therefore make the beer much more susceptible to becoming skunked.

Beer bottles that use completely opaque bottles and therefore keeping light away from the beer offer the best protection. Think of opaque bottles as the ultimate Trojan equivalent for beers.

In short, light exposure is bad, bad, bad when it comes to beer. Even beers that are sitting in the grocery store under flourescent light is susceptible to damage, especially those in lighter colored bottles.

A Few Commercial Beers and the Color of their Bottles:

Brown Bottles: Bass, Brooklyn Lager, Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, Pacifico, Quilmes, and Red Stripe.

Green Bottles: Becks, Heineken, and Molson.

Clear Bottles: Corona, Sol, Tesoro

What does skunky beer taste/smell like?

Here’s an experiment that you can do: Take two fresh non-skunked bottles of a hoppy beer such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and pour one bottle into a drinking glass and keep the other bottle away from direct sunlight. Let the one in the glass sit in the sun for 5-10 minutes an then smell and taste both the glass of beer that was exposed to sunlight and the beer that was not exposed. You should get an idea of what skunked beer tastes like from the sun exposed glass of beer.

So How Does A Beer Become Skunked?

Ultraviolet light is the uber enemy when it comes to beer. Hop-derived molecules known as isohumulones (they contribute to the bitter taste of beer) are torn from each other when exposed to UV light causing them to bind to sulfur atoms and in effect producing the skunked aroma.

Why is it called “skunk”, “skunky”, “skunked”?

It’s because the odor is reminiscent of the smell that skunks release when they are in defensive mode. In other words, skunked beer is unappealing to the taste buds.

Beer Cupcakes Made From Newcastle, Guinness and Blue Moon

Etsy member, Cacao Bakery has been offering up some very unique basked items at her online bake shop. She calls them Beer Cupcakes, and as you might have guessed, they are cupcakes made from beer! She offers them in three flavors, Chocolate Guiness, Chocolate Newcastle, and Orangey Blue Moon. The cupcakes are handmade from scratch and she even offers to perfect a recipe for you if you’ve got a favorite beer that you’d like to see made into a cupcake! I need to taste these.

“12 cupcakes ship with frosting in a separate container (so they aren’t smashed in shipping). Alcohol is cooked out during baking so anyone can enjoy them! All of our gourmet sweets & treats are handmade from scratch using all natural and organic ingredients and are always fresh to order, so please allow 2-3 days before shipping.”

Buy Beer Cupcakes from Cacao Bakery for $30 per 12 pack.

Dissecting Beer

Let’s dissect our favorite drink, beer! No need for a scalpel, the hard work has been done. Just follow this chart provided by Call Me Thirsty and dissect your way through this frosty glass of beer. We start with the aroma of the beer and work our way down to the frothy head of the beer. Color is also important as is carbonation. We all enjoy a good flavorful beer but the alcohol is probably what most people look forward to when enjoying a cold one.

A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World

Guinness is definitely not an every person beer, but for some, it is the only beer that matters. It’s one of those things that you either really love or you really hate. Some people swear by Guiness, while others sweat at it. And now you can read about the rich history of this storied  beer and the family behind it by checking out Stephen Mansfield’s new book, The Search for God and Guiness.

“It began in Ireland in the late 1700s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously undrinkable, and the gin and whiskey that took its place was devastating civil society. It was a disease ridden, starvation plagued, alcoholic age, and Christians like Arthur Guinness-as well as monks and even evangelical churches-brewed beer that provided a healthier alternative to the poisonous waters and liquors of the times. This is where the Guinness tale began. Now, 246 years and 150 countries later, Guinness is a global brand, one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The tale that unfolds during those two and a half centuries has power to thrill audiences today: the generational drama, business adventure, industrial and social reforms, deep-felt faith, and the beer itself.”

Buy The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World from Amazon for $$16.49.

Guinness: World

Guinness: World is an excellent ad campaign for your favorite dry stout. The ad was done by UK based advertising agency AMV BBDO and was directed by Johnny Green.

“This November GUINNESS have created their own fireworks, bringing a world to life in an epic new ad which is part of the new ‘Bring it to Life’ marketing campaign created by AMV BBDO. In a move away from the iconic ‘Good Things Come to Those Who Wait’, the ‘World’ ad sees a group of guys come together to bring a world to life in a creative parallel to the famous surge and settle motion of a pint of GUINNESS and the way it comes alive in front of your eyes when poured at home or in a pub.”

Marketing Manager, Paul Cornell comments; ““To mark the start of the Bring it to Life era, we wanted to create a truly amazing campaign which will graphically illustrate the life, energy and passion of the brand, its drinkers and found within every great tasting pint of GUINNESS.”

Via Ads of the World.

Winestein Beer & Wine Mug

The Winestein Beer & Wine Mug could easily be considered the mullet equivalent of drinkware. It doesn’t really know what it wants to be so it takes advantage of both worlds. Works for me!

“You like sipping wine, but sometimes you’re just more comfortable with a mug in your mitt. Well this double-walled do-it-all lets you have it both ways. Elegant wine stem on the inside, manly beer stein on the outside, it’s a glass for all reasons. So pour yourself a nice measure of vino, grab it with gusto, thoughtfully inhale the bouquet, then toss it back.”

The Winestein Beer & Wine Mug holds 8 oz. and measures 6 inches tall x 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Buy the Winestein Beer & Wine Mug from Perpetual Kid for $19.99.

Pipe Wrench

The Pipe Wrench adds a lot of kick to your IPA of choice. The cocktail was first introduced by New Jersey based Triumph Brewing Company and they suggest using a Triumph Bengal Gold IPA along with either either Bombay Sapphire or OId Raj Gin.

1 bottle Indian Pale Ale (IPA) of your choice

3 oz. Gin

Pour IPA into a pint glass. Add gin. Drink and enjoy!

Beer Wars DVD

I haven’t seen Anat Baron’s Beers Wars, but I definitely want to. It was screened in a few select cities but like most screenings, not in Hawaii. Boo Hoo for me. That means that the only way for me to get to watch this beer flick about a small town brewery going against corporate America (i.e. Anheuser-Busch) is to order direct from the Beer Wars Movie Shop. Thefilm will not be available for purchase anywhere else, including Amazon or Netflix, until next year.

“Beer Wars begins as the corporate behemoths are being challenged by small, independent brewers who are shunning the status quo and creating innovative new beers. The story is told through 2 of these entrepreneurs – Sam and Rhonda – battling the might and tactics of Corporate America. We witness their struggle to achieve their American Dream in an industry dominated by powerful corporations unwilling to cede an inch.”

DVD Features:

• Sound Mix 5.1
• 16:9
• Not Rated
• Runtime 89 minutes
• + 40 minutes of SPECIAL FEATURES

SPECIAL FEATURES include: Beer Wars Live Panel Discussion, Deleted Scenes and Trailer

Buy the Beer Wars DVD from Beer Wars Shop for $18.

Why Monster Fails In The Age of Social Media

So you’ve probably heard by now about the Little Guy vs. Big Guy, Samson vs. Goliath, Entrepreneur vs. Corporate America battle between Rock Art Brewery and Monster Energy Drink. The story of how a small Vermont based brewery is being sued by the maker of a popular energy drink has taken the Internet by storm.

The Vermonster (that’s the name of the beer that Monster Energy Drink wants banished) story just goes to show you how the game has changed and how social media is definitely a force to be reckoned with. A decade ago, a story like this would probably go unheard in the media. Monster would have simply sent a cease and desist to Rock Art Brewery, and the small brewery would comply because, well, they wouldn’t be able to afford the legal bills. However, In 2009, a bully tactic like the one pulled by Monster Energy Drink doesn’t work just quite the way it used to.

Rock Art Brewery was smart. The founders knew how to leverage social media so that their story would be heard by the masses. All it took was a simple YouTube video, a couple of tweets and all of sudden, the story of how Monster was being a bully was being featured on Masahable, Yahoo, MSNBC, and the New York Times.

And just like that, the little cease and desist letter from Monster equaled big fail. Let me tell you how:

1. Boycotts. Once the article on Mashable was up, smaller blogs began picking the story up, many of which started to call for the boycotting of Monster Energy Drinks. Monster Boycott lists so far 30 different blogs that have written about the Vermonster story. Now, multiple 30 by maybe 500-1000 (readers per blog). That comes out to roughly 30,000 people being pissed at Monster Energy Drink. Now multiply 30,000 by maybe 2-3 (people they’ll share the Vermonster story with) and you get about 90,000 people pissed at Monster Energy Drink. Then imagine that each of the 90,000 then either made a tweet, posted the story on their facebook, made a boycott Monster video on YouTube and, well, you get the idea. The amount of people pissed at Monster multiplies uncontrollably and that equates to lost sales and ton of bad word-of-mouth.

In the age of social media, it does not pay to be a douchebag, especially when a single tweet has the ability to reach thousands of people within a second. Monster, you might have been protecting your intellectual property but at the end of the day, all this trouble probably wasn’t worth the hassle.

Save Vermonster In The Media

Monster Cease and Desist Letter from Monster Energy Drink

Rock Art Brewery Respnse To Monster Energy Drink to Cease and Desist Letter

The Ale Flip

The Ale Flip, also affectionately known as the Flippant Hen and simply, The Flip is considered to be one of those hangover drinks. Though, it’s a bit counterintuitive considering you’re drinking beer to help cure a hangover from beer. But hey, who am I to judge. This particular recipe involves a raw eggs boys and girls, so, be sure to drink with caution or risk salmonella. Then again, who said adventure didn’t involve a little risk!

1 bottle Ale of your choice

1 Raw Egg

Sugar (optional)

Nutmeg (optional)

Pour a ale into glass. Break one whole egg and into beer. Add sugar and nutmeg to your liking.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user BeciAnne.