One Man's Banana Lollies is Another Man's Baby Vomit

There are some common faults in brewing beer and they result in identifiable 'off-flavours'. We had a session to try and isolate and identify them, which proved very interesting. You see, not all 'off flavours' are bad - for example; apples; honey; popcorn; aniseed might be pleasant aromas and flavours. Some, however - such as cardboard, sulphur, farts and baby vomit - will never be particularly palatable.

Most of these flavours are natural and occur during fermentation and other organic brewing processes. Some of them are present in all beers, but pass below the detection threshold, unless they are meant to be noticeable in certain styles, in which case they are perfectly acceptable.

The difficulty is that we don't all use the same vocabulary to describe these things, and we don't even all detect them in the same levels.Different people have different words to describe the same thing (green apple/ paint thinner).The ability to detect some tastes and aromas is genetic, and we all have different biological sensitivities. It is, naturally, of benefit to be able to identify one's own blind spots to assist in brewing.

To test these things, we took a control beer and added samples of off-flavours (chemical compounds) to it. The control beer was Mort's Gold, a crisp, hoppy, Czech-style pilsner brewed by BentSpoke. After we had all sampled it and made notes on how it was supposed to taste, our facilitator (and crazy chemist in the kitchen), Patrick Baggoley, added capsules of powder to different jugs of the beer, which were then passed around for our delectation. He did, first caution us with a service announcement - “If you see someone slipping powder in your drink in the pub, report it to the authorities.”

1. ACETALDEHYTE (CH3CHO) - I detected a sharp aroma of nail-varnish remover and an unpleasant finish which flattened both the hop and the malt profile. I am meant to detect green apples, cut grass,cut pumpkin and/or latex paint. This is naturally-occurring organic compound found in yeast is present in all beer in small quantities, and is part of the flavour profile of some American lagers (including Budweiser). High levels are generally due to poor yeast health or un-aged beer.
2. ETHYL HEXANOATE - I detected an aniseed/ fennel aroma and a saccharine flavour with detergent notes. I am meant to detect aniseed, red apple, strawberry and floral, sweet esters. It is produced by yeast early in fermentation and found in low quantities (0.07 - 0.5 mg/l). The perception threshold is 0.2 mg/l.
3. ETHYL BUTYRATE - I detected vomit and cooked creamed corn. I am meant to detect banana sweets and bubble-gum (deliberately encouraged in some Belgian beers), tropical fruits, mango, tinned pineapple, and a slightly cheesy fruity ester flavour, probably not encouraged in anything.
4. ISOAMYL ACETATE - I detected no aroma and an astringent, chemical flavour. I am meant to detect banana and pear-drops, which I don't even consider to be remotely alike! Apparently this is perfectly acceptable in Heferwizen
5. 4-VINY GUAIACOL - I detected root beer flavour, nutmeg, vanilla and clove,which was not unpleasant. I am meant to detect spicy, herbal, clove. Hurrah! This phenolic flavour is caused by/ found in wild yeast/ specialty yeast, and is present in all beers. It is perceptible in wheat beers, smoked beers and Specialty Belgian beers, but at higher concentrations it may taste medicinal.
6. CIS-3-HEXANOL - I detected a buttery aroma, and a flat, graphite, hay/corn flavour with a lingering astringency. I am meant to detect alfalfa (seriously? How many beer-drinkers know what that smells/ tastes like?), grass clippings, sagebush, hay and green leaves. This is a compound that arises naturally in vegetal matter when unsaturated fatty acids are degraded, and can be eliminated by reducing dry-hopping.
7. ISOBUTYRALDEHYDE - I detected not much; it stripped all flavour and left me with a tinny/ metallic impression. I am meant to detect a grainy taste. Clearly I don;t get this one at all. It is present in all grain husks, and is detectable in high quantities when using malt that hasn’t been stored long enough before use, excessively long mashing, over crushing or over sparging.
8. DIACETYL - I detected sweet buttery aromas and a flavour of plastic or rubber. I am meant to detect butter popcorn and butterscotch. This dulls the malt and the hops, and is a very common fault in homebrew. It can leave a slick mouthfeel, which gives the illusion of a richness, and the ability to detect it is easier in lower alcohol beers. It is acceptable in small quantities in ESB and Bohemian Pilsner. It is produced early in fermentation and is generally caused by wrong temperature, unclean beer lines and infection.
9. LIGHT-STRUCK - I detected skunky, wet dog, damp flats and soggy carpet aromas - it smells like a lager (Carlsberg/ Heineken/ Steinlager). I am meant to detect sulphur, which presents as a catty, skunky aroma - yay, me! It is caused by the photo-chemical reaction of exposing beer to light. Imported Euro lager (in green bottles) often tastes like this, to such an extent that many people now have accepted that is how it is supposed to taste. (Corona uses a hop additive/ chemically-modified hop to get around this problem and still be able to use clear glass bottles.) You can try this yourself at home (or at the pub if there is a nice sunny beer garden) by pouring an IPA and putting it in direct sunlight. Even after 30 seconds it will start to taste differently. The solution is simply not to expose beer to sunlight after hops have been added – don’t use clear or green bottles.
10. DIMETHYL SULFIDE (DMS) - I detected rotten veg and boiled cabbage. I am meant to detect cooked broccoli, corn, and/or parsnips. This is a sulphur compound produced during fermentation of malt and is present to some degree in all beers (the highest concentrations to be found in German lagers). Fortunately it often boils off naturally in the brewing process, so can be eliminated by the use of a long, rolling boil.
11. 2-NONENAL - I detected a spent fireworks and peated whisky aroma, and a strong cardboard flavour. I am meant to detect wet cardboard, paper, ball-point pen, and tomato juice. This indicates that the beer has oxidised, and can be avoided by purging bottles with CO² prior to filling, storing beer cool, and drinking beer fresh.
12. MERCAPTAN (3-METHYL2-BUTENE-THIOL) - I detected sulphur and rotten eggs. I am meant to detect drains, polecats, rotten veg; and a farty catty sulphur. This is usually caused by light-strike (see 9).
13. HYDROGEN SULPHIDE - I detected burning, lighter fuel, and an astringent mouthfeel. I am meant to detect rotten eggs and burning matches. This is produced by yeast during fermentation, and, whereas in small quantities it can make beer taste ‘fresh’, at higher concentrations it is an ‘off-flavour’. It is hard to detect because olfactory senses quickly adapt to this flavour. “The more you look for it; the less likely you are to find it.”

This seemed like a good note on which to end the session and go and have a decent beer! For more information on off-flavours in beer check out these links:
BJCP Guide to Beer Faults
FlavorAvtiV
The Complete Beer Fault Guide by Thomas Barnes

Mutual satisfaction

I found some beer notes that I wrote a while ago, so I thought I'd share them with you here. They are about Epic Mayhem, which was available at The Malthouse at the time. I don't think it still is. This was back in February around beer festival time - sigh, how I miss those heady days.

Auckland brewer Luke Nicholas explained that Epic had grown by 200% in the past 12 months, so he must have been doing something right. In a typically erudite Kiwi fashion he said, "I'm making beer because I like it. I'm making beer with flavour because I like beer with flavour" and he struck a blow for beer enthusiasts everywhere when he said, "It's not just about cold fizzy lager".

Unable to compete with the major breweries, he indulges himself by playing around with combinations of hops and malts and various flavours. And so Epic Mayhem was born, beginning life as a festival brew, and winning best in class in 2006. It is a 6.2% amber beer with notes of citrus, spic, passionfruit, malt sweetness and caramel and apricot flavours. Only the word 'malt' makes the label out of place on a Gewürztraminer. That isn't original unfortunately - I would love to claim I said it, but I would be lying. I can't remember who did though - let me know and I'll credit it!

And there are hops - yes, you knew we'd get there soon. Most beers sold in New Zealand have approximately one hop per bottle. The delicious Epic Pale Ale has 15. Mayhem has 26. That's a lot of hops. They're a mixture of US-grown Cascade and New Zealand-grown Riwaka hops. And they're all crammed into a bottle bursting to be let out. I can help with that.

Mr Nicholas has been in England making beer for the world's largest beer festival, which concluded earlier this month. I've told all my friends in England who drink beer (which is nearly all of them if we're honest) to try it. They think New Zealand beer = Steinlager and so assume that tasty Kiwi ale is an oxymoron. Their tastebuds should get a welcome surprise. If anyone had some while over there, please let me know.

Luke Nicholas also said (and this is my favourite bit), "I get a lot of satisfaction out of people who drink it and buy it". I'm pleased we make each other happy, sir. Long may our mutually beneficial arrangement continue.

Beervana: Tasting notes (Part 2)

One of my favourite beers of the night was the Yeastie Boys’ Pot Kettle Black. This is an American style porter and very dark. With a bit of an interactive theme, punters were asked to state whether they preferred the handpull or the pressurised tap version.

Not just to be awkward, I preferred the smoother texture of the hand-pull, but I felt the chocolate and hop flavours came through better from the pressurised tap. Him outdoors stuck his nose in the tasting glass, took a swig, smacked his lips and muttered something about ‘orange and pine’.

I confused the boys at Croucher Brewing Company by waffling on about Peter Crouch. As you do. They were very kind and they also serve a damn fine drop of pale ale. This beer looks good, smells good and tastes good. It is good, and it has a hoppy, fruity, grassy feel that lingers – I would definitely try this again. It comes from a boutique brewery in Rotorua and is available in several outlets in Wellington (the website above has a full list of locations). I shall be looking out for it!

To my mind, Monteith’s is one of the best mass-produced beers in the country. I recently had a heated debate about whether or not it was a boutique beer. I said not. If you are owned by DB Breweries you are not, by definition, a boutique. They do, however, have a great advertising campaign which is neither sexist, ageist, or insulting to the intelligence, so that’s a refreshing change. They won the packaging award – I’m not sure whether this has anything to do with the adverts, but it’s all part of the same marketing department.

We tried a beer which I think (and I’m struggling to read my handwriting at this stage) was called 140W. It is a West Coast Pale Ale Reproduction and I’m pretty sure I liked it, but I would have to try it again to be sure.

I would also like another pop at the Emerson’s Old 95 . This was billed as an old English ale – how could I go wrong? The combination of hops and fruit is very well balanced and the nuance of toffee is not too sweet. Him outdoors sampled the Piny Stout (aged in pinot barrels, 5% stout), new for the festival apparently, and was again heard to mutter something about oranges – I think this may be his new obsession. On the other hand, it did win a silver medal in the ‘fruit, spiced and herb flavoured beers’ category, so perhaps he knew what he was talking about after all.

We paid a visit to the Dux de Lux brewery which again brought back memories of our time in Christchurch, although we never really took to the one in Queenstown. The lady at the stall said people had been coming up to her all night saying they had fond memories of the beer from when they were at Canterbury University . Weren’t they supposed to be studying, dear me, these students, tsk, tsk.

I tried the Sou’wester because I don’t remember having it before. I’m afraid I still don’t remember having it. I’m not sure whether this says more about the state of the ale or the state of me at this stage. Maybe I should have had the Ginger Tom, which always wakes me up!

Green Man Strong is exactly what it says on the tin (6.5%). When it was first released it sold out in 11 days, and it picked up a bronze medal here. It’s a Doppelbock aged in whisky barrels for 3 months, and then blended with best bitter. It’s quite sweet, as you would expect from this combination, but dangerously drinkable. It cost double beer tokens and I’m glad I only discovered it at the end of the night, or things could have got quite messy!

Incidentally, the Green Man brewery also won the accolade of Best in Class for their Enrico’s Cure. At 14.5%, this is a barley wine beer brewed without sugar by a German brewmaster. Scarred by memories of Carlsberg Elephant and other nasties in golden tins drunk by people in supermarket car parks, I avoided this particular brew, although I heard others say it was very nice. I think it’s odd that the class it won, is titled, ‘Experimental and non or low alcoholic beers’. Isn’t that a massive difference?

I finished up with a beer from the Twisted Hop, and although I don’t know which one, this seems in keeping with my usual experiences there. The whole thing has a sort of magical mystical quality to me. I know the bar is tucked down a side street in Christchurch, and I have had a couple of very good nights there. But I can never remember how to get there when I’m sober. It’s like Diagon Alley. Anyway, I know from previous experience that the Challenger is exceptional – well, I’m always up for it! Oo-er missus.

So, to sum up, I drank lots of beer, I like hops and I had a great night. My top three, entirely unscientifically based upon the way I was feeling at the time are Epic Pale Ale, Yeastie Boys' Pot Kettle Black, and Croucher Brewing Company Pale Ale. Anyone else?