# New law ragarding skunky beer **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 29, 2003, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126 "2003-06-29T08:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/1 "2003-06-29T08:13:54Z")
New law enacted under order of Beer Tzar Paul Bietz: “ **ANY** business that sells beer that is determined within 5 business days to be “skunky”, shall replace such skunky beer with 10 times the amount (ounce per ounce) of another beer of the purchasers choice. Any business not complying with this law, the manager of such business shall be tortured by fire for 31 days or until dead or what ever comes first.” Can you guess what was wrong with the [Lowenbrau](http://www.beer.com/brands/us/lowenbrau/beer.html) I bought this afternoon? Can you guess what the manager told me to do when I returned it? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/2 "2003-06-29T08:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\* > Can you guess what the manager told me to do when I returned it? \*\* Something many of us have been suggesting for years? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/3 "2003-06-29T10:06:31Z")
It is my personal contention that beer bottled in green glass tends to be skunky. Can anyone back me up on this? Thanks for your time. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/4 "2003-06-29T10:16:35Z")
Yes, actually, clear or green glass allows light of a specific spectrum to pass through the glass and skunk your beer. Brown bottles on the other hand, actually block some of the light, and reduces the skunk effect. Stuff like Corona is skunked out. Not sure if it’s possible to get one out of the brewery that hasn’t already been affected. Chuck P discusses this in length. ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/5 "2003-06-29T10:30:22Z")
Hi, **China Guy** , thanks for your response. I assumed the skunkiness was due to the light entering the bottle, like you described, but when I spotted your username, it occured to me that I have always been a fan of Tsingtao beer, and that is bottled in green glass, if I remember correctly. It’s been a while since I’ve had a Tsingtao, so maybe my memory is clouded (most probably). Long life! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/6 "2003-06-29T17:36:36Z")
What pisses me off so much is that the fucking manager basically said “let the buyer beware”. That it wasn’t his problem. Not a very good policy for an otherwise reputable store! Usually I would try returning something that only cost 5 bucks, but I had been looking forward to having some good beer. Let me fill you guys in a bit: I bought the beer on Thursday. All day friday I kept thinking about how good that beer was going to taste (it was a long day. I needed a beer by the end of it). Then I get home and open the bottle and… **SKUNK PISS!** :mad: Damn it! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/7 "2003-06-30T00:07:49Z")
Howyadoin, Here’s a trick I’ve learned… ALWAYS buy 12-packs of green bottles (Molson, Heineken, etc.). Reason being, the box that the bottles are contained in stops light from skunking out the beer. Six-packs are open at the top, and the light can get in. …course, having six more beers is not a bad thing either… 🙂 -Rav ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/8 "2003-06-30T02:19:00Z")
The\_Raven, this is incorrect. I don’t have time to dig up a cite, but check out any of the homebrew books such as the Joy Of Home Brewing by Charles Papazian. There is chapter and verse on how both clear and green bottles do not block the light spectrums that cause skunky beer. Brown bottles on the other had do block those spectrums to a certain extent. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/9 "2003-06-30T02:48:39Z")
Jeez, if they pass a law against skunky beer, Heineken and Becks would go out of business. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/10 "2003-06-30T02:56:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\*Can you guess what was wrong with the [Lowenbrau](http://www.beer.com/brands/us/lowenbrau/beer.html) I bought this afternoon? > Can you guess what the manager told me to do when I returned it? \*\* That mother fucker. Let me at him! I’ll tear him limb from limb! Since we’re talking about skunky beer, I would like to warn everybody about the dangers of “Bavaria.” This Holland brewed, green glass bottled “beer” is the most horrible and foul liquid ever perpetrated upon mankind. At least, the six-pack that we had was, and I’d rather go bobbing for apples in high molar sulfuric acid before I’d voluntarily put Bavaria in my mouth again. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/11 "2003-06-30T05:03:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by China Guy \* > \*\*The\_Raven, this is incorrect. I don’t have time to dig up a cite, but check out any of the homebrew books such as the Joy Of Home Brewing by Charles Papazian. > > There is chapter and verse on how both clear and green bottles do not block the light spectrums that cause skunky beer. Brown bottles on the other had do block those spectrums to a certain extent. \*\* The light will penetrate clear and green bottles, it’s true. Clear and green bottles in a CARDBOARD BOX do not have this problem. Did you read the same post I did? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/12 "2003-06-30T05:05:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pkbites \* > \*\*I get home and open the bottle and… **SKUNK PISS!** :mad: > Damn it! \*\* Double-check the bottle. Sounds like you mistakenly picked up Rolling Rock. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/13 "2003-06-30T07:03:31Z")
That law bites. Oh, come on, someone had to say it. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/14 "2003-06-30T07:17:19Z")
Doesn’t Bavaria come in a brown bottle?? Also-- I think some of you have been watching too many Budweiser commercials. A-B WANTS you to think this way. I always thought that’s the way decent beer was supposed to taste. That’s why I prefer it to piss-water like Bud, Miller, Coors or whatever other dreck the American macro-breweries are belching up. Don’t let them brainwash you! Anyway, just go drink a Boont Amber Ale or failing that, a nice Trappist ale… it’ll all be ok. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/15 "2003-06-30T15:42:02Z")
Brown bottles do provide significantly more protection than green or clear. However even brown bottles will not stop UV light completely so beer in brown can become skunked with sufficient exposure, such as sitting in a store cooler lighted by florescent bulbs. **Nametag** and \*\* The\_Raven\*\* are correct. Closed top boxes provide additional protection from light. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/16 "2003-06-30T16:49:29Z")
I’ve found the absolute worst thing that causes skunky beer isn’t light, it’s allowing a bottle of beer that was previously cold to reach room temperature and then chilling it again. Instant skunk. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/17 "2003-06-30T21:41:44Z")
Sorry, **catsix** , but Skunk Beer is caused by light > [@](#): > > [_from Scientific American Oct. 22, 2001_](http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0006B447-F5CB-1C63-B882809EC588ED9F) > The phenomenon of beer turning skunky after exposure to light has been reported in the literature for more than 100 years, Forbes notes, but only now have scientists pinpointed the underlying mechanism. Using a type of spectroscopy that exploits electron spin, the researchers compiled a computer simulation of the reaction by which light-sensitive molecules in hops degrade into unpleasant-smelling products. The mechanism is intriguing, Forbes says, because one part of the molecule absorbs light energy that then migrates through the molecule and causes a free radical to form at a different location. “The final product of the reaction turns out to be what we call ‘skunky thiol,’ an analogue of a compound found in skunk glands that produces a very bad taste and smell,” Forbes says. The flavor threshold of the thiol is so low, the authors write, that concentrations of a few parts-per-trillion can make beer unpalatable. Too warm beer during fermentation can cause the production of fusel oils which add a solvent like aroma to your beer, a very undesirable character. Fluctuationg storage temps can cause other problems, like going stale prematurely and foaming, but not skunking. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/18 "2003-06-30T21:57:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neuroman \* > \*\* > Since we’re talking about skunky beer, I would like to warn everybody about the dangers of “Bavaria.” This Holland brewed, green glass bottled “beer” is the most horrible and foul liquid ever perpetrated upon mankind. At least, the six-pack that we had was, and I’d rather go bobbing for apples in high molar sulfuric acid before I’d voluntarily put Bavaria in my mouth again. \*\* Would you rather drink a Crazy horse? How about a Colt 45 thats been sitting in the fridge for a few days? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/19 "2003-06-30T22:12:07Z")
My votes for top skunky beers: Heineken Becks Carlsberg in bottles (the tap stuff is pure heaven, though) Grolsch I’ve had good luck with Tsing Tao, for some reason. I have yet to drink a skunked TT. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126/20 "2003-06-30T22:40:00Z")
Tsingdao–boy howdy, is that skukny in bottles! It’s great in Asia, but I’ve had it here and it’s horrible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-law-ragarding-skunky-beer/185126.md?page=2)