Does pasteurization affect the taste of imported beer?

Makes sense to opt for complete safety, the Bourbon County failure isn’t so far removed. Do you think this technique alters your product?

 

I have had beers in Europe that I think are some of the best beers in the world only to be sadly dissapointed when they get here. Imported beers do not taste the same here as they do in their native land because they are trucked from the brewery to a distributor's and the an importer's warehouse. They are then loaded onto a container and they sit their waiting for the container to fill. Studies on wine have shown that based on the position of the beer in the container and the position of the container on the ship and the time of year, the temperature of the beer can vary considerably. The warmer the beer, the faster it ages. After the container is full, the beer sits in its container on the boat until the boat is filled. The beer is then jostled about on the boat for a week or so until it gets to the US, where it is gradually unloaded, moved to a shipper's warehouse, then to a importer's warehouse, then to a distributor and finally to the retailer. In the best of all worlds this process can take a few weeks. In the worst case, the beer can sit in the importers' or distributors' warehouses for months. I have found bottles of Uerige on retailers shelves that are 8 yeas old. and other imports that are well past their prime.

 

Amen!

Or as I stated in post #8:

• European imported beers are too old: sitting at the export warehouse(s), long journey across the sea, sitting at the US custom warehouse and other distribution warehouses along the way.
• Rough journey (agitation on boat, etc.) is detrimental to certain gentle beer styles (e.g., lower gravity Pale Lagers, Kolsch, etc.).
• Exposure to high temperatures along the journey (e.g., non-refrigerated containers, hot warehouses, etc,).

Cheers!

 

You said what I was trying to say in a much shorter, more concise way - thank you!

 

We see a change that is much more dramatic than a lightly flash pasteurized beer, but in my opinion, the flavor change is beneficial in the types of beers that we do this to. I would describe it as adding a dimension to the malty sweet character and maybe even an enhancement of “fullness.” My heavily pasteurized batch pasteurized beers will have more of a flavor impact than a lightly flash pasteurized Pilsner would display.

 

You seem to be mixing up ppm and ppb here. 7 parts ppb per day for ABI makes sense since they use screw-top crowns which do not seal as well. I can see why they would want to get that down. Sierra Nevada did a good post about this when they switched back to pry-off years ago.

 

Right you are. The correct units are ppb.

Well, the bottled beers of Anheuser-Busch are less than 7 ppb (got the units right this time) since they are using proprietary cap liners which are improved as regards oxygen ingress.

Yes, they eliminated screw off caps but just as importantly they developed (or obtained) cap liners which they advertise as being oxygen barriers:

“In March 2007, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. quietly embraced a new technology with the introduction of an innovative barrier crown that actually helps keep beer fresher; blocking oxygen ingress longer without using oxygen-absorbing compounds. Initially, the Chico, California brewer switched its crowns as the final phase of a multi-year test by limiting the new crown to its Summerfest beer. Now, Sierra Nevada is committing fully to the switchover, and has begun the process of utilizing the new barrier crown technology with all its brews, including Sierra Nevada's flagship Pale Ale.”

Cheers!

 

I don't know how many I bought, but I'm pretty sure I could count them on a single hand. This was around 1980. I've checked the smell of a bottle every couple of years since, and they have all been skunky. I make sure to point that out to the people drinking them, but nobody seems to care. Apparently people here think that this is the way they are supposed to taste. And that wedge of lime gets shoved into every bottle.

The Corona I tasted in Sarasota was bought by a co-worker during a business trip in the late 80's.

So the score is 100% skunky in Vancouver, and 0% (out of a sample of 1) skunky in Florida.

Perhaps they get shipped to Vancouver on an open flatbed.