Unintentionally Sour Oktoberfest?

Hey BeerAdvocate,

I recently was reading the thread asking whether anyone else had ever received a canned beer whose contents differed from what was on the can. I feel like I almost somehow jinxed myself because...

I'm a huge fan of Live Oak as I live in Austin, TX and I was actually at the brewery last weekend for their annual Oktoberfest. There I greatly enjoyed a few pints of Smoaktoberfest (a rauch version of their Oktoberfest that you really should try if you can), while my wife enjoyed their standard "Oaktoberfest". I tried some of hers and can confirm that it was delicious this year.

Thinking specifically of last weekend, when I was at the local HEB yesterday my wife asked if I could pick her up a 6-pack of Oaktoberfest. Sure, I said, I'd been wanting some too. I wish they distributed their Smoaktoberfest, but you have to take what you can get sometimes...

So I bought a 6-pack, brought it home, and tonight cracked open one for me, and for my wife.

Cue my surprise when I went to take a sip of the beer and...what is this? It's sour? Not overly so, though. And it doesn't take sour, like, this beer is infected. It tastes sour like there was some wild yeast or spontaneous fermentation that took place beside the standard yeast.

I enjoy sour beers all the time, so my initial impression was that this was just a sour beer that was mistakenly put into a Live Oak can. But...Live Oak doesn't brew any sour beers, and they have their own canning line. So...

I e-mailed them to ask if anyone else had reached out about this and will report back. I just wanted to get BA's thoughts/insights to see if anyone else has experienced this or knows what might have happened. If a beer truly gets infected during the brewing process, would it taste offensively sour? Like, obviously bad? Or is it possible that an infection could lead to a a mild sourness that doesn't necessarily outright ruin the beer?

I wish I could describe the taste better than just "sour" -- there were definitely some characteristics that could have resembled their standard Oaktoberfest hidden beneath the slight funk, but the surprise of realizing it was a sour beer kind of made it difficult to judge fairly. I did pour it into a glass and confirmed that it was the appropriate color and clarity.

Well, at least I can still cheers! I had a backup Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that I was able to crack instead.

 

Ah thank you! I did read that far but was too lazy to go back and link to it.

Cheers that you got a replacement!

I guess I'll hold off touching these until I hear back whether drinking them is safe.

 

That is great news! As someone who hates to waste beer, this is just the excuse I needed! At least I can sample further to maybe better put my finger on what other flavors there are beyond the sour. Edit: I tasted a bit more, and if I had to describe the flavor I think I would call it brett-like. It has a dry barnyard kind of funk.

It truly tastes like a funky beer. What seems strange to me is that they don't brew any funky beers. I've never heard of them brewing any sours or spontaneously fermented beers, and they typically have fantastic quality control. They don't brew any beers for any other breweries, either, and none of their collab beers that they produce have any sour components.

I will certainly keep everyone updated!

 

Thanks both! I can certainly ship it, or just drive it to the brewery if they're interested in trying it themselves to confirm.

Unfortunately there's no canning date on the cans themselves, and I had already tossed the cardboard packaging in the recycle bin by this time. I know these only began to show up at that local HEB around 3-4 weeks ago, so unless these were stored somewhere from the prior year, they should be fairly fresh, but I suppose without confirming a date there's no way to know for certain.

I still have 4 cans left. I did let it warm and tried it again about an hour later just to confirm and get a better handle on what it tasted like, but yeah, slight barnyard funk, very reminiscent of a beer with brett. My wife refused to drink it after she saw my reaction, but I did talk her into at least smelling it and her response was just, "Ew yeah, why is it sour?" The issue seemed equally apparent in both cans that I sampled.

Maybe I'll crack another open tonight "for science," and I can then snap some pictures, not that they necessarily would be very telling of anything.

 

I cracked another open tonight to snap a pic and confirm that they all have the same defect (unsurprisingly I suppose).



This one is just as bad -- if anything slightly more oxidized? Here's my "review" of a Brettoberfest *goes to add a new BA category* :

Look: Looks like a standard Brettoberfest, so here all is good! 4/5

Smell: Too much Brett here. We're rating to style for a Brettoberfest, but even this is a bit over the top. In addition to Brett, as mentioned earlier I think I may detect some oxidation as well, as the scent seems a bit muted. 2/5

Taste: Follows the smell exactly -- it's a bit funky but at the same time, the taste seems a little "flat" and paper/cardboard-like. Head retention seems decent so I'm not sure it's a carbonation issue, but maybe some oxygen was introduced during the brewing or canning process that led to the dull taste and Brett infection? The flavor is best described as drinking a Brett beer a few hours after being opened. 1/5

Mouthfeel: Again based on the appearance I expected mouthfeel and carbonation to be fine, but it actually seems a bit thin compared to the normal Oaktoberfest. I wonder if, again, this is the result of oxidation inadvertently introduced somewhere? The head retention on the beer seems fine though. 3/5

Overall: Rating this as a Brettoberfest, this is a real pioneer of the style. Given their bold attempt at something modern, yet sophisticated and funky, I think they are brave yet perhaps a bit misguided. 1/5

And if I'm rating compared to a true Oktoberfest, I guess it would have to be -1/5. But obviously that's not the case here, as Live Oak has stepped outside of their comfort zone to create something no one had tried before (for good reason).*

*And I am basing this purely on the fact that they still haven't responded yet.

 

Ah I didn't realize this -- to my palate, it reminded me of the Brett beers I've had, but totally fair point.

Maybe "Infectoberfest" would have been a more suitable name.

 

Great news! The owner of the brewery (Chip) responded directly to my second email (initially I emailed the taproom, but after not hearing back I emailed their sales department yesterday).

It sounds like they were not aware of the issue. He asked if I could bring the remaining cans and the cardboard packaging to the taproom to help them investigate.

Unfortunately the cardboard is at the bottom of my recycle bin, but fortunately our recycle is only emptied every other week, so in theory I should be able to dig it out when I get home from work later. If I can't find it, I may just purchase another 6 pack from HEB to A) confirm that it's not just the one I got, and B) to actually have the packing to go along with it. Worst case scenario, that 6 pack is fine and I have 6 Oktoberfest beers (what a problem!).

They said they would be happy to "replace it and more" for my trouble which would be nice. The 6-pack itself was only a little over $10 so I wasn't too worried about it -- I was more just hoping I could alert them before others have the same discovery that I had. I love Live Oak and would hate for that to be someone's first or only impression of their beer (which is usually immaculate).

I'll try to dig out the cardboard and hopefully can visit the taproom this weekend.

 

Yeah, I've had Brett, Lacto, Pedio, and spontaneously fermented beers, but here I would describe the flavor here as barnyard, band-aid funk with essentially no acidity or vinegar-like qualities, nor any tangy/lactic bite.

I did manage to dig out the cardboard packaging, so after I return it maybe I will email and ask if they can give me any insight into what may have caused the defect. They may be shy about sharing this info, but if I explain that it's for educational purposes maybe they will be comfortable with sharing.