Lightstruck Saisons

I have never seen that studied. It seems many can't differentiate sulfur aromas.

 

I've been suspecting that and/or that many don't really know what the term "skunked" refers to. As I mentioned elsewhere I've had more than one person try to convince me that Heineken from the keg is skunked and they must do that at the brewery.

 

I agree completely, one of the best Saison experiences I ever had was a slightly skunked bottle of DuPont.

 

I think beers an art form and a flavor that's "not supposed to be there" is subjective. My grandpa drinks lagers from local breweries in Pittsburgh and he always picks the ones that have a tiny bit of skunk/funk to them. Since he drank those when I was growing up I still like the occasional slightly skunky/funky light beer because it reminds me of that. Of course I also love a dank ass ipa or bba stout.

 

Yes, really. It is often categorized as an off-flavor. However, almost always, it is referred to as an undesired aroma and no mention is made of taste association. This is difficult to interpret due to how closely our scent and taste are related. It is very easy to "taste" so-called skunkiness because it is such a powerful smell. In fact, this defect only affects the smell of a beer.

 

I always have several bottles of Dupont tucked away...out of the light. I usually have some fresh and with age, but am not interested in any of the skunked profile. I was very pleased when they went to the brown bottle and wish it was universal.

 

A few notes from our (Mystic's) experiments with green bottles:

• We blind taste amber bottle Saison Renaud vs green bottle on visiting restaurant/food industry people all the time. 70% have preferred the green bottle.
• The idea that lightstruck = skunk is simplistic (and likely comes from the fact that it is that simplistic in pilsners)
• In a beer with more going on (spice, fruit, wheat, etc.) a lot more seems to happen.
• Renaud in green bottles is not just a little skunky. It's also remarkably more aromatic and crisp--in fact it actually seems dryer and more in line with expectations for european (green bottle) saisons.
• The likely reason for the last point is that flavors and aromas don't work in a simple on/off manner. The addition new flavor factors can increase, eliminate, or change the perception of other flavors.
• With a lot of light and age they go downhill. But, we've put one in the direct sun all day when fresh and it was fantastic.
• Since the amount of light vs age is not something the brewer can control we only sell green bottle Renaud at the tap room and its behind the counter at Deep Ellum.
• As a matter of pure personal opinion, ingrained German lager brewing rules should not be applied to farmhouse and wild ales!

Cheers!
Bryan
Founder and Brewer, Mystic

 

Bryan, thanks for your post! It has a lot of interesting/intriguing content!!

Can you please expound upon the effects of lightstruck for the case of Saison beers? What specific flavors are generated as part of the lightstruck process? Do you perceive some aroma/flavor of skunk? If so, does this aspect of skunk come across as complementary to the other flavors vs. being perceived as an off flavor?

Any more information/impressions you can provide on this topic would be most appreciated.

Cheers!

Jack

 

It would be even better out of a clear bottle, displayed in the cooler by the window, under fluorescent lighting.

 

The common off-flavors, research, and rules that are drilled into us were all defined with fizzy adjunct lager in mind. Many so called off-flavors can be positives in the right proportions in certain styles.

 

Please inform us here. Which specific flavors?

Cheers!

 

I completely 100% agree with the OP, but I have a very strange taste when it comes to my saisons... That skunky light struck character in Saison Dupont really IS amazing and is disapointing to me when not present.

I was also going to post a link to this from JK's website but you beat me, Lol. But this is why Jester King is one of my favorite breweries. I thought I was crazy to bottle my home brewed saisons in ONLY green bottles until I came across this article from JK.

 

Jack:
The amount of true "skunk" entirely depends on the hop dosage, the variety, type of green bottle (there are a few), pH, time of exposure to light, type of light, age, yeast presence, water chemistry, and even grain quality.

I don't typically don't get the same kind of stink that is found in a lightstruck lager. Which I am not a fan of at all. I agree that is an off-flavor in that context...as well as for most styles of beer. In certain cases you can make out "skunk" but the composition of classic saisons blends it out nicely. But more seems to be happening.

What that "more" is is pure speculation. But we know that the classic skunk component, 3-MBT, is formed by radical chemistry. From the name alone you might expect a bit more than one reaction to be happening. Radical chemistry is a bit chaotic. The stinky part (the sulfur) in 3-MBT doesn't even come from the hops. Light is brutal. Long story short, lots of reactions with things that are not sulfur may be creating other volatiles that don't stink and in fact may be similar to light citrus and floral aromatics. This would create a 'fresh' effect that would explain the strange development of crispness and counteract sweet malt aromatics to make the beer seem more dry.
Cheers!
Bryan

 

Bryan,

Yes the chemistry to create the skunk aroma/flavor (the compound 3-MBT) is a reaction of three aspects: hops (isohumulone), light (the energy source) and riboflavin:

“The bittering agent generated from hops while boiling beer wort is a compound called isohumulone. Ultraviolet light can degrade isohumulone all by itself. But it turns out that visible light can also induce isohumulone degradation — it just needs a helper molecule, in the form of riboflavin. Once the proverbial ball starts rolling (or, in this case, the electrons start hopping), a series of reactions take place that eventually produce the compound 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol. That mouthful, known colloquially as 3-MBT, is your skunk.”

Cheers!

Jack

 

I like beers that are not light struck, that have been well stored, and are consumed as the brewer intended them to be. Oxygen and light are bad for all beer. Beers change for many reasons, but are generally best fresh. I do love vintages of JW Lees and some stouts and imperial stouts.

 

Oxygen and light are bad for all beer for what reason? Many barrel aged beers and European saisons, not to mention the highest rated lambics on this site do not seem to agree with that statement.

 

When stored in original containers. Once opened, many beers are like wine and improve with air. I cannot think how light helps any beer in any way, can you? By the way, my original post was very sarcastic.

 

Jester King agrees the recently switched to green bottles for this reason there was an article somewhere about it

 

Since there's more than one way to do it, can you provide a bit more information about how the blind tastings are conducted? Thanks in advance.