"Off" flavors you enjoy?

Like the skunky smell from green bottle saison dupont!!! Brown bottles of dupont are just not as good...

 

Apparently when a pale ale or IPA has a sweeter malt characteristic, that means it didn't ferment all the way and there are residual sugars that weren't necessarily meant to be there and ends up tasting like wort. But I love the taste of wort so I love those beers. A couple that come to mind are Tallgrass 8-bit Pale Ale and Caldera IPA.

 

Acetaldehyde- AB has mastered keeping it present and in check. I never like it. Ever.
VDKs (2, 3 pentanedione and diacetyl)- Thought the Pilsner Prazdroj brewery had mastered consistency but then had a batch that was way over the top recently. Redhook has been pretty consistent with ppm of VDKs for the better part of a decade. Many larger British breweries have gotten very consistent with the amount in their beers. Sam Adams is incredibly consistent with it as well. In Britain, in the winter, in a Stout, Porter, Brown Ale, or Mild, I find it novel at best. In a Bo Pils, when at the threshold, I find it adding to complexity. Otherwise I hate it.
H2S- Many, many German brewers are masters at keeping it there but keeping it perfectly acceptable. I love it when it is well done. Prost comes to mind. They are masters.
DMS- Again AB has mastered maintaining a certain level with Rolling Rock. Don't know that the Latrobe brewery had it mastered as I never drank the beer under their guidance. Can't stand it. Ever. Yuck.
SO2- I think every brewery does everything they can to avoid this. Don't know how this could possibly be appetizing to anyone ever?
Oxidation- Only ever acceptable in high ABV, or really low pH (read sour) beers. Though, judging by many ratings on this and other sites, the cardboard is perfectly acceptable to many, even desired. Can't stand it at all.
Chloro-phenols and fusels- Many different compounds under this, but so often they are all muddled together... So many Belgian breweries suffer from these and even more American craft brewers trying to make Belgian styles. Never ok with me at all. Smells like hangover.
Entero-Bacteria and it's many compounds- According to my recent tastings of many American sours, this is perfectly fine with many a rater. Don't know how. Maybe they would like to come over to my house and change some diapers. Good lord, what is wrong with some people's palates? Obviously very hard to control other than to keep it completely out of one's beer.
Caprylic Acid- This can play a large roll in many a sour, but other than that, not really acceptable to me. Don't know of a brewery where it is really a part of their house character per se.
Mercaptans- "Ah, that great European taste" so saith Heineken in it's 1960s-early 80s commercials. This is what they were talking about. I had a Saison Dupont the other day from a closed case... OMG was that amazing. Mercaptans are so bad, one Mexican lager has based their entire multi-billion $$$ advertising campaign on adding something to their beer that would cover it up... AND IT WORKED!!!
Acetic acid- Drie Fonteinen, Hansen's, Lindemen's, Rodenbach, Tilquin, Boon, Girardin and Russian River have mastered capturing a level of this that is both Pavlovian for the lover of sours, and completely acceptable to nearly all of us. Cantillon can border on too much, though, it is what lovers of that brewery are looking for... AGGRESSIVE! De Cam and Oude Beersel, more often than not, are completely over the top in large part because of the high presence of Acetic acid and the lack of lactic and I want to put it on my salads. There are several American sours that have been WAY over the top as well, but I'll keep those to myself for obvious reasons. More often than not, the beers in question had several issues in addition including diacetyl (from pediococcus damnosus), chloro-phenols, fusels, butyric acids... Clearly not acceptable outside of sours.
Autolysis- Definitely present in many RIS, as well as Belgian-style Quads from the US. Sam Adams' Triple Bock, Millenium and Utopias are all poster children. When in lesser beers (alcohol-wise that is) can be metallic and just blood-like. I hate the soy characteristic it takes on in the really big beers as well. Not really ever ok with me accept on my noodles or rice.

I think I covered most of the gamut of "off-flavors" but please correct me if I am mistaken.

 

Here are the ones you've covered and some you missed.

• Diacetyl
• Lightstruck
• Mercaptan
• Metallic
• Papery
• Phenolic
• Sour
• Dimethyl Sulphide (DMS)
• Butyric
• H2S
• Acetaldehyde
• Hop Oil
• Isoamyl Acetate
• Geraniol
• Grainy
• Ethyl Hexanoate
• Ethyl Butyrate
• Catty
• Freshly Cut Grass
• Caprylic

 

I found peruvian morning prett good even though it was infected. It had a fruity flavir that shouldn't have been present but it didn't detract me from enjoying it. I rather enjoyed it.

 

Lightstruck and mecaptan are one and the same. Phenolic is not an off-flavor in my book. Sour is clearly an infection in all but sour beers and shouldn't be considered an off-flavor per se. Hop oil definitely is not an off-flavor. Isoamyl acetate is not an off-flavor in many styles, sure is in others. Geraniol is beautiful in many beer styles, not so in others. Grainy or tannic sure is. Catty used to be a universal off-flavor and no longer is. The success of my brewery is evidence of that!

 

While probably not present at the time of bottling, I appreciate the mustiness imparted by oxidation in cellared English barleywines and old ales. I'm convinced that some of Thomas Hardy Ale's reputation from aging gracefully has to with the leathery, vinous characteristics imparted by oxidation.

 

You mean like tomato plants? Ugh. That seems strange that it is no longer 'off'.

Here's my general thing with oxidation- cardboard is a no go, catty as well, but go beyond that and you get into that sherry-like nuttiness that is quite pleasing in the right circumstances.

How exactly does this happen? Is it related to time? exposure? hot side or cold side? some combination?

My understanding of how Yorkshire brewers like Samuel Smith's get that nutty quality is through the rousing during fermentation- is that a homebrewer's simplification of what's happening, or more or less on the mark?

 

Oh yea, mustyness that comes from aged biere de' gardes

 

I just scanned through real quick but didn't see this mentioned if it was sorry. But, Enjoy By, when I tried the 4/20 it had an extreme onion/chive flavor that I could not get past. Then again I don't like onions.
As to the original question, I don't know if I've ever had an "off" flavor that I liked.

 

+1

I actually like and look forward to the smokey Brett character that is sometimes found in bottles of Fantome...

 

I've never had a "bad" Fantome. And I drink alot of Fantome.

 

Yeah, same here. Some are really clean and some are more funky but they still are all amazing. One of my favorite breweries for sure.

 

Deviant Dale's, if memory serves.

 

The acetaldehyde in Bud is not true. It is an ester the yeast strain produces.

http://hoptripper.com/what-is-quality/

 

only 1 I can think of is the medicine like taste of some hefe's. Not really into off flavors...
brett is horsey, but I do not think that is an "off" favor is it? if so well I like that 1 then.

 

I like being able to taste malt in an IPA. I'm pretty sure that's now considered an off-flavor.

 

I'm hoping @erway will have some insight into that. For me it's usually just a sometimes good/sometimes bad attribute, but how it gets that way is somewhat of a mystery.