What constitutes skunked?

If you smell that, it is lightstruck, or skunked in common language.

Would I rate it, maybe, though with a note the bottle was lightstruck.

Which ones are truly skunked? Do a little test. Purchase some beer in a closed container. Put one bottle in sunlight for a few hours refrigerate that along with an unexposed bottle. Taste side by side.

But canned beer as s solution to skunked beer.

 

Ugh, you open it and it smells like cabbage you know it, it’s been a long time though, my last ones were Becks that stunk out the room.

I wouldn’t do anything heroic with the beers, if you have the receipt I’d just return it to where you bought it.

 

Can you please expound on what you are smelling? Have you ever actually smelled skunk stink before?

Generally speaking if a beer is skunked (i.e., 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol) the beer is permanently tainted - the beer will not get 'better' with a few moments of the beer sitting. If instead what you are experiencing is Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) which has an odor of struck match it is common for that compound to 'out gas' and dissipate after a few minutes of the beer being poured.

I have experienced Sulfur Dioxide with some batches of Jever (a Northern German Pilsner). After pouring those batches into my Pilsner glass the "struck match" odor is noticeable for the first few sips but absent from the second half of drinking the beer. I personally enjoy this "struck match" aspect and I am disappointed in those batches of Jever that lack perceptible Sulfur Dioxide.

Cheers!

 

The quintessential skunk beer back on the day was Heineken.. 1993 ish it felt like every other Heiney was skunked. Begs the question why the fuck did we keep buying it???

 

I suspect that for some the status of drinking an imported beer in a 'fancy' green bottle was the allure of this product. Maybe some beer drinkers actually like the skunk aroma?

Cheers!

 

Becks's, Corona,

 

If the smell dissipates after a minute or two then I very much doubt those beers were skunked since 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol is not highly volatile. It would be some other compound like SO2 or perhaps H2S since these compounds are highly volatile.

Cheers!

 

I would say skunked is an unpleasant taste and aroma, sort of like spoiled or rotten. I have had a few in my life and usually occurs by beer becoming super hot then chilled-

 

I’ve only had one Jever a few months ago right at 15 months old, and your description pretty much fits. I did not care for the sulphur part it’s distracting.

 

Not sure where I remember hearing this, but when Heineken began importing cans to the US, many consumers complained that it didn’t have the usual skunky aroma that the green bottles had. So all the beer canned for export to the states was intentionally lightstruck before packaging.

Feeling a bit too lazy to look it up and verify, but it seems plausible! There can be a fondness grown to the off flavor.

 

And I still have a one bottle left of a 6-pack I purchased a month or so ago - bottled on Jan. 14, 2019 (so about 5 months old now) and those beers did not have perceptible SO2 and I am bummed about that. Otherwise a good Pilsner IMO.

Cheers!

 

I heard Charlie Bamforth say the same thing on a Podcast.

 

I’m certainly not a chemist and I don’t understand the technical aspects here, but I agree with Jacks expertise. I get three distinct of what I’d call off flavors one he calls sulphur and you can taste it but by no means does it render the beer undrinkable, but I still don’t like it. I sometimes get a weird hit from Urquell which I don’t really care for either, since it’s sealed 12 packs I attribute it to age most and here are 7-8 months old. What it is technically, I don’t know but it’s not brewed in because it’s not always there. With local options I don’t buy Urquell anymore. The other is truly skunked and it flat out stinks to high hell, that imo is undrinkable, but I can’t imagine it getting past anyone’s nose.

 

I am not a regular Heineken drinker, my guess is my last Heineken was well over 10 years ago.

Tom (@drtth) posted the below in a past thread:

“I have also had Heineken on at least three continents and in no fewer than 6 countries and the only skunked Heineken I have ever had was either from a bottle I deliberately exposed to direct sunlight so I knew it was skunked or from a glass that I forgot to protect from direct sunlight by leaving it sit on a table while I went to tend to the meats on the BBQ grill.

As @Crusader says, It is a light refreshing mild tasting beer. And like most beers it is fresher and better tasting when consumed "within sight of the brewery."

Based upon the above I am prepared to state that canned Heineken beers being ‘pre-skunked’ is a myth.

Cheers!

 

Here are some folks testing out skunking and sampling the skunked beer. Well worth watching.

 

FWIW I sometimes get perceptible diacetyl (a buttery aroma/flavor for my palate) in PU (no pun intended). When there is perceptible diacetyl in this beer it is at a low level - low enough that I do not find it to be unpleasant. Perceptible diacetyl in Czech Lagers is not considered a flaw (e.g., BJCP style guidelines).

Generally speaking I am a BIG non-fan of diacetyl in beer but the levels in PU are OK for me. Having stated that I do enjoy the batches with no perceptible diacetyl more.

Cheers!