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04-11-2009, 04:25 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Posts: 2,024
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Diacetyl in Commercial Beers
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Last night I went out to a show and ordered a Lost Coast White Ale. First thing I smelled was buttered popcorn. I unhappily finished it and ordered up an under carbed Sierra Pale. Then I ordered a Blue Moon, buttered popcorn. The bar seemed rather blah on their care for the beer, but I didn't think that would make a beer taste of D.
Is wit or american wit a style that is supposed to have buttered popcorn? I was not being over critical either, I asked a couple other people what they tasted in it and they said movie theater.
Could diacetyl be something that came in post fermentation? I have had it in my beer and it is because of a short cool fermentation. I would assume that commercial people strive to attain a beer sans diacetyl.
I couldn't believe it either time, but man oh man was it awful to have to choke down two beers with buttered popcorn 
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04-11-2009, 04:41 PM
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#2
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Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: "Detroitish" Michigan
Posts: 36,050
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Was it on tap? It's very possible that in that case diacetyl was a result of an infection...from dirty lines.
I've gotten it in bars serving Killian's on occasion...I've also got killians on tap at places that was close to truning to vinegar.
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One possible source of diacetyl is bacterial infection. Pediococcus and Lactobacillus are notoriously prodigious producers of diacetyl.
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I recently got a six pack of Rogue Dead guy that was almost pure butterscotch as well...i usually by it on bombers. It was a surprise that every bottle in the six was buttery.
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04-11-2009, 05:57 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Posts: 2,024
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It was on tap, though I didn't think that Diacetyl is an infection...
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04-11-2009, 06:00 PM
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#4
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Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: "Detroitish" Michigan
Posts: 36,050
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Up North
It was on tap, though I didn't think that Diacetyl is an infection...
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Like I quoted above,, in some cases it is...
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Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured. - Madman
I gotta tell ya, just between us girls, that Revvy is HOT. Very tall, gorgeous grey hair and a terrific smile. He's very good looking in person, with a charismatic personality... he drives like a ****ing maniac! - YooperBrew
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04-11-2009, 08:55 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Lakeland TN
Posts: 3,524
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I have detected it in Dos Equis Amber on tap at Dead Lobster.
Funny thing was, I had the same issue (diacetyl infection in the keg) in my Dos Equis Amber clone.
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04-11-2009, 09:42 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 415
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Yea i had a Sam Adams at a meat market bar with my wife that was so bad it was the first and only beer i have ever not finished. It was straight up nasty sour (and i really like gueze). Damn dirty meat market beer lines.
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04-11-2009, 10:05 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Stevens Point, WI
Posts: 437
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Revvy
I recently got a six pack of Rogue Dead guy that was almost pure butterscotch as well...i usually by it on bombers. It was a surprise that every bottle in the six was buttery.
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I definitely hear you on this. I'm a big fan of Rogue beers and find that DGA does have just a slight naturally buttery flavor, but not anything to the extent you're speaking of. Recently I bought two growlers of DGA. I drank one and it was fine (Little less carbed but it was in a growler...), but the next one had that buttery flavor like you wouldn't believe. I had trouble putting down one glass of it. The rest of the growler's still in the fridge.
I figured it may have been my pallet being screwed up (I was drinking some kind of IPA before and I've found that hoppiness tends to mess w/ my pallet) so I just tried another sip after I read this post and I was definitely dead on. Something's different with this growler. I think it may have been sitting at the grocery store for a long time, so maybe that had something to do with it.
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04-13-2009, 11:27 AM
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#9
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 3
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Most of the time, these problems are line related. If you are in a place that serves a lot of Bumco for the masses, it'll probably be worse.
Lines should be cleaned every 2 weeks in a bar setting. Low volume retailers (less than a keg a week) really don't seem to get much, if any, line cleaning service.
Another issue is keg age and storage. Oxidation can create diacetyl (the precursers are tasteless until oxidized) in the keg, especially if they're not refrigerated. I have one client who gets Lagunitas delivered by a distributor, only to have another distributor move them out into the hot pizza kitchen to put another product into the undersized walk-in.
I've often thought that a great homebrewer community effort would be to offer to line clean some of their favorite tap houses. Might even result in a few pints of gratitude.
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04-13-2009, 12:38 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Burlington
Posts: 33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Up North
Then I ordered a Blue Moon, buttered popcorn. The bar seemed rather blah on their care for the beer, but I didn't think that would make a beer taste of D.
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To my tastebuds, Blue Moon has always tasted buttery (from bottles).
-Andy
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