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What gives certain european beers this flavor/smell i will describe

i was wondering if anyone could point me towards what ingredient gives certain european beers a really sweet aroma that quite frankly reminds me of finely cured cannabis ive seen before. the taste is most prevelant in st. pauli girl, carlsberg, bavaria, stella artois, and even some asian beers like sapporo and tsingtao. i hope somebody knows what flavor im talking about its hard to describe...is it the grains or hops that give it that super sweet flavor and what kind of grains/hops is it?

Skunking? Poor storage. Light and hops make for a stench.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowToBrew

Finally, it is important to keep the beer out of direct sunlight, especially if you use clear or green bottles. Exposure to sunlight or fluorescent light will cause beer to develop a skunky character. It is the result of a photo-chemical reaction with hop compounds and sulfur compounds. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a character that Heineken, Grolsch, and Molson strive for in their beer. It is simply a result of poor handling by retailers, and storing them under fluorescent lighting. Other beers like Miller High Life™ don't boil hops with the wort but instead use a specially processed hop extract for bittering which lacks the compounds that cause skunking (and flavor). Brown bottles are best unless you make a point of keeping your beer in the dark.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-8.html

My wife bought a six pack of Warstiener Light that is made with hop extract and it was skunked, so, I'm not to sure about his extract comment.

skunky beer

probably saaz hops gone skunky

i didnt mean it like that....its not a bad smell at all its a wonderful earthy smell i was guessing its the kind of hops they use saaz you say is what they use in those beers?

One flavor or aroma that I have never attributed to skunky beer is "sweet".

It might be a particular hops variety. Saaz would be a decent guess, but it could be any noble hop I'd imagine.

now that i think about it that probably is the cause of it...i guess i just like skunky smelling and tasting beers thats really funny i was thinking of it as a good quality of the beer i guess i like skunk too much haha

Sweet would be continental pilsner malt (I don't think the Japanese use it.) Skunk would be pot-like.

like i said its hard to describe the flavor im talking about...sweet isnt exactly the right word. i havent smelled enough varieties of hops to know i guess im gonna order saaz next anyone have any other hop recommendations for that type of beer?