Ever Wonder What Makes You Beer Skunky?

I'm sure many of you already know the answer to this. Most of you will probably say "Sun Light" but there's more to it. I found this really interesting article on the subject and thought I would share it. Basically some chemists from the University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill did some studies on the subject. I would like to note that this story is quite old, as it is from 2001 but I'm sure it will enlighten a few people here. Other than that I hope you will enjoy!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/10/011018071707.htm

Could someone please read it and tell me the interesting parts?

Sorry, here's one of the parts I found most interesting. This is a direct quote from the article.

"The final product of the reaction turns out to be what we call "skunky thiol," an analog of a compound found in skunk glands that produces a very bad taste and smell. This molecule has an extremely low taste and smell threshold in humans, just a few parts per trillion."

There are a few other interesting facts as well but that was a real attention grabber for me.

God Emporer BillyBrew said:

Could someone please read it and tell me the interesting parts?

Click to expand...

Well, it basically says that light is the culprit in skunky beer.

It says some other stuff about potentially using modified hop compounds to prevent skunking, but the test subject was MGD, so I lost interest quickly.

I liked the corona comment. Even though I do like a corona by the pool with a fresh key lime.

I think that this just proves the point that "Water, Barley, Rice, Hops, and Yeast" are not the only ingredients in the Big three's beers. That topic was debated, quite heavily in another thread reciently, I just thought that I would stir it up again.

"Damn the man, Save the Empire!!!!!!!!!" (And good beer)

Cheers