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?

Green bottles.

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

HowToBrew said:

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.

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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?

Any noble hop.

continental pilsner malt??? is that what that type of beer is called because i need to know that too

Saaz to me have a sweet honey like aroma, I bet they are what you are after.

9 replies in 10 looks, not bad!

for real im not trying to sound like an idiot im an extreme newb and have always wanted to know more about those types of beers

Conroe said:

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

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.

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AFAIK, regular Hop Extract still skunks but there are chemically altered hop extracts called 'TetraHops' that do not skunk. Miller uses tetrahops.

It appears to be something Corona strives for since they use clear bottles and every one I've had was skunked.

I occasionally will bottle a few in Corona bottles and skunk them just for 'show and tell'. I'll skunk a few and then not skunk a few and let people taste/smell the difference.

My mom actually prefers the skunked beers. We all thought it was funny that that the beer she liked the most was one I had intentionally 'ruined'. And it was made with Belgian yeast to boot...never would have expected her to like it so much.

I just recently bought a 12er of Spaten Oktoberfest just so I'd have some green bottles for 'Mom's brew'. The Spaten brew was in a sealed (completely) box and had no skunkiness to it at all.

i meant continental pilsner... i know you were referring to a type of malt...is that what those types of brews are?

Sunlight = skunk = the stickiest of the icky

haha very very clever

Most European Lagers are from a Pilsner base. The pilsner malt over there has much more malty sweetness to it. The Belgian stuff seems to me to have the most.

there's a reason they call it "skunk weed" In non-real-skunk there is an almost pleasant smell to it unless it is out of place to your own palate. To most people skunking is an out of place flavor in beer. Apparently some might like it. especially judging by the number of Corona drinkers. Or Landshark.

There is also Styrian Goldings in a lot of the beers mentioned in the OP.

there's a reason they call it "skunk weed"

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That's only one variety, though. Most weed does not smell like that.

dontman said:

There is also Styrian Goldings in a lot of the beers mentioned in the OP.

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That's what I was going to chime in with. It's definitely the hops, whether noble or Styrian Goldings.


TL

I don't think its necessarily skunked beer. I know the beers he's describing, they're the prevalent type of beer here (I actually looked to see if the OP was in Ireland). The taste is to me the "macrolager" taste, but you still get it in a can so it can't just be skunkiness. Maybe its the leftover taste of the adjuncts used such as rice or corn? There's definitely a sweetness to it.

Also, consider that may Euro beers do not use adjuncts, and many do not attenuate or hop the bejeebers out of their beers. As others have mentioned, you are smelling malt.


TL

Hmm I'm still curious as to how they get that toxic waste flavour into Bavaria

I always thought Moosehead was like that no matter what container it was in, but I haven't had it for a long time.

I would go with everyone else responding to the OP that it is malt or perhaps Saaz hops I know they have a distinct flavor/aroma.

If you wanna see if it's skunking you're talking about, buy two Heinekens. Buy one in a can, one in a green bottle. Leave the bottle on a window sill on a sunny day for a day. Then chill it. Pop both of them and compare. The can won't be skunked at all, the bottle will.

agroff383 said:

I always thought Moosehead was like that no matter what container it was in, but I haven't had it for a long time.

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Moosehead definitely has it... the more I think about it it's got to be the hops, they ARE related to the happy plant afterall

I've never had a non-skunked Moosehead. I wonder what it tastes like.

I've never had a non-skunked Saison Dupont. I wonder what it supposed to taste like?