red stripe rumor ?

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yeasty

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i heard from a buddy that RED STRIPE from jamaica uses a perservative somewhat like anti-freeze that is not legal here in the states. any truth to this one ?
 
haven't heard that (searches on teh intarwebz yield nothing), but how in the hell would anti-freeze or even a similar substance preserve a beer? Sounds like the old "formaldahyde in MD 20/20" myth. One guy mixed antifreeze into his wine in France awhile back, but not as a preservative as far as I know.
 
A few quick searches turned up nothing. Formaldehyde used to be a common beer additive in some Asian countries, but I think that practice has gone away (there are still rumors of it, though). I doubt that it would be legal to import a beer that does not meet health standards here in the US.
 
From Wikipedia:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined propylene glycol to be "generally recognized as safe" for use in food, cosmetics, and medicines. Like ethylene glycol, propylene glycol affects the body's chemistry by increasing the amount of acid. Propylene glycol is metabolized into pyruvic acid, which is a normal metabolite in the breakdown of glucose, while ethylene glycol is metabolized into oxalic acid, which is toxic.
 
Shouldn't drink it anyway.Redstripe tastes like skunk corona which tastes like skunk bud which taste like cascade hop tea.:D
 
haven't heard that (searches on teh intarwebz yield nothing), but how in the hell would anti-freeze or even a similar substance preserve a beer? Sounds like the old "formaldahyde in MD 20/20" myth. One guy mixed antifreeze into his wine in France awhile back, but not as a preservative as far as I know.

Didn't Bart Simpson catch that guy?
 
they used to put all sorts of horrid chemicals and opiates in porter back in london. ahh the good old days.
 
It is because of stuff like this that the Reinheitsgebot was written and why German beers became world class for clarity and purity. No weird adjuncts, chemicals or opiates by order of the duke!!
 
Propylene glycol, while not being necessarily desirable in a beer will not hurt you.

It's used in all kinds of things, toothpaste, lube, and is often used in the making of food colorings or flavorings (concentrates/extractions, this is likely where it is present in some beers that use cheap flavorings).
 
Reinheitsgebot wiki...

Ahhh yes the argument goes it wasn't to prevent bad and odd items being used in place of hops, but instead it tried to ensure rye and wheat were available for bread. It is a recent interpretation but by no means set in stone, evidence points to both reasons. Some brewers were using very unsavory things in their brews and this outlawed that, it also had the effect of freeing up grain stores for other things. 2 birds one stone, chicken or egg... or maybe i'm talking crazy didn't both to read the wiki, maybe i will do that tonight.
 
When I was in Shanghai 12 years ago I drank quite a few Reeb brand beers (Reeb is beer backwards, go figure). I noticed a pronounced formaldehyde taste that reminded me of highschool biology class. When I asked the bartender, he openly told me that yes it was indeed formaldehyde.

I also love Sangsom rice whiskey in Thailand. It's equally priced competitor Mekong is pretty nasty though. Supposedly they add antifreeze to it.
 
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