I think I just had oxidized beer at a bar

[Apendecto]

This blows me away because I didn't think it was possible.

I went to a bar with 20 taps and it's more of a restaurant than your local pub.

I get a flight of 8 samples...different breweries, different styles, etc. I can't quite put my finger on what taste 5 of them had in common. I finally figured out that it was paper...like wet cardboard...oxidation???

I grab a Two Hearted as a litmus test and it tastes great.

Ever had this happen?

What can cause it? Old beer in long draft lines gets oxidized from infrequent pouring?

If this is oxidized beer, could I test it by buying a pitcher then a pint and see if the pint had the wet cardboard taste? The Two Hearted was good because it's more popular and gets poured more often?

Thanks for your help. In all my years (read: all the beer I've drank at a bar) I've never experienced this.

 

[DoWBrewer]

I have had that happen. A local brewery had an IPA with a strong bandaid smell and I have been to a few bars with either dirty lines or bad carbonation. If they aren't doing a good job cleaning their lines, it could definitely happen.

 

[AerationStation]

You'll get that a lot with bars that offer a lot of taps just because beer will sit in the line and oxidize if it's not being moved. I get the same thing in my keg lines at home if I give it a couple of days

 

[day_trippr]

I won't say it's impossible, but it's unlikely you'll find oxidized beer on tap in a non-brewing bar or restaurant. First, beer does not oxidized in a beer line (there's no O2 in a beer line), and second, they buy kegs already filled and sealed.

Much more likely their beer lines are filled with crud. And that happens a lot, sadly...

Cheers!

 

[Apendecto]

I won't say it's impossible, but it's unlikely you'll find oxidized beer on tap in a non-brewing bar or restaurant. First, beer does not oxidized in a beer line (there's no O2 in a beer line), and second, they buy kegs already filled and sealed.

Much more likely their beer lines are filled with crud. And that happens a lot, sadly...

Cheers!

I'm with you on the cruddy lines. We've all been there before. But are lines, say crappy vinyl tubing or something, be air permeable like this guy thinks?

To me, infected beer and oxidized beer taste very different. Wet cardboard was all I tasted in some of the samples.

 

[day_trippr]

Cheap vinyl tubing - besides tainting the beer with chemical flavor - is in fact rather oxygen permeable and is best avoided in all cases, whether in a commercial application or the typical consumer direct draw system.

But I would expect most bars operate long draw systems that are fabricated using trunk lines incorporating O2 impermeable barrier tubing for just that reason (indeed, barrier tubing is required by industry standards for long draw systems).

While we might be ok with dumping a couple of ounces of beer at the start of a session to flush the "chemically enhanced" and/or stale beer from the lines before serving, a long line might require dumping an entire pint or more at opening time; multiplied by all of the taps, that could be quite a bit of lost beer. Even without the industry standards at play, it just makes sense to go with quality barrier lines in a commercial setting.

All that said, some things are surprisingly possible, so I won't discount your theory, but my first suspicion would still be grungy lines. Either way, I'd likely not be plunking my cash down at that bar...

Cheers!

 

[Apendecto]

Amen.

It just baffles me all the points that have been said. 1. No O2 in a keg. 2. Co2 is used to push beer (I would hope they aren't using compressed air...).

So, I don't get why it might oxidize. But if it can sitting around since they don't pour much beer, that would make sense.

I'm going to try getting a pitcher of cardboard beer then a glass to see if it improves. Why? They have a dozen chicken wings for $3.50, tons of good beer (if it wasn't cardboard), beer is reasonably priced and if the place can do something to improve their system-I'm all for it.