Green-bottled beer explained
I decided to do some research on the mystery taste that I experience whenever I choose to drink a pilsner or German lager. What I found, while not really great news, certainly explains my previous findings in a reasonable manner.
Hop-derived molecules, called isohumulones, are basically ripped apart. Some of these parts bind with sulfur atoms to create that “skunk” character, which is similar in character to a skunk’s natural defense and is such a potent compound that parts-per-trillion can be detected and even ruin a beer. Although brown bottles aid in protecting beer from being light-struck, it hardly makes the beer invincible. Green or clear bottles provide little to no protection. And it’s been said that bottled beer can become light-struck in less than one minute in bright sun, after a few hours in diffuse daylight, and in a few days under normal fluorescent lighting.
This light-struck condition is often to blame for a skunked beer. Many popular imports are distributed in green bottles. Pair the two, mix with misinformation and an inexperienced palate, and the common belief becomes that if beer is in a green bottle, it has to be skunked.
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The natural and often times wanted sulfur character produced by certain strains of lager yeast, under certain beer style brewing conditions, does not make a skunked beer. Nor does a pungent hop character that you might not be used to. Don’t confuse these characteristics with being skunked, as it’s not always the case.
It turns out that some beer (often in green bottles) uses a yeast strain which produces a sulfur flavor in beer. This is what I dislike. The reason it tasted so much better in a keg is that it is less concentrated. The yeast’s flavors are much more diffused in a keg, and much more intense in a bottle.
It doesn’t mean that beer in a green bottle is bad, though it does have a higher risk of being really skunked (or light-struck). If you want to avoid that, don’t buy beer out on display or in brightly lit coolers. Buy it in a case or 12-pack that is completely sealed. Or, if you are like me and don’t like green bottled beer at all, learn your beer types, and stay away from that style of beer.
For more info, check out the following website. Their explanation is quite good.
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