Everybody likes beer. Well, if not everyone, then almost everyone, or rather many. And everyone likes something of his own in beer. And some people just don’t think about it and treat beer like a beloved woman – they just love her without thinking about the color of her eyes or the volume of her waist. But beer, unlike our beloved woman, has some strict rules that it has to meet. That’s what I want to tell you about.

A metallic taste in beer. Sometimes it is coming from new equipment, but mostly it is caused by hops. Hops are afraid of light and oxygen, and violations of the rules of its storage lead to the formation of this defect. An interesting way to detect it (in case it is not very strong): put the beer on the outside of your hand, in the thumb area and lick it. This is how beer tasters detect it.

During fermentation, the yeast produces a fermentation byproduct – diacetyl. It gives a aroma of muffin and butter to the beer. It is not acceptable in almost all types of beer, with a few exceptions. Usually brewers keep the diacetyl pause, during which the yeast itself destroys the product it has produced. At the end of the fermentation period, the beer is tested for diacetyl concentration in the laboratory and must be tested by a taster.

And sometimes beer smells like… infants. This is the kind of smell that makes you dizzy, and it can also come from beer. It’s called Butyric, and it comes from a certain kind of beer bacteria.

If a beer smells like… strong yellow cheese, it is not good for all beers. This defect is called Isovaleric in the beer world. This flavor disorder is usually caused by hops that are old or not fully conditioned.

The smell of hydrogen sulfide, rotten eggs (Sulphidic, H2S) is produced during primary and sometimes secondary fermentation as well as by certain bacteria. At low concentrations it gives beer a pleasant fresh taste, while at high concentrations, it is a violation of the taste of beer.

The aroma of old paper, a stack of old newspapers or cardboard (Papery) can appear in beer during long and wrong storage, as well as due to the presence of oxygen in it. This flavor disorder is unacceptable for all beers.

All in all, there are a great many different beer flavor faults, some of them common to all types of beers. And sometimes, the flavor unacceptable in the lager is typical of a certain type of ale.

For example, a special race of yeast used to ferment Bavarian wheat beer gives the beer phenolic, banana, and clove flavors. These same aromas are totally unacceptable in classic lagers. So, it’s not all so clear-cut…

What should the average beer drinker do? Try different beers, read about them, try to understand what kind of beer you are drinking. And, of course, visit IsraBeer regularly!