Few things are more disappointing than getting a skunky beer . . . especially if you're in a car and don't have any more cold ones with you. This beer blogger shares information on skunkiness. I'm not sure how useful it'll prove, when you're weeping after opening a bad one, knowing you don't have enough money for another, but it might help somehow. Excerpt:
Beer is sensitive to light, especially in the 350”“500 nm range. Light of this wavelength can penetrate clear and green glass and cause nauseous off-flavors in beers bottled in such glass containers and drinking glasses. The beer is said to be “sunstruck” and the aroma and taste referred to as “skunky”. Light instability in beer results from hop components. Hops in brewing have a number of roles: they impart bitterness to beer; provide characteristic hop aromas; suppress growth of ertain microorganisms, particularly gram-positive bacteria; assist in beer foam stability; and contribute polyphenols to the protein”“polyphenol complex during wort boiling.
Other disappointing drinking situations:
Ordering a cold one and the bartender saying, "They're changing the keg. It'll be fifteen minutes."
Ordering a tall cold one, then your wife calls you on the phone, asking, "Are you on your way home?"
Ordering another cold one and the bartender shakes his head.
Ordering a cold one and realizing you're in McDonald's.
Ordering a cold one and the bartender recognizes that you're only fourteen.
Ordering a cold one at a great new bar, then seeing everyone wearing leather . . . and they're not bikers.
Ordering your ninth cold one and realizing your designated driver is passed out.
