For only the second time in my young experience with craft beer I've had to make a face quite close to that of the old Bitter Beer Face ads when some of us were growing up. Except that it wasn't because of the bitterness of the beer, but for the sourness of it.
I'm sure we've all wandered into a bad batch or bottle of beer at some point. This phenomenon almost kept me away entirely from Oatmeal Stouts. One of the first ones I ever had had a sour taste to it. Still being a newbie to craft brews, I thought this indicative of the style. It only took some time to realize that the particular batch might have been contaminated or spoiled in some form.
The second time was over this past weekend. I bought a case of Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice. My dad opened a bottle for himself as did I. I knew there was something wrong on the very first sip of mine. A strange sourness. Like that taste when vomit just gurgles up near your mouth and you get a small taste of it. Yea, it's not too appetizing.
I cross-tasted the other bottle which seemed to taste as the beer should. I can only hope that the rest of the case tastes fine and the problem is restricted to just that bottle. Still, I've never had this happen in a case of beer prior to this incident. I guess we can all agree that it's a good thing. I think most of our brewers do a good job of keeping things clean and taking care of their product. I'm extremely thankful for bottled-on dates, but unfortunately I haven't located anything as such on this case nor on the bottles.
The only question I have that comes out of this is if anyone else has had this happen when you bought a case of beer. Has it usually been restricted to just a bottle or two or does it tend to be the case with the rest of the bottles?
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