I have long been a fan of the Samuel Smith ales from Yorkshire, England. The Nut Brown Ale; Old Brewery Pale; Oatmeal and Imperial Stouts; and, particularly apropos at this time of year, the Winter Welcome: I like the lot. I've even visited the brewery in Tadcaster. But I have never been one to buy them, primarily because on the occasions that I have done so, about one-third to one-half of the bottles purchased have been to some degree lightstruck.
Light is the enemy of beer, reacting as it does with sulphur compounds to produce "off" flavours and aromas commonly and very accurately described as "skunky." (In the "Dictionary of Beer & Brewing," the reaction is described thusly: "[Exposure to light causes] undesirable chemical reactions of hydrogen sulfide and other sulphur compounds with a side chain of the is-humulones and the formation of phenyl mercaptan [3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol], which imparts a skunklike flavor." I don't know what any of that means, but I do understand that it makes my beer taste and smell bad.) The Samuel Smith clear glass bottles, in which the beer has long been packaged, were supposed to have a UV-deflecting substance built into them, but to my experience, at least, it has seldom worked.
What a pleasant surprise, then, when I saw my first shipment of Sam Smith beers in brown glass! The shape and size of the container remains the same, but the glass is now coloured brown, deep brown, thus protecting the precious liquid inside from the ravages of ultraviolet rays. And just in time for the arrival of the Winter Welcome, at that!
Thank you, Samuel Smith. For your new, if long overdue, efforts to keep your ales smelling and tasting their best, I salute you with the Taste of the Month.
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