"Seth Goodman" > wrote in message
.net...
> In article >,
> on Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:23:45 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz wrote:
>
>
> > Skunk means when the beer goes bad, from being kept too long.
>
> You've misused the term "skunked". Beer becomes skunked when it is
> struck by sunlight (or any light in the daylight range, including the
> fluorescent bulbs in many coolers), which causes a transformation in the
> hops so the beer acquires the taste and aroma of a skunk's "fragrance".
> This is frequently associated with beers in green or clear glass
> bottles, such as Heineken. (Miller gets away with using clear glass
> bottles by chemically manipulating their hops to remove the component
> that skunks.) Brown bottles block light in this range, which is why they
> are best for storing beer.
>

I absolutely agree with this statement, Seth. Skunky refers to the odor and
flavor of the beverage when exposed to ultraviolet light. Steinlager,
Molson, Heineken, Moosehead, even Becks are fine examples of skunky beer.
Buy one, get your churchkey out, open the bottlecap and smell. It's
skunky. That's not a good quality in an expensive beverage. Brown bottles
are the way to go.

kili