Exploding Burton Porter?

[Rubaiyat]

A few things.

Thank you for the lively reporting on the Burton Porter. This beer is made by a dedicated small group in Burton-upon-Trent and is highly regarded as being very representative of its style - an original Burton Porter. These are typically quite sour with ashen, roasted malt in the background and red berry sweetness in the foreground. Not everyone's taste.

Every product that hits the shelves at the LCBO passes through the LCBO's lab, probably one of the most strict and thorough of its kind anywhere.

While we stand behind our products, yes indeed taking a "small batch" -- "artisanal" -- even
"quirky" product back to the LCBO en masse does not bode well for the already dwindling collection of peculiar ales from around the world so -- be fair. Having said that, spoiled is spoiled. To the best of our knowledge this entire shipment (release) was one batch so -- the wide variances in the pouring - and tasting - experience are a bit dumbfounding. Nonetheless -- keep it coming.

Cheers, Paul

[the.brewer]

I'd like to reply to Paul's post as it raises a couples of points that deserve discussion, particularly his point about the LCBO lab, which I believe does not look for infections in beers. It is my understanding that the lab spends its time checking on quoted alcohol content, the unlikely presence of pathogens, benzene levels, formaldehyde and sulphite levels in the case of wines, etc. Unfortunately, I have a slow keyboard speed, and just don't have the time to post a thorough, balanced discussion. In the end, though what it really comes down to is this:
Having been alerted to the fact that a beer is perhaps an unusual or extreme example of its style, and therefore approaching it with an open mind, do you as the drinker like it? If you are a consumer, or bar, is it pourable without having to use an excessive amount of caution to avoid waste? If not, then you probably won't buy it next time. It really isn't worth involving the LCBO lab, and unless I had bought cases of something with a very clearly identifiable problem, I wouldn't bother taking it back to the LCBO. It's not a black and white consumer issue. Just chalk it up to experience and let your $ do the talking, next time. Nothing wrong with a bit of discussion on the forum though.
P.S. Artisanal beers can easily end up with infection in one bottle and not in the next from the same batch. Susceptibility depends on how the priming medium is introduced, and of course how well each bottle is cleaned/rinsed, even if new. If you think about it, the brewer is introducing residual fermentable extract into a 'new' host container. The chances of zero bacterial count in all the containers is slim. Just have to hope that the remaining yeast is vigourous and gobbles up those sugars before anything else gets a chance to multiply and compete.
Michael

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: the.brewer on 2004-02-18 09:48 ]</font>

[old faithful]

Well put from a pro who knows. In fact, I am surprised that most bottle-conditioned or unfiltered beers are as good as they are! All the Belgian and French unfiltered or lightly filtered beers I've sampled in recent months have been fine, e.g., all the Chimays, Orval, and the Asambock and other German unfiltered wheat beers. Ditto for the bottle-condioned beers from Unibroue, rarely if ever have I had one that seemed questionable in terms of an unwanted ferment in the bottle. I recall when Cooper's Sparkling Ale first came to Ontario some years ago there was the odd cidery bottle (or not really cidery but just too old) but in the last year at least it is clean as a whistle and very appetising. The beers I have mentioned are from breweries that have been in business for years and clearly they know how to bottle beers with residual yeast. Even if the LCBO is not looking for unwanted ferments, I would say they are a very rare occurrence or to such a tiny degree one cannot notice the effect. With the Burton Porter, I feel the bottle I had was off, the gushing was way more than normal and the beer, while drinkable, had the tell-tale cidery taste of some uncontrolled fermentation. There is a difference between a vinous ferment and one that is totally uncontrolled, I might add, and this went over the line. My plan is to try again with Burton Porter, since some people reported no problems. Also, when this kind of thing happens it is my experience that the beer improves on subsequent importation. We should encourage small craft breweries and I'd buy it again over the next year if it is still available.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: old faithful on 2004-02-20 15:31 ]</font>

[borderline_alcoholic]

I think that it is also reasonable to bear in mind that the Belgians often brew their beers primarily for bottling - so you would expect them to be fairly reliable with their bottled product, whether conditioned or otherwise.

The British (real) beers are brewed primarily for cask (and sometimes kegs), so the bottles will always be a secondary concern, which I suspect may lead them to be more variable in quality...