Taddy Porter

[Tad]

I recently had Taddy Porter for the first time. Why does the first sip taste vinegary?

After that it was fine. Is it supposed work like that or was something wrong with it?

Edited March 22, 2006 by Tad (log)

[TongoRad]

I recently had Taddy Porter for the first time. Why does the first sip taste vinegary?

After that it was fine. Is it supposed work like that or was something wrong with it?

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I can't say exactly, but maybe you got an old and unbalanced sample. The roasted malts used in Porters and Stouts will acidify the mash somewhat, though that quality is usually balanced out in the finished beer. I don't ever recall its being that noticible in the Taddy Porter, myself.

Another possibility is that the diacetyl present in that beer (a fermentation byproduct that comes across like butterscotch) in conjunction with some oxidation gave a sensation of a certain 'sourness'. This may be the result of age or exposure to excessive heat.

Either way, I don't think you experienced it in its full glory, which is too bad.

[jesskidden]

I recently had Taddy Porter for the first time. Why does the first sip taste vinegary?

After that it was fine. Is it supposed work like that or was something wrong with it?

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As much as I like Samuel Smith's beers (when they first hit these shores in the late 70's, they were very expensive but eye opening and I spend one great afternoon touring the brewery, sticking my head in the famous slate Yorkshire squares and breathing in the heady aroma), I must say that their use of clear (and light green) glass bottles for many of their beers means I don't buy them often. "Skunkiness" in beer is strictly a matter of exposure to light and happens in a matter of hours, so no matter how "fresh" your beer is, if you've bought in from an open shelf in a brightly lit US store, you're not getting good beer. (Altho', the amount of hops & alcohol level also have an effect on how skunky a particular beer becomes.)

Every year, a friend and I would discuss buy a sealed case of their Christmas beer in order to get fresh, unskunked beer, but seldom did it. It's a real shame that so many UK brewers are using clear glass (the light green glass used by St. Peter's isn't much better) and using the pint bottle sold individually as their main product in the US. Give me a closed, sealed six pack anyday!

[Tad]

It wasn't skunky at all the first sip was vinegary when you got past that it was fine.

Everyone who tried one said the same thing.

[Blair P. Houghton]

It wasn't skunky at all the first sip was vinegary when you got past that it was fine.

Everyone who tried one said the same thing.

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I just tucked into one and it had none of that. Creamy to start, yummy to finish.