Beer

I used to drink Miller products and have switched to Anheuser Busch products. The reason is because I can easily figure out how fresh the beer is. I buy the cheap ‘Natural’ line because, if you have fresh cheap beer, it always tastes better than costlier, older beer, and I am cheap.

Beer skunks because of 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol and trans-2-nonenal. 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol can be activated by exposure to sunlight and really is the same chemical in skunk spray. Trans-2-nonenal is generated with age and there is debate over the generation mechanism, but, in any case, it just shows up. I designed a brewery once, it was fun.

It is almost impossible for a small brewery to compete with the big guys unless you go for the expensive niche, or go the brew-pub route where you do not need to bottle the beer. There are large economies of scale.

So, anyway, there I was at the gas station, looking at a twelve pack of Natural Beer. There was the twelve-pack in front with an early November date on it. The twelve-pack in back was from December. I removed the November case from the cooler, reached around, and grabbed the December case, replacing the November case.

I do not know if this was an ethical maneuver. But the beer is good.