Summer is here, the wind is gentle, the sun is beating down on your head… But also on your beer if you’re not careful! Letting your pint get too hot is anything but a good idea. Because, like you, it could end up with a nasty hangover afterwards.
No headaches or vomiting for her: a beer exposed to the sun for too long actually starts to smell particularly bad. Really really bad. To the point where its smell starts to resemble that of a skunk more than a nice cold beer. Literally.
Skunk Beer
To understand such a reaction, we need to look more closely at the composition of a beer itself. To make it, we need, first of all, water, a little malt and yeast, but also and above all a famous plant: hop. The latter gives the drink its bitterness. A detail that is anything but trivial.
When the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays hit the beer, a diabolical chemical reaction takes place with the hops essential oils. Isohumulones, the acids responsible for the taste of beer, degrade with UV rays and recombine into molecules of 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. A somewhat barbaric nickname, from which you should remember one thing: thiols are organic compounds that stink. They are found in particular in stink bombs, but not only.
The thiol that appears in beer left in the sun is known as «skunky thiol», reports Futura Science. In other words: the «thiol puant». And for good reason: this is what we find in the liquid secreted by the skunks –a mammal known for its smelly secretions when threatened. It is even, according to the scientific media, the smelliest molecule known. A billionth of a gram of the latter in a liter of beer is enough to completely rot it. Convinced?
A health risk?
Is there a health risk in drinking beer exposed to the sun? No, but you will doubtless your nostrils and taste buds to the test. A sacrilege for any good purist of this beverage.
It is generally accepted that beer keeps quite well at room temperature in a house. Above 40C, it is sure to deteriorate. So no beer exposed in the middle of a heatwave.
On the other hand, if we turn the problem around, the risks are there: if you are the one exposed to the sun and you are downing endless pints, there is a good chance that things will turn sour.
Heat, misfortune
The body struggles under the influence of heat. And adding liters of beer only makes things worse. Alcohol actually prevents the body to regulate its temperature at 37°C. He overheats. This is hyperthermia and sunstroke guaranteed.
That’s not all. Alcohol also goes hand in hand with dehydration. We are thirsty, we feel weak, our pulse drops and we suddenly feel dizzy. In short, it’s a disaster.
So that this doesn’t happen to you this summer, remember to drink water and consume alcohol – always in moderation – in the shade. You and your beer, head for the parasol. Your body and your nostrils will thank you!
Source: www.slate.fr
