Beer aficionados know that a good pint can start with the scent of malt and hops but, if nursed for too long, can end up stinking. Now, chemists know exactly how beer forms the compound responsible, a sulfur-containing molecule akin to the one in skunk glands.
Brown glass bottles shade beer from light, which can trigger reactions that produce skunky smelling chemicals.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.