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Author Topic: Warm BMC  (Read 3204 times)

Offline rodwha

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Warm BMC
« on: December 12, 2018, 08:18:18 pm »
Why does BMC taste so terrible when it warms up a little bit beyond damn near freezing? Too much adjuncts?

Offline KellerBrauer

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2018, 05:39:49 am »
Why does BMC taste so terrible when it warms up a little bit beyond damn near freezing? Too much adjuncts?

I’m not familiar with BMC, so my comments may be a bit skewed.  The taste of most beverages, and some foods for that matter, change as they get warmer.  This is the reason why wine producers tell us we should enjoy their wine at a particular temperature - 50 F, if I recall.  Beer is no different.  When the beverage is cold, many of the flavor compounds are diminished due to the temperature.  I like my beer at about 38 F.

So, with all this in mind, if you feel BMC tastes bad unless it’s just above frozen, than...well...The beer probably sucks.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2018, 05:41:22 am by KellerBrauer »
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Offline ethinson

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2018, 05:56:46 am »
The adjuncts could certainly play a role, but also any sort of yeast esters, while low in a lager, are going to present more as it warms up, as well as any hop aromas, which are also low and from oils and extracts rather than real hops.  There's a certain "corn" flavor I attribute to a lot of lagers and I'm not sure if it's from using flaked corn or if it's from DMS, but it does get worse as the beer warms.

Warming also affects the mouth feel as the carbonation dies.  I imagine those beers go flat really fast since they don't have much protein for head retention so you have a warm, thin, flat beer. No good. 

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Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2018, 07:30:17 am »
It's been said by many that with a light lager like BMC, there is not much substance there to hide any minor flaws that might exist.  Drinking it warm only compounds the issue.  Whether you are perceiving oxidation or DMS or anything else, all these issues are maximized in a cheap light lager consumed warm.

Fair is fair... I know if I brew this style, it doesn't come out flawless.  I doubt the vast majority of homebrewers are capable of producing a light lager as clean as BMC.  Some can, great for them.  But vast majority... meh.  It's a very difficult style, even for the masters like BMC.

EDIT: I just pondered another thought...... every mega-brewer of BMC makes multiple batches then blends to keep things consistent.  As part of any blend like this, there will be sub-batches that are winners or losers.  Thus it stands to reason that some of the barely marginally saleable sub-batches will be blended with the other batches to avoid having to dump it all out, thus inherently reducing the quality of all the beer they sell.  This is akin to the mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution."
 How's that for a hypothesis!
« Last Edit: December 13, 2018, 07:44:56 am by dmtaylor »
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Offline Bob Davis

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2018, 09:16:07 am »
I absolutely love a frozen glass with Mic Ultra/Bud Lite/etc... where the beer develops an ice float and the foam is frothy ice.  When those beers are well made the malt flavors and aromas are absolutely incredible at that stage.  As the beer warms it does seem to diminish.  I'm not sure as to why.

Perhaps as @dmtaylor suggests it may be that even those beers aren't always up to snuff.

Offline rodwha

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2018, 09:52:17 am »
I absolutely love a frozen glass with Mic Ultra/Bud Lite/etc... where the beer develops an ice float and the foam is frothy ice.  When those beers are well made the malt flavors and aromas are absolutely incredible at that stage.  As the beer warms it does seem to diminish.  I'm not sure as to why.

Perhaps as @dmtaylor suggests it may be that even those beers aren't always up to snuff.

When it’s that cold it has numbed your taste buds. When given a chilled glass I let it warm up before I pour it, though I usually ask for a glass that isn’t chilled.

Offline Robert

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2018, 10:28:02 am »
In such a delicately flavored beer, dissolved  CO2 -- that is, carbonic acid -- probably comprises an outsized proportion of the flavor balance.   Since they expect American lager to be served very cold and fizzy, the brewers may be formulating it to taste right under just those conditions.   As mentioned above, as it warms it loses CO2, and I suspect this shifts the flavor balance, losing the element that, in the absence of high hop rates,  counters the sweet flavors of malt, grain, and even alcohol  (which can be tasted in a very delicate beer.)  It's more or less the same thing, in reverse, as serving a British ale cold and overcarbonated.  Possibly.  And it might be crappy beer to start with.  I don't care for the B, the M, or the C, but I do enjoy PBR.

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Offline denny

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2018, 10:45:30 am »
In such a delicately flavored beer, dissolved  CO2 -- that is, carbonic acid -- probably comprises an outsized proportion of the flavor balance.   Since they expect American lager to be served very cold and fizzy, the brewers may be formulating it to taste right under just those conditions.   As mentioned above, as it warms it loses CO2, and I suspect this shifts the flavor balance, losing the element that, in the absence of high hop rates,  counters the sweet flavors of malt, grain, and even alcohol  (which can be tasted in a very delicate beer.)  It's more or less the same thing, in reverse, as serving a British ale cold and overcarbonated.  Possibly.  And it might be crappy beer to start with.  I don't care for the B, the M, or the C, but I do enjoy PBR.

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Offline denny

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #8 on: December 13, 2018, 10:47:17 am »
It's been said by many that with a light lager like BMC, there is not much substance there to hide any minor flaws that might exist.  Drinking it warm only compounds the issue.  Whether you are perceiving oxidation or DMS or anything else, all these issues are maximized in a cheap light lager consumed warm.

Fair is fair... I know if I brew this style, it doesn't come out flawless.  I doubt the vast majority of homebrewers are capable of producing a light lager as clean as BMC.  Some can, great for them.  But vast majority... meh.  It's a very difficult style, even for the masters like BMC.

EDIT: I just pondered another thought...... every mega-brewer of BMC makes multiple batches then blends to keep things consistent.  As part of any blend like this, there will be sub-batches that are winners or losers.  Thus it stands to reason that some of the barely marginally saleable sub-batches will be blended with the other batches to avoid having to dump it all out, thus inherently reducing the quality of all the beer they sell.  This is akin to the mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution."
 How's that for a hypothesis!

Well, not very good IMO!  I think you may be letting your dislike of these brewers color your thinking.  If there's one thing these guys excel at, it's consistency.  It's very unlikely there will be a bad batch.  And if there is, they wouldn't risk the consistency of the rest of their product by using it.
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Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #9 on: December 13, 2018, 10:52:40 am »
It's been said by many that with a light lager like BMC, there is not much substance there to hide any minor flaws that might exist.  Drinking it warm only compounds the issue.  Whether you are perceiving oxidation or DMS or anything else, all these issues are maximized in a cheap light lager consumed warm.

Fair is fair... I know if I brew this style, it doesn't come out flawless.  I doubt the vast majority of homebrewers are capable of producing a light lager as clean as BMC.  Some can, great for them.  But vast majority... meh.  It's a very difficult style, even for the masters like BMC.

EDIT: I just pondered another thought...... every mega-brewer of BMC makes multiple batches then blends to keep things consistent.  As part of any blend like this, there will be sub-batches that are winners or losers.  Thus it stands to reason that some of the barely marginally saleable sub-batches will be blended with the other batches to avoid having to dump it all out, thus inherently reducing the quality of all the beer they sell.  This is akin to the mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution."
 How's that for a hypothesis!

Well, not very good IMO!  I think you may be letting your dislike of these brewers color your thinking.  If there's one thing these guys excel at, it's consistency.  It's very unlikely there will be a bad batch.  And if there is, they wouldn't risk the consistency of the rest of their product by using it.

I don't dislike all of them.  I've been known to drink a Bud or a Busch on occasion.  It's the Miller, Coors, PBR that I don't like.
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Offline joe_meadmaker

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #10 on: December 13, 2018, 03:37:39 pm »
If CO2 loss is the problem, then shouldn't a freshly opened warm bottle not have the undesired taste change?  I'll admit I've never tried this.  Has anyone ever had an open bottle/glass and left it to warm, and then tasted it alongside a freshly opened bottle that's at the same temperature?

I'm not a fan of BMC, so haven't had anything from them in quite a while.  I agree with Denny, you have to give these guys props for their consistency.  But I've had plenty of other lagers and pilsners that do just fine after warming up a little.  And often get better as the flavors start to come out.  In my opinion the big 3 are just not very good tasting beers.

Offline Robert

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #11 on: December 13, 2018, 03:55:40 pm »


If CO2 loss is the problem, then shouldn't a freshly opened warm bottle not have the undesired taste change? 

If you open a warm bottle, CO2 will be lost, having already migrated to the headspace, and in foaming on opening, as the beer has to equilibrate at the warmer temperature, whether slowly or rapidly:   at a given temperature at atmospheric pressure, only so much gas can be held in solution.  The end result should be the same.  And I can think of a lot of experiments I'd rather try than one that inevitably has me drinking warm swill.  I did enough of that in college to last a lifetime.

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Offline joe_meadmaker

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #12 on: December 13, 2018, 04:55:23 pm »
And I can think of a lot of experiments I'd rather try than one that inevitably has me drinking warm swill.

;D

Oh, where's your sense of adventure ;)

Offline rodwha

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2018, 05:09:34 pm »
When I drank BMC beers I had a timer set for 20 mins as none were cold enough from the store and really tasted nasty so I put them in the freezer and set them in a koozie. Otherwise I couldn’t drink them. So there’s more to it than losing carbonation. They had to be cold.

I don’t generally buy anything BMC or owned by them, but I do like Foster’s Premium Ale (formerly ESB) and if I’m somewhere where I can’t get a good beer I’ll buy a Coors or a Blue Moon. So I’m not strictly against them accept for AB/InBev. I refuse to support them.

Offline Bob357

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Re: Warm BMC
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2018, 08:22:29 pm »
I think the key question is, Why are they served ice cold? Your tasting them warm answers that question well. When you remove most of the flavor, cold makes what remains refreshing. If you've ever drunk carbonated water you know what I mean.
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