James Yeager is an American geologist who was advising the government of Afghanistan in 2007. Because of his distaste for a certain ubiquitous Mexican export—which an intruder left behind—he avoided assassination.
he returned to his residence in Kabul to find it had been burgled. The intruder took money from a drawer and left behind a bottle of Corona beer. The Corona bottle sat on his counter for the next two weeks Yeager says, because Corona is one of his least favorite beers. He finally opened it during a going away party as the other drinks began to run low.
“I pulled it out and when I popped it there was no fizz and the cap was loose,” says Yeager. “Because this one didn’t have fizz you wonder if it went rancid or not, and I just kind of sniffed it and I went ‘Oh, that doesn’t smell like beer.’ ”
Yeager, a geochemist familiar with acids, realized it smelled like sulfuric acid – otherwise known as battery acid.
So next time you reach for one of those industrial light lagers, consider if you really want it. The life you save may be your own.
(via Boing Boing (via The Christian Science Monitor))
I guess I’ll be adding sulfuric acid to my beer tasting terms list. Pretty sure I’ve encountered that smell before in one or two beers in my time.
Ray also said: Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
“Beer snobs” are jerks. People who appreciate good beer are “beer geeks” or “beer advocates”. Calling someone a “snob” for recognizing the aromas of beer is just ignorant.
“Snobbery” = I won’t drink Corona because it’s beneath me. I have superior taste.
“Beer Geek” = I know what good beer smells like. I know what bad beer smells like. This doesn’t smell like beer, it smells like sulferic acid!”
Does that make the difference clear?
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@markskar: If you’ve spent any time here you’d know very well we know the difference between “snobs” and “geeks”. “Beer geekery” just doesn’t have the same caché so would have made a less-fun headline.