There have been very few beer in recent years around these parts that have sparked such controversy as the Big Kahuna, made by Alley Kat for Sherbrooke Liquor. Some have found it a decent, if rather tame version of a sour ale. Others have clearly picked up unpleasant off-flavours. A couple of weeks ago I offered my take on the beer (found here). At the time I found the beer to be a decent, if rather timid, version of a sour ale. I didn’t pick up what others had found.

However, a couple of days later, Sherbrooke’s Jim suggested I try another bottle, just to make sure. So I did. And that bottle was a completely different beer. It started hot and medicinal, which was a first indication something was wrong. Instead of a clean lactic, I found a beer that was phenolic and dirty. I detected chlorine, latex and barnyard. The cherry was almost undetectable.The beer was a mess. I let the beer sit for a couple of hours just to see if some of the off-flavours blew off. They didn’t.

I know of more than a few people who found something similar. But I also know that my first experience with the beer was quite different.

It is truly a mystery.

To be honest, I informed Jim and the folks at Alley Kat about the different bottle experiences a few days ago, to give them a heads up. I wanted them to have a few days to discern what is going on before letting the rest of the world know. I didn’t do it to be secretive, but instead in the hopes that maybe they might figure out what is going on.

So far, they haven’t. It, for the moment, remains a mystery why some bottles are fine and others a complete mess. Jim has pulled all the bottles from his shelves, and is offering a refund to anyone who experienced one of the bad bottles (his offer, in my opinion, is imminently decent and laudable).

I wish I could offer an explanation, but I am flummoxed. If it was homebrew, I would suggest bottle contamination, but Alley Kat generally has a good handle on that sort of thing. Could it be some kind of reaction from the lactobacillus? Maybe. But why only in some bottles? Some have speculated that maybe the beer has an unbelievably short shelf life, or is particularly sensitive to travel shock. Both are possible but unproven.

On the whole this is very unfortunate situation. Alley Kat is a solid brewer who rarely has issues with quality control. Sherbrooke has built a reputation for quality one-off beer. It is particularly hard knowing that this was the celebratory 1000th beer. Both Sherbrooke and Alley Kat seem undaunted and I suspect will return soon with a new beer that will knock our socks off.

For the moment, however, the mystery of the Big Kahuna (sounds like a Gilligan’s Island episode…) remains. If someone works out what has happened I will be sure to keep you posted.