Something blasphemous has been done to Ožujsko, the beer from which my nickname, Žujo, is derived. They have changed their packaging. And the new packaging is in green glass and plastic.

I am not upset because of the LOOK of the packaging. I couldn't give a shit what it looks like. What I care about is flavor. And packaging beer in green glass is the worst possible thing you could do to a beer. This effectively ruins the beer.

The reason for this is chemical in nature.

Beers are given bitterness by something in hops called "isomerized alpha acids". When ultraviolet light hits a beer for too long, it provides the energy necessary to cause a chemical reaction that combines those iso alpha acids and some trace sulfur in the beer into a new compound: 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. This is a sulfur compound. And sulfur is funky shit. Skunks use this same chemical compound for self defense.

Anyway, while the green glass itself does not cause this to happen, it *does* virtually ensure that it will happen. Brown glass protects a beer pretty well while green glass doesn't really protect it at all. So, when the beer is packaged and then sits in the light somewhere, which usually happens before it gets to you, the beer is "skunked".

This is avoidable. The fucking brewer shouldn't be bottling in green glass. More than likely, what's happened is Ožujsko lost some market share to Tuborg or something. And Tuborg is bottled in green glass. And a lot of "cool" beers are too. So, Ožujsko has a new look! But fuck them. Stupid assholes.

If you want to compare, go find yourself a bottle of Ožujsko that's in the brown glass before they're gone. And find one in green glass. Hell, buy 2 of the green glass variety. Take one and set in your window sill in the sunlight for 2 or 3 days. Then chill it. Take 3 glasses and pour the 3 beers and compare. You'll see what I'm talking about. It's fucking horrible, skunky, sulfurous shit. If you're not in Croatia and want to test the same thing, do this same experiment but use Heineken in the green glass and Heineken in the can (which is obviously way better).

For some reason, some people like this skunky taste. But I don't like sulfur. It's disgusting.

So, naturally, I will no longer buy Ožujsko. Ever. Until they change packaging to something acceptable. Wanna join me in this crusade? Easy! Please STOP buying Ožujsko. NEVER buy it in green glass. Maybe they'll lose some sales and the stupid assholes will go back to brown glass.

One caveat here; some brewers remove this hop compound or use other means to ensure this does not happen even though they bottle in clear or green glass. Miller Brewing is one of these. And I've never tasted a skunked Stella Artois, but I HATE Stella so don't drink it often enough to be a proper tester for this.