Plastic glasses
Last night at a 'plastic glasses only' venue (somewhat under protest, I hasten to add) I noticed that the glasses felt (both to the hand and the mouth) very plasticky and naff when filled with ale at room temperature, but actually not that different from glass when filled with a chilled cider or lager. Have others found the same, and can anyone tell me why this is?
'Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable' - Python
I think it is just that cold beers like lager make the plastic hard & tend to hide the taste. I recently got served a Plastic Pint dimpled Jug in a Pub I was in. I did not even notice it was plastic till I had drank the beer and realized the glass was so light. I found it OK but would have preferred a Glass one but it was acceptable as it was a place full of& candles not a proper Pub.
Don't You just hate Pubs that say
( We don't stock any Real Ales as theres Just no call for it.)
I knew that chemistry degree would come in handy one day.
Basically it is the drink reacting with the glass, so you begin tasting the plastic in the drink. You can quench the reaction by cooling it though (every 10 degrees heat halves the speed of the reaction), so a chilled drink means that the taste of plastic leaches into your drink significantly slower. This is why I always carry one of those ice packs with me whenever I go out drinking in the city centre, I hate that taste
Hover ->Yes I did completely make this all up
Nothing to do with beer , but Coke allways tastes better out of a glass bottle
Theres a Man with a Mullet going Mad with a Mallet in Millets !
Thanks chaps, that makes more sense now
'Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable' - Python
Nice one Conrad! I thought you said you didn't have a sense of humour?Originally Posted by Conrad
Come On You Hatters!
I think I have got it out of my system for another year
Actually Conrad, joking or not, you are probably along the right lines..
Glass is a more inert substance than plastic and therefore is the best substance for not reacting with the liquid inside.
And any reaction between a plastic substance and the liquid inside may we be slowed down by lower temperature.
Things are also compilcated now adays by the type of 'plastic glass'. The newer types used at some sporting venues like the Millenium Stadium and Twickenham are made from a Corn or potato starch base and are definately better at not having a plastic after taste as well as the advantage of being completely biodegradable.
Unfortunately the last time I was at wembley Stadium they were still using PTFE ones and irrespective of the temperature of the liquid, it all tasted shit !
Actually metal (as in cans) is an even less inert substance than plastic but lets not go there....
Work is the curse of the drinking Class - Oscar Wilde
I always think that good BS is made by seeding it with just enough truth to be believable.
I suspect that colder drinks just numb out the tastebuds that detect the plastic taste a bit more, whilst everything I said about reactions is true, I doubt you would quench the reaction enough to be so much less detectable. I am just guessing though, so the first explanation may have some truth in it.
Didn't know the bit about the base material being corn or potato starch though, interesting stuff.
FYI.. http://www.drinksware.co.uk/products/55/cornstarch-cups
Work is the curse of the drinking Class - Oscar Wilde
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