Taste Your Favorite Beer Again for the First Time with Oral Probiotics

Recently my wife told me after almost fourteen years of being with me that my breath always stinks. This was the first time anyone had said anything about my breath and I clean my teeth religiously, so I questioned her claim. She reassured me that it wasn’t like someone took a dump in my mouth, but my breath just always smells like bad food. I guess that’s a fair claim. I could have ignored this paradigm shift in my life, but I decided to do something to correct the problem by searching on the interwebs for a miracle bad breath cure-all pill. I wasn’t expecting to actually find a stank-be-gone capsule, but Amazon sells a probiotic that promotes healthy oral bacteria and reduces bad breath (I swear Amazon sells EVERYTHING). I bought a bottle and took a lozenge, which actually made my breath smell better. This might be great for my wife, but the added bonus for me is that it made beer taste even better.

This might sound crazy, and like I said before, I’m not a doctor or a dietician, but I can speak to my own experience. These wacky pills are not Dr. Poppy’s Wonder Elixir. I bought OralBiotic Blis K12 by Now Foods ($10.49 for 60 lozenges and you get to make out with your partner again–that seems like a great deal). These watch-battery size lozenges dissolve in your mouth, taste like strawberry, and have no weird aftertaste. In fact, I noticed almost right away that there was absolutely no taste in my mouth. The first meal after I took my first OralBiotic, I noticed that the sometimes annoying aftertaste from a meal went away much faster. Also, when eating food, I noticed that the flavors were more prominent. Don’t get me wrong–these lozenges aren’t exactly ecstasy, where you start rubbing your body and rolling on the floor when you eat or drink, but food flavors are slightly enhanced.

According to the label, OralBiotic contains a naturally occurring probiotic organism called Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12, which colonizes the oral cavity at the expense of other bacteria that supports oral and throat health. I know what you’re thinking, “Um Dave, I don’t want any organisms colonizing my oral cavity. No thanks.” Well, I got news for you buddy, you already have organisms that have set up Jamestown in your pie hole and they’re working hard to make sure your mouth smells like you ate a turd. The Strepto-whatever-the-hell-it’s-called “replaces” the bad bacteria in your mouth and still breaks down food particles without giving you lip flatulence.

The first time I had a craft beer after taking an OralBiotic, I had to double-check the label to make sure I was drinking the same beer. Again, it’s not like it completely changed the flavor of the beer, but it brought out flavors that I didn’t notice before and it slightly intensified other tastes. I know that everyone perceives taste slightly differently. I thought, if I am to prove that this lozenge makes beer taste better, then I’m going to have to put my Bachelor of Science to use and pull out the scientific method for a good ol’ fashioned experiment!

My guinea pigs for my experimental group were my friends Matt and Kyle, who are also fellow members of The Competitive Drinking Film League (we make drinking games to crappy movies that we play at a bar once a month in LA, so we have a lot of beers under our belts). I participated in the experimental group as well and we drank four ounces of three different beers in a row with about five minutes between each beer. We then each took an OralBiotic and waited 30 minutes. We then tasted the same beers again in the same order and recorded any differences in taste. If I had set this experiment up correctly, then I would have had a control group, but I don’t have the time or money to find a placebo lozenge. Plus this is not a scientific journal; it’s a website about beer.

I tried to select three beers that had a wide range of flavors: Modern Times’ Lomaland Bright Rustic Saison from San Diego, Humboldt Brewing’s Red Nectar Amber Ale from Humboldt, and Lagunitas IPA from Petaluma. After the first drink through, we all agreed that the Lomaland was fantastic. It was citrusy, but not sweet, and it had a nice hop finish that was slightly bitter. The Red Nectar was sweet at first with a malt finish, but not a lot of flavor. It was a little boring with almost no bitterness and a slight oily mouthfeel. The Lagunitas IPA (the beginner’s IPA) had a refreshing citrus hop presence at first and a slight crisp bitter aftertaste. We all popped our pills and waited a half hour.

For round two, the Lomaland was amazing again, but the beer was more complex and some of the bitterness profile was eliminated. Kyle’s eyes lit up the first time he tasted the Red Nectar after he took the OralBiotic. The red ale had a fruitier palate with plum tastes pulling through. It was definitely a little tastier. The Lagunitas IPA had little to no bitter aftertaste and the sweeter part of the beer came out more on the second time around.

Again, there were no monumental taste breakthroughs after taking the OralBiotics, but overall, it made our beers taste slightly better. It brought out flavors that weren’t as prominent in the beer as when we had stank breath producing bacteria in our mouth. If you’re someone who has nearby plants wither and die every time you open your mouth and you like beer, then you should try OralBiotics to give not only peace to those around you, but also to taste your favorite beer again for the first time.