Question about "skunking"

[RexBanner]

Eyup all,
Plan to brew a wilkos sweet brown ale soon and have been saving up 40 *hic* newcastle brown ale bottles.
So then, if I use my clear glass bottles what is the risk of skunking the beer? Is it literaly if kept in direct sunlight?

Any advice to avoid skunkulation happening would be good, as ide hate to have saved all them bottles only to bottle it, leave it on the bench for ten mins before storing it.

Ta

 

[yeastinfection]

I think you've answered your own question.don't leave them in the light. Dark cupboard or similar.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Beer can easily acquire a skunky aroma. This undesirable, commonly encountered bad odor is caused by a reaction in the beer that occurs when natural or artificial light is allowed to penetrate the beer container and initiate what is referred to as photolysis. This photolysis reaction breaks down the natural bitter alpha acid hop constituents in the beer, leading to the formation of the compound 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, commonly called mercaptan, that reminds one of skunks. This skunky compound can be formed rapidly when beer is exposed to light. Luckily, it is easy to prevent light-struck, skunky beer.

Read more - http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Skunky-Beer

 

[Simonh82]

I think it's hard to find clear evidence of how much light it takes to affect a beer but if I were keeping it in clear bottles I'd want to keep it in a cupboard. I know that florescent lighting found in shops (and the home) is meant to cause it.

 

[Sadfield]

As short as 30 seconds can apparently be enough. Given the time of year, bottle in the evening and store in a box or cupboard, and it won't be an issue.

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[RexBanner]

Cheers for the replies peopele.
I think I may have indeed answered my own question, i wanted an opinion of the likelyhood of it so all valuble.

Does make me wonder how newcastle brown ale managed to prevent this though...

 

[Slid]

Cheers for the replies peopele.
I think I may have indeed answered my own question, i wanted an opinion of the likelyhood of it so all valuble.

Does make me wonder how newcastle brown ale managed to prevent this though...

When was the last time you heard of a Skank in Newcastle? :whistle:

 

[Sadfield]

Cheers for the replies peopele.
I think I may have indeed answered my own question, i wanted an opinion of the likelyhood of it so all valuble.

Does make me wonder how newcastle brown ale managed to prevent this though...

Google: newcastle brown skunking. They don't!

 

[alikav]

Can this also occur if using brown PET bottles?

 

[DoctorMick]

As short as 30 seconds can apparently be enough. Given the time of year, bottle in the evening and store in a box or cupboard, and it won't be an issue.

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Jeez, I never realised it was that short a space of time.

I store mine either in the garage (no windows) or in plastic boxes while they're indoors carbing.

 

[DoctorMick]

Can this also occur if using brown PET bottles?

It doesn't happen with brown glass as the UV is filtered, I'd assume it is the same with the PET bottles.

 

[Cwrw666]

All this is highly exagerated. I use a mixture of brown, green and clear bottles and have never had `skunking' in any of them. My bottles are stored in crates or open cardboard boxes in the back of our house in a room that has early morning sunlight streaming in through the back door. The only precautions I've ever taken is to chuck a square of cardboard on top of the top crate if there's clear bottles in there.
Just think of all the perfectly acceptable commercial bottles of beer sold in clear bottles. Newcastle brown, Bishops Finger, Reverend James etc. have you ever had a skunked bottle?

 

[terrym]

All this is highly exaggerated.
Just think of all the perfectly acceptable commercial bottles of beer sold in clear bottles. Newcastle brown, Bishops Finger, Reverend James etc. have you ever had a skunked bottle?

Big +1 on that.
And the same goes for brown PET bottles. Why would they be sold (and people carry on buying them ) if they didn't work
I use clear PET bottles and just mimimise exposure to light without being paranoid about it.

 

[Sadfield]

1) Skunking is a hop issue, so may be less perceptible in malt forward beers.

2) Bigger breweries can reduce the problem by using hydrogenated hop products.

3) Brown bottles are not skunking proof, they reduce the rate of degredation.

We did a simple test at our homebrew club where we took two bottles of a commercial ipa, in brown bottles and both from the same batch, of a fresh supply to the shop where we have our meetings. Storing one away from light and the other in view of a window (not in the shop) for a week, in the same room to keep storage temperatures even. The difference in the two beers when compared was dramatic.

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[Melter]

Becks. Pepe le Pew