the beers in the green bottles did taste different

one of my batches i made recently is now done. 3 beers were in those green Grolsch swivel top bottles. the ones in the green bottles taste noticeably different. I kept the bottles in sealed boxes, so that no light could get in and they were in the closet. I don't like the taste as much in the green bottles. I never thought it would really make difference. but it does. Lol, at least it was only 3 pints in the green.

what type of "different" tastes are we talking about?

swingtop bottles are great for the homebrewer, as long as you take care of them

please post a little bit more information so you can get an answer to your question

recipe?

fermentation length?

time in the bottles ?

what differences in taste ?


thank you and welcome to HBT

How many weeks have they been in bottles? I've seen that larger bottles generally have longer carb times. It could be the rubber seal is old and needs replacing as well.

I'm assuming the different taste is because they're flatter

I thought the only reason beer in green bottles tastes different is because of exposure to light. If the beer in green bottles was kept in the dark it should taste the same as the beer in dark bottles. I'm confused.

If the bottles were kept in the dark, then it's not because they were green the beer tastes different but some other reason.

Incoming solar radiation can permeate cardboard. it really can!.that may be your difference. not all or most or much of it will but it will.

Yes, but UV radiation does not permeate cardboard. Neutrinos and x-ray radiation don't affect hop isomers, just UV. It's not the color of the bottles.

Probably need some kind of blind taste test to see if it's just a mental thing.

send the good stuff this way and i'll check it.

HOOTER said:

I thought the only reason beer in green bottles tastes different is because of exposure to light. If the beer in green bottles was kept in the dark it should taste the same as the beer in dark bottles. I'm confused.

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The 'greeness' from the bottles clearly leaked into the beer - its the only logical explanation.

"Probably need some kind of blind taste test to see if it's just a mental thing."

could you do this and get back to the board with the results? I am starting to collect bottles and so far all I have is green.

If anybody is looking for an alternative to Grolsch bottles, I spotted this at BevMo on a clearance shelf of seasonal beers. At $2.00 for 500ml, it's a steal...the bottle itself is nearly worth that, and the beer is terrific. The labels practically fall off with a rinse, and the bottles themselves have no brand markings. I went back and bought all they had.



Mahrs Bräu Jubelfestbier

grasshopper1917 said:

The 'greeness' from the bottles clearly leaked into the beer - its the only logical explanation.

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Oh, I see. Sort of like when you wash a bunch of whites with a red sweater and everything comes out pink. I guess that's why all of my beers taste brown.

I've always heard that green bottles can be bad for beer if exposed by sun. However, I always wondered how much exposure does it take before it matters? Days? Hours? Minutes?

For beer manufactored by some company you may never know what kind of exposure the bottles might have before they reach your fridge. But for home brewing would the average home brewer actually leave their home brew bottles exposed long enough (if at all) for their to be harm even if they were to use green or clear bottles?

I am going to bet that the majority of home brewers do not let their bottles be exposed to harmful light for any significant amount of time. So I question whether or not the color of the bottles really matters in the grand scheme of things. Of course, I suppose if this subject is never brought up then future home brewers might not know to keep their bottles out of the light.

FWIW, about half of my bottles are clear, and I've never noticed any skunking. Mind you I keg most batches, but I've bottled enough to have noticed by now. I take no extrordinary measures against light exposure...I'm just careful not to leave bottles out any longer than necessary, and store them in a cabinet or opaque tub.

So long as you don't leave your beer sitting out uncovered for long periods of time, I think the bottle color is a non-factor. I actually prefer clear, as they're much easier to wash & fill, plus I can observe how the beer is clearing/conditioning.

All this aside, there is something disturbing about seeing a clear Corona bottle full of stout. Your brain just screams "Wrong!!"

(EDIT: Here's a pic to prove my point!)

Skunking is all I am aware that commonly happens to beer in non-brown bottles, and that's because of exposure to light. However, were the bottles exposed to unnecessary heat as well? If they were used bottles, were they completely, totally, obsessively cleaned out and sanitized before bottling? Were they sanitized at a different time or with different equipment or sanitizer than your other bottles? Just tossing things out to think about.

OK then, im going to do a blind taste test.

Righlander said:

OK then, im going to do a blind taste test.

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Just curious, you ever do this?