Flourescent Lights hurt beer?

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esenecal

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I have heard that Flourescent lights kill yeast. Does anyone know if this is true.
Is my open bucket that is sitting under my CFL dying as I write? Will the priming sugar get digested?

:confused:

Eric
 
A summary of some research

Excerpt:
From those experiments, the researchers were able to figure out exactly when free radicals form within the hop compounds, known as isohumulones. They also worked out the radicals’ chemical structures. "What we found is that the isohumulones are extremely light sensitive," Forbes says, "and they break down very quickly into free radicals that are then trapped by sulfur sources, which come from proteins in the beer that turn the free radicals into a compound known as a thiol. And that thiol happens to be structurally related to the thiol found in the glands of a skunk. Hence, the skunky taste."

What’s more is that the human nose and tongue are very sensitive to even low concentrations of the thiols created from the free radicals. "A few parts per trillion can make beer unpalatable," Forbes says. "And a glass of beer exposed to light for even less than twenty minutes can turn skunky."
Click to expand...

Practically speaking, though, I've never had a noticeable problem with my glass carboys under fluorescents in the garage. I know some people throw a t-shirt over them, and it's a reasonable precaution, but eh.
 
It doesn't affect the yeast. As mentioned above it interacts with the hops causing skunking. (Think Corona). Covering with a T shirt or simple cardboard box is a low cost solution to prevent this.
 
I bought a growler from my local brewery once. I let it sit in the sun for only 20 minutes or so and when I tapped it later, it smelled and tasted like a skunks butt. Better safe than sorry!
 
Last weekend, I was kegging a light lager. I had been careful about light exposure, I kept it covered with a black trash bag.

I set the better bottle outside (it was very cloudy) on a table (without the bag), and left it for about an hour to settle.

I am pretty sure where the skunky smell came from. For light colored beers, it does not take much light exposure at all to get that skunk smell.

Luckily, SWMBO, who I made that batch for, thinks it tastes and smells fine.
 
Yeah I was trying to make a pale ale and instead made Star Struck Pale Ale. It tastes like Heineken with a hint of cascade. My carboy now wears a shirt.

But I used to ferment in buckets next to a window (no florescents but yes to sun) with no issues. I am not sure The light hurts an Ale Pale too much.
 
Easy solution is to take a black garbage back, cut a hole in one of the bottom corners, turn it upside down, and slip it over the neck of the carboy like a poncho.
 
Fluorescent lights put out ultra-violet light, just like sunlight, thus skunking. Incandescent light puts out primarily Infra-red, with little to no ultraviolet, unless it is a Halogen lamp.

BTW, a cloudy day is almost as bad for UV as a sunny day.
 
vespa2t said:
BTW, a cloudy day is almost as bad for UV as a sunny day.
Click to expand...

No Kidding!

skunk.jpg
 
I've read up a fair bit on this lately since my new brewery will be in my basement with fluorescent lights. A couple interesting facts I found. First off that the skunky flavor is somewhat attributed by the yeast since you need their byproducts (riboflavin) to then affect the isohumulones and skunk the beer. (I'll need to go look my source up again later for you all). So that is why when brewing outside on a sunny summer day you don't get a skunky beer.

Also if you buy the bug covers (McMaster has some) for fluorescent lights it will block out any electromagnetic radiation below 500nm Which happens to be the range that will skunk beer. So you'll have yellow lights... but fresh beer.

Thirdly... my chest freezer(fermetner) blocks out light really well... So I'm not concerned about it anymore.
 
Just to clarify the florescent light issues, once your beer is bottled will brown bottles (not green) protect from the effects of florescent light? Or is it a time thing, with lengthy exposure eventually causing skunking?

Most liquor stores have florescent lights, so I can’t see it being a problem, but what are the facts?
 
AnOldUR said:
Just to clarify the florescent light issues, once your beer is bottled will brown bottles (not green) protect from the effects of florescent light? Or is it a time thing, with lengthy exposure eventually causing skunking?

Most liquor stores have florescent lights, so I can’t see it being a problem, but what are the facts?
Click to expand...

Most store bought beer has been sitting in non-stop florescents for weeks. I have only had one batch of brown bottle beer taste like a skunks butt. (i do not think that was the light.)

I have bought brown bottle beer that i know was sitting on the shelf for 4 months +. But i can not say that brown bottles will protect for years.
 

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