would you guys recommend using green and clear bottles?

exactly as the title says would you guys recommend using green and clear bottles? or stick with only brown

I use green all the time. I'd say as long as you're not storing them in sunlight or under fluorescent lamps for a long time it will have zero effect on the beer.

I think I'll do an experiment with the IPA I'm kegging at the end of the week. I'll try to skunk one in a green bottle in the sun, and leave a control in a brown bottle.

passedpawn said:

I use green all the time. I'd say as long as you're not storing them in sunlight or under fluorescent lamps for a long time it will have zero effect on the beer.

I think I'll do an experiment with the IPA I'm kegging at the end of the week. I'll try to skunk one in a green bottle in the sun, and leave a control in a brown bottle.

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i remember sam adams saying that green bottles block only 40 percent of the sunlight that brown bottles do and clear bottles only 10 percent. but they might just say that to try and sell their product.

I use green 750s and 375s all the time, but that's just because they're the most common. My beer stays in boxes so I'm not scared of sunlight. The only reason I don't use other green sizes is because I can't think of a beer in a green 12 or 22 that I'd want to drink in order to get the glass.

heineken isnt bad

No issues as long as its out of the light, which you should be doing regardless of color anyway. I like my cobalt bottles right now, but have many different colors and use them without issue

i like using some clear bottles in each batch. it is a lot easier to see what's going on during bottle conditioning and to monitor chill haze in the fridge.

i generally keep my beer indoors so UV exposure has never been an issue.

i got a couple blue bottles yesterday from bud light platinum....but i can use them cause there twist offs

I have had skunked Heinekin in the past. I've Skunked Tripple Karmeleit as well both in green bottles. I use brown bottles but needless to say I've also had skunked beer occasionally out of brown bottles as well.

mmonteiro said:

heineken isnt bad

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It's not good either. At least not in the USA.

I think if you plan on keeping your bottles in the dark, it doesn't matter what color the bottle is.

You're not putting it on display under a bank of fluorescent lights, are you? Or displaying them in the front windows of your house? So don't lose any sleep over it.

progmac said:

i like using some clear bottles in each batch. it is a lot easier to see what's going on during bottle conditioning and to monitor chill haze in the fridge.

i generally keep my beer indoors so UV exposure has never been an issue.

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Great idea! ^^^

I have used some green Stella bottles with no problems.... just make sure they're not being exposed to a lot of light. I store my bottled goods in beer boxes in our dark garage, works just fine.

Brown is better, but only if exposed to light. Keep it dark and it does not matter.

I use Grolsch bottles. I got tired of bottle caps. Store my beer in basement so sunlight isn't a big issue.

I have been using blue bottles for years without skunking a single beer. They are always in a box or in the fridge so no worries. But they are not much better than green bottles. Red bottles are supposed to be the best but they are uncommon. Brown is second.
If you use hop extract instead of green hops then you can bottle in any color without skunking; I have never drank a skunked High Life.

Found this:

"Blue light, and to a lesser extent green and a bit of near ultraviolet are the most damaging to beer. Most wavelenghts of ultraviolet light are not a concern because glass blocks them quite effectively (that’s why you don’t get sunburned in your car). The color of glass is the color of the light that it transmits, so green bottles allow the green light though. Similarly, blue light passes unhindered through pretty, cobalt-blue bottles. Clear bottles transmit all of the visible light. That is the reason beer in green, blue, and clear bottles is almost always skunked. Yes, even some very expensive imports."

From professorbeer.com

Here's a white paper that came off the basic brewing radio web site. Cool stuff.

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Beer/bbrskunking.pdf?w=2b54c497

Dawnhulio said:

Great idea! ^^^

I have used some green Stella bottles with no problems.... just make sure they're not being exposed to a lot of light. I store my bottled goods in beer boxes in our dark garage, works just fine.

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What she said, except my beer boxes are in a dark basement, under the brewing table.

Brown and brown only. It's not like they're hard to find and the advantages outweigh anything green and clear bottles have to offer. Unless of course you want to intentionally skunk your beer. Brown bottles wouldn't be the best for that.

I spray painted the outside of 5 dozen clear bottles that I received from a well-meaning bartender friend.

The spray paint keeps most of the light out. It looks kinda cool. After drinking, I hand-rinse the bottles rather than wash them in a machine; I imagine if you manhandled them too much, the paint would start to flake off.

Tooltip: Tape off the bottom 3/4" of the bottle (or however wide your tape is) before painting so you can see how much trub's in there and pour accordingly.

passedpawn said:

Here's a white paper that came off the basic brewing radio web site. Cool stuff.

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Beer/bbrskunking.pdf?w=2b54c497

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Quick Google search came up with the range of 490-500 nm wavelength being the most damaging to beer. At this range the blue and green are tied but significantly worse than brown. If you assume that shorter wavelengths would be just as damaging (or more damaging); that would make the blue bottles that I have used for years no better than clear bottles. I haven't had any troubles but I will think twice before using them from now on.

What is also interesting is the unfiltered reference of a standard tungsten incandescent bulb. Looks like you could skunk beer in blue and green bottles just as easily with artificial light as you would with sun light.