Light damage in secondary.

I just figured out that light could hurt my beer. I have been using an LED flashlight to look into my beer a couple times a day to check clarity. Obviously I should avoid this practice will this skunk my beer?

That's not enough light to damage it....you're holding a small light on the beer for a couple seconds is NOT going to harm the beer...I do it all the time...it is preferable to opening the closet to the sunlight in the room., or leaving a light on all day.....

You will be fine...your beer is stronget than that.

Also the light damage done to be beer is from the UV light damage. If I can remember right all light sources emit some degree of UV light EXCEPT LED lights. Those bulbs emit only one specific wavelength of light and not a blend like all other sources. So if this is correct, LED light is the only light that is completely harmless to your beer.

Correct me if I am wrong but that's the way I remember it.

+1 Revvy.

You've got nothing to worry about. It takes a lot of light over lots of time. I left for 1 week in the carboy with about 4 hours of sunlight. Tasted skunky, but was still a long way from 'ruined'.

I do think LED's are different like that. Sunlight exposure, or constant hours of artificial light exposure (especially fluorescents) is all you really need to worry about.

I have found that a regular paper bag from the grocery store with a hole cut out of the bottom for the neck of the carboy fits perfect. It covers everything but the very top of the neck and goes completely to the ground. It kind of looks like a brown leisure suit for the carboy. I find it easier than sticking the heavy carboy in the tight closet. Just fyi....

mnm129 said:

I have found that a regular paper bag from the grocery store with a hole cut out of the bottom for the neck of the carboy fits perfect. It covers everything but the very top of the neck and goes completely to the ground. It kind of looks like a brown leisure suit for the carboy. I find it easier than sticking the heavy carboy in the tight closet. Just fyi....

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You could probably even draw some lapels on it with a sharpie, and maybe a bowtie.

Better yet do that with a brown or black paper bag, then get a white one from say a bakery, and you could have a wedding ceremony for your carboy, and cargirl, in this case!

Schnitzengiggle said:

You could probably even draw some lapels on it with a sharpie, and maybe a bowtie.

Better yet do that with a brown or black paper bag, then get a white one from say a bakery, and you could have a wedding ceremony for your carboy, and cargirl, in this case!

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Ummmmm..............

Currently my first batch with something other than Mr. Beer is going into its' third week of fermentation (Nukey Brown Ale). Because I'm a noob I forgot about covering the carboy for the first 3 or 4 days. It was never in direct sun light but it sat n the corner of our dining room so it got reflected or ambient light. It now has a nice T-shirt on so it is nice & dark but I wonder, did I skunk my beer with that initial exposure? Is there anything I can do to un-skunk it (if you think it might need it)?

Schnitzengiggle said:

You could probably even draw some lapels on it with a sharpie, and maybe a bowtie.

Better yet do that with a brown or black paper bag, then get a white one from say a bakery, and you could have a wedding ceremony for your carboy, and cargirl, in this case!

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You guys crack me up several times a day keep it up

LarryC said:

Currently my first batch with something other than Mr. Beer is going into its' third week of fermentation (Nukey Brown Ale). Because I'm a noob I forgot about covering the carboy for the first 3 or 4 days. It was never in direct sun light but it sat n the corner of our dining room so it got reflected or ambient light. It now has a nice T-shirt on so it is nice & dark but I wonder, did I skunk my beer with that initial exposure? Is there anything I can do to un-skunk it (if you think it might need it)?

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Below is a link for a video where James Spencer and Steve Wilkes tested skunking beers with clear beer bottles. However, these beers were finished with fermentation which may change the sensitivity to skunking. Once skunked = skunked forever. I'm not suggesting YOUR beer is skunked though as I have no idea about the details nor the experience to say otherwise. Enjoy!



http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=september-14-2007---skunking-beer

I'm hoping that those few days of indirect light wouldn't hurt it, but who knows?? Funny how I read so many tales of folks doing bad things to their beer and it comes out alright but it seems like on the subject of light, there is no forgiveness. Maybe I should brew in a photographers dark room

1) LED's do not create UV light. Unless you have a UV LED (in which case, your local government *may* want to have a word with you), your LED only creates a small range of colour, and there is little spectral bleed.

2) Brewing outdoors is not good. Brewing next to a grow-op might be a spiritual high, but the light is not good there, either. Incandescent lights give off nearly no UV, and fluorescents don't give much off UV outside of their glass and phosphors. Most indoor lights are okay.

I like to brown paper bag Idea. I just bottled can I keep the beers in a room that has artificial light or should I move it to a dark room.

justin22 said:

I like to brown paper bag Idea. I just bottled can I keep the beers in a room that has artificial light or should I move it to a dark room.

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Justin, did you bottle in brown bottles? If you did you should be fine.

mnm129 said:

Below is a link for a video where James Spencer and Steve Wilkes tested skunking beers with clear beer bottles. However, these beers were finished with fermentation which may change the sensitivity to skunking.

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It's also important to note that the beer bottles were put in direct sunlight. Sunlight has magnitudes more UV light then ambient or artificial light. Unless you're lighting any of your house with suntan lamps, getting any skunking from leaving a fermenter out is very minimal. I keep my glass carboys in my kitchen, under ice baths in the summer months... where it gets various amounts of artificial and ambient light. I have yet to ever have an instance of skunking.

I don't have any anecdotal evidence about brewing outdoors in direct sunlight. I do brew out on my patio, which is shaded: so there's not much UV light for contributing to any skunking in finished beer. Really, the main threat to skunking beer is leaving it in the same kind of light that gives you a tan.

Vuarra said:

1) LED's do not create UV light. Unless you have a UV LED (in which case, your local government *may* want to have a word with you), your LED only creates a small range of colour, and there is little spectral bleed.

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Off-topic, but UV LED's are actually very common, easily accessible, and perfectly legal.