skunky beer

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I don't bottle unless out of my keg to a growler for transportation because it takes too much time.

Could it be a sanitation or bottle filling process issue?

Or is it possible your brew is being exposed to oxygen at a point in your brewing process?
 
Not sure. After a bit of reflection it seems to be only happening with amber-coloured beer - my Yooper's California Common, Caramel Amber, English Pale Ale, Irish Red.. My IPAs and pale ales/hybrids have been fine. There's no mutual grain, yeast or hop ingredient I can link them together with. I even bought some new bottles and sanitized them before using. Actually, I use a chlorine compound cleaner then thoroughly rinse.
I am seriously considering PayPal-ing someone a few dollars if they can figure out what my issue is. I don't have the room or money to keg my beer at this point.
 
Try and not brew in the sunlight (includes fermenting or aging your bottles). Also, are your bottles possibly getting an improper cap seal or are you using a secondary with your amber colored beers?
 
I have some curtains covering my fermenter room and where some of the crates live. The other crates are in a cupboard that receives no light. I downsized my bottle inventory when I thought a different stack were receiving sunlight but that has been mythbusted because my current affected batch was under where my fermenters live. I'm pretty sure my cap seals are fine too. Could it possibly be my water profile (I use hard tap water) not working well with crystal etc. malts?
 
Try and not brew in the sunlight (includes fermenting or aging your bottles). Also, are your bottles possibly getting an improper cap seal or are you using a secondary with your amber colored beers?

I previously asked about this one day while brewing outdoors in the sun this summer. I was told that beer will not skunk until after it has started fermenting. Found the thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/skunk-during-boil-416557/. here was the most helpful portion.
Quote:
From quoted page said:
The bittering agent generated from hops while boiling beer wort is a compound called isohumulone. Ultraviolet light can degrade isohumulone all by itself. But it turns out that visible light can also induce isohumulone degradation -- it just needs a helper molecule, in the form of riboflavin. Once the proverbial ball starts rolling (or, in this case, the electrons start hopping), a series of reactions take place that eventually produce the compound 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol. That mouthful, known colloquially as 3-MBT, is your skunk. In fact, 3-MBT is chemically very similar to one of the three main compounds found in a skunk's defense spray.
The amount of riboflavin in malt is minimal, though it is present. It's mainly produced during yeast growth stages, if memory serves. Once that's in the wort in sufficient quantity, you run the risk of the reaction described above.

It seems like a decent enough source to me. Let me know if you want me to find something more authoritative, or something that speaks to riboflavin levels at different points during, or before, fermentation.

So as a result brewing in the sunlight probably isn't it.
 
The fermenters sat on my tool bench in the garage where afternoon sunlight came in direct contact with them every day.
Try and not brew in the sunlight (includes fermenting or aging your bottles).

DrunkleJon, I included fermenting in the sun because that was most likely the initial causation. 10 minutes in the sun can cause skunk damage. If you brew in the sun, most likely you are wort chilling or letting the fermenter sit in the sun while you clean up. With all the the various things floating in the open air, I would suggest at least the post boil process of brewing needs to be inside.
 
if I can't brew in the sun nor brew outdoors in the winter due to the weather I'm considerably f***ked.
 
I do not know how I missed the (includes fermenting or aging your bottles) part all 3 times I read the post. Sorry about that. I am not terribly worried about the cooling portion. I am sure when I build a cfc or get a plate chiller I will worry about it even less.
 
While my pot smoking days are done, I loved the smell of opening up a big bag of skunky weed. Personally this is what I associate the skunk smell of certain beers with and I love it. Has anyone done any experimenting to find the optimal uv exposure to maximize the skunky (big bag o weed) smell?
 
While my pot smoking days are done, I loved the smell of opening up a big bag of skunky weed. Personally this is what I associate the skunk smell of certain beers with and I love it. Has anyone done any experimenting to find the optimal uv exposure to maximize the skunky (big bag o weed) smell?

To me, that's a different type of skunk smell. If you want it to smell like weed, use Centennial as your late hops, that's a dank hop
 
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