A post for fellow beginners based on what I've learned over my first month...

[unionrdr]

I lived all that blue collar comedy stuff. not sure exactly what that means,but hey.
Anyway,I cover my fermenters with dark tee shirts,or the black velvet smoking jacket the bloody dog chewed up. Keeps the light out just fine. Even though we do use those flourecent twist bulb replacements in the lamps. Like 14 watts usage for 60 watts of light.

 

[emjay]

My personal thought is you should be okay. Fluorescent lights produce greatly reduced UV, and provided the plastic is opaque and reasonably thick, I feel like that will not be an issue.

Uh, fluorescent lights produce the most UV.

Okay, here's just a source I found in a 5 minute google search. Fluorescent lights produce a significantly reduced amount of UV radiation from sunlight. Seven hours of exposure is the equivalent to 1 minute of sun exposure.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6048255_fluorescent-light-uv-rating_.html

Your initial post made it sound like you were comparing fluorescents favorably to other typical lightbulbs (incandescent and LED) - especially since that was clearly the context in which the OP was referring to them.

But of course typical fluorescent bulbs don't put out as much UV light to a given surface area ("illuminance", measured in lux, IIRC) as sunlight does, and in no way was I even remotely implying that - that would be an absolutely ridiculous claim, and one easily debunked by the fact that people aren't regularly getting tans and sunburns in their homes.

So the point was merely that, given a choice of conventional indoor lighting, fluorescent bulbs are the worst option for exposing your beer to, and I would never recommend them for where the beer would sit under them for hours, days, or even longer, especially for uses such as in ferm chambers or cellars. LEDs would be absolutely optimal, especially since many of them produce absolutely NO light in the UV band.

Zero.

Zero point zero zero.

...repeating, of course.

But good LEDs tend to be expensive, so it'd be pretty unreasonable to expect everyone to use them. As such, incandescents are also a good choice for many, because they only output a small fraction of the UV light that fluorescent bulbs do.

But again, even fluorescent bulbs pale in comparison to sunlight in this re. I'm not sure how - or why - you managed to assume I was making such a preposterous claim.

 

[DSorenson]

Your initial post made it sound like you were comparing fluorescents favorably to other typical lightbulbs (incandescent and LED) - especially since that was clearly the context in which the OP was referring to them.

But again, even fluorescent bulbs pale in comparison to sunlight in this re. I'm not sure how - or why - you managed to assume I was making such a preposterous claim.

Glad that's cleared up! Thanks for checking back to post what you really intended. You are definitely correct that fluorescent bulbs produce the most UV of any bulb. The tanning bit cracked me up.

 

[bolus14]

Excellent write-up. Really wish I had all this info for my first 2 or 3 brews.

A couple other things that some brand new brewers might be hesitant of is yeast starters and blow-offs. I have used starters on my last two brews, a slighlty modified Midwest Supplies Lemon Coriander Weiss and FattyLivers Chimay Blue Extract clone. l will use them for every brew going forward, time allowing, seems as though I got better attenuation and faster starts(who would think) by using them.

I hesitated because I didn't have a flask and didn't want or see the need to invest in one. Use a very clean(oxyclean soaked) and sanitized milk jug, depending on starter size a 22oz or 750ml bottle will do, a wine bottle, or something similar. Don't feel you have to use a flask and a stir plate, from my research, they will make a better starter but it can be done without them.

For a blowoff, a 3 piece airlock and .5 in tube have worked for me. Be sure to have some hot "sanitized" water to get the tube off the airlock after the blowoff.

 

[Aschecte]

Excellent write-up. Really wish I had all this info for my first 2 or 3 brews.

A couple other things that some brand new brewers might be hesitant of is yeast starters and blow-offs. I have used starters on my last two brews, a slighlty modified Midwest Supplies Lemon Coriander Weiss and FattyLivers Chimay Blue Extract clone. l will use them for every brew going forward, time allowing, seems as though I got better attenuation and faster starts(who would think) by using them.

I hesitated because I didn't have a flask and didn't want or see the need to invest in one. Use a very clean(oxyclean soaked) and sanitized milk jug, depending on starter size a 22oz or 750ml bottle will do, a wine bottle, or something similar. Don't feel you have to use a flask and a stir plate, from my research, they will make a better starter but it can be done without them.

For a blowoff, a 3 piece airlock and .5 in tube have worked for me. Be sure to have some hot "sanitized" water to get the tube off the airlock after the blowoff.

This is also good advice though I'm not 100% on using a milk jug no matter how much you clean it..... All I keep hearing in my head is lactobacillus !!!! Not worth the risk but, beer bottle ,wine bottle etc is all good for a starter.

+++1 to the blow off recommendation it should look something like. Attached to the center post of a 3 piece airlock.