Beer usually is in green or amber glass so the UV radiation won't affect the taste. Ok, so some beers are still bottled in clear glass bottles like SOL -drink. Just because it looks good even though it is (I dunno) UV-sensitive due to the clear glass?
Bottling in clear glass bottles, why?
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Yes. Apparently, the people also got used to the taste of beer ruined by UV light, so they expect it from these brands, it's part of their taste now. No way of going back for them.
Is this for real? That's crazy
Green does not really protect the beer from UV btw. There are certain additives for green glass that makes it possible, but not every beer manufacturer uses this type of green glas.
Just a guess, but I assume Sol, Corona etc all started with clear bottles because maybe they were cheaper? As for getting light struck, really how much time do those beers sit in the sun before making a way to drinker's hands? Packaged and stored in breweries, then moved out on pallets to trucks, then to distributors warehouses, then on delivery trucks and into stores/restaurants/bars. Now Heineken and their green bottle skunkiness is a whole other story. 
Some beers (Miller Highlife comes to mind) are hopped with extracts that have the skunk precursors removed. It doesn't get light-struck.
Corona, OTOH, does have that skunky flavor, which is probably a feature, not a bug for them. People expect it to be in that clear bottle, and don't care about the off-flavor (or expect it). Switching mid-stream to an amber bottle would probably damage their image.
Corona, OTOH, does have that skunky flavor, which is probably a feature, not a bug for them. People expect it to be in that clear bottle, and don't care about the off-flavor (or expect it). Switching mid-stream to an amber bottle would probably damage their image.
I think heat is also a factor, not necessarily direct sunlight. If beer was stored in 100 degree warehouse or something for any length of time that will also cause skunk. I don’t see how brown bottles would help that thoughJust a guess, but I assume Sol, Corona etc all started with clear bottles because maybe they were cheaper? As for getting light struck, really how much time do those beers sit in the sun before making a way to drinker's hands? Packaged and stored in breweries, then moved out on pallets to trucks, then to distributors warehouses, then on delivery trucks and into stores/restaurants/bars. Now Heineken and their green bottle skunkiness is a whole other story.
And then they stick a lime in the top of the open bottle to cover the stench
I'm guessing you speak the truth but it makes me wonder when if ever that changed? I stuck a bottle of High life in the sun once for only like 15 minutes and it was AWFUL. More than I normally hated it (this was just an experiment, and I bought it so I could have clear bottles to watch my own beer change, before I began kegging). This was... perhaps 20 years ago, so it may have been before there was such a thing as a hop extract?
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The storing beer warm causing skunking is a long standing urban myth. Skunking is directly caused by UV/blue light exposure. Storing a beer warm can definitely hasten other staling processes that would take longer in the cold, but skunking/light struck is not one of them.
I speculate that the myth got started when people would tap a keg for a party using a hand pump, then it stays out all night warming up, and they put it back on ice the next day. To a layman, the beer got warm and cold again and it tastes like armpit. It's completely oxidized but not "skunked".
https://beersensoryscience.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/lightstruck/#more-370
I’d counter that its statistically impossible for every single bottle of Corona in the US to have been exposed to direct sunlight when its all sealed in carboard boxes. There has to be more to it.
This is an argument from ignorance. If it's not light, what is it exactly? Any links to any articles? I haven't seen any.
If beer can be skunked by letting it warm up, then a certain percentage of ALL beer you can buy would be skunked. That's not reality. It turns out that it's just most beers that are bottled in green or clear glass. Cardboard boxes are not completely light proof. They have handle holes on the sides and a pretty big gap in the top where the flaps don't quite meet. The cases are moved around in sunlight at some point, whether it be when loading the trucks or when the customer carries the case to their car.
The chemical reaction happens quickly and our sensory threshold to it is very low. It can happen between the time you pull it out of the fridge and get 3 sips into the bottle out in the sun.
Buy three cans of corona extra, leave A and B in the fridge for a week while C sits on top of the fridge. Put C back into the fridge for a day. Pour all three into glasses but keep B and C in complete darkness while A is exposed to sunlight for 3 minutes. Now sample all three beers away from any sunlight. Which ones smell skunky?
My guess is that it's going to be A and B/C should not be skunked and smell just about identical.
So how is it you buy a case of Corona in a sealed cardboard box and take it home and every single bottle in the case inside the sealed cardboard box is skunk? Are they doing it at the brewery?
Hans O. Lowe
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I used to be a Corona drinker. It varies from box to box. I always tried to get the case near the back where there was little light at the store. It's not a bad beer in good condition.
I learned pretty quickly the six packs were way more skunky than the cases and the cases at the back were better yet.
So, no I don't believe they skunk at the brewery on purpose. The light they receive before packaging plus what they get through the hand holes is what changed the flavor in my opinion.
Well its funny I drink Landshark all summer - because it is one of the lightest, cleanest and most refreshing beers to have when its hot outside. Landshark also comes in a clear bottle. With lettering and design to mimick Corona even. I believe Landshark’s target market is Corona drinkers who are sick of skunky beer. And I have yet to have one skunky Landshark. I usually buy it by the 12 pack but I have bought 6 packs. I’d always assumed it was because its made closer, doesn’t travel as far and was probably never exposed to anything like transport on a hot container ship or storage in a 100 degree warehouse. Funny one beer in a clear bottle is just about always skunk and another beer in a clear bottle is almost never skunk. Bought and handled under identical conditions by the end consumer.
Hans O. Lowe
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Well that's interesting... I've never tried Landshark, I'll have to keep a eye out for it. You wouldn't think the difference between Iowa and Pennsylvania would be to blame for skunky beer.
Stormcrow
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Some of the most sought after cheeses are pretty disgusting when you think about them, but people have a taste for it. That's one way to think about "skunky" beer. It's a perfectly natural process that most of us like to avoid, but others have just developed a taste for it. I don't always find it objectionable myself to be honest. None of these breweries are stupid. A lot of people genuinely enjoy their products.
Which reminds me... I'm going to stop apologizing in advance whenever I let someone try a homebrew I'm not particularly excited about. If they don't like it, I could always insinuate that they "just don't get it. " Maybe I'll make a billion dollars someday.
Which reminds me... I'm going to stop apologizing in advance whenever I let someone try a homebrew I'm not particularly excited about. If they don't like it, I could always insinuate that they "just don't get it. " Maybe I'll make a billion dollars someday.
I wonder if at one time, a clear bottle simply allowed customers to observe the clarity of the beer inside.
As to the cause of skunk, since there is no agreed upon definition of skunk, it's just tilting at windmills. (Which came first, the skunk
or the rotten egg sulfur smell).
As to the cause of skunk, since there is no agreed upon definition of skunk, it's just tilting at windmills. (Which came first, the skunk
or the rotten egg sulfur smell).
Stormcrow
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I was thinking that earlier. How many people describe a beer they don't like as skunky even though lightstruck isn't technically what they are tasting?
Hans O. Lowe
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After passing a few squished skunks on the highway, I think I have a handle on lightstruck. I live in Iowa though, ymmv! Lol
Hans O. Lowe
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Oh yeah! The guy with no dentures, I forgot about that!
Homebrew Harry
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Seems like it was keystone, but that was a while backI'm also reminded of the "bitter beer face" commercials from the nineties. Can't remember who did them though.
Definitely Keystone. But they were saying their beer wasn’t as bitter as the other macro lagers. Light struck (skunk) is very different.
The skunkiest beer I’ve ever had was a Carlsberg. It was absolutely horrible.
Stormcrow
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I was too young to drink when those commercials were popular and hadn't even heard of IPA (not that that's what they had in mind). Had no idea at the time how great "bitter" beer could be.
Stormcrow
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I believe you, but oddly want to try one now.
This thread made me stop to appreciate just how long it's been since I had an actually skunky beer (probably almost 20 years).
Guess that is a benefit of craft brewing and improved beer science and distribution.
But I do remember Heineken being a notable offender. And St.Pauli Girl. I suspect my previous disinterest in German beers was largely influenced by the stale, skunky examples I experienced.
Guess that is a benefit of craft brewing and improved beer science and distribution.
But I do remember Heineken being a notable offender. And St.Pauli Girl. I suspect my previous disinterest in German beers was largely influenced by the stale, skunky examples I experienced.
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A lot of people always say what a great beer Pilsner Urquell is, being the “original” Pilsner and all, but I have yet to have one that isn’t skunked… I need to find it in a can to see what it really tastes like.
They (Pilsner Urquell) recently changed from green glass to brown glass. Thankfully…. With the initials PU it’s a good thing they dumped the green glass!
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Interesting, I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll look for the new brown bottles.
Hans O. Lowe
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My go-to beer is Two Hearted. I picked up a 6 pack on the way to my house remodel yesterday. When it was beer time I opened one and took a nice big drink.
I literally said out loud "What the f***?!" Total skunkfest. The beer on one side of the six pack was worse than the other.
This is in a smaller town, far enough from the city, where you start to see diesel trucks and cowboy boots. Maybe the two hearted gets passed over at Wal-Mart for BMC...
I know one thing. The beer was totally transformed. If this had been my first experience with Two Hearted I would never have bought one again.
I literally said out loud "What the f***?!" Total skunkfest. The beer on one side of the six pack was worse than the other.
This is in a smaller town, far enough from the city, where you start to see diesel trucks and cowboy boots. Maybe the two hearted gets passed over at Wal-Mart for BMC...
I know one thing. The beer was totally transformed. If this had been my first experience with Two Hearted I would never have bought one again.
I never realized how much beer gets light-struck in green bottles until I had canned Heineken served on a KLM flight several years ago. Tasted fresh, like a completely different beer altogether. Being it was on a flight from Amsterdam, it was also fresher.
I got a 6 pack of Pilsner Urquell in the new amber bottles and it is a completely different beer… much more enjoyable. I still notice a greenish tint to many of the European “amber” bottles, however.
I said it in my post. There are handle holes and gaps between the cardboard flaps.
It tastes exactly like a Seibel off flavor sensory training exercise. If you didn't know what diacetyl was before, you will.
MrClint
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Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but it has a fair amount of useful info. It also has a few info gaps when it comes to avoiding skunkiness. This is starting to feel like a faith-based rabbit hole.
What is the level and duration of daylight exposure that we are talking about here? Direct sunlight for X number of minutes, indirect sunlight in a normal room in the Northern Hemisphere for X number of minutes? I use glass fermenters, am I expected to bottle in a dark room with night vision goggles? Bottle only at night? Not to worry because I use dark bottles?
I don't think I want skunky beer, surely sounds like a negative, but I'm not completely sure. Hops (in some of these whacky beers) don't always taste that great either. Corona is really good beer, that's where the skunk bar is set? Now we've jumped from faith-based and into cork-sniffery.
I'm inclined to not give a dang about any of this as long my beer tastes good (to me and my wife), but it would be good to know the thresholds.
What is the level and duration of daylight exposure that we are talking about here? Direct sunlight for X number of minutes, indirect sunlight in a normal room in the Northern Hemisphere for X number of minutes? I use glass fermenters, am I expected to bottle in a dark room with night vision goggles? Bottle only at night? Not to worry because I use dark bottles?
I don't think I want skunky beer, surely sounds like a negative, but I'm not completely sure. Hops (in some of these whacky beers) don't always taste that great either. Corona is really good beer, that's where the skunk bar is set? Now we've jumped from faith-based and into cork-sniffery.
I'm inclined to not give a dang about any of this as long my beer tastes good (to me and my wife), but it would be good to know the thresholds.
