Glass Tint

[PatMac]

Exposure to light can damage beer (thus why we store fermenters and such in dark places and why most beer bottles have a dark tint). This being said, why do some commercial brewers bottle their beers in clear bottles? For example Corona, New Castle, Modelo especial, etc. Are certain styles of beer not influenced by exposure to light? Are there risks (due to light exposure) if I use a few corona bottles to bottle some of my beer?

 

[llazy_llama]

Some companies just don't care, I guess. The risk associated with skunking is minimal when we're talking about homebrew. Unless you store your beer in a glass walled fridge, and leave that outside, you'll be fine. Many people use clear or green bottles.

Basically, have a tiny bit of care with your homebrew, and it'll be fine. Store it someplace dark while it carbs, then into the fridge, and it'll be good to go.

 

[pizzaman]

I've always used an equal assortment of clear, green, and brown bottles and never noticed any difference in any of them. The thing I would worry about more than the color of the bottle is the weight and thickness of the bottle. This weight tells you how thick the glass is, and how strong the bottle is. I'd rather have a clear bottle that I know won't break or crack under a wing-capper than 100 brown bottles that are flimsy and questionable.

 

[PatMac]

I've always used an equal assortment of clear, green, and brown bottles and never noticed any difference in any of them. The thing I would worry about more than the color of the bottle is the weight and thickness of the bottle. This weight tells you how thick the glass is, and how strong the bottle is. I'd rather have a clear bottle that I know won't break or crack under a wing-capper than 100 brown bottles that are flimsy and questionable.

Any particular brands you've found to be consistently weak?

 

[pizzaman]

I've been brewing for 3 years now and had two bottles break. Well technically no breaks, but they started to crack under the pressure of my capper so I marked an X on the caps and discarded the bottles after drinking the sweet sweet nectar. I don't recall what brand they were though...I will say I have a nice collection of Heneken Light bottles. Those bad boys are awesome. They use plastic labels so they're really easy to peel off after soaking in warm water for a few hours, and they have a nice thick rim for wing-cappers.

 

[944play]

Are certain styles of beer not influenced by exposure to light?

Some breweries, notably Miller, use hop extracts that are not prone to skunking. They've been rid of isohumulones, IIRC.