Green bottles for homebrewing

[sierra_charlie]

Hello again,

As I prepare my equipment and supplies to take up brewing again, I've been de-labeling bottles today for use with my first batch.

Several (12-18) are green bottles (Heineken type from a Heineken knock-off sold by Aldi stores, a decent beer for the money).

I have bought commercial beers in green bottles in the past, some of which were "skunked", something attributed to light penetrating the green bottles by people I asked (not sure how true/false this actually is).

So, will my homebrew be ok in these green bottles? Will it "skunk"? or be ok?

Thanks for any input, and sorry if this question has been beat to death, a search turned up nothing, but maybe I didn't phrase it right.

SC

 

[TimelessCynic]

Keep away from prolonged exposure to light. That's all.


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[crispbrew]

It is true that green bottles can let in uv light that can skunk the beer. However they should be fine to use for home brewing as long as you keep them in a dark place and limit exposure to direct sunlight while they are conditioning/waiting to be consumed. Since you are in control of how your bottles are handled, unlike some stores/distributors, they can be prevented from being in conditions that cause skunking.

 

[HumulusHead]

Brown bottles also skunk from uv light. Just not as quick.

Keep the bottles in a cardboard beer bottle case (I.e. Old Budweiser case) and they will be protected


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[SophieMC]

Hello everybody, sorry that I "interrupt" on this thread but I have a question related to this same topic does the sun light is the only capable to skunk beer? Or any light? Thanks!

 

[HumulusHead]

Any light that has uv in it's spectrum. Fluorescent has it I believe.


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[TimelessCynic]

I think incandescent is ok. The old style light bulbs where current passes through a filament.


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[smrosendahl]

Consumer-grade LEDs also lack UV light, only LEDs made for UV output can produce it at any value.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

I avoid all non colored bottles and green bottles. I keep them all in a cool dark basement.

 

[sierra_charlie]

Thanks for the replies everyone, sorry I haven't responded, work has kept me away from the forum for a few days.

I'll go ahead and use the green bottles, and probably even get more (I really like the commercial beer that comes in them), I'll just make sure to protect the filled bottles from light as they age.

Thanks again.

SC

 

[JINKS]

UV protection chart.

 

[jrgtr42]

As others said, there's nothing wrong from a structural point of view,
just keep them in a box, preferably in a dark room, and you'll be fine.
Honestly, though, I would recommend looking for brown bottles to package in; just one less thing to half worry about.

 

[HumulusHead]

UV protection chart.

Someone needs to invent a brown bottle in a bigger green bottle in a bigger blue bottle. Should filter out most the spectrum then


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