Mead fermentation light exposure

[samuel84]

Im making a mead, does it need to be fermented in a dark area; will light affect it? If so does this apply to other wines as well?


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[Frognostic]

I don't really know but I'm under the impression that exposure to light, especially direct sunlight, is bad for it and can "skunk" it.

I try to keep mine in the dark in a cupboard but they don't all fit in there so I cover the rest in tea towels secured with rubber bands to try and block out the light.

 

[SerifSansSerif]

I don't think it matters so much for fermentation, but is highly important during storage and aging.

 

[Chris_The_Rogue]

"Skunking" is a result of hop enzimes being exposed to UV rays. I think the possible concerns with mead would be color loss or maybe yeast stress.

 

[fuelish]

Much more of a concern with beer, as noted above. I keep mine in the basement where it's exposed to slight ambient light in a.m. hours (no direct sunlight, window is to the side about 15 ft away with a drawn curtain) and is fairly dark the rest of the day/night....brief exposure should cause no problems, but I'd ferment/store it in as dark place as possibe if for no other reason than "just because" I know of no science behind it