Skunky

[FaxedHead]

How much Sun exposure does it take to skunk a batch in a glass Carboy?

 

[dbreienrk1]

without more information about the overall situation it is impossible to answer.

are you fermenting inside/outside? what is the abmient/fermentaion temperature? is it direct sunlight? etc, etc

even with this information it is still very hard to specifically say after XX hours, the beer is bad. why not just get a tshirt to cover the FV?

 

[Calichusetts]

People are going to tell you that your beer will skunk in minutes but don't buy it.

I built a closet system for our soon-to-be-born baby and since the room was an almost consistent 65 I decided to ferment two batches in it (glass carboys without T-shirts or anything to cover it). Needless to say, my wife wanted to show off my handy work to friends and family and would of course open up the closet doors during the day to show it off. They would often chat for a good 30 minutes in the room before I would come up and shut the doors. This probably happened 5-6 times for almost 3 hours or exposure to indirect and sometimes direct sunlight.

Long story short, no skunking...beer was great, and I didn't even dry hop it so there would be no "masks" to hide the skunking.

 

[buffalobrewer]

hop content also affects the time it takes. the hoppier the beer the bigger chance of skunkage.

 

[TopherM]

Skunking is caused by the interaction of UV light with isohumulones in hops. Lots of the big boys use extracted hop oils in their beer and just take the isohumulones out altogether, so the beer can't skunk. If the commericial beer is in a green or clear bottle, chances are the beer was brewed with hop oil, not fresh hops.

Everything I've read states that it take a good full day of direct sunlight to even start the skunking process. You should be fine.

 

[bja]

I have taken a glass of pale ale outside and set it on a table in direct sunlight. Within 10 minutes it started to taste skunky. Try it sometime.

On the other hand, I think it would take days if it was in indirect sunlight.

 

[edmanster]

Mine skunked through my pale.. Wanted to crash it and thought, its effin cold outside Ill put my pale on the deck so I dont have to move it far to the kitchen table and rack it in the morning to my keg.. I tested and checked gravity before putting it out.. Woke up a little late not thinking about a little morning indirect sun and pulled it to the table, popped the bucket lid and sh!t, I could tell right away that it had skunked....

 

[BoltsFan704]

I had a glass of pale ale skunk in 5 minutes this past Saturday. It was in direct sunlight outside. Wife said it tasted like Corona. :cross:

 

[Calichusetts]

I'll never buy the skunking in minutes idea, with "science" behind it or through these stories. Why are pint glasses clear? Nearly all of them? Why don't bars open after dark? Sam Adams designed the "perfect beer glass" that takes in consideration all aspects of getting the best beer taste and aroma that you can...its clear!

Do you guys turn down beers during the day knowing that it will skunk before you finish it. I leave beers on my porch in an ice bucket all summer when I mow, they don't skunk. People say all lights skunk beer...really? Do you bottle in the dark? Do you have night googles for siphoning? Do none of you brew during the day?

I'm not saying beer doesn't skunk, but in minutes? I am personally filing that theory in a little draw along with hot side aeration and and a few other "truths" about brewing. I'm not flaming, but I literally can't wrap my head around this idea.

 

[bja]

I'll never buy the skunking in minutes idea, with "science" behind it or through these stories. Why are pint glasses clear? Nearly all of them? Why don't bars open after dark? Sam Adams designed the "perfect beer glass" that takes in consideration all aspects of getting the best beer taste and aroma that you can...its clear!

Do you guys turn down beers during the day knowing that it will skunk before you finish it. I leave beers on my porch in an ice bucket all summer when I mow, they don't skunk. People say all lights skunk beer...really? Do you bottle in the dark? Do you have night googles for siphoning? Do none of you brew during the day?

I'm not saying beer doesn't skunk, but in minutes? I am personally filing that theory in a little draw along with hot side aeration and and a few other "truths" about brewing. I'm not flaming, but I literally can't wrap my head around this idea.

You either don't have a clue about what you're talking about or Plymouth Mass never gets any direct sunlight. I'm going to go with scenario number one.

 

[Calichusetts]

You either don't have a clue about what you're talking about or Plymouth Mass never gets any direct sunlight. I'm going to go with scenario number one.

Thanks for answering those questions for me...you cleared up quiet well...

 

[Revvy]

The basic brewing guys proved it didn't take long at all.

VIDEO
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=september-14-2007---skunking-beer

They also did a good podcast on the science of it.

April 10, 2008 - The Science of Skunking
Chemistry professor Brad Sturgeon of Monmouth College explains the science behind beer skunking and what kind of glass is best to protect against it.

Click to listen MP-3

Brad's paper in PDF form.

 

[Calichusetts]

The basic brewing guys proved it didn't take long at all.

VIDEO
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=september-14-2007---skunking-beer

They also did a good podcast on the science of it.

Read the article...what is an arbitrary unit? At what point can we taste it? Again...I am not saying that beer doesn't skunk, but in minutes? Like I keep saying, why are pint glasses clear then, makes no sense, the industry tries as hard as it can to prevent it, then serves it to you so it can immediately skunk.

EDIT- the article points out skunking happens, not when we can detect it on our tongue

EDIT 2- They left the beer in the sun for 45 minutes.