Sunlight skunking

[jvp1]

Hi y'all,

I just finished brewing a batch into a glass carboy. I did this during the late afternoon, so there was some sunlight coming in through the kitchen windows, but not much.

My question is a bit silly, maybe -- can sunlight skunk beer before you add yeast? My intuition says no, but it'd be nice to know.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Skunking is the result of an interaction between light and hop acids, so yes, it can happen before you add yeast. But with the time frame and geometry of a carboy, I'm sure you're fine.

 

[jvp1]

Orly? As with most things, I assumed it involved the yeast.

It was during the afternoon and there wasn't any direct sunlight per se as my windows face east (there's still ambient light), but it was mostly a theoretical question. Good to know.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Yup. Read all about it here: http://www.professorbeer.com/articles/skunked_beer.html

One thing they mention in the article that I've read before is that miller uses a hop extract that is isomerized in a different way and therefore doesn't skunk.