Sunlight spoilage in primary bucket?

[HIT_MAN]

I didn't think it would hurt anything since it was in a bucket but the more and more I've been thinking about it the more concern I have grown. I know in a plastic or glass carboy it will ruin your beer but what about the primary bucket? I have been primary fermenting in the bucket for about 8 days, which it was in my kitchen. Given there was really never any direct sunlight there was some ambient light during the daylight hours. Do I have anything to be concern about?

 

[HIT_MAN]

bump for response.

 

[JamieT]

Optimally you would ferment in a dark and temp-stable area... That being said, the first 20+ batches I brewed were fermented in glass carboy's sitting on my kitchen counter, and many of them were very good beers. I dont think you have much to worry about..

 

[HIT_MAN]

Optimally you would ferment in a dark and temp-stable area... That being said, the first 20+ batches I brewed were fermented in glass carboy's sitting on my kitchen counter, and many of them were very good beers. I dont think you have much to worry about..

So, your saying that the white plastic buckets don't allow uv rays to get through?

 

[JamieT]

Oh Im sure some gets through, but I wouldnt be overly concerned about the effect on this batch.. What's done is done.. Next time you can try wrapping your fermenting vessel in a dark towel to keep out the light or placing it in a closet, etc..

 

[BrewinJack]

Actully i have a qustion along the same line. i was fermenting a 1 gallon batch of stright cider on the counter top in my kitchen, with another 5 gallons in a plastic carboy of the same juice and yeast (this was under a dark blanket out of the light). The 1 gallon batch fermented extreamly quickly a little less then 2 weeks and it was at 1.008, the 5 gallons under the blanket too an additional 2-3 weeks and was at 1.012... heres the issue... I bottled the first gallon seprate and it smelled off, kinda a cross between rhino farts and rancid butter... and when i tasted it after carbing it had an overwhemlimg buttery/yeasty flavor... While on the other hand the 5 gallons under the blanket were fine and in rated in the top 10 ciders i have ever made... Both containters were sanitized in the same manner and at the same time, also loaded and pinched at the same time... To add to that, i had a 5 gallon batch which i allowed to ferment in the same way as the 1 gallon batch an apple-blueberry cider, it sat in a five gallon carboy on the counter with a differnt yeast... exactally the same problems...Large ammount of sediment, excelerated fermentation, slightly rancid smell, and buttery/yeast after taste... Everything was sanitized, the only variable i can think of is the light caused the yeast do do something... sorry to highjack the thread but has anybody noticed this as well? i am assuming the same is more ture with beer. I know the fix is simple, ferment in the dark or under a dark blanket (which i do, i just didnt have room for these two fermenters)... I was just wondering if anybody else has noticed the same problem? and what you did with the brew?... seeing as i have 5 gallons of it and its undrinkable.

cheers

 

[JamieT]

Light certainly could have had an impact, but so could temperature swings.. The larger volume containers would be much more thermally stable just because of the sheer volume..

 

[dontman]

UV light only has a deleterious effect on hops. I don't know what a "stright" cider is exactly, but if there is no hops involved then you cannot point at light as a culprit.

If there are hops involved then UV rays can absolutely have a very bad effect on your beer. Skunking of hops is no myth at all. In direct sunlight the effect can occur within as little as 20-30 minutes.

If you want to test it to see, do an experiment and put a corona or Newcastle Brown out in the sun on a sunny day. Compare to one that has not been skunked doing a horizontal taste test. Yecchh! Nasty as heck.

 

[krelin]

Why aren't carboys made of darker glass, then?

 

[ctufano]

Would be harder to monitor darker glass, whereas with clear glass you can take steps to protect it

 

[echotraveler]

i would like a brown carboy, it would look really cool! lol...

 

[NorCalAngler]

This article seems to state UV is unable to penetrate opaque plastic. It seems to make sense since I don't think you would get a sunburn if you put a sheet of opaque plastic over you. It's also worth noting UV is very inefficient at penetrating water as well so if you ferment in a plastic bucket inside a water-filled container for temperature control there is very little chance of UV penetration.

 

[krelin]

So what do you guys typically shield your carboys with? I had mine sitting in the kitchen yesterday (not direct sunlight, but certainly not dark). Should I put it in a closet or just toss a sweatshirt over it?

 

[ctufano]

They sell wraps, or peoples wives make them -- or wrap a blanket/towel/shirt around it

A lot of people seem to use containers, such as freezers or fridges, and often will stick their bottles in closets or basements

 

[krelin]

Sweathshirt it is! Thanks.

 

[ctufano]

either way, careful the temp of the wort doesnt get too high. it will be anywhere from 5-10 degrees higher than air temp durin active parts of ferment

 

[krelin]

I don't really have any good way of monitoring the internal temperature.... is there a special thermometer for that sort of thing (something compatible with my fermentation-lock?)

 

[ctufano]

You could get one of those soft thermometers that go on the bucket -- the bucket will be pretty close to the internal temperature

 

[krelin]

Oh, I had forgotten that one of those stick-on thermometers came with my kit! Thanks for the reminder.