Green bottles

[Brownbeard]

I've got 32 Grolsch bottles, the pints with the nice flip tops. I am thinking I can cut some work out of the bottling process by using these, the only concern I have is light spoiling my brew. If I keep these bottles in cardboard, I should be OK, right? I also have 4 quart bottles with the fliptops. They are brown though, so I am not as worried about them. If my calculations are correct, that should do my entire 5 gal batch of beer with flip tops.

[mmmBeer...]

As long as they are kept away from light you should have no problem with them. I use green PET bottles for my homebrew and store them in a room in my basement that I brew in (no windows), and have never had any skunkiness happen to my beer.

Your only concern is if they are regularly exposed to light.

[paul84043]

Your calculations should be correct, there's 640 ounces in 5 gallons. 32 grolsch bottles = 512oz, 4 quart bottles is another 128 oz for a grand total of 640 oz....

Now assuming that all things are never equal, I would have a few extra bottles ready, unless you didn't overfill when you topped off initially. I usually end up with just a bit over 5 gallons of beer.
Also there's the horrible possibility of breaking a bottle, then ending up short...

I have a bundh of Green Grolsch bottles, just make sure that your gaskets are in decent shape. The gaskets are cheap and should last you through many bottlings unless they sit so long that they dry out.
I keep all of my beer in boxes, none of it is exposed to light for any significant amount of time unless it's in the refrigerator waiting to be consumed....

You're getting there!! Did you taste your beer when you transferred? Did you take a gravity reading on it??

[S.F.B.]

I have always thought that green is fine for use and protects from light damage. This is why wineries bottle in green bottles. Right?

[Brownbeard]

I did not taste in the transfer. At that point I was so freaked about snitization that I basically made it so the air never touched the beer. I plan on tasting when bottling. I think more experience will keep me from freaking out so much about the beer.

[fretlessman71]

Most wine bottles are a much darker shade of green. Also, I don't think the wine is damaged quite as much as the beer is, but I may be wrong..... Maybe the red wines are more light sensitive than the white ones. Anyone know?

Some beer bottles are of the darker green (EKU 28), and they seem to survive okay.

[barley ben]

The hops in beer is what actually reacts with the light and skunks your beer. I don't really know anything about wine, buy I'm guessing that is why it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. But unless I'm wrong, don't you have to keep fermenting wine in the dark also? Anyone know why that is?

Nothing like answering one question with another!!!!

[paul84043]

Brownbeard,
I don't know what kind of odds and ends you've picked up yet, but tasting your beer at different stages is very interesting and educational, not to mention a bonus of making your own...
A "thief" makes sampling very easy for hydrometer readings and for tasting. I usually just start the siphon and then pull the hose up and fill my sample jar to take a reading, if you do it efficiently you don't splash enough beer around inside the carboy to make any difference at all. But if you're not transferring and want to sample, the thief is the way to go...

I take my reading, then properly dispose of the potentially bacterially infected sample (drink it...)
Your beer is most vulnerable right after you have cooked it up, after the alcohol content has begun to rise and the yeast population is large, the chances of infection dop significantly. Not saying that you don't need to be clean at that point!! Just that the risk factor is much less.
I'm still very strict about my sanitation procedures, I threw away one batch due to infection and it really sucked to see that go down the drain.
I recommend tasting your beer when you transfer, bottle, then try one after a week, two weeks, and so on. It's very interesting to taste the difference in the beer as it matures. I think you learn alot from it.

[Brownbeard]

The members on this board have been immeasurably helpful. Finding this spot has already increased my brewing enjoyment. The only advice I have here at home is a friend who has brewed a half dozen batches. Experienced advice is a real treat. Especially when you are suggesting I drink beer...

[YamahaXS]

congrats on the bottles and be sure to follow the tradition that has been in long practice here.... you wouldn't want ot be the first to break ranks would you? What you don't know what I am talking about?


well, you see, every time someone gets his first batch off, he/she is supposed to send all us old farts a bottle of the stuff so we can see what it tastes like.

:D

cheers and beers friend!

[sallad]

yes, yes, a very long standing and important tradition. it angers the beer gods if you don't. be sure to send me one of the quart bottles, as i am very tight with the beer gods and you should be extra sure to appease me, i mean them!

[Brownbeard]

Hmmm...If I start giving my brews away, a whole gang of hockey fans are probably gonna beat me up. The quarts, those will be for daddy only.

[Brownbeard]

OK, I came home tonight, pulled the cork on my fermenter for three seconds and took my first big whif of my beer. It smelled wonderful! I am a GOD!

[toneyc]

Put the cork back, put the cork back!!!

:)
Toney.

[Brownbeard]

That three seconds shouldn't allow the beer to get infected should it? It has been brewing for 12 days now, there should be some alcohol in there as well as very little sugar.

[fretlessman71]

I think he's teasing.... you've got gas rising OUT and not IN, and therefore three seconds isn't enough to do any damage, I would guess.

Just don't let it happen again...... ;)

[Brownbeard]

The original reason for the thread was the question about the green bottles. I had a guy I work with come in this morning and give a dozen 20oz brown bottles with flip top lids. I am going to have to replace the seals on 3 of them, but what a haul! His only request for compensation was a homebrew.

[Brownbeard]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
I think he's teasing.... you've got gas rising OUT and not IN, and therefore three seconds isn't enough to do any damage, I would guess.

Just don't let it happen again...... ;)

I did wash my hands in sanitizer before handling the plug. I am probably going overboard with sanitization, but if there is anything to go overboard with, it has to be that.

[beerman1001001]

I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like you've still got some fermentation activity happening, which produces CO2. That CO2 is heavier than oxygen, and will settle down and rest on the surface of your beer, creating a protective layer. When you open your carboy, oxygen will start to mix with the CO2, and you can end up with a small amount of oxygen in your carboy. After you put the lock back on, the oxygen should be pushed out as fermentation continues. This is such a small amount of oxygen, that you aren't really at any risk for oxygenation. On the other hand, if you are producing something that needs to sit in secondary for several weeks/months and age, it's a good idea to keep that airlock filled with water and in place as much as possible. Don't forget to relax and have a micro. Next time around, you'll be able to relax and have a homebrew.

[paul84043]

Tony was kidding....

Your delusions of becoming a diety were concerning him....


But you definitely did the right thing by washing up before popping it open..

:D

[Brownbeard]

Originally posted by paul84043
Tony was kidding....

Your delusions of becoming a diety were concerning him....


But you definitely did the right thing by washing up before popping it open..

:D

Well, I figure Jesus turned water into wine. Turning water into beer is far more impressive.

[paul84043]

Hmmmm, you do have a point there....

:eek:

[fretlessman71]

Yes, but could you do it as fast as He did?..... ;)

[Brownbeard]

Not yet, give me time. For all we know Jesus spent his teen years turning water into wine for his buddies. There is a lot of missing info on the life of Jesus. Who knows, his first batch may have taken weeks and tasted like dirty socks when it was completed.

[paul84043]

I'm waiting for the lightning bolt to strike as I type...

Do you think his freinds all complained about his first couple of batches?

[Brownbeard]

Are you kidding? He's Jesus! He probably went by JC back in his youth. I am sure they were all "Damn JC that's pretty good...No, I don't need another glass". You just don't diss on JC to his face. He could straight call the wrath of heaven on your ass.

[fretlessman71]

Hmmm... there's a storm brewing outside... I wonder if there's going to be any ligh

[toneyc]

Oops, sorry for causing undue concern there! Yes, I was joking, didn't want the manical laughter to start, ya know.

:)
Toney.

[atxf4i]

Our lager, Which arts in barrels, Hallowed be thy drink, Thy will be drunk, I will be drunk, At home as in the tavern, Give us this day our foamy head , And forgive us our spilages, As we forgive those who spill against us, And lead us not into carnation, But deliver us from hangovers, For thine is the beer, The bitter and the lagger forever and ever

[paul84043]

Amen.

[Brownbeard]

Amen

[gemery]

Okay, I want in. First, I wish I could get some of those bottles with stoppers. So very nice. However, I use commercial bottles, green, brown and clear. I keep them all in the dark or in cases and they do me well. I usually keep my carboys in my kitchen, they get light, but not direct sunlight and I actually think that it is the UV light which will make it skunky. But I'm not sure on that one.

Sanitizing, well I sanitize, but I sometimes just rinse with hot water and never had a problem. I usually sanitize airlocks, spoons and what not after brewing, then put them away until next time. Then just rinse with hot water. However, before touching anything, I wash my hands and dry them with paper towel. I think using paper towel is as sanitary as need be. After all, the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids on beer and they knew nothing about sanitization. I am wondering about that though, the pyramids could in fact be really temples to the beer gods. Who knows?

I usually let my brew sit for a month, I find before that time, it is bitter. But bitter is good cause that bitterness gives it more of a beer flavour.

Anyway, it all seems to work and I get a beer I would proud to share with you guys. Except I drink it almost as fast as I make it, well at least in the summertime anyway!

Gemery

[Kansas Brew]

Well, I figure Jesus turned water into wine. Turning water into beer is far more impressive.

Check out this article by Michael Jackson

http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001511.html