BeerBorg

I found this article a long time ago.

It explains a lot about how light "skunks" beer (and why MGD and Corona can get away with bottling in a clear bottle with little skunking). Something that I forgot until I just reread it is that this has only been known since 2001.

Interesting article. I didn't know (nor did I care about) the names of the chemicals involved, but I remember reading elsewhere that lightstruck hops pretty much changes into skunk juice.

One thing I wonder about, though. Newcastle Brown Ale is also bottled in clear bottles, so what's their deal? I can think of three possibilities.

1) The English hops, with their low AA, simply don't convert noticeably to skunkiness.

2) The dark color of the ale filters the UV light.

3) Any skunkiness is masked by the darker malt bill.

I remember early in my craft beer/brewing education reading that your beer could be skunked in a few minutes of bright sun. I was skeptical until I sat on a deck with an IPA in a clear pint one summer day- skunked it.

FedoraDave wrote:Interesting article. I didn't know (nor did I care about) the names of the chemicals involved, but I remember reading elsewhere that lightstruck hops pretty much changes into skunk juice.

One thing I wonder about, though. Newcastle Brown Ale is also bottled in clear bottles, so what's their deal? I can think of three possibilities.

1) The English hops, with their low AA, simply don't convert noticeably to skunkiness.

2) The dark color of the ale filters the UV light.

3) Any skunkiness is masked by the darker malt bill.

I think it is because all there is is a bittering charge. I don't think there are enough hops in it to detect the skunk flavor unless you are actually looking for it.

The magic stuff:

It sounds like it's some sort of further processed "hop shot" type compound.

http://www.ulprospector.com/en/na/Food/ ... rahop-Gold

It appears you can "dry hop" with it and get bittering and better head retention too.