Green bottles skunking beers? All Beers?

Scrumpy

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First time poster here, gonna jump right in!...
I still bottle a good deal of my beer for various reasons. If it is a quaffable beer that will not be aged, I usually go with Grolsch bottles since I have so many. I don't worry about skunkage, I store them in 12 pack cardboard boxes in the dungeon.
Regardless, My beer snob friends inevitably give me grief about green bottles. (I'm a beer snob too. :? )My primary argument for my defense is thAT some of the most prestigious beers come in green bottles. Example; Duchess de bourgogne 750ml, I drink at last one a month and have never been skunked. (and these travel from the other side of the world and will sit on bright store shelves until I arrive!)
My question(s): Is the 'skunk beer from green bottles' theory over rated? I think so. Do all beers skunk equally, maybe lagers skunk more quickly? Has any one here experimented, ie green bottle on the window sill for 2 months? I need to know these things.
cheers
 
If you keep them covered up they won't get skunked. Amber bottles aren't lightproof either.
 
I don't know if the hop extracts Miller uses are available to homebrewers but if you use those, the beer won't skunk. Might taste like crap naturally but it won't skunk. If you use green or even clear bottles and keep the beer out of light, you'll be okay. Amber bottles won't withstand bright sunlight but since it's the blue wavelengths of light that cause the skunking reaction, it stands to reason anything that passes blue light readily - green or transparent bottles - will increase its speed. Stick with amber.
 
Rolling rock comes in green bottles, and its not skunky, right?? :lol:
 
Rolling Rock in green bottles makes nice targets.... :0
 
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I've read that the reason green bottles exist at all is because in Europe after the WWII there was a shortage of brown glass and beers exported to the US had to go in green. Since imported beers here were seen to be a little exotic and of higher quality, green bottles got to be associated with more exclusive beer, even though it's not necessarily good for the beer.
As for skunkiness, noble hops are the worst and a little intense light exposure is all it takes...but I'd say it definitely takes more than the casual exposure that homebrew gets. Miller in clear bottles will skunk pretty fast at a picnic on a sunny day.
If your beer snob friends don't like your green bottles, they need to make their own damn beer. :p
 

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