kneifl said:
Myth. A lot of European beers are bottled in green bottles and it does nothing to affect their taste.l
While it is true that the color of the bottle does not in of itself affect the taste of beer, it has a direct influence on how much a beer is protected from damaging light.
Skunky beer is generally caused by the beer being ?light-struck? which is when the beer has been exposed to ultraviolet light for a period of time. Hop-derived molecules, called isohumulones, are basically ripped apart. Some of these parts bind with sulfur atoms to create that ?skunk? character, which is similar in character to a skunk's natural defense and is such a potent compound that parts-per-trillion can be detected and even ruin a beer.
Although brown bottles aid in protecting beer from being light-struck, it hardly makes the beer invincible.
Green or clear bottles provide little to no protection. And it's been said that bottled beer can become light-struck in less than one minute in bright sun, after a few hours in diffuse daylight, and in a few days under normal fluorescent lighting.
This light-struck condition is often to blame for a skunked beer. Many popular imports are distributed in green bottles. Pair the two, mix with misinformation and an inexperienced palate, and the common belief becomes that if beer is in a green bottle, it has to be skunked.
BTW, Heineken is not even one of the world's top 10 beers.
