# Cider in green bottles



## Cummy (15/3/15)

Hi guys, just wondering if cider is affected in the same way as beer by light. Is it ok to bottle cider in green bottles. Cheers.


----------



## Golani51 (15/3/15)

I believe it is the hops in beer which is affected by UV. Heat etc is a no no, however if you sre storing in reasonably cool conditions out of sunlight, you would be perfectly fine.


----------



## manticle (16/3/15)

UV is to be avoided generally as it has a negative effect on most things. However as Golani suggests, beer is especially susceptible to degradation of hop acids. Unless making a hopped cider or graff, green bottles won't be as bad for cider as they are for beer. Still best to store cool and dark if possible though.


----------



## Grott (16/3/15)

Store in cardboard boxes if you can.
Cheers


----------



## BottloBill (16/3/15)

Just a snippet of something I have been reading recently. I bottled some cider more than a few months ago in green bottles and kept them in moderate darkness and took at least 10 weeks before I got any fizz from them. I think the following may explain my problem.....


----------



## Airgead (17/3/15)

Unlikely. Moderate darkness the UV would be negligible. That article is talking about something on the order of direct sunshine.

More likely you just had very little yeast present in the bottles and/or the yeast was stressed/unhealthy/exhausted/nutrient deprived and just took a long time to ferment the priming sugar.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## BottloBill (17/3/15)

Airgead said:


> Unlikely. Moderate darkness the UV would be negligible. That article is talking about something on the order of direct sunshine.
> 
> More likely you just had very little yeast present in the bottles and/or the yeast was stressed/unhealthy/exhausted/nutrient deprived and just took a long time to ferment the priming sugar.
> 
> ...


Fair point Dave. I was getting more at the point of yeast are still sensitive to light, would that be right/fair to say?


----------



## Airgead (17/3/15)

Yeast are sensitive to light in that excessive UV kills them. But I'm not sure that lighting conditions will have a measurable impact on fermentation unless you set up your fermenter on a sunbed...

Beer is a different story due to the skunking effect on some of the polyphenols from the hops.

Also, light is sometimes a proxy for heat... letting things get warm can be detrimental as it speeds up oxygenation and other reactions. Temperature cycling is also bad.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Cummy (17/3/15)

Thanks for the advice, I always try to keep in a dark room anyway. I did try a search but what would the optimum temp to store after fermentation and bottling.


----------



## Airgead (17/3/15)

Really depends on what you are trying to do. Bottle conditioning you want to store warm till they have carbed up. Long term storage of wine you want about 8-12c. If you want to accelerate ageing, maybe 16c. If you want to inhibit ageing, 3-4c.

Beer is different again. Usually store cold (2-4c) inless you are keg or bottle conditioning or if you are doing a sour or...


Cheers
Dave


----------



## superstock (17/3/15)

BottloBill said:


> Just a snippet of something I have been reading recently. I bottled some cider more than a few months ago in green bottles and kept them in moderate darkness and took at least 10 weeks before I got any fizz from them. I think the following may explain my problem.....


Could exposure to UV light be the answer to a sweet cider?


----------



## Airgead (17/3/15)

Could be. Would need to be poetry intense uv to reliably kill ask the yeast and prevent further fermentation. Not due it's doable on a hone scale. Not easily anyway. But it is used at utility scale for water purification so would work in theory.


----------



## manticle (17/3/15)

Poetry like haiku or more like iambic pentameter?


----------



## wareemba (17/3/15)

Airgead said:


> More likely you just had very little yeast present in the bottles and/or the yeast was stressed/unhealthy/exhausted/nutrient deprived and just took a long time to ferment the priming sugar.
> 
> Cheers
> Dave


i am hoping that this is what happened to my latest batch, left it in the fermenter too long before bottling (after bulk priming) and now there's minimal yeast doing the carbonation... 3 weeks and still just a slight 'pfft' on opening...


----------



## wareemba (17/3/15)

superstock said:


> Could exposure to UV light be the answer to a sweet cider?
> 
> 
> 
> Yeast exposed to UV.jpg


mine is sure sweet!!!

mixing with mineral water brings it to OK, but its just not the same! gonna let it sit for a few more weeks before cracking another one...

opps - just reread that paragraph, mine never saw the light of day, so to say...


----------



## superstock (17/3/15)

Airgead said:


> Could be. Would need to be poetry intense uv to reliably kill ask the yeast and prevent further fermentation. Not due it's doable on a hone scale. Not easily anyway. But it is used at utility scale for water purification so would work in theory.


I've a UV lamp that's part of my crack detector. Nexy time I make a cider I might sacrifice a few clear bottles, subject them to a couple of hours of UV and leave them in a box to see if any bottle bombs develope.


----------



## Airgead (18/3/15)

manticle said:


> Poetry like haiku or more like iambic pentameter?


Autocorrect on my phone hates me.

Posting, commuting
Add technology failure.
Posts turn to haiku.


----------



## Cummy (20/3/15)

Sorry if this is a noob question. Is there are benefit to CC a cider?


----------



## manticle (21/3/15)

In my experience, yes.


----------



## Airgead (21/3/15)

Absolutely. I make mine in the autumn and is cold conditions right through winter. Drink in the spring.


----------



## Sidney Harbour-Bridge (25/3/15)

superstock said:


> Could exposure to UV light be the answer to a sweet cider?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Probably wouldn't work in Vic, not this week anyhow.


----------

