WHY BEER BOTTLES ARE GREEN OR BROWN IN COLOR - Beer has a certain amount of sulfur in it. When the UV rays reacted with the sulfur present in it, it produced a chemical similar to the one that skunks use to defend themselves from predators. This is the reason why beer exuded a foul smell when kept in the sunlight. The green and brown colored glasses, do not allow the UV rays to enter the bottle, therefore protecting the beer from going bad.

..............................................................................................................................................

Why Beer Bottles Are Green Or Brown In Color

Avinash Shrivastava

Beer was invented thousands of year ago. Its traces have been found in Mesopotamia and Egypt as well.

In Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), early evidence of beer is a 3900-year-old Sumerian poem honoring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, which contains the oldest surviving recipe, describing the production from barley via bread.

Approximately 5000 years ago, workers in the city of Uruk were paid by their employers in beer.

 There is a wide variety of beers. A few of them are Ales, lagers, stouts, porters, and malts.

A brief observation of any beer bottle tells us that most of them are brown or green in color. But Why?

In the early times, beer was stored in dark and cool places in containers made of clear glass material only.

But when they were subjected to sunlight, the beer gave out an unpleasant odor.

Later on, the reason for this was found out to be the clear glass material. It allowed the UV rays of the sun to react with the beer.

Beer has a certain amount of sulfur in it. When the UV rays reacted with the sulfur present in it, it produced a chemical similar to the one that skunks use to defend themselves from predators.

This is the reason why beer exuded a foul smell when kept in the sunlight.

The green and brown colored glasses, do not allow the UV rays to enter the bottle, therefore protecting the beer from going bad.

Hence, the manufacturers started using green and brown colored glasses for storing it.

Around World War II, the demand for the brown glass increased. As a result, many companies had to give up their brown glass for the same.

Then they started using green glass instead. The green glass distinguished their beer from the inexpensive clear glass beer.

But now, glass suppliers are able to apply clear, UV protected coats to glass that help keep it fresh no matter what kind of bottle it is in.

However, the best advice for any beer drinker is to keep your bottles in a cool, dark storage container that will keep it fresh.

https://engineeringinsider.org/beer-bottles-green-color/