Auto siphon w/hop sock = Lots of Air!!

Richard-SSV · 11-01-2009, 12:25 AM

Today I was racking my IPA from the fermenter to a keg using an auto siphon with a hop sock on the end and It was pretty much a disaster. I had dry hopped using hop pellets without a hop sock. The guy at my LHBS suggested using a hop sock on the auto siphon to help filter out the dissolved hop pellets.... not a good idea!

I kept getting LOTS of air coming through the siphon hose. I looked down in the keg and it just about looked like a pot of boiling water because there were so many air bubbles in the beer. I took the hop sock off of the auto siphon and then it worked perfectly from then on.

I racked the beer into the keg with some priming sugar. After sealing it up I hit it with Co2 at 20 psi, released the pressure from the keg and repeated. I did this 3-4 times and then left the Co2 in the keg on the last one. I'll be conditioning the beer in the keg at room temperature for 2-3 weeks.

Will the Co2 I pumped in help to remove some of the oxygen that got in the beer during racking?

annasdadhockey · 11-01-2009, 03:18 AM

I'm guessing it was not oxygen(or plain air), that it was just CO2 that was in suspension in your beer. When going thru the hop sock, it came out of suspension and looked like you were sucking air. Think about it, if the end of your racking can was completely submerged in the beer, where would the air come from? My bet is that you will be just fine.

thelorax121 · 11-02-2009, 04:56 PM

Same thing happened with me the first time I dry hopped with loose whole cones. LHBS owner told me the same technique, and I had the same results and an incredibly frustrating siphoning session. In the end I left about a gallon of beer in the secondary, but in spite of my concerns, the beer turned out fantastic, and though I polished the batch off in about two months, at that time I experienced no off flavors from oxidization

wildwest450 · 11-02-2009, 05:33 PM

Strange, I use a 5 gallon paint strainer on my auto-siphon to transfer all my beers, and no bubbles to date.

troutab81 · 03-09-2010, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildwest450

Strange, I use a 5 gallon paint strainer on my auto-siphon to transfer all my beers, and no bubbles to date.

I just had the same exact experience. Although I know I am not getting the best seal where the hose meets the cane itself...I have to hold it down sort of like a clamp. Took off the hop sock and oila, worked fine... concerned over my IPA as it was a $60 batch!

**greenbirds** · 03-09-2010, 03:37 PM

I also use a 5 gal paint strainer bag on my 3/8" auto-siphon to rack my dry-hopped beers. I use 5/16" ID hose -- that is key to make sure you have a tight seal up top.

Also, you must have the little black racking cane tip attached to increase suction surface area, or else the tip of the auto-siphon will clog or possibly cause bubbles in your line, as I explain below...

Quote:

Originally Posted by annasdadhockey

I'm guessing it was not oxygen(or plain air), that it was just CO2 that was in suspension in your beer. When going thru the hop sock, it came out of suspension and looked like you were sucking air. Think about it, if the end of your racking can was completely submerged in the beer, where would the air come from? My bet is that you will be just fine.

Possible, but I don't think this to be true. When there is a flow restriction (hop debris slowing down flow of wort to auto-siphon entrance), I believe air can be drawn down through the auto-siphon housing, past the racking cane seal (it's not a super tight seal), and subsequently up into the cane/tubing to fill the vacuum being caused by the clog.

smizak · 03-09-2010, 03:44 PM

I also tried a nylon hop bag or the Autosiphon tip on my first dry-hopped beer. Disaster, lost over a gallon of beer.

What I do know is 1.) Only dryhop with pellets 2.) Zip tie a sanitized nylon hop bag over the end of the hose in the bottling bucket. I lightly cinch a stainless 1/2" clamp just on the end to have something to hold the bag on. Leave plenty of bag free after the hose end, tie it just at the top of the bag. Works awesome along with careful racking, catches any free straggling hop pieces that make their way into the siphon.

danger831 · 03-09-2010, 03:49 PM

can you put the sock on the outlet side or the keg side of the siphon that would trap any thing you suck up inside the sock you would also be able to utilize the entire surface area of the sock and you wouldn't be creating a pressure drop do to the restriction of the sock on the intake side which is what is probably causing the co2 to come out of solution.

**greenbirds** · 03-09-2010, 06:19 PM

I should also note that paint strainer bags and hop socks are not created equally. I originally tried a nylon hop sock, and it did in fact clog. In my experience, the nylon paint strainer bags are thinner have a courser weave than hop socks, possibly preventing the siphon loss.

jeburgdo · 02-05-2012, 10:29 PM

Zombie thread...

I was wondering if anyone had reports about what happened. I used my hop bag as a strainer today, and lots of air bubbles formed. They were forming, I think, as the beer passed through the bag even when it was fully submerged.

Time will tell for sure, but did this turn into cardboard beer for anyone? I tried to keep bubbling down to a minimum, but there was sure a whole lot more than I wanted.