Hot Side Aeration/Oxidization

MrPorter · 02-05-2010, 04:19 PM

Hi guys,

So, I think I screwed up. I was brewing my second extract batch ever (a Porter) and was worried that the 3.5 gallons of wort I was chilling was going to get too cool when I topped up to 5 gallons in the carboy.

Without thinking I poured my 100F wort into the carboy with a funnel and of course being a carboy lots of splashing and glugging occurred. I then topped off with cold tap water to make 5 gallons and shook it up to mix.

Everything is happy, the little yeasties were impressive etc, etc, and all is well with the world. Then two days later I happened to be reading Palmer and he mentioned oxidation above 80F. I knew all this, but I forgot during the excitement of brewing, and now I am reading how my beer will taste like cardboard and am a bit apprehensive.

Should I be worried? What are the chances that my batch will taste off? Also, is this something that might not be noticeable for 2/3 weeks after bottling? Finally, would oxygen barrier caps help or has the damage been done?

I know there a lot of "is my batch ruined" threads and many advocate that even if it tastes off to wait a few weeks or months. If my beer does turn out to be oxidized though, it would probably get worse over time would it not?

Any advice, experiences would be appreciated.

kharmajavah · 02-05-2010, 04:25 PM

Your beer will be fine. No worries.

But for future reference, be careful pouring hot wort into a glass carboy...water always goes first. The thermal shock of hot liquid on glass could cause it to crack/shatter. It actually happens...lots of threads on the board about broken carboys.

Cheers!

**Revvy** · 02-05-2010, 04:26 PM

99% of those is my beer ruined threads are nervous noobs, and 99.95% of those the beer turns out fine anyway.

HSA is another one of the homebrewing boogeymen, like autolysis, that really isn't anything to lose sleep over.

It is something that is more of a concern for professional breweries brewing light (and tasteless) lagers, but is really not something that can happen to us...

I'll save you the bother of searching...

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/hot-side-aeration-so-im-idiot-71873/

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/who-afraid-hsa-76779/

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/hot-side-aeration-71806/

HSA is something that get's discussed by commercial brewers in journals, and some overzealous homebrewer then starts worrying about it, and it get spread into the HOBBY community, with little understanding...and then people brewing thier first beer start threads worrying about it...

So don't sweat your new brewer head about HSA....or anything, you beer is much hardier than you think...

And if you still are worried, then watch this video of a commercial brewhouse...

You think they are concerned about HSA?

YouTube - Transferring from Mash Tun to Boil Kettle

The same with oxydation, we're not talking racking fermented beer here....and even if it was oxydized (which I don't believe it is) it would be a long term storage concern not an immediate issue. Most of us will have drank our beer long before oxydation would occur.

You have to realize that it is very very very hard to ruin your beer.

Read these collected stories to understand just what stupid things we can do and yet our beer manages to survive.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/what-some-mistakes-you-made-where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

**remilard** · 02-05-2010, 04:32 PM

If I keep pointing out that the lowest oxygen brew houses do not belong to light lager brewers, will you ever drop that baseless and observably false claim that only light lager brewers worry about HSA?

**Revvy** · 02-05-2010, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard

If I keep pointing out that the lowest oxygen brew houses do not belong to light lager brewers, will you ever drop that baseless and observably false claim that only light lager brewers worry about HSA?

You know, the point is, that the op is worried about HIS beer. AND that no matter what you say, HSA is only an issue in commercial breweries.....Light lagers, heavy lagers, fizzy yeloow piaa water, YADDA YADDA YADDA......Whatever you wanna call it.

Beers where even the slightest flaws can be noticed, not the average homebrewer's ale.

It's NOT anything we need to worry about.

Do you want to actually HELP this guy not worry or pick another pathetic fight remmy? Just like always, your post contributes almost NOTHING to ever actually helping anyone, just picking fights, do you actually care ever about helping anyone out on this site?

MrPorter · 02-05-2010, 04:42 PM

Thanks for the advice and info guys. I'm browsing through the links you posted Revvy, thanks for those!

There are a lot of noobs paranoid about the beer, but I think a lot of that is paranoia from reading Palmer online the day after they put their beer in the fermenter. And to other new brewers: don't read his section on off flavors until you have actually aged and drunk a few because the power of suggestion is strong on a paranoid mind

**Revvy** · 02-05-2010, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrPorter

Thanks for the advice and info guys. I'm browsing through the links you posted Revvy, thanks for those!

There are a lot of noobs paranoid about the beer, but I think a lot of that is paranoia from reading Palmer online the day after they put their beer in the fermenter. And to other new brewers: don't read his section on off flavors until you have actually aged and drunk a few because the power of suggestion is strong on a paranoid mind

Yeah, I think Palmer is a great source up to a point. But he points out every worst case scenario in glaring detail, which fuels more fear in new brewers. It's the same with autolysis, it's mention in the section on lagers, not ales. And even ends with a caveat saying that with healthy yeast folks have left their beer in primary for several months with no issues.

Yet both those points tend to be lost in the worries of a new brewer.

Just remember, relax, it is really hard to ruin this.

MrPorter · 02-05-2010, 04:54 PM

I need to remember what I read recently in a book "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" where the author describes Vikings who didn't know much about the science of beer. All they knew was that each family had a stirring stick they passed down from generation to generation and using this stick magically ensured their beer would ferment. I doubt they worried about HSA too much

**remilard** · 02-05-2010, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revvy

You know, the point is, that the op is worried about HIS beer. AND that no matter what you say, HSA is only an issue in commercial breweries.....Light lagers, heavy lagers, YADDA YADDA YADDA......Beers where even the slightest flaws can be noticed, not the average homebrewer's ale.

It's NOT anything we need to worry about.

Do you want to actually HELP this guy not worry or pick another pathetic fight remmy? Just like always, your post contributes almost NOTHING to ever actually helping anyone, just picking fights, do you actually care ever about helping anyone out on this site?

What kind of lagers does Sierra Nevada make?

If whether or not commercial breweries avoid HSA is irrelevant, maybe you should neglect to make a claim about the practices of commercial breweries rather than making what is either an ignorant claim or an intentionally misleading one.

MrPorter · 02-05-2010, 05:00 PM

I hope I didn't start an argument. Hmmm, maybe next time I'll ask the CraigTube guy