Introducing oxygen to the beer after primary fermentation

Hi Guys!

So I brewed a full grain sweet stout a few weeks ago. A few days ago I transferred from primary into secondary via the spigot at the bottle of my fermentation bucket.

Stupid me let it literally drop down, through a funnel, into a carboy. A lot of oxygen at this point got into the beer because it started bubbling.

I'm now reading this is probably a horrible idea and my beer might lose a lot of flavor and be generally stale. I smelled my carboy and it seems to have lost a lot of it's original aroma.

Should I consider this batch a bust?

I certainly wouldn't pitch the batch...yet. The yeast will continue to scavenge some amount of O2, particularly if you still have a good bit of fermentation left for them to do. However, if your attenuation is near completion, you could incur some staling in your beer. Adding additional fermentables would give the yeast the opportunity to consume more O2, but this may not be necessary.

What was your OG and your SG at the time you transferred? Also, what yeast did you use and what is the attenuation rate of it?

I don't know how long you were planning to age this beer, but I think you might want to speed up your timetable as much as possible. The effect of O2 will increase as time goes on. The sooner you drink the beer the less the effect will be. Too bad this wasn't a hefeweizen or something.

RDWHAHB.... =) How many gallons did you make? If it is like 5 gallons then I doubt you'll notice any issues before you drink it.

Gameface said:

I don't know how long you were planning to age this beer, but I think you might want to speed up your timetable as much as possible. The effect of O2 will increase as time goes on. The sooner you drink the beer the less the effect will be. Too bad this wasn't a hefeweizen or something.

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This. You almost certainly oxygenated the beer. This will get worse with age - drink it young, drink it fast (this coming from a guy who normally advocates LONG waits).

What does oxidized beer smell and taste like?

MisterTipsy said:

What does oxidized beer smell and taste like?

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It's often compared to wet cardboard. Oxidation can also produce metallic and weirdly caramel flavors.

Denny said:

It's often compared to wet cardboard. Oxidation can also produce metallic and weirdly caramel flavors.

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Ok, thanks. I oxygenated a batch very badly one time, but it still tasted and smelled good. It was a robust stout. That probably made it harder to notice a problem.

I've smelled a few commercial brews that smell like a wet dog. What's the deal there?

MisterTipsy said:

I've smelled a few commercial brews that smell like a wet dog. What's the deal there?

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Dog hair filtering system?

Probably mishandled after out of the brewery. Heated, cooled, heated, sunlight etc. I don't know what problem would produce that smell.

It was a Founders Pale Ale. I think it's an all Cascade beer.

The whole six pack had a nose of flowers and wet dog. It tasted good, but I never bought it again.