Best practices for avoiding oxidation?

[MC_McMic]

I transferred my first all-grain beer to a secondary fermenter for dry-hopping this past weekend. The hose on my racking cane is very curly at the moment (I plan to straighten it out under some hot water before using it again), so I was having a hard time getting it to lie at the bottom of the fermenter. It got me to thinking, though, because I've also read a lot of suggestions on this forum that some off-flavors may be attributable to oxidizing of the beer...

What are some good ways to avoid oxidation when racking or bottling your homebrews?

 

[TopherM]

#1: The off flavors attributed to oxidation take upwards of 6-8 weeks to start to appear in the beer AFTER the oxidizing event.

#2: You almost have to try to significantly oxidize a beer. Post fermentation, a little splashing with a little foaming isn't enough to do it. You really have to introduce a significant amount of oxygen into the wort.

You should be careful to introduce as little oxygen into the fermented beer as possible, but a little bit of splashing and/or foaming during a transfer is not NEARLY enough to affect the beer. It takes a lot. Pay attention, and you'll be just fine.

 

[dobe12]

One thing I always do when racking to a keg or secondary is to purge the vessel with CO2. For a keg it's easy. Just push some gas through the beer our post to push CO2 from the bottom up. For a carboy, I take the gas connection off of the CO2 line from one of my tanks. Sanitize the line by soaking it in starsan for a minute or two, then put the line down into the carboy. Crank the gas for a minute or so to purge then rack the beer in. I'm sure some oxygen still remains, but I'm also sure most has been pushed out by the CO2.

 

[tnsen]

I use 2 racking canes..one with the curl cut off, then that straight piece goes into the bucket (carboy)...and they are connected by a piece of tubing...no more curley tubing sticking above the water (beer) line

 

[dobe12]

Nice fix, but I have to ask... why not just get a longer piece of tubing? Sure it curls, but if cut long enough, it will go to the bottom of the vessel and rack nicely.

 

[seabass07]

Or use silicone tubing. It's much softer.

 

[BigFloyd]

Or use silicone tubing. It's much softer.

This^^^^^.

Silicone tubing hooked up to the racking cane/auto siphon is the way to go. It is much more supple than vinyl and is easier to put on/take off.

 

[brewkinger]

Or use silicone tubing. It's much softer.

I'm glad someone finally said this.

Best $20, I have spent.
Takes the annoying curled vinyl tubing right out of the equation.

To the OP: worry not about oxidation in your beer. Like was said, you'd have to want to oxidize the beer.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Calypso]

For my beer club, I tried to oxidize a beer so we could get a feel for it. I opened a Molson Golden, emptied half out, then, resealed it and let it sit for a week in 90 degree temperatures. When we tried it, it was a bit flat but not noticeably oxidized. So I opened it again, resealed it, shook it up, and let it sit for another two weeks. THAT did it...the flavor made me gag.

I guess my point is that I had to work pretty hard to get significant oxidation.

 

[Calichusetts]

I've got barleywines and wee heavys over a year with no signs of oxidation. I used a secondary on both (no purging,) small but noticable head space. Just treat the beer right and you shouldn't have to much concern.

I make sure to have the tubing basically flat in the bottom of a carboy or bottling bucket so the beer enters as gently and horizontal as possible. As many pointed out, its harder than you think, but when I am bottling beer that will be stored for years to come I am far more aware of possible oxidation sites.

 

[Queequeg]

The other thing that occurred to me is you could put a ss hose clamp on the end to weigh the tube down. This my stop the flapping about when you pump.

 

[MC_McMic]

Or use silicone tubing. It's much softer.

Very good point. I already have some silicon tubing for my MLT in the same diameter as my other tubing. I'll just use that going forward.

Also, thanks to everyone from the reassurances. One less thing I need to worry about.

 

[seabass07]

With all of this talk about oxidizing beer being difficult, how many of you have tasted an oxidized beer next to a non-oxidized beer of the same batch. It takes weeks to get the horrible cardboard flavor, but flavor loss happens pretty quick. Lately, I've been making 6gal batches. I'll keg 5gal and bottle the last half gallon. The last few bottles tend to get a bit of splashing due to the beer level being lower than the spigot on my fermenter. The difference between the kegged beer, the first bottles, and the last bottle is a massive.

 

[BreezyBrew]

With all of this talk about oxidizing beer being difficult, how many of you have tasted an oxidized beer next to a non-oxidized beer of the same batch. It takes weeks to get the horrible cardboard flavor, but flavor loss happens pretty quick. Lately, I've been making 6gal batches. I'll keg 5gal and bottle the last half gallon. The last few bottles tend to get a bit of splashing due to the beer level being lower than the spigot on my fermenter. The difference between the kegged beer, the first bottles, and the last bottle is a massive.

You have my attention. Can you describe what you mean by massive?

 

[fearwig]

I transferred my first all-grain beer to a secondary fermenter for dry-hopping this past weekend. The hose on my racking cane is very curly at the moment (I plan to straighten it out under some hot water before using it again), so I was having a hard time getting it to lie at the bottom of the fermenter. It got me to thinking, though, because I've also read a lot of suggestions on this forum that some off-flavors may be attributable to oxidizing of the beer...

What are some good ways to avoid oxidation when racking or bottling your homebrews?

It's not a big deal, just try to minimize splashing and keep the tube under the level when you can. Oxidation is mostly a shelf life concern. Off flavors are rarely a result of oxidation from bad racking or hot side aeration, it's just something that got mentioned a lot in a few books and stuck in everyone's mind (especially 1990s books, like Palmer first edition because it's on the web for free).

EDIT: I see everyone said basically this, and yes, silicone is easier since it falls straight (obnoxiously pricey, though).

 

[seabass07]

You have my attention. Can you describe what you mean by massive?

It was an oatmeal stout with only a single hop addition at 60mins of centennial. The roast and chocolate flavors were very diminished and turned into a slightly acrid tobacco flavor. The esters from the english yeast were barely there. The hops were completely undetectable. This was at about 4 weeks in the bottle. The first bottle has much less of these issues than the last bottle, but there was still a noticeable difference between the first and the kegged beer. They weren't in any way undrinkable, just dull in comparison.

 

[fearwig]

I think oxidation is somewhat more noticeable in dark beers, FWIW, especially those heavy in dark caramel. The resulting flavor can be kind of metallic. I have never made a beer so oxidized in bottling it didn't last a month, though. Then again I don't tend to make beers I want to bottle age.

 

[Calypso]

I think oxidation is somewhat more noticeable in dark beers, FWIW, especially those heavy in dark caramel. The resulting flavor can be kind of metallic. I have never made a beer so oxidized in bottling it didn't last a month, though. Then again I don't tend to make beers I want to bottle age.

Interesting. I may have to try my oxidation experiment again with a dark beer. Like I said above, it was hard as hell to get a Molson Golden (the only beer I had, from a previous experiment, that I wanted to sacrifice) to oxidize. But once it did, the wet cardboard flavor was horrific.

Maybe I'll pick up a stout and try it with that.

 

[Calichusetts]

I do a 6-year vertical of SN bigfoot on New Year's Eve every year. Oxidation is actually helping these things. I might even hold off a year or two so I can do tastings from ages 3-8 years. Great woody, sherry notes after 5 years.

 

[fearwig]

Interesting. I may have to try my oxidation experiment again with a dark beer. Like I said above, it was hard as hell to get a Molson Golden (the only beer I had, from a previous experiment, that I wanted to sacrifice) to oxidize. But once it did, the wet cardboard flavor was horrific.

Maybe I'll pick up a stout and try it with that.

I have a liquor store near my work that mishandles bottles. I don't know what they do to them, probably heat. Occasionally I pick something up there anyway, to drink on on the train, and I know now that anything with darkish crystal and big malt profile is going to taste like dirty pennies (especially a sweet stout or an ESB), and a good pale ale will just taste like the hops have faded a bit.

I think it might be sunlight, actually, because their cans are always OK. But man, they must be storing these things outside, it's an abomination.

This isn't the same as oxidation from oxygen, strictly, but it seems to be analogous.