Guys,
I'm having some serious oxidation problems. I'm fairly new to brewing, and the first five batches I made were all 1 gallon, and I found the whole racking and bottling process quite problematic and sloppy. Also, anything you do for the first few times, you're not going to be very good at, so when I realized I had an oxidation problem, I put it down to poor skill.
The last batch I brewed was a 3 gallon one, and I could now bottle without racking the beer - I just put a bottling wand straight on the spigot on the fermentor and the process was pretty enjoyable, much thanks to this fantastic thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/bottling-tips-for-the-homebrewer.94812/
When I took the FG sample, the beer was gorgeous - like freshly squeezed orange juice. The perfect NEIPA. After two weeks on bottles, the beer has gone slightly "burgundy", and the "wet cardboard" was evident.
I'm aware that oxidation can occur in many parts of the process, but two things lead me to believe it happens in the bottle: firstly, I opened three bottles; two of them were poorly filled, and had a lot of head space (one I managed to knock over after filling, so no surprise there. The other was the last of the beer), and one was properly filled. The one with less head space looked and tasted WAY better than the other two. Secondly, the sample I took when bottling was so dang beautiful, and nothing like after two weeks in bottles.
I know many might say "just keg!", but I'm not in a position to be able to do that, for a number of reasons, so bottling is what I need to do.
After having four batches, which have all showed so much promise up until bottling, being ruined, brewing has now kind of turned into a thing of anxiety, not the joy I first felt...
So, here are my questions:
1, Would y'all agree it seems like I have a oxidation problem related to bottling?
2, I've googled this quite a bit, and it seems many have oxidation/bottling problems with hop intensive beers, like NEIPAs. Does this ring true to you?
3, I read a lot about "purging bottles/head space with co2", but I'm such a newbie that I don't even comprehend how you would go about doing that. Can you put co2 into a bottle full of beer? Wouldn't beer splash everywhere? What equipment would I use? (Sorry if I'm a complete idiot here).
I would like to add that I believe my process to be sound, and that my practical skills have improved through doing. I am also quite OCD about sanitation.
Please help, I'm sick of pouring beer down the drain.
Cheers!
I'm having some serious oxidation problems. I'm fairly new to brewing, and the first five batches I made were all 1 gallon, and I found the whole racking and bottling process quite problematic and sloppy. Also, anything you do for the first few times, you're not going to be very good at, so when I realized I had an oxidation problem, I put it down to poor skill.
The last batch I brewed was a 3 gallon one, and I could now bottle without racking the beer - I just put a bottling wand straight on the spigot on the fermentor and the process was pretty enjoyable, much thanks to this fantastic thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/bottling-tips-for-the-homebrewer.94812/
When I took the FG sample, the beer was gorgeous - like freshly squeezed orange juice. The perfect NEIPA. After two weeks on bottles, the beer has gone slightly "burgundy", and the "wet cardboard" was evident.
I'm aware that oxidation can occur in many parts of the process, but two things lead me to believe it happens in the bottle: firstly, I opened three bottles; two of them were poorly filled, and had a lot of head space (one I managed to knock over after filling, so no surprise there. The other was the last of the beer), and one was properly filled. The one with less head space looked and tasted WAY better than the other two. Secondly, the sample I took when bottling was so dang beautiful, and nothing like after two weeks in bottles.
I know many might say "just keg!", but I'm not in a position to be able to do that, for a number of reasons, so bottling is what I need to do.
After having four batches, which have all showed so much promise up until bottling, being ruined, brewing has now kind of turned into a thing of anxiety, not the joy I first felt...
So, here are my questions:
1, Would y'all agree it seems like I have a oxidation problem related to bottling?
2, I've googled this quite a bit, and it seems many have oxidation/bottling problems with hop intensive beers, like NEIPAs. Does this ring true to you?
3, I read a lot about "purging bottles/head space with co2", but I'm such a newbie that I don't even comprehend how you would go about doing that. Can you put co2 into a bottle full of beer? Wouldn't beer splash everywhere? What equipment would I use? (Sorry if I'm a complete idiot here).
I would like to add that I believe my process to be sound, and that my practical skills have improved through doing. I am also quite OCD about sanitation.
Please help, I'm sick of pouring beer down the drain.
Cheers!