Color Change After Bottling - Oxidization?

[inkman15]

Had a strange thing happen to me recently with a Nelson/Galaxy IPA that I brewed. Coming out of the primary, it was a nice pale yellow and had a great tropical aroma from the Nelson and Galaxy dry hop. Sample tasted excellent and I bottled it.

On bottling day:

When I cracked one after 2 weeks of patiently waiting, I found that the color had changed pretty dramatically to an amber/rusty hue and a lot of the aromatics fell off. It still has some of the hop notes but it doesn't have the same life that it did on bottling day. Here's what it looked like last night. Picture isn't the best angle, but you get the idea:

Started doing a little research and it sounds like I may have oxidized it when I bottled? I haven't run into this issue before, but I was hoping for some feedback on my bottling process.

After fermentation is complete, I rack into my bottling bucket via auto siphon, making sure to keep the hose against the side of the bucket to create a gentle whirlpool for incorporating the priming sugar evenly and I avoid splashing. Granted that when the auto siphon reaches the bottom of the beer, it's inevitable that some bubbling occurs and comes up through the hose. Never been able to avoid that in my 5 years of home brewing. I then lift/place the bucket on a high table in my kitchen and attach a bottling wand to the spigot via a small piece of tubing and start to bottle. I've noticed that when I use the wand (one of the spring loaded ones), there are some bubbles created as the bottle gets filled. This is usually from when the beer starts flowing into the empty bottle as it sprays out when the spring is depressed. Is there some way to prevent this entirely or does everyone encounter that?

Would appreciate any thoughts. Frustrated a bit by this one since it had such promise and also because it required a lot of pricy hops.

 

[Build]

It sounds like your bottling process is fine. I always get a little bubbles here and there. You'd have to splash and shake to get much oxygen in the beer. The drastic color change is odd. Are you getting any cardboard, almond, cherry, sherry, or butter/butterscotch flavors?

 

[inkman15]

Not really getting any of those flavors that you're describing though I was kind of convincing myself that I could taste some acetaldehyde but that wouldn't explain the color changes. Just an odd development with this beer....

 

[eadavis80]

Maybe something with the bottles themselves?

 

[inkman15]

Maybe something with the bottles themselves?

Hmm. I suppose it's a possibility. I'm pretty good about my bottle sanitation though. I reuse bottles but rinse immediately with hot water after drinking, let dry, and then store upside down so no dust gets in. Bottling day, they all get a good rinse and then are filled with Star San.

Wonder if I'll get any bottles in this batch where the above didn't happen. That would certainly point to bottle issues.

 

[eadavis80]

Hmm. I suppose it's a possibility. I'm pretty good about my bottle sanitation though. I reuse bottles but rinse immediately with hot water after drinking, let dry, and then store upside down so no dust gets in. Bottling day, they all get a good rinse and then are filled with Star San.

Wonder if I'll get any bottles in this batch where the above didn't happen. That would certainly point to bottle issues.

Sounds like your bottles should be good, but I'm just trying to find any possible reason. Sucks when you wait 6-8 weeks only for disappointment. We've all been there...

 

[ncbrewer]

Are you getting a stale taste?

 

[IchLiebeBier]

If you compare it in the same glass and the same light as the bottling day picture, is it different?


EDIT: Also, are you positive you didn't mix up 2 different brews? I know that sounds silly, but both of the brews in your sig block are IPAs.

 

[NTexBrewer]

What IchLiebeBier said.

Also, you have to consider that the bottled beer is now carbonated and in your picture your beer has a thin head that will actually block the light and make a beer look darker. Not to mention carbonation bubbles rising through the beer will also make a beer look darker.

Next time you have one of these beers pour it in your sample glass and let it sit to degas so you are comparing apples to apples.

Regarding oxidation, are you sure your siphon tubing fits tightly onto your racking cane. I have had some tubing that was a little too big and it would create a siphon and suck air into the tubing.

 

[blizz81]

What IchLiebeBier said.

Also, you have to consider that the bottled beer is now carbonated and in your picture your beer has a thin head that will actually block the light and make a beer look darker. Not to mention carbonation bubbles rising through the beer will also make a beer look darker.

That and I suppose there's the possibility of yeast from bottle conditioning & any chill haze in suspension changing the color slightly. For that, you could try crashing a few bottles for at least a couple weeks in the fridge to see if they clear up / if it changes then.


Have you brewed and bottled many hoppy beers with success? I bottled for 8 years and while most of my beers had really no perceptible oxidation effects by my tongue or eyes (including pale-ish saisons, an imperial pilsner that was decently-hopped), when I tried to step up the hops and do IPA/DIPAs, I frequently had problems with them coming out a bit darker and breaking down into the same kind of muddied hop + sticky-sweet flavor regardless of the hops used. What got me was a small amount of bottles from most of said batches were fine, but the majority of them were affected. Some people didn't notice / thought they tasted fine.

The first brew I kegged was a white IPA, and due to volume, we also bottled 1gal of that the same way we always did (pretty much the same as your process, except no spigot, so siphoning out of the bottling bucket as well)...gave the bottles to my buddy, but the two I tried were the same muddied, kinda sweet flavor. Keg pour side-to-side with bottle was a bit lighter. Keg pour was a lot more bright and dry, could pick out the hopstand / dry hop flavors well. I concluded to some degree, a simple / pale grist + lots of hopping = more sensitive to oxidation (to the point that the latent oxidation in your bottling bucket / in your bottles is enough to affect the product). Your experiences may vary though.