Auto siphon mistake - oxygen

[zinn]

I used an auto siphon to transfer the beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Because I'm an idiot or sleep deprived, or both, I thought you had to keep pumping the siphon to get the beer to flow. As a result, the flow was not at all steady and there was lots of turbulence (though I kept the end of the hose under the beer).

Is my beer definitely ruined?

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Is my beer definitely ruined?

What you did does not sound ideal, but I doubt it will be a deathblow, and might not even make a perceptible difference. Some air/oxygen will get into your beer during bottling. In theory the yeast will consume some of that. The amount you introduce is probably much less than the amount introduced through the normal headspace left on a bottled beer.

What style of beer did you brew? Oxidation is much more of an issue with hoppy beers.

 

[BrewChem]

Nahhhhh…. You and your beer will be fine.

 

[Stormcrow]

Yep, try not to do that, but I wouldn't worry much about it.

 

[hout17]

What kind of beer did you brew? It may age faster than expected but should be fine.

When I auto siphon I put it in and take one big pull drawing the beer up and then a good push down and I'm off to the races.

 

[zinn]

What style of beer did you brew? Oxidation is much more of an issue with hoppy beers.

Thanks for the encouraging responses all. I brewed a pumpkin ale. Very little hops.

 

[AzOr]

Don’t worry-
Being a pumpkin ale, it was ruined long before you oxidized it.

 

[zinn]

Don’t worry-
Being a pumpkin ale, it was ruined long before you oxidized it.

Ha - well played.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Ha - well played.

Nope - the "punchline" was delivered 7 or 8 replies too soon. That would have allowed time for some discussion around better practices for starting auto-siphons to develop.

 

[hotbeer]

You might find like I did that the auto-siphon sucks air into the beer all during the transfer even when you correctly use it. Mine did. I don't use it anymore.

You might practice on some water and see if the seal on the racking cane inside leaks as did mine or not.

 

[VikeMan]

I would drink this beer fast. Pumping an autosiphon injects a slug of air into the beer stream with each pump.

 

[odie]

nothing to worry about.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

You might find like I did that the auto-siphon sucks air into the beer all during the transfer even when you correctly use it. Mine did. I don't use it anymore.

You might practice on some water and see if the seal on the racking cane inside leaks as did mine or not.

Yup - your auto-siphon was broke.

Kind-of like brewers who store extract kits in the garage for a year, then wonder why the beer came out darker than expected.

eta: and yes, there are limits to what can be achieved with any tool or technique.

 

[AzOr]

I don’t think this was OP’s concern but always check where the soft tubing meets the plastic cane part. Unless you have a really good seal, air tends to slip in.

On one of my siphons I had to try 3 or 4 diff types of tubing before I found one that didn’t allow O2 in. I also had to use a couple of auto clamps.

 

[hotbeer]

Not only just hose clamps, as well I've used vinyl electrical tape or fusible silicone tape to overlap where the hose connects to the racking cane to seal off air from leaking through.

Fusible silicone is actually more of a pain to get off afterward. Some cheap brands of electrical tape leave a lot of messy adhesive when you pull it off. But for the moment electrical tape is my preference.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Are you using tubing that is the same size as the siphon?

For my mini-siphon, both are 3/8". It's a really tight fit, but it rarely leaks. For those rare bottling sessions where it leaks in "pre-test", I push it on tighter.

 

[zinn]

I would drink this beer fast. Pumping an autosiphon injects a slug of air into the beer stream with each pump.

When you say "drink fast," are you saying the beer will be carbonated sooner than later, or that it will go bad soon due to the air?

 

[zinn]

You might find like I did that the auto-siphon sucks air into the beer all during the transfer even when you correctly use it. Mine did. I don't use it anymore.

You might practice on some water and see if the seal on the racking cane inside leaks as did mine or not.

What do you use instead?

 

[VikeMan]

When you say "drink fast," are you saying the beer will be carbonated sooner than later, or that it will go bad soon due to the air?

The latter. "Soon" is a relative term, but I can say that all other things being equal, it will stale faster than a beer that was not transferred by continuously pumping an autosiphon.

 

[hotbeer]

What do you use instead?

When I pull my hose out of the bucket of sanitizer I cap one end with a thumb, finger. If I have to put a bottle filler on it, then I have one of those shut off clamps on the tube and close it. Then attach the bottle filler and connect the other end of the hose to a racking cane or whatever, or just drop it in the fermenter or vessel to transfer from.

Keep the hose full of the sanitizer and make certain you keep the out flow end lower than the intake end. Otherwise you'll get sanitizer in your beer. I actually put my bottle filler on while both are in the sanitizer. The spring on it won't keep the air from sucking back through so that's why I clamp it.

Then I open the other end or release the clamp and let it run in to some other vessel until the beer fills the hose and the sanitizer is gone. Again, make certain to keep that end lower than the end that's in the fermenter or vessel you are transferring from.

I've also used leftover water I might have boiled that day and it's cooled somewhat. And if the vessel I'm transferring from doesn't have trub or stuff on the bottom I have to worry about, I just drop the hose in there and let it fill with beer. Usually I have a rubber glove on if I do that, and the glove has been in the sanitizer for a time. Though I suppose if my hand has been in the sanitizer, it's probably safe enough not to worry about infection or such.

So it's less to clean up with no auto-siphon. It may seem clumsy at first but after a few times it's a cinch.

 

[AzOr]

Not only just hose clamps, as well I've used vinyl electrical tape or fusible silicone tape to overlap where the hose connects to the racking cane to seal off air from leaking through.

Fusible silicone is actually more of a pain to get off afterward. Some cheap brands of electrical tape leave a lot of messy adhesive when you pull it off. But for the moment electrical tape is my preference.

That’s a great idea. Hadn’t thought of sealing it off w tape.