Bottle conditioning > do we need Oxygen ?

[Bill Tong]

I don't know how you found this, but it sounds like you are confusing O2 solubility with oxidation. Cold beer in a bottle can temporarily hold a little more O2 (at equilibrium with the head space O2, per Henry's law) than warm beer in a bottle. But both will dissolve all of it. The reason is that as O2 is dissolved it will be used in oxidative reactions, unbalancing the previous equilibrium. Thus more O2 dissolves and gets used, repeating until all of the O2 from the headspace has been dissolved and used.

The reason staling (including oxidation) happens faster at warmer temps than at colder temps is that chemical reactions happen faster at warmer temps than at colder temps. A rule of thumb is 2-3 times faster per 10C increase in temp. It's these reaction rates (not the solubility of O2) that drive the rate of oxidation/staling.

Just to be clear, storing beer cold does not accelarate the oxidation process. That's a rather extraordinary claim, so if you still believe it, please provide hard evidence.

Ok i have no evidence, other than oxidized beer after storing it cold for 2 months. And i can't say it accelerates it either, because i have not done any side by side testing. You are the expert, so let's go with that. I keg now anyway, because i couldn't face another beer that tastes like cardboard.

 

[VikeMan]

I keg now anyway, because i couldn't face another beer that tastes like cardboard.

FWIW, the same phenomenon applies to kegging, i.e. colder is better for shelf life.

A relatively light read on the subject:
https://sonsofalchemy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Oxidation_and_Freshness.pdf

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I keg now anyway, because [...]

Do what works for you.

FWIW, other people have figured out how to bottle most styles so that the beer doesn't taste like cardboard. It's the hop forward styles that are seem to require some additional attention.

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As for the idea of color change during bottle condition, there's a relatively current topic with the same name over in either AHA forums or /r/homebrewing. There are a couple of anecdotal stories and/or links and/or speculation around trace mineral content.