Bottling, Bottle Conditioning and Oxidation?

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aamcle

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I hope there a good number experienced brewers here who bottle and bottle condition their beers. So many people have moved exclusively to Corny kegs.

I find that bottles suit me better than a Corny n Tap set up although I do have two Cornys, Co2 and the ability to cool the kegs.

My personal experience of using counter pressure fillers is that they are a pain in the ass. I had a beer gun, it was dreadful long lines dragging about and I still had foaming issues even with everything chilled.
My current filler is the common Stainless type mounted on a stand I made, it's much better than the gun but…
I do it using a CP filler adds complication hassle and time to the bottling process that I would prefer to avoid.

I normally cold crash, transfer to a bottling bucket to bulk prime then fill my bottles using a Little Bottler. Obviously I avoid splashing the beer about.

I find this quite satisfactory except for very hop forward styles and possibly lager.

Getting to the point of this post, what I'd really like is to find out what other members do to reduce oxidation in their bottle conditioned beers.
If you have any suggestions, hints of tips would you please share them.

Thanks All. Aamcle
 
My personal experience of using counter pressure fillers is that they are a pain in the ass. I had a beer gun, it was dreadful long lines dragging about and I still had foaming issues even with everything chilled.
That's because the BeerGun is not a counterpressure filler.

I normally cold crash, transfer to a bottling bucket to bulk prime then fill my bottles using a Little Bottler. Obviously I avoid splashing the beer about.

Your beer still picks up an inordinate amount of O2.

Getting to the point of this post, what I'd really like is to find out what other members do to reduce oxidation in their bottle conditioned beers.
If you have any suggestions, hints of tips would you please share them.
Counterpressure filling with multiple evacuation/purge cycles directly from the fermenter.
It does take up a lot of time but I only do it occasionally for beers that I want to give away or take to a party/family event.
 
This thread Limiting oxidation: effect of purging headspace O2 in a bottle conditioned IPA discusses possible solutions. I've started filling my bottles very close to the top (1/2" or less), but leaving room for thermal expansion of the liquid. It seems to help. I also stopped brewing ahead. My pipeline is just enough so that when one batch is gone, the next is carb'd up and ready. It pretty much doesn't have a chance to oxidize. Granted, this is a very low tech solution.
 
If all of your upstream brewing processes have been executed without error, proper counter pressure bottling is the only way your will be able to transfer your hop forward beers into bottles with lasting quality.
 
FWIW, i bottle, and recently did an experiment with a fairly hoppy IPA

When dry hopping i added a teaspoon of ascorbic acid to my 6 gallon batch. My IPA tasted the same for the three months i had it bottled.

Search forum for " bottle IPA oxidation " and you should find the thread. You will see some pics i posted of my results. Not that scientific, i admit, but im yet to witness oxidation in my bottles, but admit i do not have any kegged beer to compare it to, except those i buy in bars, and i still prefer my own beer. Plus my bottles dont last much beyond 3 months.

I also cold crashed a lager in a bucket, and i know i have introduced o2 to the beer. I added ascorbic acid to the lager, and my first sample was reeally quite decent, if green. Waiting for that to condition right now, as a matter of fact.

Ascorbic acid is in lots of foods. Its an offshoot of Vit C. Think lemon juice on fruits to stop them turning, or guacamole. Used in lots of foods as a preservative. Seems to have worked for me. And for those that bottle, might be a solution.
 
I used keg, and I bottle again. I've tried beer gun, counter pressure filler, and pegasus bottle filler. I got mixed result. Well, we don't need to diss kegging here. Let's focus on bottling.

There is another thread about headspace.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...using-daraform-oxygen-scavenging-caps.689706/
I am a believer, and try my best to fill as full as possible. Two gadgets I just create to help bottling.
Bottling Assistant,


I use a servo motor to squeeze the tube, and a load cell to monitor the filling status. I just created the first test version, and hope I can use it in my next bottling day.

Adding sugar (solution) direct into bottles might reduce contact of oxygen during batch priming.
So, a Sugar (Solution) doser:


I've use it once, and it worked as expected.
 
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