Did my mistake cost me a beer

[elgatovolador]

I’ve been doing closed transfers from carboy to keg my last 5 batches and I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

Yesterday I attempted to transfer a brown ale from my carboy to a keg, but decided to not pay attention to the CO2 gauge. Long story short I ended up running out of CO2 right at the begging and I had to improvise and had to siphon 4 gals from carboy to keg the “normal way”. Since I didn’t have CO2 the keg wasn’t properly purged and I wasn’t able to purge the headspace. I ended up getting CO2 the next day and purged the headspace and is currently carbonating.

So basically, my beer was exposed to oxygen and sat in the keg (with lid on) for about 14 hours around 60 degF.

Any thoughts on what the outcome is going to be? I’m going to tap it early next week for Christmas but I’m trying to prepare my expectations. I tried some when transferring and it was awesome but not sure what is going to happen with possible oxidation.

In my case, should the beer be fine short term but degrade with time due to oxygen exposure? Or could it be that I have a Christmas beer-acle on my hands and being unpurged in a keg is going to have little effect?

 

[okiedog]

Just add priming sugar and let the yeast eat up some of that oxygen. Depending on the amount of head space, it should be okay. Even though I always purge the head space with CO2, I nearly always prime my beer in the kegs to let the yeast "eat up" residual oxygen. I like to prime with DME with a little yeast nutrient.

 

[IslandLizard]

Did you transfer into a 100% liquid pre-purged keg?

If so, you wouldn't need CO2 for the transfer itself per se. The beer can transfer through siphon action by gravity. You won't fill the fermenter headspace with CO2 in the process unless you use a loopback hose from the keg, gas post.

Now you do need pressurized CO2 for pushing the Starsan out of the 100% filled keg.

Your beer is most likely just fine even after a week.

 

[elgatovolador]

Just add priming sugar and let the yeast eat up some of that oxygen. Depending on the amount of head space, it should be okay. Even though I always purge the head space with CO2, I nearly always prime my beer in the kegs to let the yeast "eat up" residual oxygen. I like to prime with DME with a little yeast nutrient.

I read about priming during kegging but I didn’t have priming sugar with me at the moment. I’ll definitely have some on hand next time.

 

[elgatovolador]

Did you transfer into a 100% liquid pre-purged keg?

If so, you wouldn't need CO2 for the transfer itself per se. The beer can transfer through siphon action by gravity. You won't fill the fermenter headspace with CO2 in the process unless you use a loopback hose from the keg, gas post.

Now you do need pressurized CO2 for pushing the Starsan out of the 100% filled keg.

Your beer is most likely just fine even after a week.

I usually fill the keg with starsan and then push it out before transferring the beer but in this case I didn’t because of the lack of CO2.

Lesson learned: have a spare CO2 tank or get a bigger one.

If the beer was to be oxidized, how long would it take to make a difference in beer quality/taste? Would it be immediate or over time?

 

[IslandLizard]

I usually fill the keg with starsan and then push it out before transferring the beer but in this case I didn’t because of the lack of CO2.

Lesson learned: have a spare CO2 tank or get a bigger one.

If the beer was to be oxidized, how long would it take to make a difference in beer quality/taste? Would it be immediate or over time?

Yes, the liquid pre-purge regimen is best. Lid remains on the keg until next cleaning.
I guess you ran out of CO2 during the pre-purge?

Having a spare will give you that peace of mind and if kept for emergencies only, a little time in between main tank refills/swaps. Having the spare does cost money, and at some point needs to be recertified before refilling unless you can swap it out.

Depending on your use, a larger tank may be a better choice, but they'll run out too, just not as often. I hate lugging the 20#er to events though, especially when it's full. But I get around 2 years out of one. I think I now spend more gas on purging and flushing fermenter headspaces than actual kegging and dispensing.

Although the dial reading can be an indication of a tank's status, I'd go by actual weight. Now the last pound (or 1/4 or 1/2 pound) is hard if not impossible to gauge, even on a scale. Yet, that last 1/4 pound represents 16 gallons of CO2 that can still push/purge a keg, and the difference between kegging that evening or not.

Oxidation effects tend to become more detectable with time. The hoppier ones (NEIPAs!) sooner, darker and stronger beers slower or maybe more forgiving, generally. Storing cold should retard the oxidation process. Keep those fingers crossed.

You can always prime with some regular sugar when in a pinch.

Just thought of something.
In the unfortunate event you detect any oxidation or a related off flavor the day before serving, add a small keg hop (in a bag). I'd add a weight so it drops to the bottom where the dip tube is, or suspend 3/4 way down on a piece of unflavored floss or so.

Chances are, the beer is excellent and flawless!

 

[gunhaus]

The beer is gonna suck real bad - but if you send it to me, out of the goodness of my heart and the holiday season, I will drink it for you and send back the keg! Least I can do for a fellow forum member.

 

[okiedog]

A lot of the stale flavor from oxidation takes some time to develop, or at least become noticeable. So... if you finish the keg quickly, you probably won't notice. So, drink up, or invite gunhaus over to help you drink it. Also, you can use table sugar for priming, or even honey. The amount needed for priming a keg should have minimal effect on flavor. Personally, I prefer DME, but will use most any sugar in a pinch. It's a good idea to add a little yeast nutrient too.

 

[Kickass]

I’m not saying oxidation isn’t a real thing but I doubt you’ll notice a thing.

Maybe it’s a combination of my average pallet, laziness And mild annoyance with this current sentiment that if a single molecule of O2 touches the beer, it’s “oxidized”, but I’m not buying into the hype

 

[elgatovolador]

Beer tastes great.

Once again, another moment to say RDWHAHB.