Filling with a vacuum pump to reduce oxidation

[Gthurner]

Cold-hopped beers have a strong tendency to lose flavor due to oxidation.
For these beers, I evacuated the kegs and bottles several times with the vacuum pump and purged them with CO2 before filling them with the beer. It's a lot of work, especially when filling small 0.33-liter bottles with the backpressure filler. However, after much experimentation, I have found that the best way to make a heavily hopped IPA last longer than 3 months is a very simple process:
You put the calculated amount of sugar in the bottle and then fill it to the brim with beer. You have to be willing to sacrifice a few drops when capping.

So my strategy for effectively reducing oxidation is to bottle ferment and strictly avoid the air space in the neck of the bottle.

Cheers

 

[Brooothru]

Cold-hopped beers have a strong tendency to lose flavor due to oxidation.
For these beers, I evacuated the kegs and bottles several times with the vacuum pump and purged them with CO2 before filling them with the beer. It's a lot of work, especially when filling small 0.33-liter bottles with the backpressure filler. However, after much experimentation, I have found that the best way to make a heavily hopped IPA last longer than 3 months is a very simple process:
You put the calculated amount of sugar in the bottle and then fill it to the brim with beer. You have to be willing to sacrifice a few drops when capping.

So my strategy for effectively reducing oxidation is to bottle ferment and strictly avoid the air space in the neck of the bottle.

Cheers
View attachment 763341

There's a way to evacuate the air from a bottle fill, but you'd have to bottle condition for carbonation. I use an Enolmatic bottle filler for wine bottling. It draws all the air out of the bottle while drawing the wine in until the bottle is full.

BUT.... if you tried that with pre-carbonated beer.... well, it'd get ugly in a hurry when the vacuum evolved the CO2. You could use carb drops just before filling, cap the bottle, and once the residual yeast consumed the O2 in the headspace there'd be only C02.

 

[Gthurner]

a movie shows the effort involved in filling.

that is the process:
1. evacuate to -0.8 bar
CO2 flooding to +2Bar

2. Evacuate to -0.8 bar
CO2 flooding to +2Bar

3. Evacuate to -0.8 bar
CO2 flooding to +2Bar

4. fill beer with +2.2 bar

 

[AlexKay]

Rotary vane pumps can be pretty dirty, contaminating the pumped system with pump oil. I’d certainly look for a food grade oil before trying this, or a sanitary filter, or both … and I’m still not sure I’d be comfortable from a food safety perspective. Don’t want to be a naysayer, but …

 

[Gthurner]

Don't worry the pump is dry running and has food grade approval .
The point is that the great effort is unnecessary because in my experience a simple procedure protects better against oxidation.

 

[SanPancho]

id say its alot easier with kegs is to simply run your fermentation gas into your serving keg and then out to starsan, airlock, etc. its free and easier.

as for bottles, cant really help you there. there is a very easy process to purge any o2 from both the beer and the headspace, but its totally impractical for single serving containers unfortunately. your method of bottling with no headspace seems pretty practical in that regard.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

You put the calculated amount of sugar in the bottle and then fill it to the brim with beer. You have to be willing to sacrifice a few drops when capping.

What process are you using to fill the bottles? I have read some people say that when they fill glass bottles to the top they have had some issues with occasional bottles breaking due to expansion/contraction with temperature changes. Have you ever had that?

I had some good luck in a mini-experiment filling PET bottles and squeezing the bottle to push out the air from the headspace. I am not 100% sure if PET bottles are better or worse than capped glass bottles for longer term storage and avoiding oxygen.

a movie shows the effort involved in filling.

Wow! Impressive. Slow and complex, but impressive!

 

[Gthurner]

What process are you using to fill the bottles? I have read some people say that when they fill glass bottles to the top they have had some issues with occasional bottles breaking due to expansion/contraction with temperature changes. Have you ever had that?

I had some good luck in a mini-experiment filling PET bottles and squeezing the bottle to push out the air from the headspace. I am not 100% sure if PET bottles are better or worse than capped glass bottles for longer term storage and avoiding oxygen.



Wow! Impressive. Slow and complex, but impressive!

I fill cold hopped beers pressureless with a silicone hose and also use a filling tube with a built-in compression spring at the top. A glass bottle has not yet broken because of the lack of headspace and bottle fermentation. I can't say anything about PET bottles because I don't use them.

 

[Gthurner]

BUT.... if you tried that with pre-carbonated beer.... well, it'd get ugly in a hurry when the vacuum evolved the CO2.

Correct. The result would be an orgy of foam

 

[Miraculix]

There were some experiments in another thread regarding timing the bottle up to the brim. These bottles were cracked as soon as temperature shifted a bit, I wouldn't recommend doing that. 0.5 cm air is enough to prevent this.

 

[Gthurner]

There were some experiments in another thread regarding timing the bottle up to the brim. These bottles were cracked as soon as temperature shifted a bit, I wouldn't recommend doing that. 0.5 cm air is enough to prevent this.

I have heard about it. But from my personal experience, I can't confirm it. Note: It could also be pre-damaged bottles. If you look at my filler in the photo they recognize a splinter protection. It protects against damaged bottles, undamaged bottles withstand the pressure without any problems.

 

[Miraculix]

I have heard about it. But from my personal experience, I can't confirm it. Note: It could also be pre-damaged bottles.

It's basically just physics. Liquids do expand, glass is not flexible enough, results in cracks. I personally wouldn't risk it. 5mm of air is already only a tiny bit of air, you might add some vitamin c in addition, but this mini amount of air won't hurt your beer.