Help with my oxidation issue with neipa...

[MPBeer]

I'm brewing neipa, and keep suffering from oxidation. These are my steps with brewing ipa.

• Brew a beer.
• Move to my plastic fermenter with a splash.
• Dry Hop after 2~3 days, open the plastic lid and pour the hops.
• After the fermentation is done, cold crash for 5~7 days.
• Move it to a bottling bucket. Open my fermenter's lid and connect the siphon. Cover my bottling bucket gently with a lid, then pour the beer.
• Bottle my beers to sanitized bottles.
• Keep it warm for 5~7 days.
• Keep cold.

I think my problem is that I don't purge... since I don't have any kegging system. Do you think purging is a must for neipa? If so, how should I do it? I can borrow a co2 tank with few tubes, but I've never used it... Thanks!

 

[thehaze]

Skip the cold crash, as it is not neccessary. And yes, NEIPAs are very sensitive to oxidation, thus kegging will get you better results.

Purging with CO2 can definitely help things move in the right direction.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm totally with @thehaze, kegging being the better packaging medium for these beers. But during and after fermentation a few things need to be paid attention to, too.

Dry Hop after 2~3 days, open the plastic lid and pour the hops.

Removing the lid to dry hop will replace the CO2-rich headspace with air. If you can, purge/flush that headspace with CO2 (5-10x) after replacing the lid to reduce the amount of O2 left behind. Better yet, stream CO2 in through the airlock hole while adding dry hops through a 2nd (access) hole drilled into the lid. That way, air will not be able to enter the headspace.

NEIPAs do not have to be cold crashed for 5-7 days. If you insist, 1-2 days is plenty. We're not looking for clarity in these beers. I've done grain to glass with these beers in 4.5 days, and won (club) competitions with them!

Bottles can be pre-purged with CO2 before filling. Filling on foam is essential to reduce or even eliminate the amount of O2 that remains in the bottle's headspace.

It may take 1-2 weeks for proper carbonation.

There are ways to transfer the beer to bottles in an almost O2 free environment, eliminating the bottling bucket.

 

[TravelingLight]

I'm totally with @thehaze, kegging being the better packaging medium for these beers. But during and after fermentation a few things need to be paid attention to, too.

Removing the lid to dry hop will replace the CO2-rich headspace with air. If you can, purge/flush that headspace with CO2 (5-10x) after replacing the lid to reduce the amount of O2 left behind. Better yet, stream CO2 in through the airlock hole while adding dry hops through a 2nd (access) hole drilled into the lid. That way, air will not be able to enter the headspace.

NEIPAs do not have to be cold crashed for 5-7 days. If you insist, 1-2 days is plenty. We're not looking for clarity in these beers. I've done grain to glass with these beers in 4.5 days, and won (club) competitions with them!

Bottles can be pre-purged with CO2 before filling. Filling on foam is essential to reduce or even eliminate the amount of O2 that remains in the bottle's headspace.

It may take 1-2 weeks for proper carbonation.

There are ways to transfer the beer to bottles in an almost O2 free environment, eliminating the bottling bucket.

I agree. But, if that dry hop is tossed in during active fermentation (i.e., biotrans), the active fermentation should scrub out any O2, right? Just thinking out loud here. That's my thoughts at least. But you're absolutely right, I go to great lengths to keep any oxygen from touching my NEIPAs from the time I pitch yeast to the time it's pouring out my tap. But my first/early dry hop, I just open the sanke and toss it in because active fermentation. Of course, any other dry hops after fermentation is all done via closed transfers to dry hop kegs, etc.

 

[Staticsouls]

No need to cold crash

Bottle directly from primary