IPA oxidation issues

[ricshayne]

Need help. I mostly brew IPAs and Saisons, Ive never had this problem with my Saisons though. every time I brew an IPA it is fantastic for about a week after carbing and then it starts to turn. Sherry, fruity flavors, murky dark coloration, classic oxidation. Ive tried to eliminate as much as possible any areas where oxygen might be introduced. I bottle so i don't have the necessary equipment to purge with CO2 so I was just looking to any suggestions how to remedy this situation as I know many others have had the exact same issues.
Once again I've never had this problem with any of my other beers, only IPAs

 

[mrgrimm101]

Can you describe your bottling process?

 

[fimpster]

...and your ipa brewing process. Dry hopping? Secondary?

 

[thekraken]

Might be overkill but you could purge with co2 using dry ice. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=497622

 

[ricshayne]

My bottling process is pretty straightforward. Boil Priming sugar into a simple syrup, add a little over half to bottling bucket rack using a clean and sanitized auto siphon into my bottling bucket a little over halfway through add the rest of priming sugar, allow natural whirlpool to mix solution into the beer. Use spigot and bottle wand to bottle into clean and sanitized bottles, loosely place sanitized caps every 20 or so beers and let them all sit capped until I'm finished bottling when i actually cap them down with my wing capper. store @ 70 until carbed. once cared they are absolutely perfect for a week or 2 then oxidation hits.

Brewing process is a FWH of 1/3 o 1/2 total IBUs, Burst hopping in last 10 minutes to get to or just under IBU goal, multiple whirlpool additions for flavor and aroma, and a dual stage dry hop. 5days and 3 days.

i have dry hopped my saisons with no issue

 

[mrgrimm101]

Is there excessive splashing when you add your dry hops? How about when you add the priming sugar to the beer in the bucket? Do you make sure that your hose is tightly attached to your spigot/bottling wand/autosiphon? A lot of people get air coming in where the hose meets the siphon and it creates bubbles.

 

[m00ps]

Yeah kegging and being able to purge bottles with a beergun before filling has been a godsend. Ive even started purging the bottling bucket beforehand when Ive bottled my all-brett IPAs

Do you cover the bottling bucket during the whole process? I jsut have it cracked open to siphon the beer in and then leave a lid on it. Also, how often do you open your fermentor to test it? I only open it once or twice to dry hop and wait to sample at bottling. I just crack the lid and toss the hops in real quick.

 

[ricshayne]

I only open the fermenter to dry hop and bottle, I've been using a house yeast strain so i know it will be done fermenting by x amount of days so ill only take readings when i open to dry hop. During bottling i do leave the lid off but i reduce any splashing to a minimum. the process stays the same for saisons as well and they don't have any oxidation issues. could excessive hops in the IPAs be some sort of catalyst for oxidation?

 

[pablosbrewing]

dual stage dry hop.

Opening the fermentor twice sounds like the source of your your grief. The "CO2 blanket" is a bit of a myth - CO2 and air don't stay separated like a well poured black and tan Air is getting mixed in every time you open it, and will come in contact with your beer. At that point time is your mortal enemy.

I'm assuming you are fermenting in a bucket - if so switching to a carboy might help. I dry hop right in primary after the yeast drops out, pouring hops (pellets) into the neck of the carboy doesn't introduce significant amount oxygen.

 

[ricshayne]

I'm assuming you are fermenting in a bucket - if so switching to a carboy might help.

Will give it a try next time!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I have another possible cause of oxidation that might only effect IPAs. I have noticed that when I rack my IPAs (and some others) to the bottling bucket, I tend to get bubbles (cavitation?) right where the hose connects to the siphon tube. I bend the hose upward for a second and the bubbles stop. Otherwise, I would have a steady stream of air bubbles going into the bottling bucket. I suspect it is hop particles that start the cavitation. I don't always have the issue for all brews but I always keep an eye out for it when I start racking.

 

[ricshayne]

I tend to get bubbles (cavitation?) right where the hose connects to the siphon tube.

I get the same thing, and also have found that bending the hose will remedy this, unfortunately it doesn't remedy my problem

 

[beerkench]

It's said that both hop oils and crystal malts are very prone to oxidation. IPA's usually contain a fair amount of both so this could explain your flavour issue. The oxygen left in the headspace of a bottled beer is enough to oxidize a beer if the bottle hasn't been purged of it.

 

[flars]

I would also suggest filling and capping six bottles at a time. Leave the bottling bucket lid sealed during bottling. Have a small vent to maintain a smooth flow through the bottling wand. Could be part of the problem, but the open bucket increases the risk of other contamination.

The auto siphon should not have bubbles at the top of the tubing. There is some sort of problem here. Try a couple of inches of Starsan solution above the seal of the inner cane. This may eliminate the air in take. Also use tubing that is one-sixteenth less, inside diameter, than the auto siphon cane for a tight seal.

Storing the auto siphon assembled will cause problems with the function.

Hope this helps. Not nice to have bottles go bad.