Mistake racking 1/3 from primary early a couple of days before bottling?

[Jox]

Got a vanilla milk stout currently in primary. The plan was to add vanilla beans that have been soaking in vodka to primary on Sunday.

Sometime during fermentation I got the idea to age some of this batch on oak for a couple of months just as a taste experiment.

My thinking here is to drain 1/3 into secondary via spigot, rack this onto oak and forget it in some cool dark place. Then add vanilla to the remaining 2/3 in primary and let that sit for a few days then bottle.

My primary concern is to pull in oxygen as I drain 1/3 of the liquid. Is my concern warranted, or am I exaggerating the impact?

Would it be better to just add all the vanilla to primary, then rack 1/3 to secondary on bottling day and add additional vanilla down the line if too much of the aroma has dissipate?

I'm overthinking this, ought to grab a brew...

EDIT: Spelling and words, typing on smartphones are terrible...

 

[JohnSand]

Short answer: I don't know. Some brewers are very concerned about oxygen exposure, others not at all.

 

[Jox]

Short answer: I don't know. Some brewers are very concerned about oxygen exposure, others not at all.

I figured let's be safe rather then sorry, so I'll siphon off at bottling time to limit oxygen exposure and add additional flavour down the line if needed.

 

[Deadalus]

To minimize oxygen exposure, you would want to do a closed transfer. You would want to feed CO2 in to displace the liquid removed.

As far as the necessity of that for your particular brew, I am not knowledgable enough to provide much insight. I am currently working on a blonde stout, second iteration, which involves vanilla beans, cacao nibs, and coffee beans. I've got the vanilla and cacao soaking together in vodka, as I did on the first batch, ready for after I brew. The coffee went into the fermenter ~2 days prior to kegging. Getting the ratio and timing of all 3 is complicated. I'll be using a hop bong for any additions post yeast pitch. Still experimenting! So far, the coffee was a little too strong and the vanilla and cacao nibs underwhelming. First time brewing with each of these ingredients brewing.

 

[RM-MN]

I'd be worried about introducing acetobacter along with the air/oxygen. The last thing I would want would be 2/3 of a batch to turn into malt vinegar.

 

[wdavis2003]

Personally, I'd wait til bottling day. It's not like you're in a hurry to drink this one.