Oxidation via prolonged blowoff tube use?

[rd4]

So I did not change my blowoff tube from my fermentating brown ale for 3 weeks, thinking it would be sufficient. During bottling today, I tried a sample and it was terribad. Was wondering if this could be from the blowoff use or if brown ale generally tastes bad green. No signs of infection... thanks!

 

[kh54s10]

If you had the end of the blow off tube in water, Starsan solution, Vodka etc. the problem is not from the tube. I leave mine in place routinely for 2 - 3+ weeks. I only change to an airlock if I need the blowoff tube for a new batch.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

I see this is your 14th post, how long have you been brewing? Depending on numerous factors, it could just be really green. You'd have to give us the recipe and your methods and any other notes on how the brew went down.

Oxidation is an unlikely problem in a primary fermenter. You still have a ton of live yeast in there, and they will eat that oxygen, and their enzymes will convert the products of oxidation.

I'm pretty sure that it's only when you are really agitating the beer - like by bottling - that you are likely to get a lot of oxygen into it.

Oxidation is a much bigger problem for industrial brewers who are filtering or pasteurizing their beers. As homebrewers we generally have a lot of live yeast in the beer, and yeast are great oxygen scavengers.

 

[jbaysurfer]

If you properly fastened your blowoff tube and put the other end in a jar/bottle of sanitzer, then there's no way oxygen got into your beer. It's an airlock, just like a 3 piece or S-shaped airlock with sanitizer in it. Without any other information, I don't think anyone can tell you why your beer tastes bad, but I'd bet it has far more to do with fermentation temps (just hazzarding a guess since I don't have anything else to go off of) then anything else.

Every beer I've ruined (it's a relative term, but I don't hesitate to throw out a bad batch personally, I didn't start brewing to drink beer that's worse then what I can get at the store) has been because I pitched too warm, or fermented too warm..or in one case, I harvested some yeast from a bottle of commercial brew that didn't work out so well.

 

[beergolf]

If you had the end of the blow off tube in water, Starsan solution, Vodka etc. the problem is not from the tube. I leave mine in place routinely for 2 - 3+ weeks. I only change to an airlock if I need the blowoff tube for a new batch.

I am the same. I just leave the blow off tube on for most of my brews. It is just a big airlock.