Oxidation while bottling?

[MrBJones]

After racking to a bottling bucket, the un-carbed beer is exposed directly to air, without a layer of CO2 on it. Could this cause oxidation?

 

[jerbrew]

In a a word, yes. How much depends on your process.

 

[motosapiens]

theoretically. I personally have never had a beer that tasted anything like what people describe as 'oxidized', but i've only been brewing 25 years, and have only bottled a few hundred batches. I suspect that the process of bottle-conditioning is going to scavenge some.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

theoretically. I personally have never had a beer that tasted anything like what people describe as 'oxidized', but i've only been brewing 25 years, and have only bottled a few hundred batches. I suspect that the process of bottle-conditioning is going to scavenge some.

What he said.
If you're not splashing it around and basically going out of your way to aerate it, I wouldn't worry about it. When I used to bottle, I never experienced oxidation.
Bear in mind that when bottle conditioning, you are reactivating yeast, which will be reproducing and doing their thing, all the while consuming oxygen. So while you may pick up a little oxygen, you aren't likely to ever experience the effects of oxidation, whether because the amount is so miniscule or because the yeast are absorbing it.

 

[theowlman16]

I transfer from fermenter to bottling bucket with a nice smooth flow that spills sideways on the bottom.

 

[DevilNuts]

I really only bottle beer when I'm about to show it off.... so far I haven't had the discipline or patience to let anything sit in the bottle long enough to be affected by the little bit of oxygen that might get into the bottle.

How well do the oxygen-absorbing bottlecaps do their job, does anyone know?

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I really only bottle beer when I'm about to show it off.... so far I haven't had the discipline or patience to let anything sit in the bottle long enough to be affected by the little bit of oxygen that might get into the bottle.

How well do the oxygen-absorbing bottlecaps do their job, does anyone know?

Not sure, but I have always used them, just in case they work and they are only marginally more expensive than normal caps.

Nowadays I bottle (when I bottle) from a keg with the a Beergun. Using that, the bottles get purged with CO2 before filling, but just in case there's a little extra O2, I still use the O2 absorbing caps.

Again, I've never experienced oxidation. Maybe it's good process and O2 absorbing caps, maybe its because oxidation isn't really a factor in home bottling, or maybe it's just dumb luck. But I mostly keg these days anyway.

 

[DevilNuts]

I still haven't sprung for the beergun, but when bottling from the keg I just fill them all the way up, so any air left in the bottle is CO2 from foam anyway.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I still haven't sprung for the beergun, but when bottling from the keg I just fill them all the way up, so any air left in the bottle is CO2 from foam anyway.

Yes, but the gun has the advantage of purging first.
You may be leaving no headspace for O2, but as you fill the bottle, you are splashing the beer into a bottle full of air with all its oxygen present.

 

[Queequeg]

Yes it will be oxidized. The significance of this depends on beer style.

The wet cardboard and sherry flavors only occur with extreme oxidation. If you are careful when you rack this will never happen. The only time this happen for me was when I had screw cap lids left in storage for three months.

However with hoppy styles it takes little more than 0.1 ppm to break down those precious hop aromas and quickly within 2 weeks.

Bottle conditioning will limit this effect but in in own way it will scrub the aroma. You only have to compare a keg ipa to a bottle IPA. or commercially a bottle IPA to a can IPA.

So for all styles expect ipa and pale ale you will not notice the oxidation. For pale ale and ipa kegging is a the best option.

 

[DevilNuts]

Yes, but the gun has the advantage of purging first.
You may be leaving no headspace for O2, but as you fill the bottle, you are splashing the beer into a bottle full of air with all its oxygen present.

I don't think so. I bottle from a picnic tap with an old racking cane jammed into it, so the bottle is still filling slowly from the bottom. Everything just gently gets pushed upward - no splashing.