Oxygen in beer while siphoning

[TwoHeart]

I brewed my first batch of beer 3 weeks ago and bottled it today. However, I had huge problems siphoning the beer from the primary to the bottling bucket. I have the siphon with the carboy cap that you blow in to to start the siphon. It would start OK, but then after a few ounces would run through, a huge bubble would appear and get bigger until the siphon would stop. It was extremely aggravating. I had to do this the entire time. I ended up wasting a gallon of beer.

Anyhow, it is obvious that I have gotten oxygen into my beer. Is this a batch killer? Or is there a chance it might turn out OK?

 

[BrewerBear]

It will probably be ok still,just may not age as well(long term) because of the aeration.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Autosiphon, they're simple and make siphoning a breeze. And uduslly are like 10 bucks or cheaper.

In my experience as long as you have clean and sanitized equipment beer can be pretty forgiving.

 

[ludomonster]

You don't exhale O2 unless you're some kind of wierdo. I use the same thing for siphoning. Make sure that the carboy is higher than the bucket. For instance, put the carboy on your kitchen counter and the bucket on the floor. The only time I worry about losing the siphon is when the carboy has less than half a gallon left.

 

[TwoHeart]

Thanks guys!

I've been thinking about just getting a few bottling buckets and doing primary, secondary, and bottling from them. This way I can just skip siphoning altogether and just use the spigots with some tubing.

 

[dstranger99]

Thanks guys!

I've been thinking about just getting a few bottling buckets and doing primary, secondary, and bottling from them. This way I can just skip siphoning altogether and just use the spigots with some tubing.

That won't work, you'll have the yeast cake right where your spigot is.

 

[cheezydemon3]

You don't exhale O2 unless you're some kind of wierdo.....

Lol. Took me a minute for some reason.

I would seriously get a CO2 tank to hook uo to the siphon, even if you never intend to keg.

I would even go so far as to get some old stainless steel soda kegs and put beer in them, carb it up, serve it to your friends, maybe even throw a party......even if you never intend to keg.

 

[schooner427]

Just as a side note.. sorry but I'm not trying to argue, just inform... we do exhale O2. The gas around us contains on avg 20 percent oxygen. At rest we exhale about 15 percent so the body at rest will only remove about 5 percent from the atmosphere . Most of what we inhale is inert. Nitrogen, argon, water vapor. As well as CO2. Everything else is really only trace amounts less than 1 percent.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Just as a side note.. sorry but I'm not trying to argue, just inform... we do exhale O2. The gas around us contains on avg 20 percent oxygen. At rest we exhale about 15 percent so the body at rest will only remove about 5 percent from the atmosphere . Most of what we inhale is inert. Nitrogen, argon, water vapor. As well as CO2. Everything else is really only trace amounts less than 1 percent.

Right on! Whatever we exhale, WE DON'T WANT IT IN THE BEER!!!!!!!!!

 

[TwoHeart]

That won't work, you'll have the yeast cake right where your spigot is.

The spigot looks to be a little over an inch from the bottom of the bucket. If I strained all the sludge from the kettle, would this minimize the trub in the bucket to under an inch maybe?

 

[Newgene]

I'm sure you could come up with a way to make the valves work, but seriously, an autosiphon would solve this problem in the easiest way.

 

[schooner427]

Have you looked into an auto siphon?? Prob only runs about 11 dollars. Easy to use, start it half way into the bucket, gently set on the bottom. The inlet sits a little high and if you are easy with it doesn't pull any trub off the bottom.

 

[schooner427]

Opps sorry newgene, ya beat me to it. Lol

 

[TwoHeart]

I will look into an autosiphon. I guess it's just first impressions are lasting. This was my first time siphoning, which is my fault for not practicing beforehand. But I will give the autosiphon a whirl.

Thanks.

 

[dstranger99]

The spigot looks to be a little over an inch from the bottom of the bucket. If I strained all the sludge from the kettle, would this minimize the trub in the bucket to under an inch maybe?

Regardless of what you strain out after the boil, a yeast cake will still be on the bottom of the bucket (Trub)....And you don't want any of that in your final product.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Regardless of what you strain out after the boil, a yeast cake will still be on the bottom of the bucket (Trub)....And you don't want any of that in your final product.

You could tilt the fermenter away from the spigot, concentrating a wedge of yeast in the far side of the fermenter from the spigot.

Sounds like a little trouble, but not too bad.

Problem is cleaning and sanitizing a spigot that may get mired in yeast or hop residue.

 

[jCOSbrew]

The Williams Brewing "siphonless" fermemtor buckets have a valve, they just put it a little higher on the fermentor then on the bottling bucket to avoid the trub.

 

[homebrewhaha]

Trust these guys on the auto-siphon. Once you use your new auto-siphon you will look back and wonder, "What the &*#% was I doing trying to siphon beer with my mouth hole??"

 

[dstranger99]

The Williams Brewing "siphonless" fermemtor buckets have a valve, they just put it a little higher on the fermentor then on the bottling bucket to avoid the trub.

Now that sounds sweet. Mine are real low on the bucket.......

 

[cheezydemon3]

Now that sounds sweet. Mine are real low on the bucket.......

Ahem, like I said, a book under the spigot side will raise it far from the yeast because they will settle on the other side.