Oxygenating Beer

[kyoun1e]

So I just bottled my Tank 7 clone and if I have any concern about this batch, it's about oxygenating the beer as I siphoned it to the bottling bucket. A couple of things went on here:

1. My eyesight isn't great so I have a hard time looking through the carboy and judging if my racking cane is below or above the line. A few times I'd lift the racking cane above the liquid and it would introduce air into the siphon which would end up in the bottling bucket.

Is this a big deal?

2. Because of the above, and because the darn tubing wouldn't stay at the bottom of the bucket, the beer would sometimes come out of the tube too violently. I know that you are supposed to keep things "quiet" during this process.

Worrying too much? Or not?

Thanks

 

[soccerdad]

You'll have good beer. You can't not have good beer with something Tank 7 ish. You'll do even better next time after this learning experience.

Was the T7 clone from this latest Zymurgy issue?

 

[shoengine]

Ah man, my first farmstyle, and still my favorite. I want that recipe!

 

[kyoun1e]

You'll have good beer. You can't not have good beer with something Tank 7 ish. You'll do even better next time after this learning experience.

Was the T7 clone from this latest Zymurgy issue?

What's the Zymurgy issue clone?

No, this was from a recipe kit and it was extract. Several people on my other thread indicated that this would most definitely NOT taste like a tank 7. You can see the recipe here:

http://www.greatfermentations.com/downloads/instructions/beerkits/TankStevenExtract_UNCLEAN.pdf

This is only my 2nd batch. Still wanted to do a kit and I'm no way ready to do all grain.

Hope it's drinkable.

I absolutely love Tank 7 so the bar is set super high.

 

[mongoose33]

Don't worry about it. You'll have beer, and you'll even want to drink it.

Over time, work to reduce oxygen exposure post-fermentation as much as you can. Every time, try to do it a little better.

 

[Braumeise]

So I just bottled my Tank 7 clone and if I have any concern about this batch, it's about oxygenating the beer as I siphoned it to the bottling bucket. A couple of things went on here:

1. My eyesight isn't great so I have a hard time looking through the carboy and judging if my racking cane is below or above the line. A few times I'd lift the racking cane above the liquid and it would introduce air into the siphon which would end up in the bottling bucket.

Is this a big deal?

2. Because of the above, and because the darn tubing wouldn't stay at the bottom of the bucket, the beer would sometimes come out of the tube too violently. I know that you are supposed to keep things "quiet" during this process.

Worrying too much? Or not?

Thanks

You should be fine.
To really spoil your beer you need to pour it from one bucket to another.
Think of how much you need to do to oxygenate unfermented wort when you don't use an oxygen stone.

What you did happened to me many time without ruining anything. Not saying you should not try to avoid it but yes: you worry to much. imo.

 

[soccerdad]

I thmink this link can be accessed without AHA member credentials ... https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/boulevard-brewing-co-tank-7/

 

[shoengine]

Thanks for sharing that. My next brew!

 

[kyoun1e]

You should be fine.
To really spoil your beer you need to pour it from one bucket to another.
Think of how much you need to do to oxygenate unfermented wort when you don't use an oxygen stone.

What you did happened to me many time without ruining anything. Not saying you should not try to avoid it but yes: you worry to much. imo.

Hope you're right.

I really left a lot of beer on the table because of paranoia. Bet there were 3-5 12 oz beers left in there, but the sediment was all agitated after hitting the bottom too many times with the racking cane and I just felt that too much sediment would get in there. Still managed 12, 22 oz bombers and about a case of 12 oz bottles.

 

[StewMakesBrew]

Your beer will be fine - and awesome. Brew on my friend. You're learning all the ninja tricks.

One thing I'd suggest - buy a plastic "bucket style" fermenter with a spigot and dip tube on it. The spigot will be down about a half-inch off the floor and you can get the valves for those with a "dip tube" that screws onto the back of it - you aim the dip tube down when you assemble it for fermentation. Then all you need to do is attach some plastic tubing to the spigot, route it down into your keg or bottling bucket, and turn it on - the dip tube acts as a racking cane - is will suck up a very small amount of trub right next to spigot when you open it and that's it, then it's nothing but clean beer down into your bottling bucket or keg.

The Spiedel fermenter is a great example of this: http://www.homebrewing.org/Speidel-...MIyNPX_ODb1QIVgrfACh2r3wjmEAQYBSABEgI6ovD_BwE

As well as the William's Brewing siphonless fermenter (which I have used for 19+ years now): https://www.williamsbrewing.com/SIP...MIgaPzouHb1QIV1bXACh1NXA2REAQYASABEgLzN_D_BwE

Go forth and brew!

Stay thirsty my friends.

 

[shoengine]

When I bottle, I have to transfer from my carboy to a bottling bucket. I certainly try to minimize splashing but I am by no means operating in an anaerobic environment. With that said, the beer just sitting in the bucket with the top off will absorb oxygen. What that means for long term health of the beer, I don't know, but I personally have not had any obvious issues with staling. I can also rack from the carboy to the bottling bucket with very little movement. Clips can be your friend.

 

[Sbe2]

Just try to minimize short term effects of oxidation. If you drink your beer fast enough, you don't have to worry about the long term.

 

[Braumeise]

Hope you're right.

I really left a lot of beer on the table because of paranoia. Bet there were 3-5 12 oz beers left in there, but the sediment was all agitated after hitting the bottom too many times with the racking cane and I just felt that too much sediment would get in there. Still managed 12, 22 oz bombers and about a case of 12 oz bottles.

I am pretty sure your beer will be fine.


fingers crossed

 

[mongoose33]

Your beer will be fine - and awesome. Brew on my friend. You're learning all the ninja tricks.

One thing I'd suggest - buy a plastic "bucket style" fermenter with a spigot and dip tube on it. The spigot will be down about a half-inch off the floor and you can get the valves for those with a "dip tube" that screws onto the back of it - you aim the dip tube down when you assemble it for fermentation. Then all you need to do is attach some plastic tubing to the spigot, route it down into your keg or bottling bucket, and turn it on - the dip tube acts as a racking cane - is will suck up a very small amount of trub right next to spigot when you open it and that's it, then it's nothing but clean beer down into your bottling bucket or keg.

The Spiedel fermenter is a great example of this: http://www.homebrewing.org/Speidel-...MIyNPX_ODb1QIVgrfACh2r3wjmEAQYBSABEgI6ovD_BwE

As well as the William's Brewing siphonless fermenter (which I have used for 19+ years now): https://www.williamsbrewing.com/SIP...MIgaPzouHb1QIV1bXACh1NXA2REAQYASABEgLzN_D_BwE

Go forth and brew!

Stay thirsty my friends.

I have plastic BMB fermenters but this^ is a very nice way to go. When I rack beer to the keg, I'll open that spigot and run off a few ounces either into a glass or a hydrometer cylinder. It clears the trub from the spigot and then it runs clear after that.

To me, spigots are the way to go. You can even retrofit them to existing buckets. Every LHBS sells 'em, and you can buy them online. Cost is about $3-4.

I had an original BMB with no spigot. Bought a second one with a spigot. Didn't take long to retrofit the first one with a spigot. I now have 5 BMBs, all have spigots.

Here's a pic showing it--part of the beauty of a clear plastic fermenter is you can see what's going on in there, and figure out where your trub layer is.

 

[kyoun1e]

Your beer will be fine - and awesome. Brew on my friend. You're learning all the ninja tricks.

One thing I'd suggest - buy a plastic "bucket style" fermenter with a spigot and dip tube on it. The spigot will be down about a half-inch off the floor and you can get the valves for those with a "dip tube" that screws onto the back of it - you aim the dip tube down when you assemble it for fermentation. Then all you need to do is attach some plastic tubing to the spigot, route it down into your keg or bottling bucket, and turn it on - the dip tube acts as a racking cane - is will suck up a very small amount of trub right next to spigot when you open it and that's it, then it's nothing but clean beer down into your bottling bucket or keg.

The Spiedel fermenter is a great example of this: http://www.homebrewing.org/Speidel-...MIyNPX_ODb1QIVgrfACh2r3wjmEAQYBSABEgI6ovD_BwE

As well as the William's Brewing siphonless fermenter (which I have used for 19+ years now): https://www.williamsbrewing.com/SIP...MIgaPzouHb1QIV1bXACh1NXA2REAQYASABEgLzN_D_BwE

Go forth and brew!

Stay thirsty my friends.

Been looking for a bigger fermenter and one that avoids using the narrow neck.

So these come with the dip tube already in there? From other threads, it sounded like many people rig theirs up somehow.

 

[kyoun1e]

I have plastic BMB fermenters but this^ is a very nice way to go. When I rack beer to the keg, I'll open that spigot and run off a few ounces either into a glass or a hydrometer cylinder. It clears the trub from the spigot and then it runs clear after that.

To me, spigots are the way to go. You can even retrofit them to existing buckets. Every LHBS sells 'em, and you can buy them online. Cost is about $3-4.

I had an original BMB with no spigot. Bought a second one with a spigot. Didn't take long to retrofit the first one with a spigot. I now have 5 BMBs, all have spigots.

Here's a pic showing it--part of the beauty of a clear plastic fermenter is you can see what's going on in there, and figure out where your trub layer is.

View attachment 410982

This may be a huge "ah ha" moment for me. You're telling me that there are fermenters that already have the spigot and I don't need to use a racking cane?

And there's a dip tube inside that will minimize crud getting through??

If this is the case, I don't know why other carboys/buckets exist.

 

[mongoose33]

This may be a huge "ah ha" moment for me. You're telling me that there are fermenters that already have the spigot and I don't need to use a racking cane?

And there's a dip tube inside that will minimize crud getting through??

If this is the case, I don't know why other carboys/buckets exist.

Here's the one I use:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/siphonless-big-mouth-bubbler-ported-6-5-gallon

I started with them, have some straps for lifting, they work well for me, so I keep using them. I haven't had much issue w/ the lids as others have, and we don't hear much about that issue any more so I suspect they may have fixed it.

There's another option, and I probably would have gone this way had I known of them at the time:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermonster-7-gallon-carboy-spigot.html

My LHBS sells this as well.

There is no dip tube in either of these fermenters. I always have about 5.5 gallons of beer in my fermenter, so the last little bit on the bottom just doesn't go into the keg. As I've noted elsewhere, I just run a few ounces out of the spigot to clear it, and as long as I'm not jostling the fermenter I get clear beer out of it. The only exception would be if you had something like a 3" layer of trub that would be different but I've never had one that covered the spigot.

The mouths of both of these fermenters are large enough that you can reach inside and clean them, plus remove the spigot for cleaning. I always remove my spigots and clean them. Takes about 30 seconds to take it off, about 30 seconds to reinstall it.

Morebeer has a deal where if you buy $59 of items shipping is free. Hard to beat that. On the other hand, NB runs 20-percent-off specials regularly as well as other kinds of deals.

 

[cloudybrewer]

One thing I'd suggest - buy a plastic "bucket style" fermenter with a spigot and dip tube on it.

To me, spigots are the way to go. You can even retrofit them to existing buckets. Every LHBS sells 'em, and you can buy them online. Cost is about $3-4.

I thought I read in Palmer's book, or somewhere, that a spigot on your fermenter is a no-no because the inside of the exterior spout can be a PITA to sanitize before beer transfer, and whatever is living in there after a couple weeks of fermentation ends up in the bottling bucket. What do you guys do about this, or is it not even a problem? Because I would LOVE to give my siphon the middle finger!

 

[mongoose33]

I thought I read in Palmer's book, or somewhere, that a spigot on your fermenter is a no-no because the inside of the exterior spout can be a PITA to sanitize before beer transfer, and whatever is living in there after a couple weeks of fermentation ends up in the bottling bucket. What do you guys do about this, or is it not even a problem? Because I would LOVE to give my siphon the middle finger!

I'm not sure how he or anyone else took care to clean their spigots, but I remove mine every time and clean it. I suspect some of the issue w/ spigots had to do with people leaving them in place.

Before I reinstall it--and I do that on brew day just before I do a final swish of star-san in my fermenter--I dunk that spigot in star-san, work the valve to make sure everything is wet with that sanitizer, then install in the fermenter.

Of course anything on the in-side of the spigot is clean--that's where the beer/wort is. The only part exposed to the potential nasties on the out-side is the spout. That spout is clean--it's just exposed. I take my spray bottle of star-san--everybody should have one of those, I have 5--and spray up inside the spout, give it a good rinsing out with Star-san.

I position my spouts so they point to the side, slightly down, so it's easy to spray w/ star-san, and it drains out, as per the pic below. Sometimes, just to switch things up, I point the spout to the right instead of the left.

I always have a skim layer of trub inside that spigot that I need to wash out by hand. Knock on wood, but doing it this way, I've never had an issue with it. Taking it off is 30 seconds, reinstalling 30 seconds on brew day, and maybe 40 seconds to clean it. When I clean my fermenters I use PBW in a gallon of warm water inside the fermenter. Soft cloth or paper towel to avoid scratching the fermenter. I'll remove a half pint or so in a margarine container and soak the spigot while I'm working on the fermenter. A small brush, rinse, dunk in star-san, and I'm good to go for next time.

This all sounds harder than it is.

 

[Sbe2]

I'm not sure how he or anyone else took care to clean their spigots, but I remove mine every time and clean it. I suspect some of the issue w/ spigots had to do with people leaving them in place.

Before I reinstall it--and I do that on brew day just before I do a final swish of star-san in my fermenter--I dunk that spigot in star-san, work the valve to make sure everything is wet with that sanitizer, then install in the fermenter.

Of course anything on the in-side of the spigot is clean--that's where the beer/wort is. The only part exposed to the potential nasties on the out-side is the spout. That spout is clean--it's just exposed. I take my spray bottle of star-san--everybody should have one of those, I have 5--and spray up inside the spout, give it a good rinsing out with Star-san.

I position my spouts so they point to the side, slightly down, so it's easy to spray w/ star-san, and it drains out, as per the pic below. Sometimes, just to switch things up, I point the spout to the right instead of the left.

I always have a skim layer of trub inside that spigot that I need to wash out by hand. Knock on wood, but doing it this way, I've never had an issue with it. Taking it off is 30 seconds, reinstalling 30 seconds on brew day, and maybe 40 seconds to clean it. When I clean my fermenters I use PBW in a gallon of warm water inside the fermenter. Soft cloth or paper towel to avoid scratching the fermenter. I'll remove a half pint or so in a margarine container and soak the spigot while I'm working on the fermenter. A small brush, rinse, dunk in star-san, and I'm good to go for next time.

This all sounds harder than it is.

View attachment 411093

My exact same process with my Fermonster. Always take the spigot off and get it nice and clean.

I also have an old 4" three ring binder that I set my Fetmonster on. I have the spigot up at the binding end. It keeps most of the trub away from the spigot. I do this because I DH all of my beers, lots of trub.