When not to expose beer to light?

[hinke]

Hi,

My beer is now in a second carboy dry hopping. I open the fridge at least twice per day to stir the carboy a little to get the hops to drop.

When in the process do I have to be careful not to expose the beer to light?

 

[babalu87]

Hi,

My beer is now in a second carboy dry hopping. I open the fridge at least twice per day to stir the carboy a little to get the hops to drop.

When in the process do I have to be careful not to expose the beer to light?

Just dont leave it exposed for hours and hours.

What kind of beer is it, this has a bearing on whether its really all that important or not.

 

[wyzazz]

I can have a bottle of IPA skunk in the glass in 30 minutes if I'm drinking in the sun. That being said, if it's not flourescent light or sunlight you're in the clear.

 

[Yooper]

I don't think the little bit of ambient light you're allowing in there will harm the beer. That said, I also don't know why you'd bother to shake/stir it a couple of times a day. Leave it alone and it'll be fine.

 

[hinke]

It's an IPA. I have this crazy theory that if I stir it, the hops will get better surface contact with the beer. Otherwise the hops just seem to lay on top of the beer.

 

[babalu87]

I can have a bottle of IPA skunk in the glass in 30 minutes if I'm drinking in the sun. That being said, if it's not flourescent light or sunlight you're in the clear.

We were working in the garden last year.

Both drinking Kolsch
Wifes was in the shade, I left mine in the sun for MAYBE 2 minutes

Skunked

Tried the same thing with an Altbier (hopped in the glass with Mt Hoods FRESH off the bines!)
Nuttin

 

[babalu87]

It's an IPA. I have this crazy theory that if I stir it, the hops will get better surface contact with the beer. Otherwise the hops just seem to lay on top of the beer.

Stop trying to ruin your beer

Walk away dude

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

How do you know the fridge light goes off when you close the door? If I were you, I'd climb inside and shut myself in just to make sure.

 

[wyzazz]

I can have a bottle of IPA skunk in the glass in 30 minutes if I'm drinking in the sun. That being said, if it's not flourescent light or sunlight you're in the clear.

Hops have to go through the boil to isomerize the alpha acids in order to skunk.

Stop trying to ruin your beer

Walk away dude

He's not ruining his beer, Sierra Nevada constantly circulates their fermenting Torpedo IPA through hops, same idea on a much smaller scale. As long as you're sanitary there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[hinke]

There is no fridge light in the fridge. I pulled it.

Ok. So just leave the beer alone, do not stir it I'll see how it turns out. With 4oz, I hope there is plenty of aroma and taste. Been using 2oz before, and did not seem to be enough.

Thanks.

 

[user 21663]

Ok. So just leave the beer alone, do not stir it I'll see how it turns out.
Thanks.

If it works, then do it. When I make an IPA, I gently swirl it every other day after the dry hops have been added. It comes out great.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

He's not ruining his beer, Sierra Nevada constantly circulates their fermenting Torpedo IPA through hops, same idea on a much smaller scale. As long as you're sanitary there shouldn't be any problems.

Much different application. SN also purges the system of air to avoid Oxidation.

 

[wyzazz]

Much different application. SN also purges the system of air to avoid Oxidation.

Not that much different, just giving the beer more contact with the hops. His headspace should be all CO2 at this point anyways, it is heavier than O2 after all. If he's stirring gently, with sanitized instruments, and not splashing like mad, I don't see much of a chance for oxidation.

 

[Yooper]

Much different application. SN also purges the system of air to avoid Oxidation.

Not that much different, just giving the beer more contact with the hops. His headspace should be all CO2 at this point anyways, it is heavier than O2 after all. If he's stirring gently, with sanitized instruments, and not splashing like mad, I don't see much of a chance for oxidation.

I think the SN application and homebrew application are very different. First, his headspace probably is NOT "all co2" and in fact probably has very little co2 in the headspace. It's in the bright tank (secondary), which means it was racked and fermentation is over. That means very little co2 is being produced, if any.

It's true that co2 is heavier than air, but it doesn't stay in the headspace of a carboy indefinitely- it equalizes with atmospheric pressure. That's why winemakers top up their carboys- to reduce headspace to avoid oxidation. The co2 "blanket" is not going to hang around just sitting there forever.

Now, oxidation doesn't happen fast like in two weeks, so some headspace is fine in a carboy. But each time it's shaken/ rolled/ moved, you'll notice that the airlock will bubble. That means that the co2 in there is coming out of suspension and headed out to the atmoshere. Unless you're purging the carboy with co2 before and after shaking it, there is an oxidation risk. Not much, probably. But it's real.

If the hops are floating, then by all means a little swirl to wet them can be helpful. I like to hop with an ounce or two at a time, and if more hops are needed later, I add more. It doesn't do much good to add four ounces at a time, if 1/2 of them are floating on top and in the neck of the carboy. But rocking/swirling a couple of times a day probably isn't a good way to do it. With that many hops, a mesh bag weighed down with sanitized marbles might be the only way to get the hops actually submerged in the beer.

I'd say that many, if not most, of the homebrews I've tasted have had some hint of oxidation in them. Not enough to ruin the beer, but a bit of a hint on the sides of my tongue that is almost tannic. That's early oxidation, and during competitions I've tasted that in a great many beers. It didn't detract all that much from the taste, and in an IPA or an IIPA it's barely perceptible. Sometimes there isn't any way around it- even with careful racking, the beer can be exposed to air. I have to move carboys around in my house, from fermentation areas to bottling areas, but it's always good to try to minimize air exchange and to handle beers, wines, meads, and ciders with care after fermentation.

 

[Jewrican]

sanitize marbles and throw it in a hop sock / paint strainer with the hops and let it be.

Worked great for me

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

sanitize marbles and throw it in a hop sock / paint strainer with the hops and let it be.

Worked great for me

I lost my marbles years ago.

 

[SumnerH]

Not that much different, just giving the beer more contact with the hops. His headspace should be all CO2 at this point anyways, it is heavier than O2 after all.

The CO2 generated by fermentation will help reduce oxygenation some, but it's not a panacea.

Start with the law of partial pressures if you want the fluid dynamics involved. In reality, oxygen will even diffuse into a soda bottle that has multiple volumes of CO2 at high pressure in the head. When a beer's done actively fermenting, the head's going to have a fair amount of O2 in it at least from the first moment you open it up (or after enough time passes for diffusion through the airlock and stopper; this is one good reason to stick with a synthetic rubber stopper rather than silicone or natural rubber).