Will a half full carboy oxidize my beer??

[Delaney]

Hi,

For secondary addition purposes, I want to know if a half full carboy runs a high risk of oxidizing?

Thanks,

Delaney

 

[hamiltont]

It's not a good idea. I've done it before but I gave it a hefty shot of CO2 to clear the head space of O2. Cheers!!!

 

[Bmorebrew]

I would say there is risk involved - the volume of headspace above the liquid will be in contact with the beer for some time I presume if you are intent on using secondary. You would never think to splash your beer from primary into secondary, and the amount of air (oxygen) coming into contact with the beer would be equally considerable, and the degree to which the oxygen can dissolve into your beer would be roughly the same in either case.

I would say leave it where it is.


If you really wanted to play Mr. Wizard, you could create CO2 from baking soda and vinegar and collect it in a giant paper grocery bag and "pour" it into the carboy after you transfer to blanket it. But that's getting crazy.

 

[HomebrewMTB]

I was looking at a 2 1/2 gallon water container (with spigot) at WalMart for a cheap secondary container (link below). Similar to the large disposable jugs but it was more rigid and made from PET plastic (same as Better Bottle). It was sitting next to the pitchers and tupperware. My idea was to remove the spigot and replace with a bung and airlock. I ended up getting a 3 gallon Better Bottle so I could use it for half batch primary as well but I think the WalMart container would work. Check it out if you have a store near you.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Arrow-H2O-2.5-Gal-Slimline-Beverage-Dispenser-Blue/15915151

 

[Tim_Kreitz]

The trick when racking into a secondary where there will be a lot of headspace is to rack while the beer is at the tail-end of its active primary fermentation phase. The remaining fermentation that happens in secondary will purge the O2 out of the headspace, leaving CO2 in its place. I've done this on occasion for years and never had a problem. There's just slightly more trub in the secondary than otherwise.

Dry hopping can sometimes protect the surface of the beer, as well. This is my latest pale ale, which was bottled a few nights ago:

 

[smalliewader]

If you are adding fruit, more fermentation will happen when the new sugars are introduced...creating co2 and filling that head space. I wouldn't leave it for months, but a few weeks isn't a problem.

 

[WestCoastHopper]

The trick when racking into a secondary where there will be a lot of headspace is to rack while the beer is at the tail-end of its active primary fermentation phase. The remaining fermentation that happens in secondary will purge the O2 out of the headspace, leaving CO2 in its place. I've done this on occasion for years and never had a problem. There's just slightly more trub in the secondary than otherwise.

Dry hopping can sometimes protect the surface of the beer, as well. This is my latest pale ale, which was bottled a few nights ago:

Wow man, that looks really nice. I think I need to get into some dry-hopping. Sorry, thread hijack.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Isnt there a lot of Co2 that is dissolved into the beer. Would this not be released during the transfer and after the beer has been completely racked. Maybe you could cool the beer in the fermenter first so it dissolves more Co2 and let it warm back up after the transfer so it would release the additional Co2 the beer absorbed when chilled thus purging the oxygen out of the secondary???

 

[insubordinateK]

Isnt there a lot of Co2 that is dissolved into the beer. Would this not be released during the transfer and after the beer has been completely racked. Maybe you could cool the beer in the fermenter first so it dissolves more Co2 and let it warm back up after the transfer so it would release the additional Co2 the beer absorbed when chilled thus purging the oxygen out of the secondary???

I would think the beer would be saturated with CO2 as well. It doesn't take much CO2 to fully occupy the head space. I don't think there is too much to worry about.

 

[Tim_Kreitz]

Wow man, that looks really nice. I think I need to get into some dry-hopping. Sorry, thread hijack.

Thanks. Those are Citra hops. One ounce, to be exact. If you can find them, I highly recommend them for use in dry-hopping American-style pales.