Does my beer look oxidized?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by GetMeAnIPA, Jun 22, 2015.

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  1. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Currently I bottle and my process is as follows:
    -transfer directly from the primary to bottling bucket via spigot on my speidel.
    -use a bottling wand to fill bottles and try to top off the bottles to push the O2 out.
    -I put a loose cap on the bottle until there are about 3 - 5 bottles then I cap with the capper.

    Here is a picture of how the beer looked during bottling. It was at night with a Shop light providing the light. I put the lid on the bottling bucket to avoid the shop light raining light rays on the batch while sitting in the bucket.
    [​IMG]

    Here is the beer at two+ weeks from bottling. The pic is outside under natural light
    [​IMG]

    Here is another photo taken at the same time as the above photo
    [​IMG]

    I am planning on kegging soon so hopefully that will reduce the oxidization. Also, I didn't dry hop to find out if my beer is being oxidizided during bottling, which only confirms the reason for kegging. The good news is at this point the beer tastes good but I've noticed at around 5/6 weeks after bottling the beer does start to show signs of degradation.
     
  2. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    You don't, just like you didn't.
     
    SFACRKnight and tkdchampxi like this.
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Oxidation can cause darkening.

    Also, it's hard to tell from those pics, but a while back someone sent me some bottles from a few different IPA batches that looked a little like that. There was an almost purple/brown tint in some of them. Flavorwise, oxidation was the diagnosis.
     
    ronobvious2 and GetMeAnIPA like this.
  4. CurtFromHershey

    CurtFromHershey Initiate (0) Oct 4, 2012 Minnesota

    Could be due to yeast settling... less stuff in suspension to reflect light. How does she taste?
     
    jbakajust1 likes this.
  5. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    It does look a touch darker, but it would be difficult to say if oxidation is the cause.

    Is that my APA recipe (with your mosaic sub)?
     
    GetMeAnIPA likes this.
  6. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I thought you were being a smart ass. My b. I didn't cold crash or add anything to clear it. It was super hazy when I bottled it to the point where I couldn't see though the bottle at the neck. Now I can actually see though the neck of the beer in the bottle. I haven't let it warm up, so I can't answer that question.
     
  7. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    It is. It's drinks good. I've noticed all my beers seem darker from when I bottle to when I its ready to be consumed. I am just curious if my beer could be even better if I reduce the oxidization.
     
    JohnSnowNW likes this.
  8. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I've heard that oxidization causes darkening and I've noticed all my beers seem to be darker after bottling so I was wondering if the beer looks like it has enough darker color to implicate oxidization.
     
  9. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    I had one beer go from blonde to amber. Your beer doesn't look much different. You need to have the exact same back light for a fair comparison. A light bulb works well for that.
     
  10. ronobvious2

    ronobvious2 Initiate (0) Aug 24, 2010 Tennessee

    My first ever beer, a session IPA, which was bottled, eventually turned brown and so foul that spitting it out and rinsing my palate with another beer could not get the flavor out. It tasted like some varnish remover or something weird like that.
     
  11. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Color change is just one symptom, and there could be other causes of it. The more important symptom is flavor. You mentioned degradation after 5-6 weeks. What did you mean by that?
     
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  12. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    The oxidization seems to be mild where I can't pick it out, well at least not yet. I might not be able to notice it while others can. I will take another pic under the same light conditions tonight and list my recipe and fermentation set up.

    The reason I ask is I want to ensure other beers that might sit longer than my IPAs don't become soggy cardboard and that I might be able to improve me beer.
     
  13. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I've focused on brewing IPAs and once I feel I can dial in one style I'll try a new style. I've noticed at that 5/6 week mark the hops are faded and becomes a bit too estery or malty, just kind blah. I am still not getting that wet cardboard though but more like the beer is become meh.
     
  14. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Part of what you're describing, i.e. hop fade, is pretty common in IPAs. It will happen to all of them at some point. Oxidation doesn't necessarily taste like cardboard. I'm not sure why that's the descriptor everyone seems to use. Stale, Sherry-ish, Fruity, and even caramelly are more common I'd say. What oxidation tastes like depends, I think, on what's being oxidized.
     
    Lukass likes this.
  15. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I've never heard of melanoidins causing a post-bottling color change.
     
  16. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    Are you refrigerating your entire batch after they are carbonated? If not, that would help.
     
    ChrisMyhre likes this.
  17. MCBanjoMike

    MCBanjoMike Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2014 Canada (QC)

    My oxidized IPAs got darker and redder as time went on, and took on an unpleasant sweetness. They also lost hop flavor and aroma, but I think that happened pretty fast (as in, by the time it was first carbonated). I've since become very wary of oxygen, especially when it comes to hoppy beers.
     
    GetMeAnIPA likes this.
  18. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Off the top head in regards to the grain bill: golden promise @95%, Munich @5%
    White labs Chico yeast that a fermented at 64 in a fridge. I use the speidel fermenter that I tape my ranco digital probe to. After 7 days and all activity appears to be done I rampe up to 68 for another 6 days. Finished at 1.010.
     
  19. GetMeAnIPA

    GetMeAnIPA Pooh-Bah (2,559) Mar 28, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I let them carb in a igloo cooler in case bottle bombs for two weeks. Them transfer to the fridge. This beer has been sitting in the fridge since Saturday morning.
     
    ChrisMyhre likes this.
  20. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Munich malt causes hop character to fade faster?
     
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