Bottle conditioning test

[colhep67]

So I have brewed again for the first time in about 3 years. I have brewed an Alaskan Amber clone and it seems to have come out well. I have finally bottled and it tastes well in the flat/green form (24 days in fermenter). My OG was 1.062 and my FG was 1.018 (seems high to me but I tested days apart and still the same FG)

Well I decided to do a test with my bottling equipment and possible oxidation and temperature varience.

Some of the bottles were bottled with an air gap in the siphon line (possible oxidation) most were bottled with a CO2 prime from a 16 gram CO2 keg primer (pictured) in the bottle before filling and after to top off the bottle before capping, except 2 bottles. Most were bottled with a full siphon line but with the same CO2 prime as most others. 2 different bottles are filled with no CO2 prime.

I have set 46 bottles in a water bath with a towel over the top to maintain a 70 to 75 temp range. I have set 2 bottles (both filled with full siphon line with CO2 prime) in open air.

I am going to test to see what CO2 priming, temperature range, and oxidation will cause on this beer.

Btw I live in Tucson Az so temps here are 105 plus during the day. I keep my home anywhere from 71 to 79 during the day (71 to 76 from 12 am to 10 am and 76 to 79 from 10am to 7 pm) my water bath is holding around 70 to 71 consistantly throughout the day.

If there is intrest on this post I will keep you all posted on the results. Keep in mind I am no beer pro and my pallet +1 other will give the details on the results.

 

[colhep67]

Resizing photos for post, please stand by

 

[colhep67]

Pics

 

[CodeSection]

I'm interested in your findings. Have you decided upon how long they will be bottled before testing the results (i.e. eight weeks, then at 12 weeks, etc.)?

 

[colhep67]

I'm going to test them at 3 weeks then again at 6 weeks

 

[colhep67]

Should I wait longer? Let me know!

 

[NGD]

I’d test at 2 weeks. Actually I’m lying. I’d test at day 3, then day 5, day 7 for the one week anniversary bottling party, then day 10, then day 14 for the 2 week anniversary bottling party, then realize I’m out and need to make another batch.

Seriously though, by 2 weeks you should have pretty solid carbonation. Recommend chilling for 24hrs prior to opening

 

[CodeSection]

@colhep67, I would think a longer period would be better if you are testing for oxidation and temperature affect. I'm not sure how quickly oxidation would occur and if it would be noticeable in three weeks.....

 

[colhep67]

Do you all think that the air gap in my hose could case oxidation issues in those beers? Maybe the air gap was full of CO2 dissipated from the beer itself?

 

[colhep67]

UPDATE:

So I have tried a couple of the beers, it will be 2 weeks bottle conditioning tomorrow.

I tried one of the co2 prime with a full siphon line and I tried one of the co2 prime with an air gap in co2 line. This is what I found:

Clarity on both are good and the head is about 1 inch when pouring lightly in a glass with both

The yeast cake at the bottom of the bottles both seem equal

Tasting wise I can sense a bit of difference in the siphon line air gap bottle. I am never able to pinpoint the flavor I am tasting but its not metallic in anyway. I just word it as yeasty (the beer is still green as well so that could be the reason) but the flavor is lighter on the full siphon line beer

I tried another couple of these about 3 days ago and I think that flavor is diminishing with time. I am going to let them sit for a while longer and I will keep everyone posted. I have not tried the no co2 prime bottles or the open air bottle conditioning ones as well. Those will probably be cracked open in another 2 to 3 weeks at minimum.

 

[RPh_Guy]

At least one previous experiment purging bottle headspace with CO2 showed a beneficial effect.

Instead of purging, I minimize headspace in my bottles, filling to about 1/4 - 1/2" from the top. Less headspace means less oxygen.
I also don't activate the oxygen-absorbing cap until it's crimped.

FWIW, it takes 5-10 weeks at room temp for my bottled beer to start showing oxidation. I'm a super taster and it's easy for me to notice the change.
YMMV since your process is inevitably different than mine.