Noob mistake - forgot to purge O2 before I force carbed

[SPIslander]

Well crap. In my haste to get a Belgian red amber kegged and ready to go, I forgot to burp the keg before I force carbed. When I realized what I'd done I immediately purged the headspace, But I think the damage is done. Reading the other threads the consensus appears to be somewhere between "drink it fast" and "you're screwed." I speculate I had ~1/4-1/2 gallon of head space in the keg...

Has anyone gotten away with this mistake and come away relatively clean (lookin' for some hope here guys, I don't wanna cry in my bad beer!)

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I think it really depends on the method of force carb. If shaking and such to force the co2 into solution you might have oxidized it. If set and forget you might be fine. Really the only way to find out is to pull a sample and see. I'm banking on its probably fine. Only one way to know for sure.


Sent from somewhere to someone

 

[SPIslander]

Thanks GilSwillBasementBrews! I did the "on-the-side-roll" bit for about 10 mins. I'll let it sit overnight, pull a glass tomorrow and report back. I hope it turns out as the pre carb sample tasted damn fine!

 

[SPIslander]

Just a quick follow up on this. It appears I've dodged a bullet - the beer came out fine with no off flavors. Happy about that but rest assured that l will be working from a checklist going forward!!

 

[BrettV]

Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about that unless it's something you're planning on having around for a long, long time. Oxidation can lead to flavors of wet cardboard, but it doesn't happen overnight. It just potentially decreases the shelf life of a fresh beer. That's a much bigger concern for commercial brewers, whose product has to be shipped and sit on a shelf at room temperature for weeks or months. Your beer is in a keg, refrigerated, in the same place where it was brewed. I mean, I technically oxidize my beer every time I bottle, because I just siphon from a carboy into an open bucket that's essentially a giant vat of oxygen, and I have NEVER had a beer go off, even a year or more later. I also just kegged my very first beer yesterday, too, but mine will be completely gone on Saturday night, so even if I did get any oxygen in there it won't make a difference.