Auto Syphon

[photek1000]

I used my Auto Syphon for the first time this weekend, and it is a marked improvement speed wise over my old racking cane, I did notice though as i was syphoning that there were a lot of bubbles being drawn through the syphon from the primary. The output was fully at the bottom of the bottling bucket so submerged from the beginning.

Can I assume that the bubbles were CO2 that had yet to make it to the top and escape from the wort?

 

[Awolphotography]

No, they will be air I'm afraid.
Some do this, but it can be overcome, the easiest way I have found is to put some star San solution in the top of the racking bit, so will form a seal in the end, this will stop air coming through

 

[photek1000]

Well that doesn't sound good, hopefully not too much air was dragged in, last thing I want is a spoilt brew.

 

[Jeltz]

presuming you have primed for bottling I think it will be fine.

 

[photek1000]

It was siphoned onto my priming sugar solution and bottled right after, now enjoying life under the stairs for a couple of weeks.

 

[Jeltz]

then it will use up the oxygen as the yeast munches up the sugars.

 

[Awolphotography]

then it will use up the oxygen as the yeast munches up the sugars.

Sorry to disagree but any air introduced at this stage would lead to off flavours, most likely a cardboard flavour, this can of course be of varying degrees, and will get worse over time, so drinking an affected brew young would be a good idea as it can really affect the keeping qualities beer.

 

[Jeltz]

Well its done so maybe the OP can report back and let us know the result in due course :)

FWIW my thought process and experience is as follows.

Generally when bottling there is some air left in the bottle, sure co2 escaping from the beer will push some out but its unlikely to be all of it and while you want to keep it to a minimum oxidised bottles beer isn't the common problem it would be if the yeast didn't consume it during secondary fermentation.

The 1st beer I put in a polypin I thought still had some fermenting to go but it didn't and was oxidised when I came to taste it, as you say a wet cardboard flavour. In an effort to save it I primed it and left it for a couple of weeks, to my surprise the flavour had dissipated not quite 100% but it became a very drinkable beer. So it would appear that the yeast extracted at least some of the oxygen from oxide compounds during the secondary fermentation, at least in that case.

 

[photek1000]

So this could go one of two ways.

Hopefully there wasn't too much O2 added at the racking phase, when I bottled I only loosely placed the caps on and then capped at the end of a 12 - 15 bottle run, so hopefully some of that O2 was purged.

They will get cracked open towards the middle to end of December, so a while yet before the taste test.

 

[wezil]

Sorry to disagree but any air introduced at this stage would lead to off flavours

I'm not convinced by this argument! For a given temp the 02 level will be a constant Unless you decrease the temp or raise the pressure . You cannot keep it out (unless you brew in a vacuum ) The bubbles are extra gases escaping from the wort to leave a state of equilibrium. This is a scientific fact NOT brewing superstition. If you have off flavours it's likely you have done something wrong (infection, wrong ingredients or varying temps) are all likely causes rather than bubbles! (I keep trying to burst this folklore bubble )!

 

[Jeltz]

I'm with you on this one wezil but as I said we can see how it turns out if the OP would be kind enough to post when he cracks open a bottle.

Keeping air out makes a lot of sense though not just due to oxidisation but also as its another time you could introduce a wild yeast and although the beer strain might have attenuated as much as it is capable of there is no knowing how low a wild yeast could take the FG and what flavours it might produce.

 

[photek1000]

I will post back in a few weeks time once it's ready to try the first bottle, and we'll see where it goes from there.

 

[Underscore]

FWIW, I had exactly this happen when kegging my Razorback - there was a dense stream of fine bubbles coming up the auto-syphon. I was worried that I would end up with a ruined brew but it's now been in the garage for near enough a month and is as fresh as a daisy with lovely grapefruity flavour. I think that the yeast cleared up any oxygen that went into solution during secondary fermentation - though I did release the pressure from the pressure barrel for the first 48 hours, if that made any difference.

Also, I kegged my Yorkshire Terrier the other day and put a centimetre or so of tap water in the top of the auto-syphon and, as stated above, this prevented the bubbles.

HTH,

_

 

[photek1000]

Cheers, I guess I am waiting and seeing, not a lot else I can do.

I did test the siphon this morning with a couple of inches of water in the top of the outer tube and it was bubble free, that being said siphoning a bucket of water without any water in the top of the siphon was also bubble free.

 

[Awolphotography]

Don't get me wrong you will not have a bad beer, but you may have negatively affected it's keeping qualities.

 

[BIGJIM72]

Agree with Jeltz & Wezil on this one.

I use auto syphons regularly (both 5lt & 23lt)-have observed the bubbling effect you describe-& have had no bad results through using them.

Sorry Awol-bit of a pessimistic view. Think the word would in your post would be better changed to could.

 

[photek1000]

Well although it's still a very young brew I cracked the first bottle tonight for a taste, and it's a cracking beer, hopefully it'll improve more as it ages a little.

But so far, so good.

 

[Jeltz]

glad to hear it :