Troubleshoot me!

[AntonyW]

Returned to home brewing with a view to growing my brewing skills as retirement approaches.
In the space of 12 months I’ve brewed 20 beers of various styles, some hugely enjoyable others not.
I’ve the unwelcome knack of oxidising brews. 3 failures is the last 6 months have all demonstrated those stale, flat characteristics that some describe as cardboard. Visually they are a horrid opaque slush.
The brews to suffer this fate:

English IPA (Brewferm kit)
American Pale ( part grain/ extract) BIAB.
Mosaic SMASH ( all grain in my new Grainfather Connect)

Three different techniques have produced the same result.
I suspect I have got something fundamentally and horrendously wrong.
I am bottling using an auto siphon and suspect the problem lies here.
‘Ignorance is bliss’. Not here it isn’t
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction to get this sorted.

Thanks in anticipation

AntonyW

 

[Stevieboy]

Welcome - lots of potentials here!
Transferring from your FV to bottles, shouldn't incur oxidation - this smacks of a recurring infection to me.

 

[AntonyW]

Thanks
Process of elimination
Not sure where to start

 

[AntonyW]

Welcome - lots of potentials here!
Transferring from your FV to bottles, shouldn't incur oxidation - this smacks of a recurring infection to me.

Assume problem lies cold side
Reckon I’ll blitz all of my post boil equipment through bleach based solution snd rinse thoroughly.
Beyond that?

 

[Nicks90]

Check there are no leaks in your autosyphon. Slightest pinprick or loose joint can suck in air. Can you see any visible bubbles either in the tube or in the bottle before you cap it?

 

[AntonyW]

Check there are no leaks in your autosyphon. Slightest pinprick or loose joint can suck in air. Can you see any visible bubbles either in the tube or in the bottle before you cap it?


Bubble free once the transfer starts. Air gets in towards the end at which point I terminate.

 

[matt76]

Throw the auto syphon in the bin where it belongs - those things are garbage and that's why your beer is oxidising.

First rule of engineering: Keep it simple...

Get:
- A length of 8-10mm ID tube, 2m is plenty (you may already have this)
- Some sort of clip to hold the tube in place on the FV
- A jumbo syringe (100-200ml or so, from eBay) to start the syphon.

When you start the transfer make sure the end of the tube is in the bottom of the bottling bucket so there's no splashing.

70+ brews bottled this way and no issues with beer oxidising

(But 2 brews before that bottled with an auto syphon because I didn't know any better then, both oxidised!)

 

[Gerryjo]

Autosyphons are renowned for leaking and inducing air as the seal passes.If it was an infection you would see it across all your brews.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Throw the auto syphon in the bin where it belongs - those things are garbage and that's why your beer is oxidising.

First rule of engineering: Keep it simple...

Get:
- A length of 8-10mm ID tube, 2m is plenty (you may already have this)
- Some sort of clip to hold the tube in place on the FV
- A jumbo syringe (100-200ml or so, from eBay) to start the syphon.

When you start the transfer make sure the end of the tube is in the bottom of the bottling bucket so there's no splashing.

70+ brews bottled this way and no issues with beer oxidising

(But 2 brews before that bottled with an auto syphon because I didn't know any better then, both oxidised!)

I'd second this advice. I persisted with an auto siphon for far too long before I realised how much damage it was doing to my beers.

 

[An Ankoù]

Throw the auto syphon in the bin where it belongs - those things are garbage and that's why your beer is oxidising.

First rule of engineering: Keep it simple...

Just fit a tap to your FV. Even simpler than using a syphon tube. Hiowever, If I'm using demijohns then a syphon is necessary and there's nothing wrong with starting the flow by sucking the dry end of the tube. That way, you get to taste the beer:
Step one- suck and spit (to get rid of the sanitiser)
Step two- suck and swallow (essential quality control)

Have all your bottles ready and use one hand to hold the tube in place and tilt the vessel at the end of the process. Kink the tube and hold it in the other hand moving from bottle to bottle. Squeezing or releasing the kink will allow you control or stop the flow. Don't use you thumb over the end of the tube as it makes the liquid spray everywhere.
I've been doing this since I was 16 so I've honed the technique to Olympic perfection and I don't remember the learning curve, but try it out first time with cold water so you can find out what the pitfalls are.

 

[matt76]

but try it out first time with cold water so you can find out what the pitfalls are.

Horses for courses of you use a syringe or suck the tube to start the transfer - personally I prefer not to take the risk but it illustrates there are many variations on each technique, and us homebrewers will never agree!

But what I will agree on 100% is whatever you're doing, it's absolutely worth practising with water to iron out most of the kinks

 

[Mash Monster]

FWIW I would suggest using a bottle filling wand there are plenty out there and some come as a kit with a tap included I started off with a cheap plastic one and have since upgraded to stainless seems to work for me.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

I'd never thought of a syringe @matt76 I used to use a short length of tube on the end of the syphon tap and then removing it, giving a quick spray of no-rinse sanitiser and then swapping it for a longer length to reach the bottom of the bottle.

But, as suggested by @An Ankoù a fermenting bin with a tap is an even better idea when coupled with a little bottler/bottling wand/bottling stick. In fact, I'd go as far to say they (and bench cappers) are possibly the item worth spending money on if you're bottling.

Make sure you take the wand apart to clean after each session, as it's amazing what gets stuck in the mechanism.

 

[AntonyW]

Thanks everyone
I shall ditch the auto syphon and practice the techniques outlined.
Hope this does the trick