Ascorbic acid when dry hopping

[jb1986]

Hello,

I'm currently brewing a NEIPA.

Added 50% of my hops (whole) already and now would like to add the rest.

Does anybody already tried adding ascorbic acid when dry hopping instead of when packaging? Or would it be better to just add a little bit of sugar?

And if I do it, should I do it again when packaging or will it also do it's job in the bottle without adding some again?

KR

 

[Minbari]

What is the purpose? Are you doing it to reduce oxygen exposure or to add sour? Not sure where sugar comes in.

Potassium metabisufate is another option if you are doing it for oxygen scavenging

 

[jb1986]

What is the purpose? Are you doing it to reduce oxygen exposure or to add sour? Not sure where sugar comes in.

Potassium metabisufate is another option if you are doing it for oxygen scavenging

To reduce oxygen. Sugar would be to have yeast create CO2 again and reduce O2 as well.

Is Potassium metabisulfite more efficient? Some ppl are algeric to it if I remember correctly. That's why I wanted to try ascorbic acid.

 

[Betty Dehoney]

Hello,

I'm currently brewing a NEIPA.

Added 50% of my hops (whole) already and now would like to add the rest.

Does anybody already tried adding ascorbic acid when dry hopping instead of when packaging? Or would it be better to just add a little bit of sugar?

And if I do it, should I do it again when packaging or will it also do it's job in the bottle without adding some again?

KR

I was also wondering about adding sugar when dry hopping or late flavor additions to create/replace the CO2. I have been doing that for a while but do not know if there is value added.

 

[Minbari]

I was also wondering about adding sugar when dry hopping or late flavor additions to create/replace the CO2. I have been doing that for a while but do not know if there is value added.

Would not work fast enough. Sugar would take a day or two to be consumed and purge. Oxygen will ruin a dry hopped ipa in minutes.

Avoiding oxygen or purging with gaseous co2 would be the best method.

The chemical treatments work as well.

 

[Bigbre04]

Hello,

I'm currently brewing a NEIPA.

Added 50% of my hops (whole) already and now would like to add the rest.

Does anybody already tried adding ascorbic acid when dry hopping instead of when packaging? Or would it be better to just add a little bit of sugar?

And if I do it, should I do it again when packaging or will it also do it's job in the bottle without adding some again?

KR

I am not sure what your setup is but your best bet is to push co2 out of the fermenter either through a blowoff arm if you have one or you could setup a bent hook thing and push CO2 out of a bottle into the top of a carboy while you dryhop.

I have only used Potassium meta once before and if i remember correctly we were using it to kill off yeast to prevent over carb in cans(shelf stability). I recall it being very off putting as a chemical, but i could be confusing it with something else as it has been close to a decade since i used it. We only did it once because we decided that it wasnt needed. I would have been using ALOT more of it though so that would make a difference.

I am not familiar with ascorbic acid in brewing. A quick google said that it is used in brewing, but i am not sure that i would mess with it personally.

 

[GFHomebrew]

It's best to use Metabisulphate and Ascorbic Acid in conjunction of one another is what I've found in combating o2 ingress when dry hoping or adding gelatin finning or such.

I adopted this from the LoDo brewing guys. More better information will be sourced from their website.
https://www.themodernbrewhouse.com/list-of-brewing-references/

Be careful not to overdo the sulphites they can come across sulphury on the finish.

I've been using SMB and Ascorbic Acid on all my beers to help in reduction of oxidation even with closed transfers.

It's also great for if you fruit your beers on the back end of fermentation It prevents the staling effects on the fruit and combats oxidation when fruit is added.

I

 

[Bigbre04]

It's best to use Metabisulphate and Ascorbic Acid in conjunction of one another is what I've found in combating o2 ingress when dry hoping or adding gelatin finning or such.

I adopted this from the LoDo brewing guys. More better information will be sourced from their website.
https://www.themodernbrewhouse.com/list-of-brewing-references/

Be careful not to overdo the sulphites they can come across sulphury on the finish.

I've been using SMB and Ascorbic Acid on all my beers to help in reduction of oxidation even with closed transfers.

It's also great for if you fruit your beers on the back end of fermentation It prevents the staling effects on the fruit and combats oxidation when fruit is added.

I

I think handling the powdered Potassium in the quantity that i was(90bbl batch). I have bad memories of the dust coming off of that shit when i was measuring it out. It was aweful. In hindsight I should have put on a respirator, but i didnt know it was going to be such a fine powder. Tasted Sulphur for the rest of the day. That was the one and only time that we used it. I think it was while we were racking wine or whiskey barrel aged beers into the brite tank, it was many beers ago.

I have a very high tolerance for oxidation in beer, so I never really notice it unless it is REALLY bad. Process wise commercial equipement is probably a lot better at preventing O2 pickup i would assume. Probably not applicable.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

To reduce oxygen. Sugar would be to have yeast create CO2 again and reduce O2 as well.

This will increase the risk of producing diacetyl. It's not out of the realm to rely on yeast to reduce oxygen, it just that the yeast will also start producing VDK compounds which lead to diacetyl (butter) and run out of steam before the VDK can be cleaned up.

I'll second Ben's suggestion of using ascorbic in combination with PBM. Ascorbic acid works better with some help from PBM. If you use ascorbic acid by itself, it may first reduce oxygen, only to increase it later. I'm not 100% on the chemistry, but I know it's an accepted practice to use both.

I dose most of my beers with PBM at a rate of 550mg per 5 gallons, ascorbic acid would be @ 1 gram or so. Don't worry about any sour flavors at that dose of ascorbic acid.

Start there and if necessary increase this amount. Be sure to do all you can to prevent oxygen ingress from the start. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I think handling the powdered Potassium in the quantity that i was(90bbl batch). I have bad memories of the dust coming off of that shit when i was measuring it out. It was aweful. In hindsight I should have put on a respirator, but i didnt know it was going to be such a fine powder. Tasted Sulphur for the rest of the day. That was the one and only time that we used it. I think it was while we were racking wine or whiskey barrel aged beers into the brite tank, it was many beers ago.

I have a very high tolerance for oxidation in beer, so I never really notice it unless it is REALLY bad. Process wise commercial equipement is probably a lot better at preventing O2 pickup i would assume. Probably not applicable.

Yeah man I should put it in caps HANDLE THAT SH!T WITH CARE!
It takes the breath away lol

 

[GFHomebrew]

This will increase the risk of producing diacetyl. It's not out of the realm to rely on yeast to reduce oxygen, it just that the yeast will also start producing VDK compounds which lead to diacetyl (butter) and run out of steam before the VDK can be cleaned up.

I'll second Ben's suggestion of using ascorbic in combination with PBM. Ascorbic acid works better with some help from PBM. If you use ascorbic acid by itself, it may first reduce oxygen, only to increase it later. I'm not 100% on the chemistry, but I know it's an accepted practice to use both.

I dose most of my beers with PBM at a rate of 550mg per 5 gallons, ascorbic acid would be @ 1 gram or so. Don't worry about any sour flavors at that dose of ascorbic acid.

Start there and if necessary increase this amount. Be sure to do all you can to prevent oxygen ingress from the start. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Another product them LoDO brewers use is Brewtan B for its Oxygen Scrubbing effects.

 

[Bigbre04]

Yeah man I should put it in caps HANDLE THAT SH!T WITH CARE!
It takes the breath away lol

Dude no joke. It is not pleasant to breathe. I was dumping it from a 55lb bag into a bucket inside of a walk in cooler. After the first time I took the scale outside and put the rest into its screw top bucket...gently and down wind of my face.

 

[Craigerrr]

The simplest way to avoid o2 is to add dry hops before fermentation is completed. I had one batch a few years ago that I think was oxidized. I routinely dry hop before terminal gravity, and have had no issues with o2 for several years. Before I had the ability to ferment under pressure I would dangle a co2 hose in the fermenter with a trickle of flow when adding hops.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I have been dry hopping for years now and I can't remember having an oxidized beer using the method @ Craigerrr mentioned. I am not a fan of adding a lot of chemicals in my beers. Now with pressure ferms, I worry even less about O2. My 2 cents.

 

[Bigbre04]

Dude no joke. It is not pleasant to breathe. I was dumping it from a 55lb bag into a bucket inside of a walk in cooler. After the first time I took the scale outside and put the rest into its screw top bucket...gently and down wind of my face.

I was in the grocery store and I totally remembered where I had seen the potassium meta is! It's the preservative that is added to dried fruit. I hate the sulfury flavor it leaves!

 

[GFHomebrew]

I was in the grocery store and I totally remembered where I had seen the potassium meta is! It's the preservative that is added to dried fruit. I hate the sulfury flavor it leaves!

It's added to alot of stuff as well as ascorbic Acid (vitamin C).

I see ascorbic acid in alot of fruit juices.

Don't drink some wines their loaded with the Metabisulphates...

 

[Bigbre04]

It's added to alot of stuff as well as ascorbic Acid (vitamin C).

I see ascorbic acid in alot of fruit juices.

Don't drink some wines their loaded with the Metabisulphates...

Exactly. Cheap wine(most wine) = massive hangover the next day.

To me it's most obvious in the sulphured dried apricots. I hate them, but I love dried apricots that are un-sulphured.