No headspace in NEIPA

[jb1986]

I received the advice from a pro brewer to completly remove headspace when bottling NEIPA.

On the other side i saw things like risks of beer bombs if temperature increases.

Any feedback?

I usually use 7gr/l of table sugar when priming but i planned to try carb drops for the first time. Not sure what has more sugar.

Given i would have almost no air but less sugar in proportion, would carbonation be higher or lower?

 

[Minbari]

I received the advice from a pro brewer to completly remove headspace when bottling NEIPA.

On the other side i saw things like risks of beer bombs if temperature increases.

Any feedback?

I usually use 7gr/l of table sugar when priming but i planned to try carb drops for the first time. Not sure what has more sugar.

Given i would have almost no air but less sugar in proportion, would carbonation be higher or lower?

If you are bottle conditioning, then the head space will be consumed by the yeast pretty quick. Is there some room for oxidation? Sure, but not much. Zero headspace is asking for bottle bombs . When the temp goes up, liquid expands, it will push it's way out.

If your are counter pressure bottling, it's a non issue

 

[Donoroto]

Liquid does not compress. No headspace leaves your beer with few options should pressure increase. All oxygen will be consumed in minutes by the yeast, so zero oxidation risk.

Bottom line: leave some headspace.

 

[Craigerrr]

Ask a pro brewer about bottle conditioning and headspace, they will tell you it is necessary. If they are bottling or canning already carbonated beer that is different.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Oxidation is a real concern when it comes to this Hazy Style yes I can see that the yeast will "eventually" consume the O2 in the headspace but I believe that amount of o2 contact just from the headspace is enough to garentee Oxidation.
Unless your capping on foam from a partially carbonated beer then co2 will take up that headspace.

Just hearing how Anal breweries like Sierra Nevada are on Oxidation using O2 purged filted water to purge transfer lines before pushing beer around their brewery.
I can only believe they do all these things because they want the freshest beer possible.

Listening to a blulab podcast one of the brewers of New Belgium was saying just the air in one of their transfer lines was enough go ruin an entire batch of beer.
Have a listen if you take o2 seriously .
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5g...i=ulMCMbBeRU6OHtrF7dVbvw&utm_source=copy-link

I've become more Anally retentive about keeping o2 out of any beer I brew regardless of hop load.

I guess its one if them individual choices how far does the hombrewer want to go down that rabbit hole.
how far does the hombrewer want to go on reducing Oxidation.
Just my 2c

 

[Mark Farrall]

Oxidation is real, but no one has really got a handle on how much. It's obviously a big deal if you're trying for six months or more of shelf life, with an already carbonated beer added to the package. But that's not that relevant to a home brewer who bottle conditions.

Good to see Brulosophy starting to test their own belief that cold side oxidation is the worlds greatest evil with a few experiments and a few more planned. So far, I haven't seen a significant result on these.

This isn't to say you shouldn't focus on cold side oxidation, just that we're in that natural part of a new discovery, where it's fairly likely that we've all overreacted.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Oxidation is real, but no one has really got a handle on how much. It's obviously a big deal if you're trying for six months or more of shelf life, with an already carbonated beer added to the package. But that's not that relevant to a home brewer who bottle conditions.

Good to see Brulosophy starting to test their own belief that cold side oxidation is the worlds greatest evil with a few experiments and a few more planned. So far, I haven't seen a significant result on these.

This isn't to say you shouldn't focus on cold side oxidation, just that we're in that natural part of a new discovery, where it's fairly likely that we've all overreacted.

Yeah well at the price of hops used in these NEIPAS and how Easy it is to purge recieving keg /bottle and reduce o2 uptake in the packaging process I think it's time well spent for fresher more hop forward hombrew for longer.

I'm not a big hop head but on occasions when I've brewed them I've noticed a dramatic decline in hop aroma and even had instances were hops were muted in the final product it's a big let down.

 

[Semper Sitientem]

I received the advice from a pro brewer to completly remove headspace when bottling NEIPA.

On the other side i saw things like risks of beer bombs if temperature increases.

Any feedback?

I usually use 7gr/l of table sugar when priming but i planned to try carb drops for the first time. Not sure what has more sugar.

Given i would have almost no air but less sugar in proportion, would carbonation be higher or lower?

Regarding the priming, both table sugar and carb drops are 100% sugar. The difference is table sugar is sucrose, which is a combination of a couple or several “sub sugars” and carb drops are made of dextrose and glucose. I’ve used both and can’t tell the difference between the two. The issue I have with carb drops is the control over what goes in the bottle. I found they over carbonate some of my beers, especially NEIPAs.

The carb drops average 3.4 grams each. When I use a slurry I average 2.5 grams/bottle (12 oz. bottles) I’ve also recently experimented with sugar cubes (much cheaper than carb drops) and found if I run them over a cheese grated a few times, I can get them down to 2.4 grams on average. They don’t really fit into the bottle whole without force and mess. Plus, it’s too much. The excess gets added to my sugar container. I only do 3 gallon batches, so it doesn’t take that much effort.

 

[jb1986]

After talking with another pro brewer i've decided to leave headspace and bought sodastream bottle to purge it.

My carbonation drops consist of 1.5 grams of glucose. I usually also use 2.5grams of table sugar per bottle. So in my case, my beers could be undercarbonated. I bought them in order to reduce the exposure to o2 to it's minimal. Is it still a good idea now that I have the possibility to purge with Co2?

 

[Semper Sitientem]

This might not be helpful, but my answer is “maybe”. I assume you’re using 12 oz./330 ml bottles? 1.5 g. drops seem light.

Since it appears your current carbonation process works, I’d bottle a few testers using the carb drops, adjust the remainder by the volume removed and compare results after conditioning.

Also, you may want to take a look at the Priming Sugar Calculator if you haven’t already.

 

[jb1986]

Just to let you know, I let some headspace and purged it with co2 (sodastream) and there was no oxydation at all. But I used an entire sodastream bottle for 18L of beer (purging fermenter when dry hopping and bottles). In the end it was a very expensive beer. Not sure I would do it like that all the time.

 

[Minbari]

Just to let you know, I let some headspace and purged it with co2 (sodastream) and there was no oxydation at all. But I used an entire sodastream bottle for 18L of beer (purging fermenter when dry hopping and bottles). In the end it was a very expensive beer. Not sure I would do it like that all the time.

If you don't want to spend the money on a co2 setup, get a paintball co2 tank. 20oz co2 at Walmart is about $30 and $5 to fill it. $10 for the adapter