Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

bottle head space problem

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • bottle head space problem

    I am filling carbonated beer into bottles manually using counter pressure fillers 6 at a time. My process is to purge bottle briefly with co2 creating back pressure then allowing the beer to flow. Often when the bottle is filled there is head space that does not have foam in it when the bottle is capped. The problem I'm having is oxidation showing up after 6 weeks in the bottle. Is this headspace air enough to cause oxidation or is this coming from somewhere else?

  • #2
    If you don't cycle purge or pre-evacuate the bottles, the beer will be exposed to oxygen in the bottle as it's filling, and because it's very cold, it will rapidly absorb the O2. If you "top fill", it's got a lot of surface area as well, which increases the rate. The headspace is also a problem, but easily fixed by fobbing the bottle (rap it sharply before putting the crown seal on).

    Cycle purge by pressurizing the bottle, then bleed the pressure, and repeat several times. If you can draw a vacuum on the bottle, cycle purging like that will will work faster and better. The main thing is, remove the oxygen from the bottle before introducing beer, and fob before you cap (cap on foam).

    Regards,
    Mike Sharp

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks Mike,
      I have recently been doing the fob, however, I'm bottling about 1,300 in a session and purging the bottles with co2 several times would take too long. I could run co2 into the bottle for a few seconds before sealing it against the cork and then fill. I hope that this will be enough purge.

      Comment


      • #4
        I've said it before, here it is again, do it right or don't do it. It will cost you an incredible amount of money and brand to have to buy back stale bottles every 6 weeks or worse, people will stop drinking it since it is stale. It is important to do multiple pressurizing and depressurizing cycles(better with vacuum, but not absolutely necessary) to ensure an adequate removal of oxygen. It is also then necessary to cap on foam, no headspace, just beer, foam and a cap. You should at a minimum also be checking your headspace airs and even better check total package oxygen.

        Comment

        Working...
        X