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GCP (All Containers): Section 13: Beer quality – Dissolved oxygen

Institute of Brewing and Distilling

General Certificate in Beer Packaging
(GCP)
Section 13
Beer Quality - Dissolved Oxygen.
13.1. Dissolved Oxygen and Beer Quality.
The quality of a beer is continually changing. Beer is not completely
stable in its final package even after packaging to the highest standards.
Generally speaking, fermented beer will improve in quality during
maturation, but will start to deteriorate once the beer has been filtered or
clarified.

The two major factors in this change are the absence of yeast and
the presence of oxygen.

Yeast helps the beer to mature by absorbing some of the unpleasant

flavour compounds like diacetyl and scavenging oxygen.

Oxygen de-stabilises both the flavour and haze stability of the beer.

What does oxygen do to finished beer?

• Firstly, oxygen, when it has dissolved in beer, assists in the binding

together of protein material and tannin material derived from the malt used
in brewing to create particles large enough to form haze and make the beer
go cloudy.
• Secondly when oxygen has dissolved in beer, it combines with other
materials like lipids (fats) to form compounds with a very unpleasant
flavour. The flavour formed is often described as ‘stale, papery or
cardboard’. This reaction is speeded up at high temperatures, thus the
combination of high levels of oxygen and pasteurisation is disastrous!

Control of Flavour Stability

Oxidation of fatty acids and other lipids to aldehydes and other carbonyl
compounds, such as trans-2-nonenal, is associated classically with stale
flavour taints (Papery, Cardboard) and are major factors influencing beer
flavour stability. Elimination of Oxygen pick up into the beer stream, either
during processing or packaging is key to controlling the stability of beer and to
prevent staling and is described in section 13.4, below.

© The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (GCP Revision Notes Version 1 2008)
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GCP (All Containers): Section 13: Beer quality – Dissolved oxygen

Flavour stability of beer depends primarily on the oxygen content of the

packaged beer. Beer staling is a major topic with all brewers, and it is true to
say that the mechanism for its development is not fully understood.

In order to ensure that beer has a good shelf life, it is important to keep the
oxygen in package below 0.2ppm (200ppb) measured as TIPO (Total in
Package Oxygen) and not subject the product to more heat than necessary
during treatment. Many brewers insist that the exit temperature from a tunnel
pasteuriser is as low as 20oC although 26oC is more normal. This is in order to
prevent further deterioration during storage.

© The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (GCP Revision Notes Version 1 2008)
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GCP (All Containers): Section 13: Beer quality – Dissolved oxygen

13.2. Sources of Oxygen

Where does the oxygen come from?

• Air contains oxygen, so that any time the beer comes into contact with air, it
will pick up oxygen.

• The point of contamination is at the surface of the beer and this means that
the larger the surface area, the more oxygen will be picked up. When the
beer is agitated, a larger surface area is created and more oxygen will be
dissolved.

How much oxygen is needed to spoil the beer?

• A very small amount of oxygen will cause problems because it only needs
a small amount of protein/tannin to form a haze and only a small amount of
oxidised lipid is needed to give an off flavour.

• A DO2 level of 0.5 parts per million will cause problems, this is a thimble
full of air in five 100 hl (22 UK gallon) kegs.

• Most brewers try to maintain DO2 levels below 100 ppb (0.1 ppm).

How do brewers keep oxygen out of their beer?

There are five ways of controlling DO2 :-

• Eliminate the air from the plant, pipes and vessels to be used for beer
transfers.

• Ensure that any additions to beer are oxygen free.

• Reduce the surface area where beer is in potential contact with air.

• Add oxygen scavengers to the beer.

• Monitor DO2 levels and make corrections where necessary.

These control methods are explained in more detail below:-

Elimination of air from plant, pipes vessels and packages.

1. Maintain an inert atmosphere (CO2 or N2 ) in maturation vessels

and bright beer tanks.
2. Flush plant and pipes through with de-aerated water before running
the beer through.

© The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (GCP Revision Notes Version 1 2008)
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GCP (All Containers): Section 13: Beer quality – Dissolved oxygen

3. Flush and counter pressure containers with CO2.

4. The presence of air in cask conditioned beer is not so
destructive because of the activity of yeast.

Oxygen free additions.

1. Use de-aerated water to dilute beer and for mixing filter aid
additions.
2. Ensure that recovered beer, yeast pressings etc. are oxygen free.

Reduction in the area of the gas/beer interface.

1. Design pipes and plant so that beer turbulence is minimised.

This means graduated bends etc.
2. Fill tanks at a controlled speed from the base.
3. Fill containers with minimum beer turbulence.

Addition of oxygen scavengers.

1. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) can be added to beer, although it is

becoming common to reduce additions to food products.
2. Sulphur dioxide is added to products like finings.

Monitoring and correction of DO2 levels.

This is described in detail in the next Sections (13.3. and 13.4.).

13.3. Monitoring of Dissolved Oxygen.

DO2 levels will be zero in fermenting vessel at the end of fermentation.
All oxygen has either been used by the yeast or purged out of the beer by
the evolution of CO2 during the fermentation.

Following on from this, it is useful to know DO2 levels at the following

points:-

• In maturation tank.
• In the beer in line out of maturation tank. DO2 levels can rise at tank
changeover.
• In bright beer tank.
• On transfer to Packaging filler
• In package.

It is important to measure for DO2 immediately after potential contamination

by air, for example immediately after transfer into a tank.

© The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (GCP Revision Notes Version 1 2008)
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GCP (All Containers): Section 13: Beer quality – Dissolved oxygen

This is because oxygen is used up in the oxidising process so oxidised (stale)

beer could have a low DO2 .

High DO2 levels in tank can be reduced by purging with an inert gas like CO2
or nitrogen, but this could risk loss of beer foam proteins by causing fobbing.

Once the beer is in package, nothing can be done to improve out of

specification DO2 levels.

Measurement of dissolved oxygen is carried out by use of dissolved oxygen

meters, which can be attached to sample points or the actual sensing probes
can be located in-line in the beer transfer mains. It is important to site either
in-line probes or sample points in the correct positions to be able to monitor
DO2 levels as described above, viz.
• In maturation tank.
• In the beer in line out of maturation tank, during filtration
• In bright beer tank.
• On transfer to Packaging filler
• In package.

13.4. Control of Dissolved Oxygen Levels

Elimination of pick up of oxygen is key to controlling the stability of beer and to

prevent staling:

Minimise oxygen pick up by use of deaerated brewing liquor, fill vessels

from bottom up, purge all vessels and mains with inert gas, prior to beer
transfers, etc.

Maintain sufficient levels of natural anti-oxidants, eg polyphenols from malt

and hops, SO2 from fermentation.

The amount of polyphenols in beer is affected by mashing, wort boiling,

break formation and protein-polyphenol precipitation as well as oxidation.
The amount of polyphenols remaining needs to be protected to maximise
their anti-oxidant activity.

SO2 forms complexes with aldehydes and so restrict the adverse flavour
effects.

O2 scavenging materials as part of the packaging materials can be

incorporated into bottle crown seals, e.g sulphite and/or ascorbate.

Notes.
Write down details of dissolved oxygen levels and procedures for
controlling them in a plant that you are familiar with.

© The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (GCP Revision Notes Version 1 2008)