How long does it take for oxidation to occur?

General Homebrew Discussion
1

If I only fill a growler halfway six hours before a party, will my beer taste oxidized from the O2 that was in the top one-half of the growler?

Thanks

2

Not in my experience

3

I think a larger concern may be loss of carbonation.  With all the available headspace, the beer will continue to lose carbonation until the pressure balances out.

4

But the CO2 will remain in the beer until opened, won’t it?  I assume a half growler at a party will be gone before it can lose carb.

5

Some definitely will.  But won’t the CO2 in the beer dissipate until the headspace of the growler is at the same pressure as the beer itself?  I actually don’t know if this will be a considerable amount or not.  Just meant it would be a larger concern for me than oxidation.

6

Your beer requires 11-12 PSIG to hold propose carbonation in the fridge. When you fill a growler the headspace will be at 0 PSIG. Presumably you will put it back in the fridge with a closed lid for 6 hours. During that time the carbonation in the beer will escape into the headspace and try to reach equilibrium. But, practically speaking this process takes hours.

This weekend I bottled beer from the keg. The last bottle was only half full when the keg kicked. I capped it and left it to drink that night. I bottled at 7:30am and came back to drink it that evening. It was noticeably less carbonated than normal but it was still “half” carbonated and it drank fine.

7

Take a full growler?