Changes

Oxygen is the enemy of finished beer, and most producers of standard beers invest a lot of time and money to reduce oxygen exposure in their finished beer. For mixed fermentation/sour/funky beers, this may not be as significant a concern. These beers, especially barrel aged versions, generally have more oxygen exposure during fermentation and aging and this contributes to the characteristics of the beer. Some brewers achieve good results without purging bottles before filling (for example, lambic producers and blenders), and others do take care to avoid oxygen exposure in the packaging process. There is no definite answer in terms of whether it is better to carefully CO2 purge as is recommended in more normal beers or if the yeasts present in mixed-fermentation beers are better able to quickly scavenge O2 before it can damage the beer, though excessive oxygen exposure can hurt your beer (either permanently through formation of acetic acid and/or ethyl acetate, or temporarily by influencing [[tetrahydropyridine]] (THP). Based on your experience, equipment, and preferences, you can determine how much to limit O2 exposure in your beers. The safest route is to treat them as you would a normal beer and take care to avoid O2, though the experience of some will say that this extra work and cost is not necessary.