Ascorbic Acid in Brewing

Having employed the Yeast Oxygen Scavenging method for several months now (see post here), it seems to me that there is no down side to reducing O2 exposure in the mash. The idea would be this can keep the grains fresher during the mash step and apparently improve shelf stability. Not really sure if it matters, but I do know that using the uni-tank method of fermenting and serving from the same vessel certainly eliminates most if not all the oxygen on the cold side. So, why not add a bit of insurance in the mash?

However, weighing out the sugar and yeast and adding it at 110F prior to mashing in did add at least a small amount of hassle to the process. But overall, this seems like an excellent method as far as I can tell. But is there an easier way to reduce oxidation in the mash?

I recently came across a post I recall seeing before, but I kinda lost track of it. It was Genus Brewing discussing the use of Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) in the mash or packaging as a method to reduce oxidation. It's a short video and very informative:

Brulosophy also notes:

Of the various off-flavors that can plague beer, oxidation is viewed by many as being one of the more pesky, as it can occur at various points in the process, and once it’s there, good luck getting rid of it. While brewers have developed a number of manual methods for reducing the risk of cold-side oxidation, some have adopted the use of chemicals known to scrub oxygen from beer before it has a deleterious effect.

Sulfites are a commonly known chemical antioxidant that, when added to beer, creates a strong reducing agent that leads to a redox reaction. Another chemical antioxidant that has been getting increased attention is ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, which is preferred by some brewers as it does not contain sulfites and hence poses less risk to consumers.

Similar to sulfites, ascorbic acid has been widely used as an effective means of preventing oxidation in wine, though only recently seems to have gained acceptance among brewers.

The Method:

So I decided to try adding 3g of ascorbic acid (5 gal batch) prior to mashing in. Cool thing is I don't think you need to preheat the water to any particular temperature. Just dump it in while heating your strike water. I will post updates here as I start using the method...