aeration of must

PaddyMurphy · 12-12-2011, 03:44 PM

So I aerate my must the old fashioned way: by shaking the hell out of the carboy after I pitch the yeast. I've read some threads on here about people using an airstone and an aquarium pump to aerate their must for longer. Is that good for mead? Or should I just invest in a cheap blender and aerate the must one blender full at a time?

CM4OSU · 12-13-2011, 01:52 AM

I doubt I'm the best person to answer, but I would think trying to properly sanitize an airstone could become a pain. I used a blender with my first batch. I put about a quarter of the fruit I planned on adding, some honey, and water and set it to chop. Then I added it to the rest of the jug and gave it a small shake. It seems to have worked out well!

Bugeaud · 12-13-2011, 02:37 AM

Shaking the hell out of it works well. I shake a gallon batch for about ten minutes (hard work it is to get the good mead). Though I suppose the best aeration would be to have a keg with a tap at the bottom, and have a air tube fitting that would fit on the tap. simply have the top open and blow pure oxygen from an oxygen tank through the tap. Then after doing this for a long while, transfer the must to a primary fermentation vessel.

**Sharkman20** · 12-13-2011, 02:57 AM

I got an aquarium pump from walmart for $5.99, and an airstone from the brew shop. I was aiming for a normal one, the guy gave me a 2 micron stone that was 20 bucks when I saw the receipt at home... But anyway whenever I make a batch of anything I make a bunch of sanitizing solution and I just throw the airstone in a bowl with my airlock and rubber bung and let it soak for a couple hours until I'm ready to use it. I take it out and run it under a little water and aerate my must with it for about 20 minutes while I have a beer, then come back and pop it out of the carboy and back into the sanitizing solution while I clean everything else up and pitch my yeast. It's easy and works like a charm and I don't have to spend 15 minutes shaking a 6.5 gallon carboy around. lol

I also like to aerate my mead with normal air vs an oxygen tank since the yeast need nitrogen, and honey is lacking. I figure since air is 78% nitrogen it would help more than using just pure oxygen. All I know is the two batches of mead I've made have both started bubbling within 5 hours so I must be doing something right. We'll see when it comes to the taste test. lol

Bugeaud · 12-13-2011, 03:03 AM

Well I've had bread yeast JAOM start bubbling in less than an hour and it was going like crazy (I was extremely surprised) so I'm not sure the starting fermentation time has much to do with better aeration. But I really don't know. My guess is it has the most to do with the immediate environment after pitching the yeast.

malkore · 12-13-2011, 03:07 AM

Well the thing about mead is, since you aren't boiling it (you didn't boil it did you?!), you aren't driving off a ton of oxygen.
Sure aeration at pitching is still good, but if you get a good yeast starter going, and pour your water so it splashes going into primary, the shaking method will work pretty well.

Honestly I've found that if you're degassing the first 7 days of primary once you see fermentation activity, that's what makes a lot of difference in the yeast health. Staggered nutrients too, but getting that CO2 out of primary seems to really help the yeast stay active.

Plus, you can use the degassing wand at pitching to stir a lot of air into the must.

Bugeaud · 12-13-2011, 03:12 AM

Quote:

I've found that if you're degassing the first 7 days of primary once you see fermentation activity, that's what makes a lot of difference in the yeast health.

Wait a second here, so your talking about aeration DURING fermentation, eh??? just to clarify..

CM4OSU · 12-13-2011, 03:27 AM

My JOAM iteration took off in about 3 hours after some blending and a good few minutes of shaking after I got it into the jug. I am also interested to hear about this reoxygenating though. A couple of my bottles have slowed down a bit and I'm wondering if I should pop the balloons off and give them another shake.

**Randar** · 12-13-2011, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeaud

Wait a second here, so your talking about aeration DURING fermentation, eh??? just to clarify..

Yes. This isn't a hopped wort. Proper aeration at the start of fermentation is essential for yeast health and at the first staggered nutrient addition, you can use a stir stick or again shake a carboy to aerate. Oxidation in a wine or mead must is not as much a concern as is keeping yeast healthy,happy, and strong. Else, they throw off fusels and other off flavors. As malkore also noted, driving off excessive dissolved CO2 while adding a bit of O2 will help as well.

dummkauf · 12-14-2011, 02:57 AM

http://www.brewangels.com/Beerformation/AerationMethods.pdf

I'd save your money and just shake it