Pitching the next day

Sometimes you may need to pitch the next day due to the starter not being ready on time or if you are brewing a lager and need to chill to pitching temps. If you aerate using a oxygenation stone on way to your fermenter, do you need to aerate again before pitching if you wait a day or two? This is assuming the fermenter is sealed with a blow off tube. Could the oxygen bubble out and escape through the blowoff?

WesP said:

Sometimes you may need to pitch the next day due to the starter not being ready on time or if you are brewing a lager and need to chill to pitching temps. If you aerate using a oxygenation stone on way to your fermenter, do you need to aerate again before pitching if you wait a day or two? This is assuming the fermenter is sealed with a blow off tube. Could the oxygen bubble out and escape through the blowoff?

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IMO you re-aerate, O2 is the most important part of the first phase of fermentation so why chance it

I'd aerate again, but you really shouldn't wait to pitch like that. You chance it that another life form will start to procreate while there is no yeast in the fermenter. One of the critical times is getting yeast to become the dominant life form in the beer so it's important to pitch a good mount of healthy yeast on time.

If i'm brewing a lager, I need to get my wort down to 50 degrees before pitching. My plate chiller only manages to get the wort down to around 75 during these hot summer days and it takes roughly overnight for my conical fermenter to get to the proper temperature. I've been reading that if I keep everything sanitary and in a closed system, I should be okay.

I would like to avoid having to open up the fermenter and aerate again if it was not required. Does anyone know a definite answer if the O2 would bubble out if left overnight in a closed fermenter?

WesP said:

If i'm brewing a lager, I need to get my wort down to 50 degrees before pitching. My plate chiller only manages to get the wort down to around 75 during these hot summer days and it takes roughly overnight for my conical fermenter to get to the proper temperature. I've been reading that if I keep everything sanitary and in a closed system, I should be okay.

I would like to avoid having to open up the fermenter and aerate again if it was not required. Does anyone know a definite answer if the O2 would bubble out if left overnight in a closed fermenter?

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It would, yes, unless possibly if it was pressurized.

You could add some olive oil (a small amount) to a large enough starter, instead of worrying too much about oxygenation of the wort.

I do this all the time, and I have never had a problem. If your sanitation is good, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. I've gone longer than 24 hours several times when i couldnt get the tempt down, and then work or other things kept me away for another day.

I stopped using my plate chiller, and started using an imersion chiller and pump ice water with a submersible pump to get down lower. I can avoid having to do this with ale but its still tough to get to lager temps using the chiller.

I use an oxygen canister and diffusion stone and aerate when i pitch. I dont worry about opening up the fermenter.

i don't bother aerating until just before I pitch and I regularly pitch the next day or much later at night after placing in my fermentation fridge to get to pitching temps - you get better solubility at lower temps and I'll know that there wasn't any significant loss of oxygen in a few minute span