Poll: How do people aerate their wort?

I'm curious how popular the different aeration methods are. I personally shake up my bucket or carboy, but I don't think I do it enough or something. The gravity of my batches have been ending high and I'm wondering if it's a lack of O2. What do you do?

I use a whisk and vigorously mix the wort after it cools. I have seen a drill attachment that I would like to use.

Pour back and forth from the brew pot to the fermenter a couple of times. Shake the fermenter. Stir the wort in the fermenter vigorously. Shake some more.

i pump mine from the BK to the fermenter, and i do it full volume. It comes out like a fire hose. I aim it from 3" above the top to the opposite corner. By the time I get it up to 6 gals the foam is coming out the top. I call that good enough.


edit; before I pumpped I used to pour it back and forth from bottling bucket to fermenter about 4 times. Fu(k that heavy lifing garbage.

I stick the skinny end of my mash paddle down into the carboy and stir like crazy... of course only after it has had a thorough dose of star San .

BK to bucket via skydiving out ball valve.

Too many studies showing any other method actually not needed. Actually, even if it was too little and stressed, id prefer it. I dont baby the yeast, toughen em up, it builds character.

Kettle on the stove...fermenter on the floor...open the spigot and let it fall!

I ferment in buckets, so I lay a mesh strainer over the top and pour the wort through it from about chest height. When I do extract kits I do the same thing and also top off with the sink's spray hose. Usually creates a HUGE amount of foam on the top, plus the yeasties like it and usually take off pretty quickly.

i have this plastic aeration tip that makes the wort fan out. you attach the tip to the end of your tubing open the ball valve and let it go. i also do this over a strainer/colander so I can strain out hops and stuff at the same time. works great, wort is always very foamy when I'm done

Sanitize two buckets. From BK thru chiller to bucket 1. When all in bucket 1 pour to bucket 2, pour to bucket 1, pour to bucket 2, back to bucket 1. Works like a champ, foamy frothy wort!

With smaller batches I pour from my brew pot about three feet above the fermenter. When I'm adding water (3 quarts at a time) to bring up the volume, I do the same.

I use a plate chiller so my wort is pumped at high volume from the chiller into the neck of the carboy. The flow rate and the fall from the neck have always seemed to work well for me.

I use a cordless drill and a paint mixer from home depot to stir the wort in the bucket. It seems to work well for me and doesn't break my back.

I hear a lot of people talk about foaming up the wort. I try not to do this cause of things I've read and listened too, just personnal preference I guess.

If any of you have listened to the Brew Network podcast, specifically the aeration episode, you will learn that foaming in the aeration process is NOT good for head retention. Their recommendation is that you don't foam up the wort and that using an oxygen stone system is the best method<--- too expensive for me though.

Pure O2.

Shake the Eff out of the fermenter. But my 44 year old back ain't gonna allow that to happen much longer. Gotta do it a different way pretty soon.

Gary

Revvy said:

Pure O2.

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That's how i do it just make sure to use one of these.

I used to shake the heck out of it.Sis` in law snagged me a tank medical o2
from her folks and been using it ever since about 45 to 60 second shot,I`ll
never shake a carboy again.Lucky I never dropped one in my early
years.

One of my aviators breathing oxygen systems, an old racking cane and a 50 cent fish tank stone. One of these days I will spring for a SS stone.

Mesh strainer and shake it here.

pure o2 and a stone - just did this for the first time with a pum king clone - fermentation took off like a rocket.

Pure oxygen here

dhoyt714 said:

I use a whisk and vigorously mix the wort after it cools. I have seen a drill attachment that I would like to use.

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Pretty much do this when I use plastic fermenters. With carboys, I shake 'em up a bit. So far it seems to work enough.

I've been pouring the wort through a SS mesh strainer into my bucket, and then my top-off water goes into the carboy and gets shaken up before getting dumped through the strainer.

I pour between 2 buckets a few times.

Pour it into my primary thru a fine strainer - gets the crud out and air in...

Cheers!

Wine degasser and a drill. Haven't been disappointed yet.

drhookmec said:

That's how i do it just make sure to use one of these.

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I'm not sure the inline filter is needed. Last I checked nothing can live in pure oxygen.

Food Grade Oxygen using the SABCO Chill- wiizard....http://www.brewmagic.com/products/chill-wizard-system-2:rockin:

Vacuum T inline seems to work well for me.

akervin said:

I'm not sure the inline filter is needed. Last I checked nothing can live in pure oxygen.

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It's not that anything could be living in the oxygen,
I had some issues with off flavors coming from pure O2 until i added
one of those inline filters.

Tim

Shake rock vigorously for a couple minutes immediately before pitching. -not a lot of back strain violently rocking on a padded surface (usually in a bucket).

I've seen this study before and there's another floating around out there that compared O2 and "pouring/splashing". The first one I found when looking again... http://hw.libsyn.com/p/6/8/b/68bd31...30901683&hwt=c5e312465da5014955335a631cbc195c

Cheers, Werbi

When I get my wort cooled via immersion chiller, I pour it from about chest high into a bucket fermenter. Froths up nicely. Have quick starts and good ferments.

Revvy said:

Pure O2.

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This.

The Mix Stir, works for me...Love my power tools.

Put my bucket on top of a tennis ball and work back in forth, side to side for a couple of minutes. Works everytime.

Only problem is when the dog hides all the tennis balls.

bait tank airator ( walmart special$14.00) and an air stone from morebeer
ya no filter just let her go fer 25 min er so seem to work alright let ya all
know in a month er so - yee ha

flipfloptan said:

Put my bucket on top of a tennis ball and work back in forth, side to side for a couple of minutes. Works everytime.

Only problem is when the dog hides all the tennis balls.

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I think next time, I'm going to try the tennis ball trick, and/or I'm going to build a cheapo aeration attachment for my drill like this guy did.

chumpsteak said:

Vacuum T inline seems to work well for me.

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The vacuum T idea seems pretty cool. You could put one of those little filters on it too if you're worried about contaminating your wort.

What kind of fitting is that, automotive?

5$ Paint mixer i got at the Depot/drill.Pouring it throught a strainer does a good job of getting it foamy allready but i still mix it for 5 min or so.I wouldnt mind trying pure o2 sometime. Lately ive been shaking it every few hours for the first 5-10 hrs or if its clear on top still.

What Remmy/Bernie said. Nothing beats the bottle of O2 and a stone and wand from Williams Brewing