Low-tech aeration

Very new to the hobby, brewing up my 2nd batch some time next week. In doing so, I intend to correct a number of mistakes or refine my process.

Reading howtobrew.com, John Palmer suggests dumping the wort "aggressively" into the fermentation bucket / carboy to introduce O2 for the yeast to feed on.

I've seen a lot of talk about aeration stones, inline O2 injection systems and stuff like that - I didn't want to get into that just yet.

I am wondering if the action of pouring the cooled wort from my kettle into the primary will introduce enough oxygen for the yeast to do its job? I was also thinking of maybe dropping a couple bucks on a drill bit paint mixer (sanitized, of course) and hitting the wort with that for 30-60 seconds. I would imagine if the yeast is healthy, and there is some oxygen, it would be enough to kick things off properly.

edit: fixed the link. if that still doesnt work because the Lowes site is awesome... google "drill bit paint mixer" to see what I mean.

I pour into my primary from a couple feet above and it works just fine.

Like this:





And proof that it's getting plenty of air:

That works just fine for me then - you sir, just saved me almost $7! Thanks very much!

I used to just stir vigorously and/or pour from high-up. That get's harder when you have a large batch size...Now I use a stick-blender held up near the top of the wort. Introduces lots of frothy air. Pure O2 is obviously best, but not absolutely required.

I swirl the fermenter pretty good when it is less than half full and then pour the full batch between two buckets back and forth. Just pouring will get 'er going but my personal experience is that the little extra effort will get the yeast off to a faster start. Never really tasted a difference though.

Oh, and though I haven't done this, but I can see it happening, be careful not to knock over your fermenter when pouring.....that would suck!

I use one of these and a drill to stir for ~2 min. (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10408). You could make one a lot cheaper, especially if you don't need it to fit in the mouth of carboys (so it won't have to fold e.g. if you only ferment in buckets). Not exactly low tech if you count the drill, but many people have one already.

You may already have one of these around the house.

I stir vigorously during cooling, and then pour from high or through a strainer.

On top of that, I top off by setting a bottling bucket on the counter above the fermentor and letting it pour through the spigot. The falling water is aerated and it also splashes a good bit. Typically have some good foam on top by the time it's done. Give it a quick stir and pour in yeast.

scone said:

I use one of these and a drill to stir for ~2 min. (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10408). You could make one a lot cheaper, especially if you don't need it to fit in the mouth of carboys (so it won't have to fold e.g. if you only ferment in buckets). Not exactly low tech if you count the drill, but many people have one already.

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+1 on this paddle, not the cheapest method though

You can add a T and an extra length of hose to your autho siphon. The T will suck air into the hose as the wort is draining into the carboy. All the wort that moves through the hose gets mixed with air. Theres a thread about it somewhere...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Venturi_Device

I use the venturi method. I made a pinhole in the tube coming off my kettle valve using a hot paperclip. Works very well and is easy on my back.

rifraf said:

I stir vigorously during cooling, and then pour from high or through a strainer.

On top of that, I top off by setting a bottling bucket on the counter above the fermentor and letting it pour through the spigot. The falling water is aerated and it also splashes a good bit. Typically have some good foam on top by the time it's done. Give it a quick stir and pour in yeast.

Click to expand...

I do something similar. When I'm first racking out of my boil after chilling I clip my siphon hose to the edge of the container I'm moving the wort to - I make sure to set it at a height where it'll hit the edge and splash pretty good moving into the container. I end up with a couple inches of foam by the time it's all transferred.

Hi there
short response: if you are starting by now and you are making beers not too big (I would say under 1070) you can go just dumping the wort "aggressively" and/or splashing the worth in the fermenter.

Long response:
I used the paint mixer for about 10 brews and never had a problem but:
- you need to be carefull not to generate too foam, since that's composed of proteins that you can use only time only;
- you have your lid open for the entire operation which is not the best thing.

Venturi is very cost effective, I want to give it a try but, again, you are sucking in unsanitized air.

I'm very interested to air pumps too because they don't cost too much (believe around 20$) but you can apply a sanitized filter to it and bubble from an air stone or even from the spigot (if you have one on your primary). A plus of this approach is that, for bigger beers that need more oxygen than you would get in solution without pure O2, some oxygenate, pour in yeast, let the yeast take the oxygen and they oxygenate again 24h later. I could do it with the paint stirrer too, but I don't want to take the primary off the fridge, re-sanitize the stirrer and open the lid again.
I would really like to know if you can re-sanitize the plastic filter or you have to buy one per brew.

Pure O2 is fantastic because you don't have to sanitize anything but:
- it costs;
- it's flammable;
- you risk to over-oxygenate.

Hope my thoughts on oxygenation help you
Cheers from Italy!
Piteko

Thanks all! In my first batch I fermented in a bucket, so "agressive" pouring was an option - everything fermented out fine so that seems perfectly viable. This next batch will be fermented in a 6G BB so I'll be racking into it from my brew kettle. I didn't know about this venturi business so I am going to give that a try (yay science!) as it seems the cheapest, and easiest method.

Often dry yeast contains adequate cell counts and therefore aeration is not nearly as critical. Not really saying don't bother, just saying RDWHAHB. I have pitched dry yeast without aerating without issue, for normal gravities, not huge beers I might add.

wilserbrewer said:

Often dry yeast contains adequate cell counts and therefore aeration is not nearly as critical. Not really saying don't bother, just saying RDWHAHB. I have pitched dry yeast without aerating without issue, for normal gravities, not huge beers I might add.

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I always aerate my wort when using liquid yeast. Do I need to aerate the wort before pitching dry yeast?

No, there is no need to aerate the wort but it does not harm the yeast either. During its aerobic production, dry yeast accumulates sufficient amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and sterols to produce enough biomass in the first stage of fermentation. The only reason to aerate the wort when using wet yeast is to provide the yeast with oxygen so that it can produce sterols and unsaturated fatty acids which are important parts of the cell membrane and therefore essential for biomass production.
If the slurry from dry yeast fermentation is re-pitched from one batch of beer to another, the wort has to be aerated as with any liquid yeast.

this is from danstar's website.

I put foil on the carboy and swirl/rock/shake it for 10-15 minutes while watching TV.

ludomonster said:

I put foil on the carboy and swirl/rock/shake it for 10-15 minutes while watching TV.

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Do you watch something particular to charge yourself during the operation?

Cheers from Italy!
Piteko

You may find this interesting or helpful.

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=100941

piteko said:

Do you watch something particular to charge yourself during the operation?

Cheers from Italy!
Piteko

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