Is this a bad idea?

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Aabrewedxxxx

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I am always worried about causing oxidation to my wort and beer.
So I have a plan:

Mix in Cranberry juice to the wort some time before steeping the finnishing hops.

Cranberry juice is a great antioxidant and it would have sugar and other stuff to make happy yeast.

-Age
 
Charlie Papazian uses a tiny, tiny bit of cinammon for this reason - a completely imperceivable amount. Can remember how much exactly, he talks about it in the interview he gave on the Basic Brewing Radio podcast.
 
Actually your yeast need both fermentable sugar and oxygen to work properly. That is why brewers add oxygen after boiling and before they pitch the yeast. You don't want oxidation after fermentation so just learn to carefully siphon and your brews will be great.
 
Well I am going to ferment a gallon of beer in a milk carton with a little bit of cranberry juice after pitching the yeast. See how that turns out.
 
You need some head space in that carton for kraeusen, and preferably a way to attach a fermentation lock. I'm not sure what the oxygen permeability of a waxed paper carton is. The plastic HDPE milk jugs might be better if you plan to transfer to a less-permeable container after a week to 10 days of fermentation.

A couple of 2 liter PET coke bottles would make a good clearing tank. PET is much less oxygen-permeable than HDPE or waxed paper.

Or you could buy a gallon glass jug of apple cider or apple juice at the grocery and use the bottle from that to ferment 3/4 gallon of beer. Look for one that your universal bung will fit the mouth of, or use a blow of tube.

How much yeast are you going to use?
 
Um I'll probably pitch a quarter cup of slurry. I've never seen a gallon milk carton made out of paper. Problem with all of this is: I don't drink milk or apple cider. I'll have to buy a 2.5 gallon jug of water. And to decrease the oxygen permability I'll set it in the extra sink and fill it with water. For the airlock I'll just use the rubber stopper from my mashing tun it would fit perfectly in the jug hole and then run an air hose from the stopper to a cup of water.
 
Sounds like it'll work. If you're going to put the jug in a sink full of water, you can just let the end of your blow off tube sit down there too.
 
In reflection this is one of the cheapest ways to make beer. holy ****. 4 pounds of grain: 5$ 1 packet of dry yeast: 1$, 1.5 ounces of hops: 2$, 2.5 gallon water jug +water: 2$, stopper 1.50$, 3 inches of air tube o.15$

2 gallons of beer + all the equipment to make it: 11.65$

Edited to add.

Oh I just realised you need a mashing tun too. But thats easy you can built a cheapy manifold from a stew pot:
copper tube 1$
syphoning tube 2 feet .50$
Cheapy themometer, 1:50

Cut the slots in the copper tube for drainage. Smash the end of it, attach the tube.

Something like this would be what? 65% effiency.

so roughy 15$ and a little know how. can make you 2 gallons of beer.
 
Adrian Abascal said:
so roughy 15$ and a little know how. can make you 2 gallons of beer.

Heh heh, $15 and a little more know how will get you 5 gallons of beer.
Get that up to $20 and you can have 5 gallons of great beer.

At least you are on the right track.:ban:
 
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