Aeration

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WTexan

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I added continual aeration to my system during my last brew day. I was looking forward to trying the beer when finished but, when I tried it had an off taste, it was hard on my tongue almost like paint thinner.
So my question is this could I have over oxygenated and if so what is the best way to control using continual aeration?
 
describe what continual aeration is. the taste you are talking about sounds like over aeration.
 
fixitoscar said:
describe what continual aeration is. the taste you are talking about sounds like over aeration.

I adde a T that my my wort runs threw but in the middle I add a .5 stone. So the wort never slows down. I turn on the oxygen and let the wort flow over the stone.
 
cooper said:
What was your recipe and your steps?

It was just a brown ale. Nothing special I was showing a friend how to brew extract.
 
Did you buy a pond pump type aeration system, or a pure O2 system?

About 15 minutes of aeration will properly oxygenate the wort for yeast health. You would really have to literally do it for 30-45 minutes + to over aerate, and if you did, the off taste would be more like stale/cardboard, not paint thinner, so I don't think you over aerated.

Paint thinner/acetone off flavor would be associated more with out of balance alcohol or fusel alcohols. Did you add any simple sugars to your recipe that were not in the original recipe, like sugar, brown sugar, DME, LME, honey, etc.? Did you ferment at a relatively high temp, like 70+? Those would be the common culprits.
 
TopherM said:
Did you buy a pond pump type aeration system, or a pure O2 system?

About 15 minutes of aeration will properly oxygenate the wort for yeast health. You would really have to literally do it for 30-45 minutes + to over aerate, and if you did, the off taste would be more like stale/cardboard, not paint thinner, so I don't think you over aerated.

Paint thinner/acetone off flavor would be associated more with out of balance alcohol or fusel alcohols. Did you add any simple sugars to your recipe that were not in the original recipe, like sugar, brown sugar, DME, LME, honey, etc.? Did you ferment at a relatively high temp, like 70+? Those would be the common culprits.

TopherM

Yes I did add some liquid sugar and my wife did unplug my refrigerator on me by accident. When I found it the next morning it was at 80 digress.
Also I am using the O2 in the red bottle like you get from Lowes are Home Depot.
 
I adde a T that my my wort runs threw but in the middle I add a .5 stone. So the wort never slows down. I turn on the oxygen and let the wort flow over the stone.

If you are using pure o2 then its possible you are over aerating.
If its an aquarium pump its pretty much impossible to over aerate.

Using pure o2 and a .5 stone i do a liter a minute for a minute and a half.
 
Did you do a full boil extract batch? How much water did you use to steep your specialty grains in? I've had problems with tannin extraction in the past by steeping my specialty grains in 5.5 gallons of water and the PH getting way too high.
 
fixitoscar said:
If you are using pure o2 then its possible you are over aerating.
If its an aquarium pump its pretty much impossible to over aerate.

Using pure o2 and a .5 stone i do a liter a minute for a minute and a half.

Fixitoscar

Is the liter a minute with the wort in the carboy are running over it as I described?
 
Yes I did add some liquid sugar and my wife did unplug my refrigerator on me by accident. When I found it the next morning it was at 80 digress.
Also I am using the O2 in the red bottle like you get from Lowes are Home Depot.

That sounds like the issue, and not the aeration.

Simple sugars can get "hot" tasting, and if the fermentation got up to 80 degrees, any fermentation can get that way. Combining the two will provide solvent-y fusel alcohols.
 
I do it with the stone in the bottom of my carboy. With pure o2 there really isnt a need to have the wort run over the stone.
As Yooper said it may not be the cause of the problem,
but I think it may have contributed to it.
Running your o2 for just a minute or 2 with your valve not caranked fully open should be plenty of oxygen for 5 gallons. Any more and your probably wasting it and may run the risk of over aerating.
 
Yes I did add some liquid sugar and my wife did unplug my refrigerator on me by accident. When I found it the next morning it was at 80 digress.

+1.....I think the combo of these two were your issue, not the aeration.
 
Is there a better way to aerate other that o2? Before I used o2 I was shaking it for a bit in the carboy but a friend said o2 would produce better beer.
 
This does not sound like over-aeration. This sounds like Fussel Alcohols caused by fermentation temps that were too high.
 
+1 to all of the above


The liquid sugar and 80F fermentation cause the paint thinner taste. However, I think your aeration method really kicked it into high gear. Pure O2 will produce stronger yeast and get you better attenuation, but it only takes 90 seconds of O2. Your method is completely saturating it, which can really mess up your flavor profile. This thread talks about how anything that causes rapid yeast growth (O2, temperature, nutrients) will increase fusel production.

On a side note, haven't I read somewhere that Brett can break down fusels? If you haven't bottled yet, that might salvage the batch. It will always be a little wacky, but it's better than paint thinner right?
 
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