Oxidation Question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Some will warn you about the dangers of hot-side aeration before boiling while others will say not to worry about it. I've never experienced any negative effects of hot-side aeration myself. Just this weekend on my 2nd AG batch my MLT manifold completely clogged so I ended up attaching a paint strainer bag to a 5-gal bucket and scooping the grains and wort from my cooler into the bag then siphoning the wort into my kettle while spraying water over the grains from my hot water cooler without any tubing. If I don't notice any oxidation in the beer after that ordeal I can safely rule the hot-side aeration myth as busted.
 
I've had to pour out the whole mash tun to reset the false bottom more than once. I can't say that those batches were noticeably different as a result.

I wonder if there's a way to measure oxidation?
 
As home brewers we can beat up the mash pretty good and it should not hurt a thing. The biggest point I found issue with air leaks is in transfer, especially at bottling time. The tubing and plastic cane always seemed to draw in the perfect stream of air. I clamp them on now and no issue
 
For the homebrew scale hot side aeration is not an issue - it becomes problematic at the microbrew and larger operation as there can be a significant amount of wort agitation moving between tanks.

Basically dont introduce oxygen after your yeast can't be counted on to scrub it out (near the end of their feeding cycle). So for instance; if you are bottling then bottle conditioning - a little oxygen in touch with the wort is not a big issue, the live yeast will consume it. If you bottle out of a keg with a bottling wand etc, the oxygen has nothing to combine with except the contents of your beer (oxidized flavor).
 
Back
Top