First Time With Two New Things

I'm brewing a Smoked Porter tomorrow and am going to be using two new processes tomorrow. I've googled and searched but nothing has clicked in my head as properly explaining it all.

#1: Fly Sparging: I'm going to be fly sparging with around 2 gallons. I built a fairly simple fly sparge device with PVC and small holes. When do I begin sparging and at what rate? My MLT is a 48 quart rectangular cooler, if it helps.

#2: Wort Aeration: This'll be the first time that I'm using a wort aeration kit. It's fairly simple - aquarium pump to filter to diffusion stone. The question I have is how long do I need to use it for before I pitch the yeast?

1) You begin sparging when you begin your mash runoff to your kettle - the rate you flow at is up to you but generally slower is better (1-2qt/min is a good starting spot)

2) You didn't say how big of a batch you are doing, so I'll assume 5 gallons... 30min to 1 hour should be good with the aquarium pump... if using pure o2 then 30-60seconds is plenty.

Good Luck!

RiverCityBrewer said:

30min to 1 hour should be good with the aquarium pump

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This is way excessive. If I remember right, you can only achieve 8ppm of O2 by injecting air and you get there pretty quickly - somewhere in the area of 10-15 minutes.

whatsleftofyou said:

This is way excessive. If I remember right, you can only achieve 8ppm of O2 by injecting air and you get there pretty quickly - somewhere in the area of 10-15 minutes.

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You might be right... When I did tests with a DO meter I achieved 8ppm saturation rates in 5.5 gal of wort through a 2 micron stone with a ~3cfm aquarium pump in about 30-40 minutes. If you were using a .5 micron stone and a higher CFM pump you could probably do it in 10-15 minutes. I just err on the side of caution when someone asks for generic advice without giving specifics of their hardware.