Can too vigorous a boil oxidize the wort?

[vraftsman]

Sounds like a pretty simple question but I haven't found quite the right thread to deal with all my concerns. I am considering this from several different angles.

1. A strong rolling boil is needed for good hop isomerization and to achieve good hot break.

2. A VERY vigorous boil can cause splashing in the BK which I assume can aerate the wort.

3. Hot side aeration is bad and can happen when the wort is above 180° therefore can happen during this strong boil at 212°

4. A sufficient boil-off rate is required to reach your target volume, though this isn't the most critical factor because volumes are easily adjusted by the sparge/lauter amount.

So the question here is where's the trade off?
What level of boil is needed to make good on 1 & 4 without contributing to 2 & 3?
Are 2 & 3 even really an issue during the boil? (I usually read about this in reference to transferring to stirring wort too soon AFTER the boil.)

 

[PastorofMuppets]

HSA is a myth on the homebrew level. Boiling drives off oxygen which is why you should add oxygen back by swirling or using pure O2 from a bottle.

You can check youtube for what is generally considered the right amount of vigor in your boil.

 

[vraftsman]

Good point with the driving out oxygen during the boil, I just wonder if the constant aeration negates that fact.

What is the difference with HSA in homebrew vs commercial?

(I do swirl and have a venturi for aerating while transferring to fermenter.)

 

[PastorofMuppets]

The much larger boil vessels have more potential of causing HSA in commercial brewing.

if you are boiling out oxygen during a boil it will be difficult to reintroduce more to aerate the wort during boil.

It is very important to reintroduce oxygen back into the wort for the yeast health which it seems you do.

 

[gstrawn]

HSA is a myth on the homebrew level. Boiling drives off oxygen which is why you should add oxygen back by swirling or using pure O2 from a bottle.

You can check youtube for what is generally considered the right amount of vigor in your boil.

HSA may not be a concern with the boil and I agree with that. I think the oxygen driven off via boiling cannot be overrun by adding oxygen.

I used to allow wort to splash into my boil kettle. I stopped doing this because every batch had the same off flavor. Fixed it. So HSA can still be a problem. I agree about boils though.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[PastorofMuppets]

HSA may not be a concern with the boil and I agree with that. I think the oxygen driven off via boiling cannot be overrun by adding oxygen.

I used to allow wort to splash into my boil kettle. I stopped doing this because every batch had the same off flavor. Fixed it. So HSA can still be a problem. I agree about boils though.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I can agree with that. When I lauter I use tubing that transfers below the surface of the liquid. Not sure if I would blame an off flavor on that in my case, but there is still no reason to splash hot wort around carelessly.