How do you aerate?

Yakima 728
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.
thx for the advice bobbrews. maybe I'll get lucky and this'll turn out. sure smells good when I sniff around the airlock.
 
Using my Chiller, I move it up and down to quciken the chill, and move it around a lot. It's usually foamy by the time I get through. Never had a problem with stuff fermenting out. I may get some improvment with an O2 kit, but don't see the point right now since things come out good without it.
 
In line O2 through a .02 SS stone, I'm going to get an 20CF O2 tank and regulator soon, I can only do about 50 gallons/red cylinder right now.

inlineO2.jpg
 
I have followed the advice of some folks on here and put a single hole in my kettle drain line. It works great. Just ran a piece of 3/8 PEX into the mouth of the kettle and drilled a single hole near the top of the PEX. Something like 1/8".

IMAG0275.jpg


About as good as I am going to get without an oxygen system. Last batch I had full krausen in 12 hours.

IMAG0277.jpg
 
I also use a version of the "venturi gadget". After reading a post here on HBT a couple of years ago on the aeration gadget, I just took a piece of tubing and cut some slits in the side that serve to suck in air. Lots of foam in the fermenter! Never had a problem with attenuation since using it...even for big imperial stouts and barleywines.
 
I am using an O2 stone from AHS similar to Williams but I had to craft my own wand from a racking cane.

I am concerned that venturi gadgets or holes in the line are a sanitation risk when compared with other low cost solutions like shaking, sprayer, or paint stirrer.

I slosh sanitizer around the carboy to make it as sanitized as reasonably possible, then I am very mindful to cover the top so wild yeast baddies don't float in on dust or pollen. The venturi gadgets send more unsanitary air into your carboy right at the time when infection risk is the highest. Getting more air in there that hasn't even been sloshed around in sanitizer would defeat the idea of covering the carboy and keeping the dust out.

I think the most economical option is those $2 sipon sprayers that attach to the end of the line. Then give it a good shake just to be sure.
 
JeepDiver said:
Using my Chiller, I move it up and down to quciken the chill, and move it around a lot. It's usually foamy by the time I get through. Never had a problem with stuff fermenting out. I may get some improvment with an O2 kit, but don't see the point right now since things come out good without it.
Click to expand...

You don't want to aerate your wort until its chilled....you may induce some hot side aeration off flavors.
 
I used to do the pour back and fourth and shake the carboy/bucket for my first year of brewing, not thinking much of it. I figured out the hard way that if you get enough air, the fermentation works well, but if you don't get enough that is when problems occur. I had good luck with some batches, and bad luck with others. I even whisked a batch, cause why not.

I'm lazy now and use the air-pump 0.5um stone from LHBS, O2 might serve a little better, but I really like the venturi idea and will try that soon.

-Mac
 
I pour through a mesh strainer and then a nylon paint strainer bag into a funnel stuck in the neck of the carboy, then put a solid stopper in the neck and shake back and forth w/ the handles of my brew hauler for about a minute.

Seems to work just fine.

I agree with others with regard to the scientific evidence that aeration of liquids is about surface area and atmospheric pressure. aquarium aerators work mainly because of bubbles bursting on the surface.
 
I pour my wort back and forth between by kettle and fermenter through a strainer. Serve the purpose of straining the wort and the mesh really seems to help introduce air by breaking up the stream as I pour. I do this until the bubbles reach the top of my 6.5 gal fermenter, which only takes about 3-4 pours. However, its a PITA to pour back and forth so much, so next time I'm gonna try the venturi :rockin:
 
aquarium pump + stone. generally for 30-45 minutes. With plain air, I can't possibly overdo it...so, I set it while I wait for the wort to reach pitching temp in the cooler.

Between that and well aerated (stir plate), nutrient fed, proper sized starters....I never have a problem, and all start within a few hours of pitching, and I haven't had a stuck ferment yet in 11 years of brewing.

That said, I've forgotten before, and it took a little longer...but, that was just one data point and the ferment still finished below 1010 (from 1060).
 
i strain through a sanitized screen between my kettle and bucket. it aerates better than anything i've seen, plus it screens out any hops.
 
"It is generally safe to assume that you need at least 10ppm of oxygen. 10ppm will supply adequate oxygen in most situations. Over-oxygenation is generally not a concern as the yeast will use all available oxygen within 3 to 9 hours of pitching and oxygen will come out of solution during that time as well. Under-oxygenation is a much bigger concern."

This is directly from Wyeasts document. Regular air at max, no matter what method you use will only achieve at most, 8ppm. That is why Williams O2 system is important. If you haven't read this document, I highly suggest it. It's well done and easy to understand. I think an earlier poster has a link to it.
 
chiteface said:
"It is generally safe to assume that you need at least 10ppm of oxygen. 10ppm will supply adequate oxygen in most situations. Over-oxygenation is generally not a concern as the yeast will use all available oxygen within 3 to 9 hours of pitching and oxygen will come out of solution during that time as well. Under-oxygenation is a much bigger concern."

This is directly from Wyeasts document. Regular air at max, no matter what method you use will only achieve at most, 8ppm. That is why Williams O2 system is important. If you haven't read this document, I highly suggest it. It's well done and easy to understand. I think an earlier poster has a link to it.
Click to expand...

With all due respect to the microbiologists at Wyeast, I think it's manifestly obvious that their writing staff have taken liberties with the word "need".
 
shake shake shake. SWMBO laughs every time, it's my way of "involving" her. Outside of the consumption at least :tank:
 
TimpanogosSlim said:
With all due respect to the microbiologists at Wyeast, I think it's manifestly obvious that their writing staff have taken liberties with the word "need".
Click to expand...

...I'm not sure I understand. Would there be a benefit for the microbiologists at Wyeast to them telling the consumer they need to use more oxygen? I don't see a motive there for them to mislead their consumers...are there other studies that have been published that indicate a different ppm level is most critical for yeast health? I certainly don't want to just take one source as gospel if something else may have a different, thoughtful theory.

Full disclosure...I just purchased the Williams brewing system(haven't even received it yet) prior to that I put a tennis ball under my carboy and rolled it around on that for a good few minutes. Got decent results, but to take my beer to the next level, I'm looking to increase the health of my yeasties.
 
chiteface said:
...I'm not sure I understand. Would there be a benefit for the microbiologists at Wyeast to them telling the consumer they need to use more oxygen? I don't see a motive there for them to mislead their consumers...are there other studies that have been published that indicate a different ppm level is most critical for yeast health? I certainly don't want to just take one source as gospel if something else may have a different, thoughtful theory.

Full disclosure...I just purchased the Williams brewing system(haven't even received it yet) prior to that I put a tennis ball under my carboy and rolled it around on that for a good few minutes. Got decent results, but to take my beer to the next level, I'm looking to increase the health of my yeasties.
Click to expand...

It's abundantly clear that the majority of Wyeast's customers are successfully brewing with 8ppm or less.

So the word "need" here is perhaps a bit strong.
 
I use a little plastic thingie that fits on the drain tube a converts the stream of wort to a spray. Paid $3 or $4 for it online.

I have an oxygen stone set-up, but only use it for really big beers or with lager yeast.
 
TimpanogosSlim said:
It's abundantly clear that the majority of Wyeast's customers are successfully brewing with 8ppm or less.

So the word "need" here is perhaps a bit strong.
Click to expand...

Word. I can dig why you would take issue with that. I would also say that the way I posted that portion of the article would actually misrepresent it as a whole based on that. When I read the entire article, what I actually gleaned was that if you are going to use a pump, don't bother unless it is hooked up to pure O2, because shaking it is just as effective as a pump, not that folks aren't making good beer without O2.
 
I finally just ordered an oxygenation kit so that I don't get carpol tunnel from aerating my wort. Should have it for my next batch.
 
vtchuck said:
I have an oxygen stone set-up, but only use it for really big beers or with lager yeast.
Click to expand...

^+1
I wouldn't introduce any equipment(possible infection points) to my wort for anything but big beers. Will continue to shake on a tennis ball for anything 1.065 or below.
 
From the Danstar Catalog & Technical Info: “There is no need to aerate wort when pitching with dry yeast. Due to a specific growth process, dry yeast already contains sterols and unsaturated fatty acids in the cell membranes and is ready to divide without any additional oxygen. However, if the yeast is reused, oxygenation will be required to ensure cell division.” I always aerate to be on the safe side. Has anybody tried dry yeast without aerating?
 
ncbrewer said:
From the Danstar Catalog & Technical Info: “There is no need to aerate wort when pitching with dry yeast. Due to a specific growth process, dry yeast already contains sterols and unsaturated fatty acids in the cell membranes and is ready to divide without any additional oxygen. However, if the yeast is reused, oxygenation will be required to ensure cell division.” I always aerate to be on the safe side. Has anybody tried dry yeast without aerating?
Click to expand...
All the time; I only aerate when using liquid yeast. Works good for me.
 
I use the Williams brewing setup as well. I use it for dried and liquid yeast. I am used to working it into my process and it doesn't take any additional time. So I usually just work it into my brew day regardless of the yeast type.
 
I use buckets for fermentation and one chest high dump from the BK does the job every time.
 
Dan said:
I've heard this somewhere before, well obviously here on HBT. Any idea "why" it works? In laymen's term please. :eek:

Edit: Here's the thread I was thinking of. I'm rereading it now. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/using-olive-oil-instead-oxygen-47872/
Click to expand...

I used it once and did not really notice any difference vs. a non- aerated fermentation. Certainly not enough data to disprove it.

However, I did notice an improvement in lag time and reduction in off flavors and aromas. That being said, I did start aerating at the same time I bought a stir plate and using Jamils calculator to bump my pitching rates closer to his recommendations. I even give my starter wort a quick blast of O2 before pitching the initial yeast pack.
 
winvarin said:
I used it once and did not really notice any difference vs. a non- aerated fermentation. Certainly not enough data to disprove it.

However, I did notice an improvement in lag time and reduction in off flavors and aromas. That being said, I did start aerating at the same time I bought a stir plate and using Jamils calculator to bump my pitching rates closer to his recommendations. I even give my starter wort a quick blast of O2 before pitching the initial yeast pack.
Click to expand...

Edit. Noticed an improvement with o2 aeration. Stupid phone
 
Not a lot of experience here, but in my first batch, I just shook the heck outta my carboy for 60 seconds or so, and within 6 hours had crazy fermentation activity. And I didn't try to lift it, I just rocked it back and forth on a soft surface to protect the glass.
 
I pass my wort through a sanitized, fine meshed SS strainer into my fermenter (even if I'm not filtering anything out). Lots of air in it that way and easier than stirring, shaking and lifting (I'm just lazy that way:D)
 

Similar threads

B
Do you need to aerate your wort if you pitch a yeast starter in it?
2
Replies
63
Views
4K
cmac62
cmac62
Langerz
"Odd" Fermentation Gravity Change
Replies
6
Views
471
hotbeer
hotbeer
D
Aerating Wort via Fly Sparge?
Replies
6
Views
548
DonT
DonT
luckybeagle
Acetaldehyde due to headspace in bucket buddy?
Replies
4
Views
429
JohnDBrewer
J
segallis
Aeration Questions
Replies
9
Views
2K
day_trippr
day_trippr

Latest posts

Back
Top