Aerating Wort - methods, how to's, recommendations?

So I occasionally see people posting about aerating the wort or oxygenating the wort before pitching the yeast. I usually take my sanitized spoon and stir the wort some in the plastic conical fermentor, but I was wondering if there is a better way? For example, I see these attachments at the LHBS (plastic and metal) that go into a cordless drill. I was wondering if these are worth the investment? Or is there a cheaper alternative, say paint mixer at Lowes or HD (similar to what is at the LHBS)? I also hear about people using the aerators that are used for aquariums or in my case for my bait bucket for fishing. If I was to look for one of these, can any one do? Or is there something specific I should look for when purchasing?

With whatever route I decide to go, is there one that is better than the other or does it not matter? I could see the aerator stone being nice b/c you could drop it in and let it do it's thing for however long while you clean up. Which leads me to another question...

How long would you let it go for with the aerator stone? How do you clean and sanitize the aerator stone, just like any other equipment I assume?

So with the rambling, what methods do people aerate their wort and why? Thanks in advance, being a newbie still I am trying to expand in each step of the brewing process, one at a time. Cheers!!!!!

 

I oxygenate after I pitch my yeast. I use O2 from a medical E tank and an oxygenation stone.

 

pxygenating with a wand is definitely the superior route to go. Ive always found other stuff to spend my money on however and just shake the hell out of it. Brulosopher did and experiment where he tested aerated vs entirely not aerated beer from the same wort. The results seemed to suggest its not as important as some make it out to be. The non aerated beer just had a greater lag time

 

A aquarium pump with a filter and aeration stone seems like a good step up from furious stirring/pouring back and forth between buckets/shaking. I still am stuck with pouring back and forth, but plan on stepping up to the aquarium pump the next time I have $30 to spare.

 

I aerate with O² and oxygenation stone only because I have a large oxygen tank for welding readily available. I once completely forgot to oxygenate and noticed no significant difference.

 

Zymurgy magazine did an article on this a couple months back. From memory....2 minutes of shaking was adequate.

I use oxygen and a sintered stainless stone. To sanitize I boil for 15 minutes before use. I oxygenate for two minutes immediately prior to pitching.

I choose this method because I load my carboy into the fermentation chamber and cool it to pitching temps. It can take a few hours to stabilize. The convenience of not having to disconnect the temp probes and lift it out of my chest freezer chamber is well worth it for me.

 

Shaking and aquarium pump will give you the same result at 8ppm. Air pump will be easier but take longer.

Straight O2 only takes a few minutes and gives you more O2 (I think up to 26ppm). The problem with this is if you don't regulate it well you could put in too much O2.

Wyeast says 8ppm is on the low range with 10ppm or a little more is what you want. So shaking or pump will be ok but even at the max it is right at the low end. Using straight O2 would be best but really not necessary. Shaking works just fine.

 

As others have said there's a lot of empirical evidence out there from studies and tests that show that vigorous sloshing does about as much good as aerating with o2 or other methods. I tend to agree. So my advice is to find a method that fits with your situation and available equipment.

Like Neobrew I can't chill my wort to pitching temps with summertime cooling water so I move my cooled (80F) wort to the fermenter overnight and pitch my yeast the next day. So for me the easiest solution is to drop an airstone into the wort and give it a 30 sec. shot of o2. Then pitch and let 'er rip. Don't have to lift the fermenter out or do anything all that physical.

If you can chill your wort to pitching temps at the completion of the boil then sloshing, pouring back and forth, or any of the other similar methods will work just as well.

Cheers!

 

I use 3 gallon carboys to ferment 2.5 gallon batches which makes shaking pretty doable. Not sure I'll be able to shake 5 gallon batches in a 6 gallon carboy - I already struggle a little with the smaller carboys!

 

For low-to-medium gravity ales, I use a Fizz-X wine degassing rod on a drill for a couple of minutes and whip up a good, thick froth.

For lagers and higher-gravity ales, I use disposable red oxygen tanks from the hardware store, and a sintered oxygenation stone. 60 seconds for ales, 90 seconds for lagers.

 

I just tried out the paint stirrer/mixer attached to a drill. Worked nicely. If oxygenating wort and fermentation activity are correlated, then this worked perfectly for me. Apparently, WLP400 is a slow starting strain, but I aerated with the paint mixer for about a minute or two, pitched my yeast, and 5 hours later, I was already having activity.

 

I originally used one of those paint mixers, but I must've gotten a cheap one or something because after 4-5 brews, it was noticeably corroded. I'm not sure they're cut out for the high acidity of brewer's wort. I ended up throwing mine out and going with the Fizz-X rod (stainless and HDPE plastic, intended for the job). Just something for you to keep an eye on.

 

Duly noted. When I first got the paint mixer, I saw on another forum about someone saying something about the metal rod on the mixer is galvanized steel and it'll start to flake after a few brews. Decided to get one anyways because I don't really like shaking a 5-6gallon bucket. I'm not a weak guy by any means, but I don't see how some folks can do it.

I'll look into that fizz-x rod. Thanks for that!

 

I've always just shaken and stirred, never had a stuck fermentation (asides from my first brew which was because I pitched the yeast without hydrating).

 

My method: Once my 5 gal batch is cooled below 80F, I pour the full kettle amount through a colander into a 6.5 gallon bucket. This is the same colander I use during spathe. It helps aerate and also removes some larger debris. I then add any cold top-off water, dump all that into another 6.5 gallon bucket, and pitch yeast. Seems to do the trick.

 

Eh, I know I'll probably catch some flak for this but it works for me and I've never had a problem. I sanitize the funk out of stuff. Once the wort is chilled, I put it up on a table and move my bottling bucket underneath it on a chair and open the valve. Once it is transferred to the bottling bucket, that bucket goes on top of the table and the carboy goes underneath the vertical spout. Sure it is using one extra vessel than necessary, but its what I do.

 

Thanks for all the input & suggestions!!! It's greatly appreciated and now I have some thinking & more research to do. Cheers!!

 

I'm lazy

Pure O2 90 -120 seconds every batch no shaking

O2 tank ($10) and Regulator/wand/stone (~$50)

 

I really need to get a similar setup Gavin!! And others who have mention similar setups.

So here comes the newbie question. If I can get one of these brand new for free, would it work to aerate the wort? If so, how long would you let it run for to properly aerate the wort? Thanks in advance!!

http://m.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Aerator/product/74343/

Posting from my iPhone using the app so I'm not sure if the link will work or if it will need to be copied & pasted into a web browser.

 

There has been a lot of research on how much yeast is needed to ferment a batch of beer and that is well documented. If you want your beer to be exactly the same for every batch, you need the perfect pitch but you can stray pretty far from that amount and still get some pretty tasty beers. http://sciencebrewer.com/2012/03/02/pitching-rate-experiment-part-deux-results/

How you get to the proper amount of yeast can vary. You can put the proper amount into the wort directly, you can start with a smaller amount and use a starter to build up the number of cells, or you can put the smaller amount into the wort and add the oxygen the yeast need to reproduce or you can pitch onto a (partial) yeast cake from a previous beer.

Many of you do make a starter so you have sufficient cells to ferment the wort, then you add oxygen too. That amounts to an overpitch because the yeast will consume the oxygen by replicating. Bearing in mind that the amount of yeast cells has little effect on the finished beer (see the above link) little is lost by doing so. Directly pitching a smack pack into aerated wort would probably give you a very similar finished product. Pitching a small amount of yeast into wort that is not aerated is what you want to avoid.

 

I've always just poured through a funnel.

 

I have tried virtually every method. My prefrence is;

1 .O2- easy, convenient, sanitary and very short lags
2. Paint stirrer with drill
3. Shaking
4. Air stone and pump ( tends to overflow)

 

I brew 2.5 gallons of wort (extract), cooled to150 degrees F in water bath, add to 5 gallon carboy and add 3 gallons of distilled water taken out of freezer just before I freezes. I shake the gallon jugs of distilled water, after pouring some in carboy. Cold water accepts O2 very well. The wort is near 65 degrees, oxygenated and ready for yeast. This method won't work for an all grain batch as well due to lack of need for post boil water.

 

I brew in buckets. So I just bought a device from a wine making supplier and hook it up to my drill. Airate for a good minute b4 pitching, then another minute after the pitch. Can't remember exactly what it's called, but it really gets the froth up. Not expensive and easy to clean and sanitize too.

FYI, it's called a wine degasser.

 

It's called the Fizz-X. I have one, it works great.

 

I use a whisk after I get a good hydrometer reading. Simple and inexpensive with no possibility of being too low on brew day requiring a quick trip for a refill.

 

I have a Medical O2 "E" tank w/ a regulator, tubing, & SS oxygenation stone. I sanitize the stone & tubing w/ StarSan, Oxygenate @3 PSI for about 90 secs. I then put the stone back in the StarSan and pump some air through to get any wort out. Air dry & store w/ stone in a zip lock bag.