Aeration tip

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OSUmoney83

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In the heart of buckeye nation, now (2012) in Scot
If anyone is having trouble getting their wort properly oxygenated and they want a simple solution, just spend $1.99 on a decent whisk, thats what they're made for. I was having this problem for my first few batches until I recalled a couple cooking shows about incorporating air into liquids. This really worked for me, a couple of stirs and the whole kettle was frothy and airy in seconds. This is a really inexpensive and effective technique for anyone who is interested.
 
Do you airate in your brew kettle while the wort is still hot? I've heard that splashing around hot wort is a bad idea, something about oxidizing? If it is cooled, I imagine it should work fine.
 
D-brewmeister said:
Do you airate in your brew kettle while the wort is still hot? I've heard that splashing around hot wort is a bad idea, something about oxidizing? If it is cooled, I imagine it should work fine.



I wait till its cool, I usually let it sit in a sink of ice water, I find it takes about 30-40 for 3 gallons to cool. Maybe it would be better to wait until I've dumped it into the primary and topped it up to 5.5 before whisking it up. Perhaps all the work of whisking is just wasted once it splashes into the primary
 
OSUmoney83 said:
Perhaps all the work of whisking is just wasted once it splashes into the primary
On my batches in the past, I have just poured the wort into the fermenter through a funnel, which seems to do a good job at aerating (even though the wort was still warm at that stage, I can't say I noticed anything that I would call "oxidation" but then again, I wouldn't know what that would taste like in the finished beer. Could someone describe that taste???), and I would also swirl/shake the carboy to get the cold and warm wort to mix.
 
D-brewmeister said:
On my batches in the past, I have just poured the wort into the fermenter through a funnel, which seems to do a good job at aerating (even though the wort was still warm at that stage, I can't say I noticed anything that I would call "oxidation" but then again, I wouldn't know what that would taste like in the finished beer. Could someone describe that taste???), and I would also swirl/shake the carboy to get the cold and warm wort to mix.



I don't know about oxidation, but I have some kind of off taste from my first batch, I was stirring the wort like crazy after I took it of the burner :eek: but, oh well, still very drinkable. Has a little sweet, almost wine-like quality. I think some of that will be taken care of with some more aging, its only been in bottles about a week. Has a nice coffee flavor that I keep trying to find with every sip, hope that'll come through more
 
OSUmoney83 said:
I don't know about oxidation, but I have some kind of off taste from my first batch, I was stirring the wort like crazy after I took it of the burner :eek: but, oh well, still very drinkable. Has a little sweet, almost wine-like quality. I think some of that will be taken care of with some more aging, its only been in bottles about a week. Has a nice coffee flavor that I keep trying to find with every sip, hope that'll come through more

i'm pretty sure that's from hot-side aeration. you need to wait until pitching temp to aerate the wort. some people swear there is no difference in just sloshing it in the primary for a couple minutes, rather than using an aeration set-up. i've used the whisk, stirring, paint mixer on a drill. now i use a carbonation stone and a bottle of 02 that i bought at Home Depot. let me tall ya, i have noticed a difference. you set the 02 level depending on the og of the brew. the smaller 02 bubbles incorporate a whole bunch better in the cooled wort than large 02 bubbles. that's better to get your yeasties going! but, all-in-all, what ever works and makes you happy. that's what it's all about. :D
DeRoux's Broux
 
DeRoux's Broux said:
i'm pretty sure that's from hot-side aeration. you need to wait until pitching temp to aerate the wort. some people swear there is no difference in just sloshing it in the primary for a couple minutes, rather than using an aeration set-up. i've used the whisk, stirring, paint mixer on a drill. now i use a carbonation stone and a bottle of 02 that i bought at Home Depot. let me tall ya, i have noticed a difference. you set the 02 level depending on the og of the brew. the smaller 02 bubbles incorporate a whole bunch better in the cooled wort than large 02 bubbles. that's better to get your yeasties going! but, all-in-all, what ever works and makes you happy. that's what it's all about. :D
DeRoux's Broux


Good info, I suspected I had some hot-side, didn't have anything to compare it to though. Another thing I noticed is the off-flavor was more pronounced in the Bass bottles I used, they don't make for a good seal and the beer I was drinking was relatively flat. Just finished a non-bass bottle and it tasted much better, but still a slightly lingering off-flavor
 
OSUmoney83 said:
Good info, I suspected I had some hot-side, didn't have anything to compare it to though. Another thing I noticed is the off-flavor was more pronounced in the Bass bottles I used, they don't make for a good seal and the beer I was drinking was relatively flat. Just finished a non-bass bottle and it tasted much better, but still a slightly lingering off-flavor

some caps just don't fit some bottles. it would suck to lose a case because of that one. :( you probably don't want to spend money on bottles, but the best ones are from EZ-Cap. they are 20 oz. amber bottles with the Grolsch type re-usable pop top caps (hinged stopper). they are sweet to use. before i started kegging (which by the way, is WAY better than cleaning/sanitizing bottles!) i used these. you can buy 'em from your local HBS or on-line. they take up less room (typical wbout 30 bottles) than regular 12 oz, and they sound cool when you pop one open..... :D
DeRoux's Broux
 
Ok... I have to ask.. why aerate the wort in the fist place? What does it do? Why do it? I'm a newbie to this, but I've brewed about a dozen batches, and never aereted my wort. Should I, and if so... why?
 
seven77 said:
Ok... I have to ask.. why aerate the wort in the fist place? What does it do? Why do it? I'm a newbie to this, but I've brewed about a dozen batches, and never aereted my wort. Should I, and if so... why?
Oxygen is important to the propogation stage of the yeast, it allows them to multiply to the levels needed to ferment the beer. More O2 saturation means quicker propogation, larger yeast population, faster fermentation, and therefore less risk of infection (because the yeast outcompetes any other bugs in there). Making a good yeast starter can help the process, by making sure that the yeast are already active before you pitch 'em (especially helpfull if you are using packaged yeast, or older yeast). Hope this helps.
 
Hey OSUmoney83, I actually tried the whisking after I had it in the primary (plastic bucket primary) just before pitching the yeast. I must say that I aerated it well with this bugger. Looked like it was fermenting I had enough foam on the top after 1 min of stirring with the whisk. FYI...
 
seven77 said:
Ok... I have to ask.. why aerate the wort in the fist place? What does it do? Why do it? I'm a newbie to this, but I've brewed about a dozen batches, and never aereted my wort. Should I, and if so... why?

Yeast *need* oxygen, so you must have aerated somehow, if only on accident. Purposeful aeration gives you a quicker, healthier ferment and better tasting beer.

Just letting chilled beer splash into your fermenter is enough. Remember, never aerate hot wort. Only chilled wort.
 
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