AQI and Brewing

[premington]

This might be a silly question, but I'm curious if anyone has any opinion on whether it's a bad idea to brew when the air quality index (AQI) is over a certain level. I'm in New York, and yesterday was stunning! I've never seen anything like it. A friend and I planned to brew a 10g batch on Saturday, but if the air quality is poor and we can smell burning wood in the air (like yesterday), do we run the risk of introducing off flavors in our beer?

 

[hotbeer]

How do you know they'd be "off" flavors if they do get introduced into your beer? Might be interesting flavors and notes.

You'll never know if you don't brew!

If you are using dry yeast and direct pitch it, then you won't have to aerate the wort. Aeration would be one place where I'd suspect the most smokey flavor might get into your beer from the air quality. But you could use O2 from a tank as some do.

Risk is everywhere.

 

[Kickass]

Call me a nihilist, but I don’t think it matters. I’d still brew.

 

[Beernik]

It won’t matter to your beer. It might matter to your heart & lungs.

I’ve been in places when the AQI has gotten over 200. You really shouldn’t spend more time outside in that kind of air than you have to.

If it was me, I’d postpone. But I also have lots of family history of nonsmoking related lung disease in my family.

 

[day_trippr]

Philly was verging on 500 today. Hellacious...