high sg.ale

[revrand65]

i'm planning on brewing a high gravity scottish ale and it says i'll have to aerate the wort prior to pitching the yeast...iv'e figured out why but the how part stumps me...are we talking some kind of air stone that you drop in with a aquarium pump or what....don't laugh even though it's a dumb question...how do you pump in air from an outside source without pumping in all the crap in the air with it?..the sg is supposed to be around 1100 sg

 

[Somerville]

i'm planning on brewing a high gravity scottish ale and it says i'll have to aerate the wort prior to pitching the yeast...iv'e figured out why but the how part stumps me...are we talking some kind of air stone that you drop in with a aquarium pump or what....don't laugh even though it's a dumb question...how do you pump in air from an outside source without pumping in all the crap in the air with it?..the sg is supposed to be around 1100 sg

Aerate is a fancy term to adding oxygen. Yeast needs oxygen to live so that it can eat the sugar which in turn produces alcohol (and carbonation when needed). You don't need fancy equipment, though, it is out there for purchase but definitely not needed. When your pouring your wort in your primary fermenter, "splash" as much as you can. This will help "aerate" the wort. If your doing a less than 5 gallon boil then you will be adding water to the primary fermenter(PF) to "top it off" to the 5 gal. point. When doing this, pour the water like theres no tomorrow...splash.
Also, use a sanitized spoon (dont scratch your PF if its a plastic bucket) to stir the wort. Stirring will add oxygen.
Again, I believe, if your using a glass carboy as a PF, you can give it a good shake.
Hope this helps

P.S. It's not a dumb question.

 

[Blender]

There are several ways to add O2 to the wort. Check this page out for some systems. http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1085&keyword=&x=1&y=1

 

[revrand65]

i just bought a 6.5 gallon glass carboy for my primary..tired of useing the bucket i like to watch the fermentation it's the fun part...i use a 5 gallon for secondary..ok i'll shake the crap out of it..thanks.

 

[Shambolic]

Aerate is a fancy term to adding oxygen. Yeast needs oxygen to live so that it can eat the sugar which in turn produces alcohol (and carbonation when needed).

Not sure if pedantry here will be a help or hindrance, but anyway...

To the best of my knowledge:
The yeast need oxygen for aerobic respiration, which is what you want to get your yeast to rapidly multiply early in the brewing process. Alcohol production begins when they run out of oxygen and switch to anaerobic respiration.