How Hot is Hot for HSA?

[jescholler]

For my most recent batch (my 1st), I had some experienced brewers with my to guide me along. I used an immersion wort chiller built out of about 25' of copper tubing. I didn't want to create hot side aeration, so one of my friends instructed me to get the wort down to about 140F before stirring it to help it cool faster. I'm not worried about HSA with this batch, but I don't want to develop a poor technique for the rest of my brews.

I know that HSA is the boogyman of homebrewing, but let's say you did believe in him. What temperature would you let your wort get down to before stirring? Let's call it the HSA threshold.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

If I was afraid of HSA, I'd get below the 140. But as I'm not afraid, have never had a problem and don't foresee one, I'll take the benefit of stirring to circulate the wort around the immersion chiller to cool faster over the fears of HSA.

 

[moger777]

Stirring it while it's being chilled will help it cool down faster. As long as you don't splash it too much I would not worry about HSA.

 

[Revvy]

If you do a search on here you will find out that HSA is really a bogeyman for the homebrewer, and no one really worries about it....It is something that is more of a concern for professional breweries brewing light (and tasteless) lagers, but is really not something that can happen to us...

I'll save you the bother of searching...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/hot-side-aeration-so-im-idiot-71873/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/who-afraid-hsa-76779/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/hot-side-aeration-71806/

HSA is something that get's discussed by commercial brewers in journals, and some overzealous homebrewer then starts worrying about it, and it get spread into the HOBBY community, with little understanding...and then people brewing thier first beer start threads worrying about it...

So don't sweat your new brewer head about HSA....or anything, you beer is much hardier than you think...
Lemme put it into perspective for you, and save you a lot of "new bewer nerves"...Which we call noobitus.....

Beer has been made for over 5,000 years in some horrific conditions, and still it managed to survive and be popular....It was even made before Louis Pasteur understood germ theory....

If beer turned out bad back then more than it turned out good..then beer would have gone the way of the dodo bird, New Coke, or Pepsi Clear...

It is very very very hard to ruin your beer....it surprises us and manages to survive despite what we do to it...

I want you to read these threads and see..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-ever-messed-up-batch-96644/

ANd this thread to show you how often even a beer we thnk is ruined, ends up being the best beer you ever made, if you have patience....
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

There is a saying we have in the homebrewing community...RDWHAHB...make that your mantra and you will be a successful homebrewer...

Oh this thread is really good too...if you adopt the mindset in here you will do well...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/youre-no-longer-n00b-when-24540/

 

[jescholler]

Thanks for the responses. One of these days I'll learn to relax.

 

[jescholler]

I like to close the loop on my topics so people know what I decided to do.

For this topic, I decided that I'll stir my wort gently once it reaches 120-140F. After reading some of the responses in this topic, and a post from the bird (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/who-afraid-hsa-76779/#post805970), it sounds like it is better to get the wort cooled quickly.

 

[dontman]

For this topic, I decided that I'll stir my wort gently once it reaches 120-140F. After reading some of the responses in this topic, and a post from the bird (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/who-afraid-hsa-76779/#post805970), it sounds like it is better to get the wort cooled quickly.

If it is better to get the wort cooled quicker than slower why wait for over half of the cooling time before encouraging the process. I, for one, start whirlpooling and circulating the wort around the coils as soon as the water is flowing. Even if HSA was an issue for the homebrewer the stirring of the wort would introduce little to no oxygen.

Surely you can find better things than this bogeyman to worry about with your beer?

 

[jescholler]

If it is better to get the wort cooled quicker than slower why wait for over half of the cooling time before encouraging the process.

You bring up a good point. I can't seem to completely shake the boogyman.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Well then let me tell you about part of my brewing process. By the time I get to my last runnings to dump into the boiler, the last sparge is up to about 180º. I dump this with wild abandon into the already boiling brewpot, and it gives up a huge frothy aerated mess. Allegedly this should cause lots of HSA.

I have never had oxidation issues.

 

[ericm]

If it is better to get the wort cooled quicker than slower why wait for over half of the cooling time before encouraging the process.

for that matter, it's probably more important to get that first half of the cooling down as quickly as possible (to get the wort out of the DMS-producing temperature range) rather than the second half.

 

[Munsoned]

Meh. I'd just stir from the get-go. Life is too short.

 

[Revvy]

I can't seem to completely shake the boogyman.

That's a typical part of having noobitus...you still believe that your beer is week and easily damaged....

You notice that none of the brewers with high postcounts on here, who have been doing it for awhile are? You don't think we've read the same stuff you have, and probably more info that that? And we're still not worried.

So are you smarter than us, where this is concerned? Or just more paranoid based on your (temporary) ignorance and 9temporary) lack of experience in this homebrewing stuff?

Like I said read the "horror" stories in the threads I posted earlier, you'll get an idea..

And if you still are worried, then watch this video of a commercial brewhouse...

You think they are concerned about HSA?


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3uyKjLTWJA]YouTube - Transferring from Mash Tun to Boil Kettle[/ame]

 

[Acumen]

Aren't you suppose to airate your wort after the boil and before fermentation?

...

Don't people buy stones and what not to purposely do this?

 

[ericm]

Aren't you suppose to airate your wort after the boil and before fermentation?

...

Don't people buy stones and what not to purposely do this?

that's generally done after cooling the wort back down

 

[jescholler]

So are you smarter than us, where this is concerned? Or just more paranoid based on your (temporary) ignorance and 9temporary) lack of experience in this homebrewing stuff?

I don't think I'm smarter than you guys. That's just not possible after reading 1 book and brewing 1 batch (plus being addicted to HBT).

I do have 1 question regarding the video. The wort they are transferring will be boiled. I've heard that the boiling drives out the oxygen, so aeration is OK prior to the boil. Is that incorrect? If so, my situation would be different since I'm already done boiling.

 

[Revvy]

I don't think I'm smarter than you guys. That's just not possible after reading 1 book and brewing 1 batch (plus being addicted to HBT).

I do have 1 question regarding the video. The wort they are transferring will be boiled. I've heard that the boiling drives out the oxygen, so aeration is OK prior to the boil. Is that incorrect? If so, my situation would be different since I'm already done boiling.

It doesn't matter, you actually are the first noob worried about hsa from that side...most of the noobs on here freak if they let their wort fall through the air...but the newbish beer hypochondria is the same, not matter where in the equation it fits....it is not an issue for us home brewers

there's plenty of stuff to worry about in life, the coming zombie-pocalypse for instance...if none of us homebrewers are worried, who have read considerably more books/articles/discussions that you, and have brewed considerably more batches of beer that you, are not concerned, then neither should you.

When I'm chiiling with my Immershion chiller, I lift that mofo up and down in my kettle and swirly it back and forth and kick up an aweful foam to aerate while it's cooling down...and guess what. absolutely nothing happens to my beer, except that it tastes might fine when me and my friends drink it.

So please, relax about this HSA, and everything else.....for god sakes read the threads I posted....you'll thank us for it when you are no longer a nervous noob/