Poll: How do people aerate their wort?

[AdamPag]

Long and Hard.

Actually I use a double colander to separate and recombine the wort, its wonderful

 

[runitis]

Pure O2

 

[user 103393]

1. It's not sanitary
2. You want to oxygenate the wort, not carbon dioxideate (word?) it.

I was actually kidding. I pretty much figured that be a pretty bad idea.

 

[tonyolympia]

I don't have the exact same setup but same air sucking venturi effect. Works great!

+1 on the Venturi tube. I made mine out of a piece of racking cane. Poked a single hole in it with a hot paper clip.

I still shake the carboy a bit, just for good measure.

 

[Weizenheimer]

I drop it through a strainer, pitch my yeast and then shake the piss out of it.

Any reason I should pitch the yeast after I shake it vs. pitch and then shake? It is a pain if the arse getting those lids on and off the ale pails.

 

[Brewskii]

I use an immersion blender with a whisk attachment and whisk the bejeezus out of it.

Unconventional but works great.

 

[rd4]

I drop it through a strainer, pitch my yeast and then shake the piss out of it.

Any reason I should pitch the yeast after I shake it vs. pitch and then shake? It is a pain if the arse getting those lids on and off the ale pails.

By thoroughly mixing the yeast in the wort, you run the risk of premature settling or yeast getting caught in the early trub formation. Though the effect is probably negligible.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm just curious why people think that a head of foam on top of wort is an indication of dissolved oxygen.

 

[Brewskii]

I'm just curious why people think that a head of foam on top of wort is an indication of dissolved oxygen.

If you are referring to the wisking method I use, it really is about maximizing the amount of ambient air mixed in the liquid.

So called "micro- bubbles" are taken up as quickly or quicker by yeast cells and immediately metabolized. Whether I'm achieving this or not is subjective but I can tell you it makes a big difference in my fermentations vs shakin the carboy.

 

[Stauffbier]

Pure O2

^this^

 

[Brewskii]

If you are referring to the wisking method I use, it really is about maximizing the amount of ambient air mixed in the liquid.

So called "micro- bubbles" are taken up as quickly or quicker by yeast cells and immediately metabolized. Whether I'm achieving this or not is subjective but I can tell you it makes a big difference in my fermentations vs shakin the carboy.

But you don't have to take my word
For it...
http://www.esau-hueber.de/dl/Englisch/Flyer/BGT/Flexi_Prop_Flyer.pdf

 

[Snafu]

This is what I use, works great!

 

[eppo]

Previously i mixed the wort with a spoon/whisk which worked well. I just picked up the aeration kit from Austin Homebrew, So this weekend i'm doing my aeration with 02.
I've heard good things, so i cant wait... figures this brew wont be ready until September.

 

[Bubba]

I use one chest high dump from BK to Bucket lots of foam then pitch yeast and cover it works everytime and never had a stuck fermentation.

 

[brewit2it]

Kettle on the stove...fermenter on the floor...open the spigot and let it fall!

Pretty much the same here. I brew outside and just open the spigot on the BK where it pours into a funnel with mesh colander inside it. It splashes around when it hits the funnel/colander and splashes some more it falls to the bottom of the carboy. Also I usually use dry yeast so don't really need a lot of O2.

 

[psymonkey]

I'm just curious why people think that a head of foam on top of wort is an indication of dissolved oxygen.

I'm just curious as to why you don't enlighten us instead of being smug about it.

I perceive the six inches of foam on top of my carboy following a pass through my funnel strainer as a good indicator that the wort was very well "splashed around" on the way in. I tend to liken it to the aerator on my kitchen sink which introduces air to the water while running it through a screen that is remarkably similar to the strainer on my funnel.

 

[DonutMuncher]

I also just use a large sanitized slotted spoon and stir like a madman for a couple minutes.

 

[SkipperNC]

Shake like a madman for 5 minutes. Works fine, if anything, I will investigate the drill based stirs before any O2 pumps/stone. TBN stated the, "possibility of reducing head when overfrothing," but I'd rather test that myself. Honestly if it's not much difference, 1 minute versus 20 ... No comparison there, I'll go with the shorter time.

 

[spearko520]

I'm just curious as to why you don't enlighten us instead of being smug about it.

I perceive the six inches of foam on top of my carboy following a pass through my funnel strainer as a good indicator that the wort was very well "splashed around" on the way in. I tend to liken it to the aerator on my kitchen sink which introduces air to the water while running it through a screen that is remarkably similar to the strainer on my funnel.

i use pure o2- i gto a general feel for how much volume per minute my reg is putting out using gas displacement in a bottle filled with liquid held in a vacuum upside down in sink full of water- so i am saying from what i learned from this little science project (many thanks to ajdelange- getting me the hands on info over the hum of the equations) that i can very quickly produce a HUGE "head" of foam in my fermenter just by blasting my reg, or by not even using a stone at all. BUT this, in itself, doesn't mean my ppms of o2 for the solution are where i want them to be. If i run at the right rate, for the right amount of time, the foam on the top of the wort is not all that buxom. So i guess the moral is, the appearance of the top of your wort does not necessarily indicate the quantity of o2 in it.

 

[psymonkey]

i use pure o2- i gto a general feel for how much volume per minute my reg is putting out using gas displacement in a bottle filled with liquid held in a vacuum upside down in sink full of water- so i am saying from what i learned from this little science project (many thanks to ajdelange- getting me the hands on info over the hum of the equations) that i can very quickly produce a HUGE "head" of foam in my fermenter just by blasting my reg, or by not even using a stone at all. BUT this, in itself, doesn't mean my ppms of o2 for the solution are where i want them to be. If i run at the right rate, for the right amount of time, the foam on the top of the wort is not all that buxom. So i guess the moral is, the appearance of the top of your wort does not necessarily indicate the quantity of o2 in it.

See, now I am enlightened and if you were a vendor, I would consider shopping at your place of business.

 

[arturo7]

Where's the option for coke whores blowing on extra long straws?

 

[spearko520]

i have one that reaches all the way to my neighbor's living room!

 

[cl330b]

Where's the option for coke whores blowing on extra long straws?

It's expensive, but it does work....

But I use this little gem

 

[Screech]

Pour 3 feet high into primary, through a screen filter, then stir vigorously with ladle.

Kevin

 

[spearko520]

See, now I am enlightened and if you were a vendor, I would consider shopping at your place of business.

oh - you don't want to buy anything from me. i hid pubic hairs in all the merchandise.

 

[Bobby_M]

Sorry if I came across as smug. There are a lot of different methods that will achieve enough dissolved oxygen and many of the ones listed here are fine. I was simply referring to statements about how much foam head is generated as being an indication of "job well done". My point, more specifically, is that you can generate a bunch of foam on the top of wort without getting anywhere near the 8ppm DO we're looking for. It would be better to say something like "I shook the hell out of my carboy and I'm pretty confident that it's well aerated".....and leave off the "because there's a huge frothy head on it". That's all.

 

[Brewskii]

Sorry if I came across as smug. There are a lot of different methods that will achieve enough dissolved oxygen and many of the ones listed here are fine. I was simply referring to statements about how much foam head is generated as being an indication of "job well done". My point, more specifically, is that you can generate a bunch of foam on the top of wort without getting anywhere near the 8ppm DO we're looking for. It would be better to say something like "I shook the hell out of my carboy and I'm pretty confident that it's well aerated".....and leave off the "because there's a huge frothy head on it". That's all.

Agree... Foam is not a litmus test for good aeration. It's more about how it got there.

 

[wildwest450]

I'm just curious why people think that a head of foam on top of wort is an indication of dissolved oxygen.

I'm just curious as to why you don't enlighten us instead of being smug about it.

There was nothing "smug" about that question. Perhaps you're just too sensitive.

 

[ncbrewer]

I don't do it and haven't suffered for it, with both Danstar and Fermentis. I'd probably give a big wort a shot, just in an abundance of caution.

From the Fermentis site's HB FAQ's:

8/ Does the wort need Oxygenation / aeration?
As the yeast is grown aerobically, the yeast is less sensitive on first pitch. Aeration is recommended to ensure full mixing of the wort and yeast.

So it's not aeration for oxygen's sake they're recommending, it's to ensure mixing.

I was looking through the Fermentis Tricks & Tips http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/Tips-Tricks.pdf

It states "Oxygen is required to assure a healthy cell multiplication. Oxygenation is either made by top filling and splashing wort against the wall of the fermenter, aeration or direct oxygen injection. It is usually recommended to make the oxygenation on cooled wort."

Their information seems to be contradictory. I aerate to be on the safe side.

 

[BamaRooster]

I use a mesh strainer and then I whip the S%$T our if it with a stainless steel whisk