wort aeration device

[BK_BREWERY]

I pour through a screen in my funnel and into my carboys but i was thinking about building a device similar to one i saw on midwest supplies. The Stainless Steel Mix Stir :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
what do people think about "whipping" wort for aeration sure beats shaking the hell out fo shaking it, its difficult shaking ~40 lbs for 5 minutes or so think this would be as effective for aeration hooked into a high speed drill or something?

 

[llazy_llama]

$25 plus a drill sure beats several minutes of shaking.

A toothpick and some olive oil sure beats that.

Ultimately, you'll use whichever method you are most comfortable with, but we've been hearing great things about the olive oil method recently. I've yet to try it myself, but I can promise that my next brew day will feature this semi-new method.

 

[BK_BREWERY]

tooth pick and olive oil?? i did a quick search and didn'y find it yet, whats it all about?

 

[llazy_llama]

The basic theory is that a small drop of olive oil added to freshly cooled wort (some say to just dip a toothpick in the olive oil, and that a whole drop is too much) provides the yeast with everything they need for their reproductive phase. I would get more in depth into the science behind this, but I don't fully understand it myself. I believe it was covered in a recent BYO issue, but I may be mistaken in that.

As I have yet to try this method myself (I will next weekend, I promise you!) I cannot in good consience recommend it to anyone. There have been a few threads that talked about it fairly recently. The best reading material I've found so far has been this: http://www.brewcrazy.com/hull-olive-oil-thesis.pdf

It should be noted that if you make a proper yeast starter, and aerate the hell out of that with a stir plate or good ol' elbow grease, the yeast should have completed their reproductive phase, and further aeration may not be necessary. Just food for thought.

 

[BK_BREWERY]

i am very interested in your results using this method keep me posted!

i read some other articles after i googled it and seems a lot fo "old school" brewers are afraid to try it, and get away from the status quo. i all about innovation i don't have a brew ready for this yet but i think i'm going to have to try it as well.

 

[llazy_llama]

i am very interested in your results using this method keep me posted!

i read some other articles after i googled it and seems a lot fo "old school" brewers are afraid to try it, and get away from the status quo. i all about innovation i don't have a brew ready for this yet but i think i'm going to have to try it as well.

That's what I'm talking about! Even if I ruin a batch, I would consider it worth it if I could contribute to the overall knowledge of HBT. As I mentioned, I'm going to brew an Amber Ale next Sunday. I'll be using a dry yeast (Nottingham, to be specific) so the yeast starter won't be a variable. Will report back with my findings!

 

[BK_BREWERY]

after reading about its only using the oleic or lineolic acid in olive oil i wonder if a more pure for of conjugated lineolic acid would be even better or an oil like grapeseed or safflower oil which has a lot higher concetration of "the good stuff" would wokr better. man this could really be a big thing! to the research lab! (my garage)

 

[BK_BREWERY]

found this thought it made a lot of sense to me, i thought another oil would be better than OO

"
(1) Yeast could probably benefit from oil additions at the rate of up to three grams per gallon
(2) Flax oil would probably be better than olive oil
(3) The oil would probably work better if it were saponified
(4) Plant oils are a poor source of sterols, so you still need some oxygen
(5) New Belgium is pitching into 168000 liters of beer, so the rate for a 5-gallon batch is 36 microliters, or .036 milliliters.
"

 

[malkore]

if the drill wand is $25, I'd just add $20 more to the price and get a pure O2 aeration system form Williams Brewing. 22" stainless wand with stainless airstone, airline, and an O2 regulator that fits those cheap Burnz-o-matic red O2 tanks from any hardware store.

30 seconds of pure O2 and you are set.

 

[JPicasso]

Squirrel cage paint mixer from HD!

Nothing like whipping up some wort.

One of These.

 

[BK_BREWERY]

if the drill wand is $25, I'd just add $20 more to the price and get a pure O2 aeration system form Williams Brewing. 22" stainless wand with stainless airstone, airline, and an O2 regulator that fits those cheap Burnz-o-matic red O2 tanks from any hardware store.

30 seconds of pure O2 and you are set.

but i was going to build one similar for less than 10 i was just wondering if it'd do the job and aerate, my arms are tired from slinging 5 and 6 gallon batches around. plus i've read several places you get better aeration from shaking wort than you do from airstones or atleast more efficiency.

Squirrel cage paint mixer from HD!

Nothing like whipping up some wort.

One of These.

this would be awesome if i used the pails to ferment, but the smallest squirrel cage they have is ~2 inches and won't fit in my carboy necks, bummer looks like it would do a heck of a job!

 

[culaslucas]

i've read several places you get better aeration from shaking wort than you do from airstones or atleast more efficiency.

Uh - WHAT? I don't see how this could be valid at all. Injecting pure oxygen has got to do a better job of oxygenating the wort than simply shaking a carboy. I would LOVE to see these several places where you've read this.

 

[masonsjax]

BobbyM's experiment seems to suggest that no aeration produces results comparable to shaking, but aerating with an O2 stone can be beneficial.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A734B5E1C3U]YouTube - Homebrewing Aeration/Oxygenation Experiment[/ame]

 

[nealf]

There was also a Basic Brewing podcast that discussed this:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr08-07-08aeration.mp3

 

[JPicasso]

this would be awesome if i used the pails to ferment, but the smallest squirrel cage they have is ~2 inches and won't fit in my carboy necks, bummer looks like it would do a heck of a job!

Yeah. I hadn't considered that.
The wine de-gassers / aerators work the same, go for it.

Of course, you can't stir your settled paint like I can! 10 seconds, brotha, 10 seconds. Where is Billy Mayes when you need him?

To me, the aeration wands/stones seem nice, but something else that I am bound to misplace/mistreat. Plus, using pure O2 is another expense requiring travel to another place. As if propane and CO2 weren't enough. I can replace my squirrel cage mixer for a few bucks at the big box after I'm done abusing it.

 

[Evan!]

Yeah. I hadn't considered that.
The wine de-gassers / aerators work the same, go for it.

Of course, you can't stir your settled paint like I can! 10 seconds, brotha, 10 seconds. Where is Billy Mayes when you need him?

To me, the aeration wands/stones seem nice, but something else that I am bound to misplace/mistreat. Plus, using pure O2 is another expense requiring travel to another place. As if propane and CO2 weren't enough. I can replace my squirrel cage mixer for a few bucks at the big box after I'm done abusing it.

those little o2 canisters are cheap and last a long time...even when I run out, it's not like I go very many weekends without a trip or 10 to Lowes . I've been very happy with this method.

 

[Denny]

I use a MixStir aerator. I get great results with it.

I've read a lot about the olive oil method, but the only true, blind test I've seen on the homebrew level had results that the tasters preferred beers aerated in the "traditional" manner over the OO method. I've even heard that New Belgium, who had done studies on OO, stopped using it after the found it resulted in shorter shelf life for their beer.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Uh - WHAT? I don't see how this could be valid at all. Injecting pure oxygen has got to do a better job of oxygenating the wort than simply shaking a carboy. I would LOVE to see these several places where you've read this.

You're both right. If you're not using pure O2 and just using a stone with an air pump then just shaking the carboy is allegedly more effective. The stone with pure O2 is more effective than anything using just air. But for those that don't use pure O2 it was a bit of a surprise that shaking the carboy was the most effective way.

And the 'test' that showed this has been called into question...but IMO I think it qualitatively showed that shaking was better than a stone w/aquarium pump.

Here's some links to the test results and threads where the test was called into question (for good reasons IMO).
First thread
Second thread
Effectiveness of Various Methods of Wort Aeration (i.e. test results)

 

[BK_BREWERY]

uh just got home thanks SpanishCastleAle for posting the links to the logs i was thinking of.

i just personally think spending 40-50 bucks on an initial O2 system plus 8 bucks every so often on new O2 tanks is worth it when you can get plenty of oxygen other ways and for a boat load less IMO