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Author Topic: Oxygenating Wort  (Read 2629 times)

Offline flbrewer

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Oxygenating Wort
« on: May 11, 2015, 05:56:05 pm »
For the past few years I've simply swung my Speidel 30L around like a pendulum for about a minute or so before and after I've pitched with (what I think) is good results.

Given I don't want to throw out my back, I'm curious how you manually oxygenate your wort? Would other methods (wands/stones) ever be worth it?

Finally, what's an under-oxygenated beer look like?

Offline JT

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2015, 06:58:22 pm »
Please don't do this.  Back injuries are serious and often permanent. 
http://byo.com/videos/item/1894-aerating-wort-techniques

Offline JT

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2015, 07:06:45 pm »
Here's what I use.  Guaranteed 1 LPM oxygen flow rate every time for consistency.

Offline ultravista

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2015, 07:18:46 pm »
JT - that's fancy. Where did you get the meter?

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2015, 07:26:58 pm »
Yeah, don't trash your back. I use a mix stir on a cordless drill. Works like a champ, even on big beers.
Jon H.

Offline JT

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2015, 10:26:55 pm »
JT - that's fancy. Where did you get the meter?
Online, but I don't remember where.  A Google search for oxygen flow meter will turn up some similar products. 

S. cerevisiae

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2015, 10:55:19 pm »
I have gone back to using what I refer to as a poor man's aerator.   It's a piece of racking cane with holes drilled downward at a 45-degree angle.   The aerator is inserted into the end of the length of tubing that runs from the ball valve on one's kettle to one's fermentation vessel.   The wort mixes with air as it passes the holes.  I did not invent the device.  It was a tool of the trade in the nineties.   An improved version can be made by using something like a White Labs preform as a shroud.  A hole that is just large enough for the non-perforated section of the aerator to pass through is drilled into the closed end of the White Labs preform (alternatively, a larger hole and rubber grommet can be used).  The aerator is inserted into the shroud, and sterile cotton is packed loosely between the aerator and the open end of the shroud to filter out any house dust that could possibly get sucked into the aerator.  Wild microflora does not crawl into one's fermentation chamber.  It rides through the air on house dust.

A Poor Man's Aerator


Offline stevecrawshaw

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2015, 02:36:01 am »
I use an inline oxygenator. The chilled wort passes over \ around the airstone, which is fed by O2. Pretty efficient, you just need to ensure that you don't overdo it as the foaming can issue from the FV. One big advantage is that this can be disassembled for cleaning and autoclaved prior to use.
cheers
steve

Inline wort oxygenator
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.

Offline brulosopher

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2015, 05:40:45 am »
In over 10 years of brewing, I've never once use pure O2 and I've never had a stalled fermentation. But I always pitch big, healthy starters, which I think may mitigate the necessity of the former. I recently made a 1.092 Imperial Stout that fermented out to 1.017 in 5 days without O2. I do use this doohickey when racking form kettle to carboy.

Offline unclebrazzie

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2015, 05:53:09 am »
Time for some blasphemy.

I've never aerated my wort. Not once.
I rarely if ever make starters.

I've had two stalled fermentations in a string of 30-or-so brews. One was with a vial of WLP300 hefeweizen which I reckon travelled for too long before ending up in sub-optimal condition on my doorstep.
The other was a Wyeast2000 Budvar Lager which I realise in hindsight is the single one occasion where I really should have made a starter (first time lager so I'm putting this down to ignorance on my part).

The one time where I used a starter was for a 1.120SG imperial stout, and even there, starter can be literlly translated to "pitched with activated US-05 plus the two-weeks-old cake of another US-05 brew".

I used to shake my 5gal fermentation vessel for 5' or so, but recently I find myself relying on whatever oxygen the wort sucks up as it splashed in the fermentor when it exits my plate cooler.

I worry about oxygen when I'm planning a brew, and until now, have always opted to put my faith in healthy yeast, often in the form of a single sachet of activated yeast.

None of which implies I advocate against aerating. In my case, nonchalance seems to get the beer brewed, and I reckon one reason why I stick to this approach is because a) it seems to work for me and b) I want to understand at which point oxygen starts to matter on my system.

All truth is fiction.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2015, 06:18:06 am »
I rack into fermentors by pouring through a strainer so all of my batches get some amount of aeration. Other than that I tend to rely on pitching a healthy volume of yeast for most beers. Most of my beers also feature a lot of yeast character and a little stress is good for producing that character. However, I do have the typical oxygen set up and use it religiously with lagers and big beers.
Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing

Offline wobdee

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2015, 06:51:22 am »

Offline erockrph

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2015, 06:52:04 am »
I rack into fermentors by pouring through a strainer so all of my batches get some amount of aeration. Other than that I tend to rely on pitching a healthy volume of yeast for most beers. Most of my beers also feature a lot of yeast character and a little stress is good for producing that character. However, I do have the typical oxygen set up and use it religiously with lagers and big beers.

Same here. I brew small batches, so I'm just pouring my kettle through a strainer (or series of strainers) by hand. After I seal the lid, I'll shake it for 30 seconds or so and call it a day. The only exceptions are big lagers or barleywines. Those will get a minute or so of O2 from a tank.
Eric B.

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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2015, 11:47:37 am »
I use a stir stick on a cordless drill at high speed, but my neighbor uses a simple sanitized kitchen whisk and froths it up pretty good.
Hodge Garage Brewing: "Brew with a glad heart!"

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Oxygenating Wort
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2015, 12:33:13 pm »
O2 through a stainless diffusion stone for me.