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Author Topic: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!  (Read 16482 times)

Offline brulosopher

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After the last couple xBmts on wort oxygenation, we received suggestions to focus these types of tests on beers that apparently require higher concentrations of O2, particularly high OG styles known for stalling early. We listened, tested, and the results are in!

http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/19/wort-aeration-pt-3-nothing-vs-pure-oxygen-exbeeriment-results/

Offline erockrph

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2015, 07:17:01 am »
Another great article, Marshall! Out of curiosity, how much time elapsed between the start of fermentation and packaging? To me, it sounds like the differences you're picking up in your own tastings are what you'd expect from a young beer vs one with a little more age on it. Maybe the primary difference is simply that the no-O2 fermentation runs a little slower and just needs more time to "catch up" with the O2 batch (especially on a beer that is this big).
Eric B.

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Offline brulosopher

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2015, 07:40:13 am »
Another great article, Marshall! Out of curiosity, how much time elapsed between the start of fermentation and packaging? To me, it sounds like the differences you're picking up in your own tastings are what you'd expect from a young beer vs one with a little more age on it. Maybe the primary difference is simply that the no-O2 fermentation runs a little slower and just needs more time to "catch up" with the O2 batch (especially on a beer that is this big).

Greg brewed these beers, but I'm pretty certain he let them go about 3 weeks before packaging.

Offline MDixon

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2015, 07:43:09 am »
I suspect if the batches had been underpitched the results would have been more dramatic.
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Offline denny

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2015, 10:45:43 am »
I gave away my O2 system years ago after reaching pretty much the same conclusion.
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Offline dilluh98

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2015, 11:04:01 am »
Yup. The aeration stone/wand + O2 tank is, in hindsight, one purchase I wish I wouldn't have spent the money on. The setup mostly collects dust in the closet now due to how much of a PITA it is to keep in pristine working order plus I never saw any noticeable change in taste of beer, health of fermentation or time to fermentation completion for normal gravity beers compared to starting with "ready to rock" yeast and a healthy shaking/splashing of the wort before inoculation. If I were making a huge beer, I guess my normal MO would be to wait an extra few weeks in the primary anyway so NBD.

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2015, 11:07:49 am »
I honestly can't tell a difference using a mix stir over when I used to use O2, even on big beers - or I'd have switched back. Aerating thoroughly and using plenty of healthy yeast get's what I'm after.
Jon H.

Offline denny

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2015, 11:17:42 am »
I honestly can't tell a difference using a mix stir over when I used to use O2, even on big beers - or I'd have switched back. Aerating thoroughly and using plenty of healthy yeast get's what I'm after.

THIS^^^^^
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Offline beersk

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2015, 11:19:49 am »
I gave away my O2 system years ago after reaching pretty much the same conclusion.
It kind of sounds like there was a perceivable difference in the malt aroma - less muddled in the pure o2 batch. Also, there's the final gravity difference; the pure o2 batch clearly had an advantage.
I think the better argument is for shaking or using a mix stir versus pure o2 and there is where I see your point.
And I wouldn't have just "given away" my o2 system. Sell that sh*t, holmes!
Jesse

Offline mchrispen

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2015, 11:34:17 am »
The aroma was perceivable by the biased brewer.

While the gravity difference is measurable - this is the second triangle that didn't show a statistical +/- over the drier beer. This boggles me.

Let's be careful about jumping to conclusions.

I am now really curious about this in a more delicate lager beer. Everything I read points to both vitality and biomass/weight needed for consistently well attenuated lagers - and O2 is discussed in depth in Boulton and Quain, as well as White's Yeast book.
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Offline denny

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2015, 11:38:37 am »
I gave away my O2 system years ago after reaching pretty much the same conclusion.
It kind of sounds like there was a perceivable difference in the malt aroma - less muddled in the pure o2 batch. Also, there's the final gravity difference; the pure o2 batch clearly had an advantage.
I think the better argument is for shaking or using a mix stir versus pure o2 and there is where I see your point.
And I wouldn't have just "given away" my o2 system. Sell that sh*t, holmes!

It was given to me, so I saw no reason to sell it.  And yeah, I didn't mean to imply that not adding O2 at all was a good idea.  Only that I saw no difference between between O2 and a MixStir.  And these days, using my pump to xfer to the fermenter aerates the wort as much as either O2 or a MixStir.  Unless it's a really high gravity beer, pumping and using that to aerate is all I do.
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Offline a10t2

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2015, 11:40:44 am »
Blah blah, small sample size, yadda yadda, rigorous definition of significance, see my other comments. ;)

Seriously, though, be careful about reading too much into the results of a single trial when one taster could flip the test for significance.
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Offline denny

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2015, 11:54:44 am »
Blah blah, small sample size, yadda yadda, rigorous definition of significance, see my other comments. ;)

Seriously, though, be careful about reading too much into the results of a single trial when one taster could flip the test for significance.

Obviously!  And lest there be any mistake, my results are true only for me.  They are not intended to be an endorsement of any procedure for anyone else, only a report of what I learned and did.
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Offline charles1968

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2015, 11:55:05 am »
From the experiment: "Two days prior to brewing, I spun up a couple 1.5 liter starters using previously canned wort then split a single vial of WLP007 Dry English Ale yeast between them, they were propagated on stir plates for 24 hours before being placed in my fridge to cold crash."

So both starters were well oxygenated, allowing yeast to manufacture all the fatty acids and ergosterol needed to build numbers up. The main difference was that the yeast pitched into the aerated wort could make even more. Maybe if a starter is well aerated, there's no need to also aerate the wort.

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Re: Wort Aeration - Pt. 3: Nothing vs. Pure Oxygen | exBEERiment Results!
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2015, 12:02:15 pm »
It's all fine and dandy until you bring lagers into the equation.