Aeration Of Wort

[Randall the Enamel Animal]

I just pitch 100000 cells/ml per 1 degree Plato,
Brett :blink:

I'm guessing that you really mean one million cells per ml for every degree plato, not 100 thousand.

How are you measuring that?

 

[BottleBitch]

I just pitch 100000 cells/ml per 1 degree Plato,
Brett :blink:

I'm guessing that you really mean one million cells per ml for every degree plato, not 100 thousand.

How are you measuring that?

Thats what i meant to say, just miss counted the zeros, I use a hemocytometer and microscope to count the number of cells, is the best way to do it, I'm lucky that i have access to one, because I'm pretty sure they would cost a crap load, but if Ross or Brizzy would like to supply a cheap kit, that would be nice or is that taking HB a bit to far?

 

[shonky]

You wouldn't want to be distracted mid-count. Four hundred and fifty five thousand four hundred and sixty five, four hundred and fifty five thousand four hundred and sixty Ohhh crap.

One, two

 

[Randall the Enamel Animal]

You wouldn't want to be distracted mid-count. Four hundred and fifty five thousand four hundred and sixty five, four hundred and fifty five thousand four hundred and sixty Ohhh crap.

One, two

Hehehe

It's not quite like that. The cell counting slide usually have a volume of just 0.1 cubic mm, so even if you were to count all of the cells in the grid area, you still have to multiply by 10 000 to give an estimate of cells per ml. Usually though, you'd only count a certain number of boxes in the grid area and then multiply up.

 

[Whistlingjack]

Just about fell off my chair when I read that, Shonky

 

[Darren]

Thats what i meant to say, just miss counted the zeros, I use a hemocytometer and microscope to count the number of cells, is the best way to do it, I'm lucky that i have access to one, because I'm pretty sure they would cost a crap load, but if Ross or Brizzy would like to supply a cheap kit, that would be nice or is that taking HB a bit to far?

Herbstoffe
If you are going to the trouble of counting cells I hope you are using a dye (trypan blue or similar) that is excluded from living cells and taken up by dead cells.
Otherwise you might be counting both living and dead cells, hence skewing your counts.

Me I just pitch as many as I can. Also, after 100+ all-grain brews I have never airated a beer. Never had attenuation problems either. I always have a healthy starter or use dry yeast.

Airation stones and pumps in HB are a waste of money and time.

cheers

Darren

 

[poppa joe]

I have a water filter which i connect to tap..Outlet hose has a cane on it which i sort of blast my beer with
Gets a big creamy head...(K&K)
is this O.K.
PJ

 

[Darren]

PJ,

A good shake at pitching and about 3 hours later should do the trick.

cheers

Darren

 

[goatherder]

Airation stones and pumps in HB are a waste of money and time.

might be a bit harsh there. shake a 40l batch to get adequate aeration? i'll take the airstone thanks.

 

[Darren]

Airation stones and pumps in HB are a waste of money and time.

might be a bit harsh there. shake a 40l batch to get adequate aeration? i'll take the airstone thanks.

GH,

Make 65 litre batches myself. Never had any problems giving it a bit of a swirl.

Healthy starter, throw out your airstone and pump. BTW, I have a 2uM airstone in my brewery but never needed to use it.

Hence, waste of money!

cheers

darren

 

[poppa joe]

Cheers ..Darren..
It is all right there ready to go..So i do it..(Easy As) Have aerater .stones.. etc..
Maybe going overboard a little...But learning....
Cheers
PJ

 

[blackbock]

Ok, so it seems that aeration is very important. If i was to get an aquarium aerator (they seem pretty cheap), does anyone have any ideas on whether i need to use a air filter for the aerator and if so what type, also would it be necessary to use an air stone or could i just put the hose attached to the aerator into the wort and let it bubble away.

I'm looking at creating something along these lines pretty soon. What I had in mind was a home-made carbon filter - possibly from an in-line irrigation-line filter and some cotton wool and charcoal. I know it's not food grade, but will this matter since it's not actually going to touch the wort? Or is the whole idea unnecessary?

 

[Batz]

Some brewers here bubble thier air through a "bong" type setup,filled with sanitizer.
There was a thread here some place on this,I remember Darren had quite a lot of imput.

I don't filter my air

Batz

 

[Ross]

I don't filter my air either & never had a problem - If the alternative is splashing & shaking your wort, it's done in the normal air anyway, so no difference. just make sure your aquarium pump is sat on a clean dust free surface...
Using an air pump is much easier & effective than trying to shake a fermenter full of wort.

cheers Ross

 

[Guest Lurker]

Airation stones and pumps in HB are a waste of money and time.

cheers

Darren

I dont feel comfortable about saying this, but............I agree with Darren.

Airate the starter (by shaking), not the wort, pitch a good healthy population and in AG brews I dont get attenuation problems.

Although I did just waste the money on a stone and pump to try it on a brew and see what everyone is on about, I doubt if it will make a difference and get used much.

 

[Batz]

I dont feel comfortable about saying this, but............I agree with Darren.

Airate the starter (by shaking), not the wort, pitch a good healthy population and in AG brews I dont get attenuation problems.

Although I did just waste the money on a stone and pump to try it on a brew and see what everyone is on about, I doubt if it will make a difference and get used much.

I've got a whole box of HB stuff I had to have to make better beer,most just sits in the box now.
It's a bit like fishing lures I think,made to catch the fisherman rather than the fish.
Still keeps our HB stores in business and me doing shutdown work

Batz

 

[Pumpy]

I have a air pump and stone but dont use it anymore It did the job Ok .

I have just gone back to make a starter from wort, I saved from a previous batch last bit out the kettle which I put in the fridge in a big botttle and it seperates out nicely .

I ferment in a 60 litre fermenter which I dont use an airlock so there is no hole drilled in the top for a air lock for the wort to leak out when rock the fermenter .

When I put in the wort I screw down the top and rock it back and forth because there is plenty of airspace it foams up nicely .
Then I unscrew the lid a couple of turns to allow the Co2 out for fermentation.as I dont use an airlock

Pumpy

 

[lou]

I have a air pump and stone but dont use it anymore It did the job Ok .

I have just gone back to make a starter from wort, I saved from a previous batch last bit out the kettle which I put in the fridge in a big botttle and it seperates out nicely .

I ferment in a 60 litre fermenter which I dont use an airlock so there is no hole drilled in the top for a air lock for the wort to leak out when rock the fermenter .

When I put in the wort I screw down the top and rock it back and forth because there is plenty of airspace it foams up nicely .
Then I unscrew the lid a couple of turns to allow the Co2 out for fermentation.as I dont use an airlock

Pumpy

Pumpy - would you call this the 'no pump' method :lol:

lou

 

[Ross]

Pumpy,

I wouldn't want all my seals in the lid coated in wort, could make getting the lid off afterwards a bit tricky... I've found using liquid yeasts a well aerated wort is essential for full attenuation, whereas with dried yeasts a little spashing while filling the fermenter is more than adequate...

Yeast will fire up under almost any conditions (within reason) - giving them the best enviroment you can to thrive in, isn't always necessary, just common sense...


cheers Ross

 

[stephen]

I aerate. I use my mash paddle like one of our indiginous brethren trying to start a fire. I found out early in my brewing days that not aerating leads to elvated levels of diacetyl: First extract brew I made I didn't aerate and it tasted like butterscotch pudding! I now religiously aerate.

I know that there are some on this forum that don't aerate, but I'm sure, somewhere in the process, that aeration occurs. Either through the transfer of wort to the fermenter or through whirlpooling etc.

Cheers

Steve