Aeration Of Wort

[kook]

I've just got some questions to anyone who does a full boil as to what methods they use for wort aeration prior to pitching?

What does everyone think about the idea of running the chilled wort out of the boiler through a showerhead (sanitised) into the fermenter? Would this provide adequite aeration with higher gravity beers?

How about just running it straight out the boiler tap into the fermenter, is the splashing then enough aeration??

 

[Doc]

I just run the wort out the tap into the fermenter with a drop of about 0.5 meters and I find that airates it enough.
I get a nice big white foam on top of the beer that gets crushed by the fermenter lid when I put it on.
I do run the wort out slowly from the boiler though.

Cheers,
Doc

 

[RegBadgery]

Here's some info on what I do - plus a response from John Hanterlink.

When aerating wort I usually either lift and dump from one fermenter
to another several times or place the full fermenter above the empty
and open the tap on the full.

Anyway for my last brew I used the second technique but popped a
length of racking cane into the snaptap on the full fermenter. This
minor adjustment made a spectacular difference. After one run there
was loads of foam and after two runs the foam had overflowed the top
of the full size fermenter (and there was only 12 litres of wort to
start off with).

I could hear a sort of a sucking sound as the wort was flowing through
the cane and wondered if perhaps air was being sucked into the mix via
the imperfect seal where the cane connected to the snap tap.


Reply from John
~~~~~~~~~~~
> I could hear a sort of a sucking sound as the wort was flowing through
> the cane and wondered if perhaps air was being sucked into the mix via
> the imperfect seal where the cane connected to the snap tap.
>

You got it in one Reg.

I have a 100mm piece of tube drilled with dozens of 2mm holes that fits
in the end of my transfer hose. This makes a good venturi and provides
excellent aeration.

I'll move up to pure o2 one day but for now the venturi effect, as you
have discovered, works well.

 

[Doc]

If you want to buy a gadget then you could get the Wort Wizard.
Comes in a nice orange colour too

Cheers,
Doc

 

[Jovial_Monk]

My wort drops from the counterflow wort chiller about 30cm to the top of the fermenter.

This is adequate aeration for beers up to OG 1050
after that, say OG 1075 and up a second aeration is needed.

This second aeration should be done about 14-18 hours after pitching, when the first faint traces of krausen (yeast head) are visible. I simply run the wort out the tap of one fermenter (on a table) into the top of a second fermenter just below.

When you pitch yeast into a beer, the first thing it does after adjusting to your wort, is split to create more yeast. Plenty of oxygen and a pitching temp of about 30C (24-30c is OK) means the yeast can rapidly multiply, changing the wort in the process so any bacteria present has no chance to multiply and put toxins into your beer.

With a really big beer, the yeast needs just a bit more oxygen so it can rebuild the cell walls damaged by splitting into 2 cells.

Really big beers need to be made with grains, steeping or minimashing. My last ever kit beer, with tons of roast barley, high hop levels etc was incredibly bitter. Three years later I tasted the last bottle. The most incredible, complex beer I ever made or tasted!




Jovial_Monk

 

[Indy]

do you guys all adequately cool your wort first before aeration? i read that this helps to prevent oxidisation, and limits the chance of both other bacteria and any slight foul/sharp tastes...

cbeers

 

[Snow]

Yes, this is essential. Hot-side aeration will cause off-flavours. If possible, cool your wort down to 25C or less before pouring it into your fermenter or aerating it. I do this by putting my hot brewpot into the sink with half a bag of ice and water, then I put a block of ice from a tupperware container into the wort (I usually freeze pre-boiled water in the sanitised container the night before). If you periodically stir the wort and the ice water, while topping up the ice in the sink, you should get your wort down to 21-25C within 10 mins or so (for 6L of wort). The quicker you can cool it the less chance of infection.

- Snow.

 

[ausdb]

I normally use a stainless stone to aerate wort with O2 as it goes in the fermenter, last brewday I couldn't find where I had put it ($30 down the drain) so had to make do, Here is what I came up with.

I used a tyre inflation needle (pressure cooked and sanitised) stabbed into the wort out line from the CFC into the fermenter. I normally have a copper tee attached to the end of the CFC with the stone in the other end and the tee leading down into the fermenter with a length of hose.

The end result


The brew was pitched at about 7pm and by the morning was actively fermenting.

 

[Boots]

After cooling with my CFC, my wort is normally still well above pitching temp so I go from CFC to fermenter with a minimum of splashing, and leave the fermenter in the fridge over night / for the rest of the day to cool down - this also has the benefit of allowing any hop debris to settle out.

Once at pitching temp, I drop it from a bench straight out of the tap (fully open). When the first fermenter is empty, I rinse it out with an ortho phos solution, and repeat the process dropping it back into the fermenter it was initially in.

I've not had a problem with poor performing yeast following this procedure.

 

[Darren]

Boots,
You could easily not do the second drop. I have never airated a beer before pitching.
Usually just make sure my starter is active and well airated
cheers
Darren

 

[ausdb]

After cooling with my CFC, my wort is normally still well above pitching temp so I go from CFC to fermenter with a minimum of splashing, and leave the fermenter in the fridge over night / for the rest of the day to cool down - this also has the benefit of allowing any hop debris to settle out.

I was getting 18C out of the CFC with the water flow going fairly fast, I cut it right back and got 20C out which was perfect for pitching the 1056.

 

[scrogster]

I just pinch one of the beaters out of SWMBO's cake mixer, sanitize it and fit it into the chuck of my cordless drill. A couple of minutes on high speed whips up a huge head of froth on the wort.