Any Advantage Aerating Wort With Pump & Stone For K+k?

[Barley Belly]

I see the some AG boys use an aquarium pump and stone to aerate wort.

Is there any advantage in doing this for K+K?

If so how do they do it?
Eg How long before or after pitching yeast?

 

[Lobsta]

My $0.02:

unless you already have everything u need to make the aerator, i would recomment spending money on something more nessecery. a good shake will do a decent job really, and you can save your pennies for a decent kettle so u can move up to extract or partials

Lobby

 

[Sprungmonkey]

do you have to use a stainless steel stone or can you just use the 'stone' ones that come with aquarium pumps for fish tanks?

 

[Lobsta]

do you need stainless steel?? :lol: :lol: not the right question to ask on here :lol: :lol:

u ALWAYS need stainless steel, whether it is required or not.

as for th advantages of it over a stone one, i'm not sure, i would think that a stone one would be a bit more inducive to growing mould than ss.

then again, i dont have much of an idea.

Lobby

 

[pint of lager]

Always a good idea to ask why the big boys are following certain procedures.

Yeast needs lots of oxygen at the very start of fermentation to multiply. This makes the next generation fit and healthy to do their job. Poor yeast health means poor attenuation, off flavours and possibly stalled ferments.

When you boil water or wort, it removes the dissolved oxygen. By aerating, you add the oxygen back in.

If you are doing a full boil on your extract brew water, then definitely look towards aerating your wort as well as you can. If your water comes out of the tap and into the fermenter, you will be fine.

SS airstones can be boiled for sanitation. You will find the big boys always pay great attention to sanitation. They also love their SS porn.

 

[dicko]

do you have to use a stainless steel stone or can you just use the 'stone' ones that come with aquarium pumps for fish tanks?

I used the "stony" type air stone that came with the pump and it worked fine - HOWEVER - when I left it soaking in sanitiser it seemed to go all soft and I wasn't game to risk its use again so I bought a S/ Steel one which is easy to clean.
Really, for the cost it is not worth the risk.

Cheers

 

[dingodidit]

Saw this method of aeration a little while ago and thought it'd be very effective.

 

[rich_lamb]

Pint'o is correct - aeration is a good thing generally, but you only need to "worry" about it if you've boiled your wort.
Even then, I wouldn't waste time, effort and money on a pump and stone. I have done it using this equipment and noticed no difference whatsoever from just a real good thrashing with a big spoon.

And the air pump setup is a royal pain to clean/filter, etc. IMO not worth the hassle.

I actually used the compressed grit stones; with a view to replacing them periodically as they are dirt cheap. I tried boiling one and it didn't survive. If you MUST use this method I'd go SS.

 

[Rod]

easy way to aerate your brew is to use a paint stirrer , similar to a potatoe masher , from bunnings .

with a bit of trashing you can get the froth to come out the top of the fermentor

 

[teitan]

When I top my fermentor up to 23l with cold water I drop it from a great height, I manage to get about 4 inches of foam. Seems to be enough aeration I think?