Different wort aeration kits

[manticle]

Don't be afraid.

 

[Blind Dog]

Pretty minor chastising. More a reminder/suggestion.
@Peter - I've not read a single source that suggests paint stirrers or shaking can reach recommended levels of 10 ppm. 8 if you're lucky.

given that some of the best beer I've tasted comes from breweries that use spraying, dumping from great heights or other equivalent methods to aerate wort, with nary a whiff of O2 in pure form, I'd suggest the recommended 10ppm found throughout various literature should be read in the author's context and not as a hard and fast rule that has ubiquitous application.

ive yet to taste a beer brewed with an English yeast strain where introducing O2 to the wort produced a better beer than simply shaking, or some other method that introduced air not pure O2; commercial or otherwise. Hugely subjective, limited sample size etc., but I just don't buy the add pure O2 to every beer mantra. If you want a clean ferment, yes, but some yeast strain only produce their best work when stressed.

 

[manticle]

This a a fair point and one I'll enjoy testing when I finally own a setup.

It is true that shaking for 2 mins or an hour won't achieve those levels (my main point) - whether those levels result in beer that suits individual preference is less certain.

 

[manticle]

PS: you liked your own post.

 

[MHB]

given that some of the best beer I've tasted comes from breweries that use spraying, dumping from great heights or other equivalent methods to aerate wort, with nary a whiff of O2 in pure form, I'd suggest the recommended 10ppm found throughout various literature should be read in the author's context and not as a hard and fast rule that has ubiquitous application.

ive yet to taste a beer brewed with an English yeast strain where introducing O2 to the wort produced a better beer than simply shaking, or some other method that introduced air not pure O2; commercial or otherwise. Hugely subjective, limited sample size etc., but I just don't buy the add pure O2 to every beer mantra. If you want a clean ferment, yes, but some yeast strain only produce their best work when stressed.

I'm going to play Devils Advocate (again)
Accepted that some "Old" breweries didn't/don't use pure O2, but any brewery built or upgraded in the last 50 years or so probably will be (see following) but they all take steps to get as much O2 into solution as they can (as close to the ideal as they could) and for very good reasons.
As for the recommended 10ppm being an "authors" creation - Crap - its the result of years of high quality of research into how yeast works and what we want it to do in the brew.

Which raises the question of why we would aerate the wort.
It isn't really about the yeast reproducing (making more yeast), more what yeast is doing while it is reproducing. In a commercial operation (or an advanced home brew situation) it isn't hard to make and pitch enough yeast. But we still want the yeast to reproduce in the wort because it takes out of the wort some constituents that we don't want in the beer. Yeast will only metabolise what it regards as nutrients vital to reproduction until it runs out of any one of a number of them (O2 included).
We boil a wort for a bunch of reasons one of the top 4 being to reduce coagulable protein that can cause trouble later, like wise when yeast is reproducing it absorbs lipids and other fatty acids which if left in the beer would accelerate staling later, proteins/amino acids, trace minerals... there are a bunch of other processes going on that are important.
The nuts of the process being, If you have the right (well optimum) amount of dissolved oxygen, the yeast will metabolise all or most of the problematic wort components at the same time. This gives the best beer possible, that Optimum is going to be around 10ppm, this is well established by decades of research and experimentation.

Now the caveat
That 10ppm isn't a carved in stone, written by the finger of God... absolute. It is however a very close and easily achievable quantity, if you don't have a DO meter and a pretty good lab backing you up 10ppm is a better answer than you will get without a lot of technical support.
There are ways to compensate for less than ideal aeration, very low temperature pitching, or yeasts that like/behave differently mainly by varying the pitch rate, and old breweries that lacked modern aeration often took steps to compensate, like double dropping, systems like the Burton Union, pitching large active starters... in most cases these are steps required to make up for less than ideal aeration.
As for some yeast needing to be stressed, again I disagree strongly, no yeast should ever be stressed. There is a wealth of difference between varying pitch rates, levels of aeration, pitch temperature... and being stressed.
It is well understood that higher pitch rates reduces ester production, reduces the bitterness in extreme cases (over pitching has its own issues).
I cant think of any yeast that doesn't benefit ideal aeration (around 10ppm) in a healthy well made wort. the old saying "we make wort - yeast makes beer" Good aeration isn't a magic bullet but is an important part of good brewing.
Mark

 

[gaijin]

Guys, just to add if you're going with a Cigweld Reg and Coregas O2 bottle, I've had to purchase these other items to screw onto the 3/8' outlet. You can probably get a John Guest connection assuming they're okay with pure O2. They seem to work okay for me.

Plug:
https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-1600x1600/841dc883-0458-4621-9c43-3b7a70b61502.png

Adaptor 3/8 to 1/4:

https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-1600x1600/546884b0-bb60-4658-b0c4-3f2e166da1d6.png

Edit - changed from images to links as images were gigantic.

 

[Hpal]

What are people's thoughts on industrial Oxygen cylinders for brewing? These tradeflame and Bernzomatic bottles are a welding cylinder, so should be ok I'd guess. I have a large oxy bottle at home for welding (BOC), I've thought about connecting a hose and stone to the reg and trying it out...

 

[MHB]

When I was designing the system now sold by Brewman, I got an analysis certificate from the filler/importer that stated the gas in the Oxyturbo bottles was "Food Grade". I believe it said so on the label - that was a couple of years ago.
I think its a fair question to ask, I suspect that you would have to be very unlucky to have any problems with industrial, that said the three craft breweries nearest me all use medical grade O2 for wort aeration.
Mark

 

[Hpal]

My thoughts exactly, there are also many in internet land who use industrial oxygen with no problems, I'll give it a crack. Maybe with an inline filter as a backup.

 

[Blind Dog]

PS: you liked your own post.

Yep. Fat thumbs on an iPad. I've reported a few of my own posts as well before now

 

[Crakkers]

Finally pulled the trigger on the Brewman oxygenation kit last week and gave it a run yesterday.
I can't believe how quickly the fermentation got up and running, compared to my previous half-arsed aeration procedure.
Thanks Brewman.....and a couple of hundred billion yeast cells thank you too.

 

[Bribie G]

And it's quite frightening when an IPA starts clearing from the top on day 3.

 

[husky]

Any one in Melb getting an industrial bottle filled as opposed to a swap and go scenario? I have a bottle and don't want to be paying rent.

 

[Stouter]

This might belong in the continuing rant thread, but f$kin my local Bunnings are still arsing about getting the rent free exchange full size bottles set up and selling. I asked about it over four months ago now, and it was in the process. Yesterday, they're still apparently going through the hoops for paperwork on where they'll store safely, other regs, etc.
Never mind that this is a multimillion $business that already has the same thing set up for sale in other places.
We're not needing to reinvent the bloody wheel here guys!!!

 

[Coalminer]

Wheres 'local'?

 

[Stouter]

Geraldton, W.A.
BTW I want my share of GST back ya thieving East Coast dogs

 

[MHB]

Thanks for your kind donations! we will take all the money we can get...
M

 

[Stouter]

I'm still going on my first little $16 oxy throw away. I'm as generous with it as W.A is with it's GST payouts, couple of million, I mean minutes here and there, take as much as you want yEast sort of style, purge cleaning, etc.
Might have to buy a back up one this week. I just know the next time I go to use it the thing will run out in the first 5seconds. Anyone picking up on the WA bank account analogy?

 

[Mr B]

Ahh, this reminds me.

Got an $8 flow meter from o/s, and solved the 'where do I put this on a portable setup' dilemma.

Works well

 

[Peter80]

Hoping to put my new brewman o2 kit to use tomorrow and just wondering how everyone cleans and sanitise the stone/wand?