Is Hot Side Aeration A Big Worry?

[RobboMC]

I mash up to 2kg of grain on a stovetop, usually in about 6 to 8 litres of water.
The mashing part I have down pat, temp, pH, etc. Seperating the wort is giving me some heartache
and I need to get that right before I up my mash volumes.

The textbooks steer away from straining and the resason is HSA.

My question is; Is HSA such a big worry. Can I pour/ladle/transfer my hot mash into a
sparging bucket, or is it absolutely essential that I do the mash in a vessel that also can be usd for sparging.

The time has come to build something, and I need to know what to build.

I like being able to add heat during mashing, so I guess I'm a dedicated stove-topper.
But is the loss of quality caused by temp drops during mashing more than offset by not risking
hot aeration during seperation of wort from grain?

 

[peas_and_corn]

HSA IMO isn't so much a myth but something that is overstated. It exists, but it doesn't happen as easily or readily as people say.

Why can't you do your mash in the bucket?

 

[geoffi]

I know of a few unsuccessful attempts to reproduce this HSA effect by deliberately 'mishandling' hot wort.

AFAIK it might have some impact on the long-term stability of the beer. But if your brew has as short a life expectancy as mine this is not an issue.

 

[chappo1970]

+2 to P&C's and Geoffi's comments.

HSA IMO on our scale is not a big issue. Sure be conscience of it but I wouldn't stress over it. 2c FWIW.

Cheers

Chappo

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Pour away - dont give it a second though. Don't splash etc any more than you have to - but thats it.

A great many of the commercial breweries in teh world transfer their mash from the mash vessel to the lautering vessel - a little care and you wont have any more hsa issues than they do

 

[newguy]

AFAIK it might have some impact on the long-term stability of the beer. But if your brew has as short a life expectancy as mine this is not an issue.

The owner of a local microbrewery who I really respect essentially says the same thing, that HSA is only an issue if your beer will age for a long time before consumption (many months - years).

 

[katzke]

The owner of a local microbrewery who I really respect essentially says the same thing, that HSA is only an issue if your beer will age for a long time before consumption (many months - years).

It also has to do with how it is stored. Breweries can not control what happens to their beer after they sell it. We take much better care of our beer then some swill drinkers. Just try and spend the kind of money they do on advertising and then convince a customer it is not the beer that is bad just that you should not leave it in a hot trunk for weeks in the summer.

 

[RobboMC]

Why can't you do your mash in the bucket?

At the moment I mash on the stove so I can heat it.

I have a neat little 10 litre drink cooler that I could press into service with some mods.
but that limits me to 2kg; which I suppose is beter than no grain at all.

 

[mikem108]

Theres a Brewstrong episode that goes into a bit of detail about it
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong
Lots of good info there

 

[manticle]

I mash about 3 kg and strain into a pot. I struggle to keep my brews for a long time but I've not yet had any HSA issues.

I'm aiming to age at least some of my just bottled dubbel for up to 6 months so maybe time will prove my enemy.

 

[brettprevans]

dont worry about it. i strain mine and dont have any issues. hell ill even try and aerate it as soon as ive topped up the fermentor with water (to reach correct volume) so long as its below 30C.

just try and reduce major splashing. an easy way it to put a couple of litres of cold water into your fermentor then strain into that. that way your hot wort is hitting a softer surface and not as much splashing occurs. of course if your pouring into a cube that wont help you.

it should be fine.

 

[benno1973]

Recently I had a problem with a hose connecting my false bottom in my mash tun (good god, don't mention hoses!). My experience is in this thread. The long and the short is that my last ~10 AG beers were completely transferred from my mash tun to a bucket and back using a jug. It was done as carefully as possible, but there was still the inevitible splashing. Despite this, none taste the worse for it, in fact one is the best beer I've ever made...

 

[brendanos]

If you're selling your beer then you might want to avoid it.

 

[flattop]

First few AG's i drained the urn into the cube by just opening the tap and letting her rip, now i tilt the cube and i've added a filter which slows it down...
Not worried about HSA though

 

[Effect]

its only a worry if you have your head up your arse...

 

[bradsbrew]

So how exactly does HSA effect your beer?? Ive heard all the watch out for splashing or dont just pour it into ya vessel you'll get HSA but what does it do???. Sorry if this has already been answered but............

 

[bradsbrew]

its only a worry if you have your head up your arse...

No Phil thats HUA. many swill drinkers suffer from that :lol: h34r:

Brad

 

[manticle]

So how exactly does HSA effect your beer?? Ive heard all the watch out for splashing or dont just pour it into ya vessel you'll get HSA but what does it do???. Sorry if this has already been answered but............

I think it supposedly can lead to/encourage staling over time.

 

[benno1973]

So how exactly does HSA effect your beer?? Ive heard all the watch out for splashing or dont just pour it into ya vessel you'll get HSA but what does it do???. Sorry if this has already been answered but............

It binds oxygen to the wort, which then travels through to the final beer (in the keg or bottle). This promotes oxidation and quicker staling of the beer, from memory sherry and cardboard flavours.

 

[peas_and_corn]

So how exactly does HSA effect your beer?? Ive heard all the watch out for splashing or dont just pour it into ya vessel you'll get HSA but what does it do???. Sorry if this has already been answered but............

It can create a wet carboard-like flavour. I have tasted it in HBs in the past, but like I said, it's not something to go crazy about avoiding, just be aware of it as an issue.