What do you do to aerate the Wort ??

[nobby]

What do you do to aerate the Wort ??

All I did on my first 2 mashes was just drain it from a chair into the fermentor. The first brew fermented all the way down to 11 but the second stopped at 21. I was told it could be lack of air.

[mysterio]

What do you do to aerate the Wort ??

All I did on my first 2 mashes was just drain it from a chair into the fermentor. The first brew fermented all the way down to 11 but the second stopped at 21. I was told it could be lack of air.

I find dried yeast to tolerate under-aeration much better than liquid yeasts, possibly because of the large pitching rate of healthy cells along with reserves built into the yeasts during manufacture. So normally with dried yeast I find splashing the wort during transfer adequate. For lagers, high gravity worts or if i'm using a liquid yeast I use a pure o2 and .5 micron aeration stone. I don't think the O2 is an essential purchase but it does make life easier because so little is needed.

The first brew fermented all the way down to 11 but the second stopped at 21. I was told it could be lack of air.

Could be but there are other factors, what was the OG, fermentation temperature etc.

[Vossy1]

I drop the wort from a short height, about 3ft.
It does the job but sometimes creates too much foam.
Of all the methods I've used I prefer the paddle and drill as it gives far better aeration and much less foam.

[SteveD]

First time I've heard of using a chair for aeration. What do you do? Pour the wort on, and let it run off the seat?

I use O2 and a steel airstone - 0.5micron I think, because it's easy and fast. Running from bin to bin through the tap works fine but it means lifting, and I don't like lifting. I brew quite a few high gravity beers and using O2 also makes sure there won't be any problems due to insufficient aeration in strong worts.

[Buzz]

I just run the wort from the boiler into the FV through a plastic kitchen colander. Only ever had 1 stuck ferment and that was a kit and I probably under pitched the yeast that day.

[Danny]

I use a heat exchanger for and let it drop straight into the FV but give it a good hoofing with a paddle as it's doing so ... seems to work fine ... but always interested in gadgets .. how does the airstone work Steve?

[CyberPaddy66]

Good old wooden spoon and lots of elbow grease for me

[SteveD]

Good old wooden spoon and lots of elbow grease for me

I'd consider pxing that old wooden spoon for a plastic brewers paddle as you can't sanitise a wooden spoon.

Don't just consider it...do it!!

[Aleman]

Having had a ready access to a supply of Medical O2, I use a 0.2 Micron SS Air stone, and blast pure O2 into the cooled wort on the way to the FV at 2L per Minute, with the wort traveling at about the same rate. While the O2 is running the wort stream is milky with tiny bubbles. I have tried using the same air stone and O2 directly into the FV but the resulting bubbles were much bigger, so injecting inline is the best way for me.

I know my cylinder is now getting empty, and I will not be able to replace it as our organisation has changed medical gas suppliers. I have thought about one of the small welding cylinders, as it should be more than adequate for the task of oxygenating yeast slurry prior to pitching. For the main wort though, I am thinking of dropping down to using air supplied by a compressor. I know Steve Flack and Rab are using the tidgy Nail art compressors, and I keep looking at those, but I was in B&Q yesterday and they have Performance Power Compressors in at £35, with air tools etc, and a 6L reservoir. I know its going to be noisier but I can find a lot more uses for it. SO I think that is the way I'm going to go for aeration

[Wobbler]

I cash in on the free and readily available O2 in the atmosphere and just tip from one fv to another.

[bandit]

Stainless steel hand whisk from the kitchen draw and rotate with 125 calories of elbow grease gained from consuming 3 pints of 6.1% Pale Ale consumed the night before. A fair trade and it contributes to my 20 minutes of exercise every week Sometimes I even use my other hand when my wrist gets tired

[Vossy1]

Stainless steel hand whisk from the kitchen draw and rotate with 125 calories of elbow grease gained from consuming 3 pints of 6.1% Pale Ale consumed the night before. A fair trade and it contributes to my 20 minutes of exercise every week Sometimes I even use my other hand when my wrist gets tired

[nobby]

Having had a ready access to a supply of Medical O2, I use a 0.2 Micron SS Air stone, and blast pure O2 into the cooled wort on the way to the FV at 2L per Minute, with the wort traveling at about the same rate. While the O2 is running the wort stream is milky with tiny bubbles. I have tried using the same air stone and O2 directly into the FV but the resulting bubbles were much bigger, so injecting inline is the best way for me.

Thanks for all those answers.

I am a keep fish keeper and know a bit about air stones etc. Bubbles rising through a liquid dont add any O2, they only add O2 when they surface and break the surface tension. But having a lot of O2 around will help.

[spearmint-wino]

I also drop the wort from about 3 feet into the fermenter. Slowly is the key, yes you get a lot of foam but, well, that's how it goes. Another thing I do is hold a sanitised funnel close to the tap to let the wort 'fan out' and spiral around it before dropping to the FV. It also helps aerate and controls the direction of the dropping wort better.

[bandit]

I am thinking of using my pump from my protein skimmer with its venturi pin wheel as the aerator