Anyone have ideas on a cheap way to effectively get oxygen into cooled wort aside from the shaking method? I have read mixed reviews on the aquarium pump deal, but am not sure. Or can a good yeast starter essentially take the place or aerating the wort?
I guess I'm really primative
I guess I'm really primative (or my system is). I just pour from pot to primary adding as much O2 as I can while I do. It's always seemed to aerate the wort well enough.
I suppose when I improve my system/brewing method, I'll have to think about these things...
Nah...
I have about 7 all grain batches under me with no fancy aeration crap... This whole lagering got me thinking that I may need something special. My thought is in line with what Will said for ales.... Unless it is high gravity, I don't think it is needed. But I have read more articles about it being huge for lagers. I have been opening my primary and shaking the past few days, which seems to work fine, but I also had a nice starter.
BTW, I pitched on top of that lager yeast with a light amber lager recipe and seems to be doing great so far.
Nothing against Doug, but I
Nothing against Doug, but I like this one:
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/22_AERATION_WAND_P490.cfm
I like the wand better than
I like the wand better than the tubing too. Much more control. I didn't compare pricing.
My understanding is that
My understanding is that aeration is a top priority for a good fermentation. It's a balance between getting enough O2 in there and not over-aerating. I use a simple contraption that can be purchased at Doug's. Here it is at more beer. All else you will need is a can of O2 you can get at home depot. I haven't been happy with my aquarium pump setup.
I've heard/read to only use this for a minute or two in a 5 gallon batch. Be sure you aren't pumping too heavily because most of the O2 will blow out the top instead of dissolving into solution.
At minimum, you can get the inline filter and the aeration stone and hook up to an aquarium pump. Like I said, I didn't have much success with this method. If you want to try it, you can use my aquarium pump. It's the one more beer sells.
The Basics:
-O2 source (pump or tank)
-Inline filter (Jeff skips this when using his O2 tank)
-Aeration stone
-Hose to get to stone
Hope this helps!
The cheapest way is the
The cheapest way is the stone and regulator from dougs. The air pump works also but by the time you buy the pump tubing and filter your at the dougs price. My take on o2 the beer is do two beers the same and 02 one and dont the other and see the difference. I only notice a difference on high gravity beers(1058and greater). Low gravity (1056 and below) I notice no change with o2. Some beers like english and wheats are better not to aerate due to the esters you get.
If you just get the gear
If you just get the gear from Doug you can use an old racking cane to create a "wand" setup. I just took the tubing and ran it through an old racking cane down to the end with the stone and voila, stiff as a board!
New guy's 2 cents' worth
I use a .5 mil stainless airstone that I got from doug, an old racking cane, and a filter for my "clean end" of my aeration system. For the air supply, I either use my shop compressor and then run the line from a filter/regulator unit. I set the pressure around 12psi, and let it bubble for around 5 minutes. I used pure O2 from my welding rig the first time I did a full wort boil, and the brew came out extremely dry, I thought.
Thanks Dan
I am really dense here... Why is the oxygen stone a key element in the oxygenation? Is running a sanitized tube from the air source directly into the beer bad?
Not bad, but inefficient.
The key to oxygenation is surface contact with oxygen. The more tiny bubbles you make, the more of your "soon to be beer" is in contact with the oxygen. The smaller the bubbles, the less "wasted oxygen" in the middle of the bubble that will never touch the wort, and the longer it takes for the bubbles to rise. (more surface area with a longer contact time means with a stone, you can use less O2 for a shorter time and get a more effective absorbtion than just a tube.)
Hope that helps. Dan
Makes Sense
Thanks Dan!
Not sure about welding gas...
I know several of you, and half the brewers on the internet, use welding O2 but ...
Though I'm sure it's fine, I have to admit that it worries me a bit. Companies dont pay extra to make products "food grade" unless they have too. It cuts into the bottom line. Not as worried about it ruining the batch so much as any potential long term effects on thos drinking the beer.
Technical jargon
the big difference between medical or food grade oxygen and welding gas is the size and material of the bottle. Medical or food grade O2 bottles are stainless. the welding gas goes into a steel cylinder, which is "pickled" to protect against oxidation. The big reason for the difference is the possibility of particulates contaminating a medical system (can anyone say hospital lawsuit?). Welding O2 is still 100% O2, it just comes out of a carbon steel tank. Any health concerns can be easily addressed with a disc filter.