Brewferm/Brouwland Wort Aerator - which way does the filter go??

[SkiBeagle]

I just bought a brewferm aerator. Listen to what the instruction sheet says:

"Assure yourself that the large opening of the filter is connected to the smallest end of the short tubing. The small opening of the filter is is to be connected to the 2 meter tubing. Next, attach the filter with short tubing to the air pump. The little suction pad, delivered with the stone is normally of no use for you".

I'm scratching my head so hard, I've no hair left. Anyone know which way the filter should go? White side or Yellow side towards the pump??

Thanks - Ski

[Leann ull]

Big hole feed directly after your pump
Small hole output to your stone.

[SkiBeagle]

Thanks, CH. Going with Yellow side to the pump (big hole).
Nice fizz of air from it. Could this be used to keep a starter oxygenated?
-Ski

[Leann ull]

Yep but not required if you have a stir bar agitating and drawing in oxygen.

Aeration for me comes into its own where I use pure O2 on big beers for anything 1050 or lower I don't bother anymore as the pumping process into FV gets enough in there.

I got a mail I thought recently turns out it was last year from Beersmith


Aeration and Home Brewing

This week we look at how to enhance your home brewed beers using a technique called aeration.  Aeration with oxygen is very important for fermenting beer, but needs to be applied at the right time to brew good beer.   Let's take a look at aeration and how important it is for brewing great beer at home.

Aeration Explained

Lets start with some basic definitions.  Aeration is the injection of oxygen into the wort during the brewing process, usually after boiling and cooling cooling and just prior to fermentation.  The act of boiling wort forces most of the oxygen out of solution.  Unfortunately, as we covered in our article on fermentation and the yeast life cycle, yeast requires a great deal of oxygen during the "lag phase" when it is rapidly multiplying in the wort.  Without enough oxygen, the yeast will fail to reproduce sufficiently, leaving an incomplete fermentation.


Before we get to how to best add more oxygen, lets look at two other important terms.  Another term you may hear is "hot side aeration", which refers to exessive splashing or aeration of the wort during the boil or before we've had a chance to cool the wort down.  The problem with adding oxygen while the wort is hot is that it can oxidize the melanoidins in your beer leading to a stale flavor.  A study by the late George Fix suggests that hot side aeration can occur at temperatures as low as 86F (which is pretty low!), so it is important to cool your wort before aerating it.

A third term, called oxidation is closely related to the first two.  Oxidation occurs when you add oxygen after the lag phase of yeast growth (i.e. later in fermentation, or after the beer has fermented).  In this case, the effect is exactly what is seen when you left your pony keg at college out for a few days with an air pump on it.  The air oxidizes the finished beer, leaving a strong stale flavor.  So you clearly don't want to introduce oxygen in your beer after lag fermentation has started.

Aerating your Wort

So far we've learned that hot side aeration is bad, oxidation is bad, but proper aeration of the cooled wort is good.  Now lets look at how to put this information to good use in our beer.  Yeast needs between 8 and 10 parts per million (ppm) of oxygen to properly reproduce in the lag phase.  A level of 8ppm is achievable using air alone (which is 21% oxygen), but achieving a higher level requires a tank of pure oxygen.

The best time to aerate your wort is as soon as it is cool.  Ideally this can be done during transfer to the fermenter or immediately after transfer to the fermenter.  If you aerate after pitching your wort, do not aerate for long as the lag phase generally starts withing a few hours of pitching the wort.

There are three basic methods for aerating wort:

Splashing – Splashing the wort around in the fermenter can actually add some oxygen to the solution.  You can achieve the same effect by splashing the wort around during transfer – for example using a cap at the end of the siphon that splashes the wort out the side a bit.  While splashing will not achieve as high an oxygen content as injection, it is a good option for those on a limited budget.  Splashing is superior to no aeration at all.
Agitation -Agitation is done by stirring rapidly with a spoon, whisking the wort around with a wisk or rocking the entire fermenter.  Generally a sterilized whisk is best if you have open access to the wort.  Whisk the beer vigorously for several minutes before adding your yeast.  Agitation is a step above splashing, as it generally gets more oxygen into the solution.
Injection – There are many ways to inject air or oxygen directly into the wort.  The simplest setup involves using an inexpensive aquarium pump with a inline sterile filter.  Note that the filter is needed to prevent bacteria and other organisms from being drawn in with the air.  I also recommend using some kind of carbonation stone or aeration stone at the end of the tube to help diffuse the air.  Care must be taken to sanitize the stone and tube before using it.  A more elaborate injection system would use an actual oxygen bottle and regulator to inject oxygen.  However, even the relatively cheap aquarium pump injection system can achieve the 8 ppm ideal aeration level needed for your wort.
For many years, I used the splashing/agitation system, but for less than $25 you can move up to an aquarium pump, filter and carbonation stone and significantly improve the fermentation of your beer.  I will add a final note – don't forget the use of a properly sized yeast starter, for without a starter you still risk poor yeast production and subsequent problems in your beer.

[SkiBeagle]

Thanks very much, CH. Things went pretty well yesterday. I was trying a few new things: liquid yeast, shaken-not-stirred starter method, and inverting some demerara in the middle of it all. The little aerator worked very well in the starter and in the fermenter. Wyeast 1318 rocking in the fermenter last night. Very pleased with the way it went. I really like the Wyeast smack pack - very clear indication that the yeast has woken up.

[LASERBOY147]

Hi CH .  Just trying to work out what's the likely outcome of a big beer (10%) that's only been given a drill-padel stir for 3 full minutes.  The wort visibly gained height in tge f.v and the drill was working on Hi speed so there's was tonnes of foam. I've temp control at 17oc for 3 days then .3 increase a day until I reached 19oc but after day 4 the beer needed rousing every single day. So I'm sure I've not enough o2 so I'm trying to work out what the result will be flavour wise ... fusel?? Long ferment times? Incomplete attenuation?  Shit beer? Etc
Any advice or thoughts ty

[LASERBOY147]

Also anyone else had big beer problems along same lines? Lag time was 13 hours 2 pkt us-05  rehydrated and was going ok (every 5 seconds)  for at least 2 days then slowed til stopped then needed rousing and temp lifted to get it going again. I'm pretty sure that means yeast didn't grow enough at the start. Read tonnes on subject  but no substitute to people's experiences with this problem .ty

[molc]

Big beers need o2 and a lot of yeast. If either are low you'll get flavours characteristic of stressed yeast and possibly incomplete fermentation. Some will age out and you will be aging fir a few months with something that big.

With the paddle in the drill, I think your still only getting about 6ppm o2 into the beer, whereas you want about 10.

No substitute for pure o2 or an oxygenation kit once your og is over 1.060.

If you want to give yourself the best chance, make a small beer first and pitch the whole yeast cake into your big beer. It will cut down in lag and stress from the overpitch, which will minimise the impact of the low o2 levels. Also watch temp in the first few days, as it will be fermenting like rocket fuel.

[Leann ull]

You need big starters for big beers, 02 helps.
Easiest way to achieve this if you don't have 02 is as Molc says is to pitch on top of a yeast cake from previous beer, just make sure it's one that's not going to impact flavour profile of big beer.
You need to be at least 19, if your fermentation control isn't fanned or accurate around fridge if could be 16 and that's too low.

[LASERBOY147]

Cheers lads. My inkbird has 12 inch probe and I drilled a bung so it's 4 inches Deep into wort. Today I might increase temp again then to 19.5oc but it sounds like this won't be a runner for nationals which is a shame. I'd planned for 300g dry hop so I've now got to see how it is / if it attenuates and if off flavours...

[LASERBOY147]

Just home and my impatience has the better of me. We're day  10 and normally I wouldn't be peeking but I've done a hydro test.  Moved the kreusen aside carefully and took only the beer. It's at 1020 which I'm happy about as that must mean it's doing a lot better than I thought? ?? Its a very bright pale milky murky colour still as it's mid ferment and sampling it I don't get any off flavours yet... is it possible I could get lucky as my temp control was precisely accurate,  meaning it's never once Benn past 19oc . Also because kreusen is still there maybe that's a good sign? I'm fishing here tbh. U can tell me relax ... I'm kind of hoping the fact it's 1020 and mid ferment means it isn't stalled and I've somehow lucked my way through without o2.... ??

[molc]

Depends on the style and attenuation of the yeast and recipe. On a Russian imperial stout, for example, that would be a great place to stop. On a double IPA, you want to get to 1.008.

[LASERBOY147]

Dipa . 92%pale malt , us 05.
I'm not losing hope yet. It's bubbling every 10 seconds at
19.5oc . Fingers crossed.  I'll post results  of ferment in a fortnight.