Wort oxygenation by shaking - how long?

1.048...I'd just pour back and forth from kettle to fermenter several times through a strainer.

 

Until you're tired, is what I do.

 

First, welcome back to the sport. According to Wyeast, 40 seconds of shaking will take you up to 8 ppm. Personally I'd give it a little bit more. And I see no problem that large O2 bubbles would inflict . . . maybe leave the headspace saturated in oxygen. With your OG and plenty of yeasties you should be fine.

 

You must have lots of endurance.

 

I went back and read the fine print on Wyeast's website and they do in fact recommend filling the headspace with oxygen. So I would shoot the gas to the fermentor and shake like you were mad at it.

 

I never shook... I rocked! I would put the carboy on a thick towel and rock it for 3- 5 minutes. Of course, if your using a bucket... make sure the lid is on good I considered it my workout for the day.

 

If you're using a bucket...areate the wort with a whisk.

 

Honestly, if youre fermenting 1048 and you have a healthy starter, I think the difference between 1 minute of shaking, 5 minutes etc. Is really not a concern. I just can't imagine you would ever know the difference. Maybe. I don't think I could.

Make up for lost time!

Cheers.

 

1.048 with appropriate starter, don't bother oxygenate. From now just make sure to be on the right fermentation temp.

 

Dude from Wyeast says 45 seconds for 8 ppm.

 

I really like this answer. When you're tired, just grab a beer and finish clean up.

 

Definitely this!!!

 

Here is my process for aeration, which works for me. Caveat: I don't ever make really big beers such as barley wines.

Aeration begins when I transfer the wort into the carboy, as I let the wort fall from close to the top of the carboy.

After the wort is transferred, I then tilt the carboy by about 30 degrees (with the curved part near the bottom still resting on a fairly soft piece of wood) and then rock it back and forth at a frequency that maximizes the sloshing of the wort. The frequency is ~ 1 Hz. I do this with a stopper in the carboy, and at 1 minute intervals I remove the stopper. Typically the first two times I remove the stopper air rushes into the carboy due to the slight vacuum created inside the carboy by oxygen being dissolved into the wort. I usually continue for 5 minutes, but from the third minute onwards there is usually no air rushing into the carboy when the stopper is removed. This tells me that typically 3 minutes is more than sufficient for aeration (while 5 minutes allows me to relax and not worry, and later have a homebrew).

Someday I may invest in an oxygenation system, but I'm not terribly motivated to yet do it. In the past I used an aquarium pump and stainless stone for aeration, but I believe the the sloshing method to be more effective. It is also simpler with less to sanitize and cleanup afterwards.

 

I upgraded to the O2 wand and 2 micron stone awhile back. It REALLY makes oxygenation a breeze. At the time the .5 micron stone wasn't available mounted to a SS wand... and the wand makes it easier to control, now you can get the .5 stone. Most of the literature that I've read, (and white labs testing on O2 ppm levels, and timing) were based on a .5 stone/wand setup. If I had it to do again, that's probably the one I'd get. The only downside is that the .5 stone appears to be more prone to clogging and is harder to clean... but reportedly oxygenates better due to more surface exposure. All I know is, my 2 micron stone seems to do the job... so far