Was just reading an article about the importance of oxygenating the wort. They recommend you get a carb setup for that purpose. Is it really something that will improve the quality of the beer? Enough to notice a difference? Up until now I've just done the splashing when transferring from the kettle to the fermenter and then using a paddle with a drill to oxygenate it. Is it worth the cost to do this upgrade?
Yes. Giving yeast oxygen will make them extremely happy. Will you the notice the additional difference of adding that in at the home-brew scale? Beyond what you are already doing? Maybe. You're probably giving it a decent amount with what you're doing already. But. Having the ability for inline oxygenation is kind of cool. If you have the space, and budget. Have at it.
Do your batches so far reach your target FG? Do you have any perceptible fermentation off-flavors in the resulting beers? Any other fermentation issues (e.g., fermentation taking too long)? Cheers!
I’ve been using dry yeast for so long I’ve forgotten about my o2 tank setup. I’ve had problems using liquid yeasts so I got that equipment but now I would say it’s just a added step In the process I don’t notice any improvement. It always ferments.
Inadequate oxygenation of wort leads to the inability of yeast to reach optimal mass, because they can't divide enough times due to a lack of cell wall material (which is made using O2). This is functionally equivalent to under pitching. The affects of under pitching are well known, but can be subtle. "My beer tastes ok" is not the same as "My beer is as good as it could have been." Recommendations vary, but 10 ppm is a common recommendation for low gravity ales. (And IIRC, that's also Wyeast's recommendation.) Higher for bigger beers and for lagers. You'd have to shake long and hard to get even 8 ppm into wort. And you definitely can't get above about 9 ppm by shaking/stirring, regardless of how long you do it, because at the point you're at equilibrium and O2 is leaving as fast as it's dissolving. My recommendation, if you can't oxygenate adequately, would be to overpitch slightly. Something like 1M cells per ml per degree Plato instead of the more or less standard 750K cells per ml per degree Plato.
Not sure if I'm following what your describing completely, but wort oxygenation isn't generally needed for dry yeast, because dry yeast is packaged fully loaded with sterols (which is what the yeast would otherwise make with the O2).
What @MostlyNorwegian said. Brewers make the wort, but yeast make the beer...been that way forever. And for those little yeasties to do their job in the best way they must be happy. Sweet fermentables and oxygen pegs-out their Happy Meter. It's easy to ignore oxygen if you're overall pleased with the final product. But adding that precious gas makes those yeast buggers perform their job so much better. It really matters on high OG beers. Remember, the yeast is simply trying to survive and they do this by reproducing at the highest possible rate . . . that optimal level is when they are in an aerobic state (I.e. lots of oxygen). Once they have adapted to their environment they go about an anaerobic process where the ethanol and wonderful esters are produced. But they have to reach their nirvana for best results. Oh yeah, you won't find any serious professional Brewers who skip oxygen. From the practical side: Water contains about 8ppm of oxygen (sea level, standard day). When you boil your wort this is completely eliminated. Your wort (mostly water) will reabsorb the oxygen as it cools but this takes time. If you run a drill-paddle for an hour the best you can do is reach the 8ppm level. That's why it's more effective (and easier) to add oxygen just before pitching. More practical ideas: I find it easy to find old oxygen tanks . . . they show up at flea markets, garage sales, and Craigslist regularly. Most common is a Class E which is a tall skinny tank that holds 680 liters of O2. This is what you find on just about every wheelchair in a hospital and used at home for those suffering with pulmonary problems: Almost always they will have a regulator attached (or available on eBay/Amazon). I suspect they come from people who have passed away but I don't ask. All you need is a short length of tubing and a sintered stone and you're in business. Poke around and you can be set up under $50 bucks and if tank is full you've got a near lifetime supply. If getting an empty tank just make sure the hydro stamp is current. Some states regulate the sale of oxygen, some don't. In my area filling a tank is no more difficult than filling a propane tank.
At production scale. It is a necessity. At a home-brew scale. Shaking the shit out of it generally works, As an added boost.. Chuck a couple grams of dried yeast in on flame out to give the little cannibals being pitched some extra oomph before they figure out there is all that sugar to party on. Keep them happy.
Nobody's claiming that oxygenation by shaking doesn't "work." It certainly makes beer. If that's the goal, brew on.
Huh. I was merely being an advocate, if the budget and space are available for moving to in line. The extra equipment on the shelf sure looks neat. My own personal experience with shaking 5 and 10 gals to oxygenate has plenty of I hit my numbers results.
I think I've said this many times before in the forum, but "hitting numbers" (FG) isn't the only reason or even the main reason to properly oxygenate wort or pitch the right amount of yeast. The main reason is to make the best beer possible, if that's important to the brewer.
It depends. Dry yeast doesn't require it. I don't do it so much for Ales, but do for lagers unless using dry yeast. High gravity beers benefit from an extra O2 shot 12 to 18 hours after pitching.
Oxygenation with pure O2 isn't very expensive. And it can be done without inline injection. Most homebrewers who oxygenate with pure O2 use an O2 cylinder, a cheap adjustable regulator, some tubing and a sintered steel stone. And it's not about the extra equipment looking neat. It's actually fairly ugly. It's about making better beer. Personally, I'd love it if the amount of O2 in the wort didn't matter. OTOH, if you believe that 8-ish ppm O2 (or less) in the wort makes the best beer, more power to you. That's a valid opinion, assuming you have compared results.
Unless I miss my guess, you're both on the same page. Sounds to me like @beershrine was frustrated with liquid yeast and got the stuff needed for adding O2. Then, still not satisfied with the (any) added improvements of adding O2 when pitching liquid yeast, decided to use dry yeast going forward.....the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
I've heard that before. As long as the flow is fast enough, they should be able to reach any useful ppm of O2 they want. It's the rocking/shaking/drilling/dropping/splashing/whisking methods that are limited.
Yeah, Sierra Nevada uses sterile filtered air pumped though the fermenters. The yeast will take up the O2 they need as available.
I don't think you can really get above 8ppm with just air. At a wastewater lab I worked at we struggled to get half that in our BOD tests. Maybe a little better if things are under enough pressure. edit: a few old school Belgian brewers use air at atmospheric pressure and often get better attenuation than most of their modern imitators.
