Aeration before pitching?

[Bogdweller]

Hi all
I've been aware of discussion on this topic but never felt the need to consider it as I've used BIAB for donkey's years which has always involved me lifting 20 odd litres of beer and pouring it manually into an fv which seemed to cause a lot of frothing and disturbance. If this seems a bit odd bear with me it's just the way I've always done it. I've never ( or rarely to be honest!) had problems with subsequent fermentation but now I have a Brewzilla and on running off my beer through the tap found that my back no longer aches but it doesn't seem to aerate like pouring did, if indeed it did?
Is there a benefit to aeration and if so what have you found the best method?
An additional related question on this part of the process out of interest.
I tend to use an immersion chiller in the f/v as it runs off from the boiler
At what point do you use an immersion chiller ?

 

[MrRook]

Are you using dry yeast or liquid?
With dry you don't have to worry about aeration.

 

[Cwrw666]

According to fermentis, it's a waste of time for dried yeasts. They ought to know.

 

[Agentgonzo]

When I used an immersion chiller, I used it in the kettle. Sticking it in for the last 5 minutes of the boil sanitised it, then you just turn the water on when you turn the heat off.

Cold break will form on the kettle can can be filtered out by the hop bed (if that's important to you - it doesn't seem to matter much of cold break goes into the fermentator or not)

 

[Stu's Brews]

According to fermentis, it's a waste of time for dried yeasts. They ought to know.

I'm still fascinated by this as I can't really fathom how dried yeast behaves any differently to liquid yeast once it's rehydrated.

I always use liquid yeast though so it's a bit of a moot point for me.

 

[Bogdweller]

Are you using dry yeast or liquid?
With dry you don't have to worry about aeration.

Dry yeast. Thanks.

 

[Bogdweller]

When I used an immersion chiller, I used it in the kettle. Sticking it in for the last 5 minutes of the boil sanitised it, then you just turn the water on when you turn the heat off.

Cold break will form on the kettle can can be filtered out by the hop bed (if that's important to you - it doesn't seem to matter much of cold break goes into the fermentator or not)

Cheers! I'll give that a try. I guess the less muck transferred helps with the next process, if not flavour.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I used to aerate my beer before pitching and there is no doubt that in the presence of dissolved oxygen the yeast can reproduce a lot faster.

But more recently I've taken the view that (a) any dissolved oxygen gets used up pretty fast; (b) swilling the wort around seems like inviting airborne spores and stuff in, at the time it's most vulnerable to them.

Truth be told I just forgot to do it for my last few brews (with liquid yeast), and I've noticed absolutely no impact to the speed with which fermentation started.

 

[peebee]

I'm still fascinated by this as I can't really fathom how dried yeast behaves any differently to liquid yeast once it's rehydrated.

I always use liquid yeast though so it's a bit of a moot point for me.

Apparently ... (that's disclaimer language in case I'm talking boll**** again) the dried yeast is "manipulated" to contain an adequate store of precursors for growth and health. Those precursors needed oxygen to create them. Yeast does not need oxygen to ferment a good supply of food (beer wort). Liquid yeast is not manipulated so and needs oxygen for growth. If your liquid yeast is fresh out of a starter with access to air (and oxygen) it shouldn't need aerated wort either ... but many folk do not provide adequate aerated starters and without aeration of wort the yeast will suffer and not perform as expected.

 

[Davegase]

I tend to use an immersion chiller in the f/v as it runs off from the boiler
At what point do you use an immersion chiller ?

Immersion chillers go in the kettle towards the end of the boil usually when adding kettle finings. This will sanitise it, I certainly wouldn't risk using it in the fermenter !

 

[Bogdweller]

Thanks for the reply. That seems to be the consensus. Although I have for years ,with my old BIAB system, used a copper cooling coil (pre sterilised) in the fv at run off I think there will be advantages to changing the way I do things with my new kit.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Yeah my chiller goes in the boiler 10 mins before end, I chill to temp then run it out of tap into fv, causes a bit of splash so lots of foam, then chuck the dried yeast on top.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with liquid yeast so now only use dry. I didn't know that you didn't need to aerate the wort with dried.

 

[Keruso]

Hi all
I've been aware of discussion on this topic but never felt the need to consider it as I've used BIAB for donkey's years which has always involved me lifting 20 odd litres of beer and pouring it manually into an fv which seemed to cause a lot of frothing and disturbance. If this seems a bit odd bear with me it's just the way I've always done it. I've never ( or rarely to be honest!) had problems with subsequent fermentation but now I have a Brewzilla and on running off my beer through the tap found that my back no longer aches but it doesn't seem to aerate like pouring did, if indeed it did?
Is there a benefit to aeration and if so what have you found the best method?
An additional related question on this part of the process out of interest.
I tend to use an immersion chiller in the f/v as it runs off from the boiler
At what point do you use an immersion chiller ?

Interesting, I gave up using liquid yeast mainly because I don't brew beers that you can only brew with liquid yeast given it's greater variety, and just use dry now. Also making a 3 litre starter is a right pain in the backside. I still use a paddle attached to an electric drill and thoroughly aerate the wort before pitch. Seems folk are saying it's not necessary.

 

[Bogdweller]

Yeah my chiller goes in the boiler 10 mins before end, I chill to temp then run it out of tap into fv, causes a bit of splash so lots of foam, then chuck the dried yeast on top.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with liquid yeast so now only use dry. I didn't know that you didn't need to aerate the wort with dried.

Hi
I get the foam too when I run off into the fv but often wonder about its effect on getting the yeast going. Dried yeast seems to sit in the 'foam' not the wort and forms a slimy yellow coloured cap which seems to take a long time to appear to start working in a more vigorous way.
If I use a yeast that is dehydrated and stirred in it seems to kick off a lot quicker. Never had a failure though so maybe not really a problem.How do you find it works as you describe?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Hi
I get the foam too when I run off into the fv but often wonder about its effect on getting the yeast going. Dried yeast seems to sit in the 'foam' not the wort and forms a slimy yellow coloured cap which seems to take a long time to appear to start working in a more vigorous way.
If I use a yeast that is dehydrated and stirred in it seems to kick off a lot quicker. Never had a failure though so maybe not really a problem.How do you find it works as you describe?

I've often wondered about the reasoning behind the advice of "sprinkle on the surface of the wort" instead of "stir it in". I've seen it just sit on the surface of the foam as you describe and not be in the wort and figured that won't be doing any good. I've seen that if you just chuck it in and stir then the yeast will clump together (like flour in water) and not get evenly dispersed into the wort, so I tend to slowly sprinkle it into stream of wort going into the fermenter as I transfer from the kettle. The splashing action seems to mix it in nicely. More laborious than just sprinkling it on the surface. Whether it does any good or not, I don't know - but it makes me feel better.

 

[MrRook]

I've often wondered about the reasoning behind the advice of "sprinkle on the surface of the wort" instead of "stir it in". I've seen it just sit on the surface of the foam as you describe and not be in the wort and figured that won't be doing any good. I've seen that if you just chuck it in and stir then the yeast will clump together (like flour in water) and not get evenly dispersed into the wort, so I tend to slowly sprinkle it into stream of wort going into the fermenter as I transfer from the kettle. The splashing action seems to mix it in nicely. More laborious than just sprinkling it on the surface. Whether it does any good or not, I don't know - but it makes me feel better.

Scoop some of the foam away and pitch at that spot: works great for me.

 

[Cwrw666]

Scoop some of the foam away and pitch at that spot: works great for me.

Or no chill. Transfer to FV while hot, let it cool naturally, then pitch. Most of the foam will have gone.

 

[Bogdweller]

I've often wondered about the reasoning behind the advice of "sprinkle on the surface of the wort" instead of "stir it in". I've seen it just sit on the surface of the foam as you describe and not be in the wort and figured that won't be doing any good. I've seen that if you just chuck it in and stir then the yeast will clump together (like flour in water) and not get evenly dispersed into the wort, so I tend to slowly sprinkle it into stream of wort going into the fermenter as I transfer from the kettle. The splashing action seems to mix it in nicely. More laborious than just sprinkling it on the surface. Whether it does any good or not, I don't know - but it makes me feel better.

Interesting point re adding at the transfer to fv. I tried stirring, wasnt happy with that either. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bogdweller]

Or no chill. Transfer to FV while hot, let it cool naturally, then pitch. Most of the foam will have gone.

Hi. That's what I used to do for years until I got an immersion chiller! I agree that does work then I decided to get all upgraded
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Kentish Mike]

I recently upgraded to a brewzilla too (fun new toy!) I used the immersion coil as others have said (sterilizing with the last of the boil before chilling).
When transferring to the fermenter I used the pump rather than the tap, and ran it through a sanitised sieve that had my yeast in. This aerated the wort and dispersed the yeast nicely. Great results so far!