The cheap and easy way to aerate your wort.

[stevey]

I brew with the grain father, and one of the drawbacks that I've noticed with it is the slow transfer rate from the counterflow chiller, After a few batches that stopped at 1.014, I decided that I needed more oxygen in my wort to aid fermentation.
I've seen loads of gadgets that do this, costing lots of money, but I think this is a good, cheap way of doing it:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=svn98g9vR6U&t=73s

I can't claim all the credit for this, as I read it or saw it somewhere, but I can't remember where. As you can see it works great.

 

[Drunkula]

It might have been me that invented that. At least parallel invented anyway.

 

[Banbeer]

I know an even cheaper and easier way to do this......................a paddle (no not from a canoe) a stirring paddle, does the job and cheap.

 

[terrym]

Looks like he's wasting a lot of his time to me. Oxygen doesnt dissolve very well in aqueous solutions unlike CO2 which reacts to form a weak chemical bond. So if you give it a good beating with something like a paddle for a minute or so and see some foam on top that's it, its saturated. Any more foam is just air that can't dissolve.So you can carry on trying to get more oxygen into and it will make bugger all difference.

 

[Ronnie23]

I use something like this. Cut a notch in the handle so the drill can grip it, whack it in the drill, bobs your uncle.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/grilltider-barbecue-spatula-stainless-steel-80444734/

 

[Session]

I’ve just bought the BrewTools mash paddle (probably the only piece of BrewTools equipment I’ll ever be able to afford...). It’s a beast! One nice thing about it is the end is machined so it slots into a drill, allowing it to be used like the GF aeration paddle.

 

[Drunkula]

You look like you're Blofeld sat in your chair waiting to say "I've been expecting you, Mr. Bluebottle." up so you can swat him in "The Fly Who Loved Me."

I've had one pint... ONE PINT and I'm already like this. Strap in. Actually is there like a 18 hour ban that can be put on me? Genuinely serious.

 

[Alastair70]

My issue with the GF is also that. The filter gets clogged up during transfer and halfway through the process the flow rate drops to a minimum. Prior to that I’ve got the out-pipe from the CF-chiller held at full height like some Moroccan tea pouring professional and and wort aeration is turned up to 11. I have wondered if a false bottom would improve things.
Secondly, I thought if you use live yeast oxygenation happens on the stir-plate, but I’d be happy to be educated on that point.

 

[BeerCat]

Try mashing 3 or 4c lower first and see if there is a difference. And if your not using nutrient try that. Its a shame you cannot no chill with the GF as pouring it from a cube is an easy way to aereate.

 

[Alastair70]

Try mashing 3 or 4c lower first and see if there is a difference. And if your not using nutrient try that. Its a shame you cannot no chill with the GF as pouring it from a cube is an easy way to aereate.

I’ve transferred hot wort into the fermenter and pitched live yeast off the stir plate the next day. It’s the transfer process thats the problem, with hops in the filter, or ever worse the pump.

 

[Session]

You look like you're Blofeld sat in your chair waiting to say "I've been expecting you, Mr. Bluebottle." up so you can swat him in "The Fly Who Loved Me."

I've had one pint... ONE PINT and I'm already like this. Strap in. Actually is there like a 18 hour ban that can be put on me? Genuinely serious.

Hahaha! Hang on I’ll go and wheel in my office chair...

 

[foxy]

If you are using dry yeast which a lot of folk do there is no need to aerate the wort.

We don’t recommend aerating the wort in normal conditions. The dry yeast has been produced and dried with a specific know-how of the Lesaffre Group, in order to maximize the Ergosterols content of the cells. This allows the yeast to grow/multiply and ferment well.

However, you could aerate the wort in particular cases, for example if you recycle the yeast. There is no difference (for the O2) between Ale and Lager

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Hi, I have the bulldog master brewer system raised on a chair and once the wort is cooled via the immersion cooler I simply place the fv under the tap on the master brewer, remove the recirculation pipe from the tap and just open the tap, to transfer the wort in to the fv. I find there is enough splashing of the wort as it goes in to aerate itself. I have used both dried and liquid yeast and never had any problems. Fermentation starts in 24 hour or sooner

 

[clyne]

Good old electric whisk for me. Sanitise the whisk section, plug it in, blast for a minute or so - job done! Usually find within a few hours the yeast is doing its thing

 

[Buffers brewery]

I do the same as @Andrew Taylor . After the wort has chilled in my kettle/boiler I disconnect the hose to my whirlpool pump and transfer into FV on the floor. Plenty of bubbles. Both liquid and dried yeasts. No problems......thus far

 

[DCBC]

I know this probably doesn't fit the grainfather setup but I was thinking of trying to recirculate through a 1.5" TC CIP spray ball (with the lid on of course!) I probably wouldn't do it with boiling wort but once it has been chilled instead! I'll give it a try and report back. Turning the liquid wort into a spray in a heat sanitised vessel sound like the best way to aerate without an oxygen stone.

 

[foxy]

I do the same as @Andrew Taylor . After the wort has chilled in my kettle/boiler I disconnect the hose to my whirlpool pump and transfer into FV on the floor. Plenty of bubbles. Both liquid and dried yeasts. No problems......thus far

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Not really an aeration, an aeration is a good vigorous shake for minimum of one minute. When using liquid yeast I empty into a cube put the cube on a sack truck and jerk it backward and forwards for a minute or so. When making a big beer then I will use oxygen.
Get a DO meter and check the oxygen levels, as Terry said oxygen tends not to dissolve into liquids and wort being a heavy density even more so.
Dry yeast does not need oxygen so adding oxygen/aerating is a waste of time, though unlikely, there is also the added fact that the beer could oxidise if the oxygen manages to remain in the wort throughout fermentation.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Not really an aeration, an aeration is a good vigorous shake for minimum of one minute. When using liquid yeast I empty into a cube put the cube on a sack truck and jerk it backward and forwards for a minute or so. When making a big beer then I will use oxygen.
Get a DO meter and check the oxygen levels, as Terry said oxygen tends not to dissolve into liquids and wort being a heavy density even more so.
Dry yeast does not need oxygen so adding oxygen/aerating is a waste of time, though unlikely, there is also the added fact that the beer could oxidise if the oxygen manages to remain in the wort throughout fermentation.

Found these articles on line that might be of interest...

https://learn.kegerator.com/wort-aeration-and-oxygenation/
https://wyeastlab.com/oxygenation
I think what you meant to say @foxy was that the splashy transfer that @Andrew Taylor and I use, though a recognised method of aeration, is not as effective as vigorous shaking. At my age, I don’t do vigorous anymore. Something might break .