Oxygenate your Wort! 5 Ways Homebrewers do it - Cheap to expensive!

[@TheMattMustain]

I use the splash method with great success. Actual process is running the cooled worth through a fine strainer as it goes into the fermenter. Also helps with catching any gunk coming from the kettle. 🍻

[@randallcooper4399]

Great vid. I use a nylon string attached to a stick with a power drill to whip the crap out of the wort for a minute. I had no idea that could impact head retention but that could explain my beers having consistently terrible head retention.

[@BenhamBrewing]

That’s a great point. I’m sure your beers taste great, because you are keeping your yeast happy with enough O2, but it might be impacting head retention. There are other factors that impact head retention as well too, but that could def be a factor! Thanks for the comment!

[@Makrojuice101]

I love how compact video is. Great job, and thanks for the tips!

[@BenhamBrewing]

You are so welcome! Glad we could help!

[@bradvonreaden1550]

After getting tired of shaking my catalyst, I ran to Home Depot and picked up a paint stirrer. Hooked it up to my cordless drill and after about 2 minutes was done. Very effective. Just kegged this weekend so I don't know of any contamination or not just yet.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Hey, keep me posted on the “infection” status, and if you can tell a difference in head retention (does not last as long).

[@bradvonreaden1550]

@@BenhamBrewing Paint stirrer worked great and end result was fantastic. No infection and plenty of active fermentation. This will be the way I introduce oxygen to my wort from here on out. Highly recommended.

[@shawandrew]

I'm pretty much happy to use the turbulence of my wort entering the fermentation vessel, and also a pump. Question : do I need to be doing filter changes on the sterile filter? I have never changed it since I got it. Also an idea that another commenter seemed to be getting at: what if you were to use a pressure fermenter, but instead of charging it with CO2, you initially charged it with O2? I would think that once fermentation takes off the excess oxygen would get pusned out the spunding valve, or you could purge it and recharge with CO2 in a couple of days.

[@BenhamBrewing]

For your sterile filter, I draw arrows on mine to make sure the air is only flowing one way. Would be bad if you reversed it and blew all the junk that was on the filter into your wort. I also always cap the "outflow" end as soon as I'm done to keep things from getting on the "sterile" side. Since you are really pushing such a small amount of air through it I would imagine they last quite awhile. I think I've replaced mine once in 10 years. As to the O2 question. Filling your headspace with pure O2 would not necessarily make it accessible to the yeast. Its why dissolving it into the wort is so important. I would imagine if you purged the headspace with O2, the yeast would produce CO2 and push the oxygen out (as you said). There is no need to re-purge the headspace with CO2, as the yeast have already done that. CO2 is heavier than air, so it will settle to the lowest point, and push the oxygen above it. Thanks for the comment!!

[@madsrosenfeldt8573]

A method I have been using, which in my experience works a lot better is to make a starter. The yeast have time to awake, grow and get healthy in a high oxygen environment, before being added to the big fermentation. This way you avoid oxidation of the beer aswell. Have you ever tried it?

[@BenhamBrewing]

100%. We do starters on just about all of our beers. Two things to keep in mind. Yeast need the oxygen during their growth phase. A starter gets them warmed up, but they will still go though another growth phase when you pitch them into your fermenter, so ideally, you are oxygenating them in both your starter, AND your unfermented wort. 2nd point, there is ZERO risk of oxidation as long as you are not introducing oxygen POST fermentation. Any oxygen added pre fermentation will aid the yeast, and they will remove all oxygen from the wort as they ferment.

[@finbarrohagen8443]

Just a short comment/query about oxygen levels, which were mentioned at the start of the video. There is a theoretical limit to how much oxygen can be imparted to and carried by the wort and its related to a parameter called the saturation concentration. In water, this is inversely related to both temperature and dissolved solids concentrations - higher temperature and/or higher dissolved solids means a lower saturation concentration. At 20 degrees Celsius in pure water its just over 9 mg/l (mg/l=ppm). With the dissolved sugars in wort, the saturation concentration would be expected to be even lower. What this means is that its impossible to get dissolved oxygen levels above the saturation concentration, unless you pressurise the head-space. Pressurisation of the head-space is not a feature of any of the methods described in the video so unless you're fermenting at temperatures much lower than (say) 20 Celsius, it would be impossible to get the DO in the wort to even 9 mg/l - unless I'm missing something?

[@BenhamBrewing]

I think the factor that needs to be taken into account with the higher DO concentrations is the use of pure O2, and the use of a sintered stone which increases the surface area of the oxygen in contact with the liquid. This allows you to supersaturate the wort to higher concentrations of DO. I don't believe this supersaturation state stays around for long, but it is long enough to pitch the yeast and they take up the O2 for their growth phase, and then after that, oxygen should be minimized in the beer going forward. That having been said... you have inspired a great idea for a follow up video where we actually TEST these different methods to see if this really holds true. I'm going to get my hands on a test kit, and please stay tuned for another video on this topic. GREAT question!

[@BenhamBrewing]

Thanks again for your question on this video. As promised, we just posted a follow-up to this video where we test each method. Check it out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHfYn3V6pMuomqc

[@bryanfriend4058]

Perhaps a subset of the stirring method, I have been using a paint stir with a power drill directly in my fermenter for my last few brews, and it seems to work fine. One question however, how do you go about measuring the O2 content in the wort?

[@BenhamBrewing]

Awesome question! Unfortunately, without expensive lab equipment, you cannot measure dissolved PPM of O2. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind, is that when using atmospheric oxygen (or just the "air" around you), you cannot EXCEED 8PPM of dissolved O2. Which method you use will vary the time it takes to achieve that saturation. Paint stirrer on a drill will get you there very quickly (within 2 minutes).

[@mikes9816]

G'day All, I fully endorse Bryan's method. Having done that for years with great results I then got lazy or forgetful and stopped doing it. Must get back to using it again as it definitely improved my brews. I used a small stirrer which I immersed just below the surface of the wort with enough speed to make a consistent vortex. A couple of minutes later all done.

[@BenhamBrewing]

Stayed tuned for an update on this video. I got my hands on an o2 testing kit, and we are going to test out each method to see if they theory of each holds up! Hooray SCIENCE!

[@bernardwilson]

Hi i am a keen model maker and have a small air compressor I use with a sterilized air stone after splash filling my stainless fermenters. I thought there was only me doing this but it just goes to show there is nothing new

[@BenhamBrewing]

I love to see how many different ways people have figured out how to achieve the same end goal.

[@BryanRabe]

Without a DO meter, you have no way of knowing the DO content.

[@BenhamBrewing]

We actually just did a follow-up video on this very topic, where we use an Aquarium DO test kit. Check it out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHfYn3V6pMuomqc

[@BryanRabe]

@@BenhamBrewing Still not a reliable test. Head space, volumes, and using water is not a proper analog.