Is it better to aerate before pitching, or after pitching?
It really doesn’t matter so long as you aerate right before or right after. I prefer before.
Dave
+1. I doubt that it matters. I’ve always aerated like crazy, then pitched. The lag time is “X” long regardless.
Best practice is before. There have been times I pitch the yeast and say, crap forgot the O2, then put the stone in and give it a shot. Doesn’t seem to make much difference.
It hardly matters which way you do it, but actually usually do both.
And further, when I do a double drop on certain brews (in the traditional British fashion), the beer inevitably gets aerated again when it’s transferred on the 2nd or 3rd day.
Thanks, all – I had a hunch that would be the response.
If you are using compressed, filtered air then it is probably best to do it before and after if you can. If you are using pure o2 you should not aerate after you pitch the yeast because pure o2 is toxic to yeast. I have actually killed starters with pure o2 by aerating after pitching.
Up to tomorrow morning’s brew my aeration method has been to whisk for 5 minutes with a 22" whisk. I just bought an aeration stone and wand (for filtered air, not o2, though I could upgrade easily). Thanks for the insight; I don’t know if I will ever use o2, but if I do, I’ll heed your advice.
FWIW, I’ve not seen a huge difference between O2 and filtered air.
The big difference between compressed air and 02 is time. 1-2 minutes o2 is all you need as opposed to 20 minutes or so with regular air.
Right. I just haven’t seen any performance difference for the additional investment in the O2 regulator and the cost of the tanks.
Not a huge investment, but also one I could have just as easily not made and still been pretty much where I’m at fermentation-wise. It is another gadget, though, which has some value in and of itself.
I’m starting to think I might like Belgian ales with filtered air better than pure o2. Pure o2 seems to leave less ester profile behind.
I have found this also.
Guilty as charged (in the move from whisk to aeration stone). If I can clamp the wand to the bucket, I can at least do other things.
+1. The only time I use it anymore is for high OG beers (over 1.080). I feels it helps there, but otherwise it sits in the garage. I use a mix-stir for most beers.
I typically use O2 for lagers and really big beers and the mix-stir for everything else.
Dave
You guys are missing the obvious. If you aerate before, the yeast settle into a nice happy home ready to go. If you aerate after, the yeast swirl around, getting bruised and dizzy.
Which yeast scenario do you think makes for happy yeast? They are living beings after all! 8)
I may have to give this a whirl. Just did 10 gallons of a Chimay-ish dubbel that seems to have less Belgian character than I would like. I’ve been attributing that to the cool fermentation temps (peaked at about 66) but I also aerate with O2, so maybe it’s a one-two punch.
Quite honestly, I know this may sound silly, but I actually wondered about the second scenario (not that the yeast would get “dizzy” but that the yeast’s blooming might be affected by the turbulence of the aerating wort).
If anything I think blowing the yeast around would help get them active, not the other way around. Just don’t use pure o2 to do it. 