I just made a beer with belgian yeast, and when I racked it I added Russian River critters from a bottle of sour into the secondary. I am wondering if I should do something to get more oxygen into the fermenter. I am thinking of just putting foil on top. Would that put too much oxygen in though? Don’t brett and acetobacter really like oxygen? Would it taste too vinegary if there is acetobacter in the russian river bottles? I was also thinking of just taking the top of the fermenter off once a week or so. any help would be great.
The only style that really benefits from some prominent acetic flavor is a Flanders red, and you should get enough oxygen just by aging in a carboy or bucket and popping the top every month or so. Pediococcus and Brett ferment in anaerobic conditions and need no oxygen.
I would not oxygenate, there’s no need to…What type of container did you rack the beer into? If the beer is in a carboy, all that is needed is a stopper and and air lock. The fluctuation in pressure will cause enough air to diffuse through the stopper seal to oxygenate the wild yeast.
I wouldn’t aerate either, the acetic acid from acetobacter comes from converting ethanol to acid. More O2 with acetobacter means less alcohol, more acetic.