In beer brewing, the process of fermentation begins with the pitching of the yeast. Pitching is a fancy brew term that basically means adding the yeast to the cooled wort. Depending on what type of yeast you use, there may be some preliminary steps necessary to have the yeast ready to pitch. It is important that the wort has cooled to below 80F and has also been aerated before pitching. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast, and the yeast need oxygen for feeding.
It is also highly recommended that you take a specific gravity reading prior to pitching the yeast. Those new to beer brewing will usually start with the dry yeast that is included with most kits. This can be added directly to the wort. There is also liquid yeast available; if you use this you must first make a starter for the yeast before pitching. For partial mash and all grain full boils, pitching requires a couple additional steps to happen before you can add the yeast.
First, you must strain off the boil of hot break materials, spent grains and hops. There are a couple ways to do this, and a mash/lauter tun helps to cool and strain the wort. 5 gallons or more of wort takes some time to cool, and this leaves the wort at risk of oxygen and contaminates. You need to cool your wort quickly, as you do not want to leave it in the danger temperature range (about 80F to 165F) for infection and bacteria.
Once you have your wort cooled and in the fermenter, you will need to aerate the wort. This may sound contradictory. Up until now you have been told that oxygen is bad for your beer. Now, you are being told to add oxygen. However, at this point it is not only ok to let oxygen into your wort, it is necessary. Introduce oxygen too early to your wort and you risk contamination. But after the boil, it is necessary that you re-introduce oxygen because your yaest will need it. During the boil, oxygen was boiled off.
Once you have aerated, then pitch the yeast and then seal up the fermenter. So, what are effective ways to aerate? There are many options. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this that does not require any specialized equipment. You may decide to buy something for this, and there are many do it yourself options as well, but there are plenty of manual methods that work just fine.
If you are doing a partial boil, you will aerate the wort simply by the addition of top off water. This water will already have oxygen in it. When you pour the wort in the fermenter, allow it to splash, this will agitate it and oxidize it. After racking the wort and sealing it, you can shake the fermenter vigorously for a few minutes. You can also use a large spoon or paddle to stir the wort continuously. Each of these methods may not be enough, so you can try them together to make sure.
Your LHBS will have aeration kits for sale, or you can find them online. Some brewers will connect some tubing to an aquarium pump and use that to blow air into the wort. Search You Tube and you can find videos of people that added a sanitized stirring rod to an electric drill for and easy and quick aerator.
It is also highly recommended that you take a specific gravity reading prior to pitching the yeast. Those new to beer brewing will usually start with the dry yeast that is included with most kits. This can be added directly to the wort. There is also liquid yeast available; if you use this you must first make a starter for the yeast before pitching. For partial mash and all grain full boils, pitching requires a couple additional steps to happen before you can add the yeast.
First, you must strain off the boil of hot break materials, spent grains and hops. There are a couple ways to do this, and a mash/lauter tun helps to cool and strain the wort. 5 gallons or more of wort takes some time to cool, and this leaves the wort at risk of oxygen and contaminates. You need to cool your wort quickly, as you do not want to leave it in the danger temperature range (about 80F to 165F) for infection and bacteria.
Once you have your wort cooled and in the fermenter, you will need to aerate the wort. This may sound contradictory. Up until now you have been told that oxygen is bad for your beer. Now, you are being told to add oxygen. However, at this point it is not only ok to let oxygen into your wort, it is necessary. Introduce oxygen too early to your wort and you risk contamination. But after the boil, it is necessary that you re-introduce oxygen because your yaest will need it. During the boil, oxygen was boiled off.
Once you have aerated, then pitch the yeast and then seal up the fermenter. So, what are effective ways to aerate? There are many options. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this that does not require any specialized equipment. You may decide to buy something for this, and there are many do it yourself options as well, but there are plenty of manual methods that work just fine.
If you are doing a partial boil, you will aerate the wort simply by the addition of top off water. This water will already have oxygen in it. When you pour the wort in the fermenter, allow it to splash, this will agitate it and oxidize it. After racking the wort and sealing it, you can shake the fermenter vigorously for a few minutes. You can also use a large spoon or paddle to stir the wort continuously. Each of these methods may not be enough, so you can try them together to make sure.
Your LHBS will have aeration kits for sale, or you can find them online. Some brewers will connect some tubing to an aquarium pump and use that to blow air into the wort. Search You Tube and you can find videos of people that added a sanitized stirring rod to an electric drill for and easy and quick aerator.