Over oxygenation

Brewing techniques -- how to brew, beginner to advanced, ask it here.
Locked
jjbuck
Posts: 418
Joined: Sun May 04, 2008 8:42 pm
Location: Hartley, Iowa

Over oxygenation

Post by jjbuck »

Just read an interesting blog about oxygenating wort. Seems if you over oxygenate, you run the risk of producing too many fusel alcohols and/or your beer becomes too "boozy". 1liter/minute for 1 minute thru an aeration stone is recommended for anything under 1.070.
I have just been dunking the stone and cranking up the O2 for about 30-60 sec. I have noticed my beers being a little "hot" occasionally and attenuating further than expected.
John Buck
Brother John's Brewing
The Monk at the Hartley Monastary
bf514921
Posts: 628
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 9:32 pm
Location: Near Prairieburg, IA

Post by bf514921 »

i remeber a few times on he jamiel show talking about over oxegytion. I dont oxegrnate, but remeber the "fuelsol and hot satement"
Brandon Franklin - The other Franklin
DrPaulsen
Posts: 1007
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 2:55 pm
Location: Cedar Rapids

Over oxygenation

Post by DrPaulsen »

The Jamil & Chris White "Yeast" book indicate that "too much oxygen" can increase fusel alcohols & acetaldehyde and will reduce ester production, but they don't indicate what "too much" means.  They do state that "too much oxygen" is rarely a problem and suggest 8-10 ppm for most yeast.  Keep in mind a couple of things here.

1. The "right amount" is a function of pitching rate.  If you're just pitching a single vial/pack of yeast, I suspect it's easier to have "too much" oxygen than if you're following the pitching rate guidelines & making a starter.


2. For most beers, I seriously doubt any of us are over-oxygenating.  I've been tracking DO for various means of aeration for the past year & have found it damn near impossible to get more than 16 ppm DO with an oxygen bottle & diffusion stone.


3. Any amount of DO over 8 ppm will gradually dissipate as the solution will have more DO than is possible with air & the excess oxygen will equilibrate to atmospheric conditions.  I'm not sure what the dissipation rate is, but I bet it will approach 8 ppm during the yeast growth phase.


I probably have enough data to do a Tech Topic on aeration methods if you guys are interested.  I only have a couple of data points using an aquarium pump, but it seems very consistent so far & is probably safe to share.  I have 10 data sets for the "purge & shake" method & 10 for the "O2 bottle & aeration stone".  There is some variation, but I think there's enough data to show a meaningful trend.  I would like to follow this up with a "how much do I need?" set of experiments.


If you're getting yeast-derived off flavors, I would look at pitching rates & temp before oxygen (assuming you're aerating at all).

On Saturday, April 13, 2013, bf514921 wrote:
i remeber a few times on he jamiel show talking about over oxegytion. I dont oxegrnate, but remeber the "fuelsol and hot satement"



Brandon Franklin - The other Franklin




Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)
User avatar
Matt F
Posts: 3771
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:09 pm
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA

Post by Matt F »

I agree with the good Dr. Most information I have found says that a homebrewer is rarely going get too much O2 and should not worry about it.
Matt Franklin
Slappy Brewing North

On Tap:
American IPA
Strata Hazy IPA
Dr. Lee Orval
American Strong Ale
Friend of the Devil Belgian Golden Strong
Imperial Stout
Locked