How important is it to keep my beer away from the air? Should I get something to help do this?

Question

How important is it to keep my beer away from the air? Should I get something to help do this?

Answer 1

How important is it to keep my beer away from the air?

In the earliest stages of fermentatioon you do want to add air to your wort. This will help the yeast grow and ferment better. Many homebrewers use aeration devices they bought from a supplier or shake the carboy to get air into it. The catch is by erating in this way air borne contaminates can enter your wort and sour the beer. So a closed system would be better. I did this but after a couple of years I changed to using oxygen. I have a pure O2 tank to pump into my wort inline to the fermenter. Later after the primary fermentation you want to avoid air for the same reason contamination. When air is added later it increases the chances of bacteria to grow and sour your beer.

Should I get something to help do this?

It depends on your budget and wants compared to need. Here you have the chicken Vs egg debate on cost issue . As I have said I have an oxygen tank and an inline filter to dissolve O2 into my wort. Thses things cost more cash to your system. But it greatly reduces my risk of contamination. I recommend you do the same.

Answer 2

It is in a technical sense very important to keep air from the environment from your wort. Because floating in the air are many contaminates that will ruin your beer. They mainly are bacteria or yeast. But perhaps equally important is the need of oxygen for the yeast. It helps the yeast grow strong and provide a good fermentation or attenuation. The finished beer is still at risk for the same organisms so air and the environment should defiantly be avoided. But thousands of other homebrewers and myself make great clean beer despite the air dwelling wild yeast.

Getting equipment in order to avoid the air is just another choice for a homebrewer. It is something I recently have decided to do. I am also upgrading my entire brewery including making it a closed system. It is a big expense but I feel I have earned it.

Just keep in mind that you can make great beer with little worry even with the air or contamination risks. Just keep everything clean and sanitize any equipment used after the

boil. Also reduce the time that the wort and beer get exposed to the air.