What's the deal with Oxygen?
Before using, boil the diffusion stone for 15 minutes to sanitize. Connect one end of the plastic hose to the stone and the other end to the regulator attached to the tank. Just prior to pitching your yeast, lower the stone into the cooled wort and open the valve for approximately 15 seconds then shut it off. After the foam settles, repeat the procedure. Remove the stone and pitch your yeast as usual. That's all there is to it.
See how easy it is to introduce oxygen to your wort?
By using an oxygen diffusion system, your fermentation will finish faster and end with a lower final specific gravity because the yeast will have the energy needed to ferment all of the available sugars. Oxygen is life to your yeast!
In the fermentation vessel, oxygen energizes the yeast to quickly and efficiently consume the wort sugars, preventing a slow and sluggish fermentation.
Most home brewers oxygenate their wort by shaking and letting the air (only 21% oxygen) in the head space absorb into solution. The oxygen deprived yeast may start fine but may fail to develop the energy needed to complete a healthy ferment. The most notable result is a sweet and heavy taste to the beer due to slow, sluggish fermentation and a high finishing gravity. Instead of the 1.008 to 1.012 final gravity possible with the Oxygenaztion (typical of lighter beers), a final gravity greater than 1.015 is not uncommon with air only. |
