I stopped aerating my wort, and the world didn't end

I do still have my appropriately sized starters getting aerated on a stir plate but my hazy ipas never darken and I take no precautions during racking or kegging. So, just wanted to toss this out there, and I expect this to ruffle some feathers but more importantly I hope to help some of yall out with oxidation problems! Cheers.

Adding a reasonable amount of O2 to the wort does NOT significantly oxidize beers. The yeast consumes the O2 before it can be a problem. Oxidation is slow at pitching temperatures and fast at mash and kettle temperatures.

Adding O2 is NOT always necessary to make good beer. However, it DOES influence the outcome even if the OP doesn't notice the actual difference. He is under the impression his beers "improved" without O2. Maybe they did. But, he did not mention how they improved and I doubt the lack of O2 is the main factor.

I use O2 about 30% of the time for specific purposes to achieve a desired fermentation outcome with various strains of yeast. The 70% of the beers that don't get O2 would either be basically the same beer with O2 or would be noticeably different without it. This also depends on the strain and other fermentation variables.

/r/Homebrewing Thread