When transfering from the MT to the BK I have aways just opened the valve on the MT and let the wert just splash into the BK. I have seen a couple post that say one should use a hose so as not to airate the wert. It seems to me that since I’m going to boil the wert for an hour or more, this transfering with a hose is sort of a non issue. Am I correct in this thinking?
Well, it’s the whole “hot side aeration” controversy. The thinking is that it’s a bad thing to aerate your mash liquor prior to the boil. I don’t worry much about it.
According to Dr. Charles Bamforth, hot side aeration is not a myth. It is indeed something to pay attention to, but also not something to worry about as long as you are taking sensible steps upstream to minimize exposure to air. Using a hose to direct the flow of hot wort into the bottom of kettle is cheap and easy insurance, and IMO worth doing. This is by far not the most important part of your brewing process, though. If you provide optimum conditions for your yeast to work in, this will help reduce (but maybe not eliminate) the effects of other upstream process issues, including hot side aeration.
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475Doesn’t the boil remove oxygen from the wort?
It’s been a while since I’ve listed to the podcast, but I believe HSA is a problem because precursors that can lead to premature staling are generated from excessive exposure to oxygen. A good fermentation will help clean up the precursors, which is why you only need to be sensible and not paranoid.
The podcast is very much worth listening to if you want to understand more.
A friend of mine, who has brewed for AnheuserBusch, won awards as head brewer at a national chain of brewpubs, and runs his own brewery said this to me once: “I know a lot of really smart people in the brewing industry, and not one of them worries about hot side aeration.”
Neither do I. 
[quote=“Taffin”]A friend of mine, who has brewed for AnheuserBusch, won awards as head brewer at a national chain of brewpubs, and runs his own brewery said this to me once: “I know a lot of really smart people in the brewing industry, and not one of them worries about hot side aeration.”
Neither do I. [/quote]
Most likely their upstream processes include sensible steps as mentioned by Dr. Bamforth, so they wouldn’t need to worry about it. 
[quote=“kcbeersnob”][quote=“Taffin”]A friend of mine, who has brewed for AnheuserBusch, won awards as head brewer at a national chain of brewpubs, and runs his own brewery said this to me once: “I know a lot of really smart people in the brewing industry, and not one of them worries about hot side aeration.”
Neither do I. [/quote]
Most likely their upstream processes include sensible steps as mentioned by Dr. Bamforth, so they wouldn’t need to worry about it. [/quote]
kcbeersnob,
I’m at work and can’t listen to that podcast anytime soon. I found this “summary” of it, though. Would you say this is an accurate description of what is said?
[i]Of course, the empirical evidence that we have gathered is that HSA seems to be a myth.
I’ve just finished listening to a BrewStrong podcast on HSA, where Charlie Bamforth, Professor of Beer at UC Davis, basically comprehensively dispells all the myths of HSA, and leaves John Palmer virtually speechless…
Brief Summary,
HSA, if anything, is an irrelevant effect, the yeast treats it as oxygen, will clean it up and turn it into alcohol, and it is far far far more important to be careful of Cold Side Aeration and post-packaging storage conditions.
So, yes, avoid splashing your hot wort around, but don’t worry about it…
but DO worry about splashing your fermented wort around!
And, yes, you should store your beer in a fridge.[/i]
[quote=“Taffin”]
kcbeersnob,
I’m at work and can’t listen to that podcast anytime soon. I found this “summary” of it, though. Would you say this is an accurate description of what is said?
[i]Of course, the empirical evidence that we have gathered is that HSA seems to be a myth.
I’ve just finished listening to a BrewStrong podcast on HSA, where Charlie Bamforth, Professor of Beer at UC Davis, basically comprehensively dispells all the myths of HSA, and leaves John Palmer virtually speechless…
Brief Summary,
HSA, if anything, is an irrelevant effect, the yeast treats it as oxygen, will clean it up and turn it into alcohol, and it is far far far more important to be careful of Cold Side Aeration and post-packaging storage conditions.
So, yes, avoid splashing your hot wort around, but don’t worry about it…
but DO worry about splashing your fermented wort around!
And, yes, you should store your beer in a fridge.[/i][/quote]
Partially. Dr. Bamforth mentions the greater risk of introducing oxygen post-fermentation and he promotes cold storage to prolong product stability. Both are considered greater risks than HSA. But nowhere does he say you should ignore HSA. As I said above, he suggests taking sensible steps (he actually uses the example of filling your kettle from the bottom, as I did above) and don’t worry about it beyond that. Go back and reread what I said (here and above) after you get a chance to listen to the podcast, and you’ll find what I’ve said is completely accurate.
I did not mention the post-fermentation points before, because this was not relevant to the OP’s question. Bottom line for the OP with respect to HSA: spend the $5ish bucks on some tubing and don’t worry about it beyond that. Of course you should avoid exposure to oxygen post-fermentation. That’s covered elsewhere ad nauseam.
It’s nonsense to suggest that you should be careful downstream, but not take reasonable measures upstream as well. It sounds to me like the post you found is someone trying to support their own view, rather than accurately representing what the good doc actually said.
I routinely collect wort in a bucket to measure and then dump into brew kettle.
Beers always turn out beautiful. Seems to me the boil removes any oxygen anyways. Why else would it be so important to add it back before fermentation???
The concept behind hot-side aeration isn’t so much the presence of oxygen per se, but the reactions that it can have with compounds in the wort.
I find it really easy to avoid lots of splashing so I don’t worry about it.
[quote=“brewingdan”]I routinely collect wort in a bucket to measure and then dump into brew kettle.
Beers always turn out beautiful. Seems to me the boil removes any oxygen anyways. Why else would it be so important to add it back before fermentation???[/quote]
+1. Further, I routinely pour the wort through a double mesh strainer to pick out any grain husk materials that escape (typically at the end of a batch sparge I catch a few husks).
No oxidation/staling issues here.
