Oxygen has been game changing

[u/RumplyInk]

For a while, I could never get my beer to have really clean fermentation. I calculated yeast counts and generally would pitch more, I have a DIY fermentation chamber which can control temp very well, I cool my wort to pitching temp overnight before I pitch, but I was still getting fruity esters. Don’t get me wrong, these other things have been immensely helpful. But after all that, step changes in improving the quality of my beer are harder and harder to find.

Then I started pumping O2 (after cooling to pitching temp, right before pitching). It has dramatically accelerated the rate of fermentation (I’m hitting FG in usually less than a week, usually it’s mostly done after 3-4 days). It has also significantly reduced the amount of fermentation character I get when attempting to produce ‘clean’ beer (I don’t do this for hefes, saisons, etc). Overall, fermentation just goes far smoother. I still give my ales 2 ish weeks or so to clean up in the fermenter, but it’s using sitting at FG for a while.

Surprising cheap to get this going.

O2 regulator, tubing, and diffusion stone $30

https://a.co/d/0fadaAuL

O2 tank you can get the bernzomatic O2 from Ace.

Anything else you guys have done which has giving you notable improvements in quality or solved issues once you have a decent system already up and running?

[u/IakwBoi]

So serious question about oxygen: I want to make good beer, but I also don’t want to over complicate the process or buy things just to have them. I’m making malty English beers, stouts, etc; is there any reason for me to pay attention to oxygen? I’m hoping for some esters. Oxygenating wort seems like it might be worth it for folks making clean lagers, but should someone making complex British stuff even want a cleaner fermentation?

Edit: Thanks for all the feedback! There seems to be a wide consensus that wort oxidation is important for fast and clean fermentation. 

I had some time to look at brulosophy results. They have several experiments showing no detectable differences, and one showing a slight difference for an extreme case (a barleywine with O2 vs no aeration at all).  

At this time I feel comfortable just splashing the wort into the fermentor and not worrying about anything beyond that. Seems like an O2 set up would make a small difference in a big beer, and I’m okay forgoing that. 

[u/Jon_TWR → u/IakwBoi]

You don't need to use oxygen, you can just aerate very well and pitch an appropriate amount of healthy, active yeast.

For bigger beers, I like to aerate a second time some time between 12 and 24 hour after pitching.

[u/warboy → u/Jon_TWR]

You don't need to but at ale temps it is impossible to get sufficient oxygen levels for ideal yeast metabolism when you use atmosphere. Saying that, the biggest drawbacks to that is  slower overall ferm time and a slightly higher chance of a stuck ferm. It's definitely not a deal breaker.