Craft Beer & Brewing Course
Russian River’s Complete Course on Oxygen in the Brewhouse, from Mashing to Packaging
Russian River cofounder and brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo and head lab technician Taylor Lane discuss all the facets of oxygen that affect beer quality—for pros and homebrewers alike—from happy yeast to airtight packaging.
5 chapters · 22 lessons · 1h 28m
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Your instructor
Vinnie Cilurzo & Taylor Lane
Cofounder/Brewmaster & Head Lab Technician, Russian River Brewing
Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California, is one of the most widely acclaimed and respected craft breweries in the world, but it didn’t get that way by accident. A major driver in its success has been an obsession with quality—and one of the most overlooked facets of brewing consistently high-quality beer is understanding the role of oxygen, from milling the grain to the moment finished beer hits our palates.
Course contents
5 chapters, 22 lessons, 1h 28m of video
Chapter 1
Welcome
- Oxygen Overview and Basic Measurement9:50
- About Oxygen, in the Context of Brewing
- Off-Flavor: Oxidized
- What Is Oxidation?
Chapter 2
Oxygen in the Hot-Side Process
- Deep Dive into Every Phase17:54
- What Is Hot-Side Aeration?
- Learning Lab: O2? Oh My! An experiment in hot-side oxygen exposure.
Chapter 3
Oxygen in the Cold-Side Process
- Yeast and Oxygen Overview10:40
- What Is Aeration?
- Homebrewing Tips: How to Inject Pure Oxygen into Wort
- Homebrewing Tips: 4 Ways to Aerate & Agitate Your Yeast Starter
- Open-Top Fermentation15:13
- Purging Fermentation Vessels5:22
- Homebrewing Tips: Avoiding Oxidation
- Maximizing Hops Utilization7:03
Chapter 4
Oxygen Pickup in Transfer and Packaging
- Oxygen Pickup in Transfer + Centrifuge4:41
- What Is Dissolved Oxygen (DO)?
- Analysis in the Packaging Lab11:16
Chapter 5
Conclusion, Recipes & Further Reading/Listening
- Thank You5:52
- Recipe: Russian River Janet’s Brown Ale
- Recipe: Blind Pig Inaugural Ale
- Listen Up! Two Deep-Dive Podcasts with Russian River's Vinnie Cilurzo
What students say
The capping on foam experiment is the best thing I've seen this year from any homebrew resource. In general, a great course with a good balance between science and practical tips.
This was my first course on the Craft Beer & Brewing plaform. and what a pleasure!
I really enjoyed the part of the video covering bottling and the measurement of dissolved oxygen. I will definitely implement the suggested method of bottling beer with a counter pressure bottle filler.