Aeration while cooling?

I'm getting plumbing setup so post boil process will involve 1-whirlpool to gather hops, 2-cool via plate chiller and 3-aerate while flowing through plate chiller. My question is if its okay to aerate while wort is cooling or should it be done after wort has cooled to a reasonable (<80F) temperature? I am concerned with oxidation at higher work temps if I start aerating when cooling process starts.

The higher the temperature, the less oxygen can be dissolved in the wort. Aerating above ~80F is not very effective because the wort can't hold enough of the oxygen. And if aerating at high temperatures you may need to worry about hot side aeration, though that is debatable.

peterj said:

The higher the temperature, the less oxygen can be dissolved in the wort. Aerating above ~80F is not very effective because the wort can't hold enough of the oxygen. And if aerating at high temperatures you may need to worry about hot side aeration, though that is debatable.

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Thanks peterj. That makes sense. I will allow the air to enter a venturi in the cooling flow once my wort gets to 100F or lower. That will give me a few minutes to dissolve air into solution without the risk of hot-side aeration.

I have been aerating via recirculation while cooling my worts for some time now. I operate an eBIAB system and am continuously sparging throughout the mash via a stainless spray nozzle in the kettle lid. I use the same nozzle for recirculation during cooling, after the wort returns from the plate chiller. Haven't had any issues with HSA, which many say is a mythical phenomenon in home brew of the 5G batch variety.

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chisena said:

I have been aerating via recirculation while cooling my worts for some time now. I operate an eBIAB system and am continuously sparging throughout the mash via a stainless spray nozzle in the kettle lid. I use the same nozzle for recirculation during cooling, after the wort returns from the plate chiller. Haven't had any issues with HSA, which many say is a mythical phenomenon in home brew of the 5G batch variety.

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Thanks chisena, Do you begin your aeration once the wort has cooled to some reduced temperature? I guess if you are recirculating through your sparging arm during cooling the question is irrelevant as you are exposing hot wort to air anyway.

On another subject, I am really starting to be intrigued by the simplicity of the "one pot wonder" BIAB process!

rudylyon57 said:

Thanks chisena, Do you begin your aeration once the wort has cooled to some reduced temperature? I guess if you are recirculating through your sparging arm during cooling the question is irrelevant as you are exposing hot wort to air anyway.



On another subject, I am really starting to be intrigued by the simplicity of the "one pot wonder" BIAB process!

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No, I just start recirculating immediately from the chiller. It's probably 80-90F when it first comes out of the chiller. This may not be ideal but then again, I haven't experienced any ill affects... At least not detectable on my untrained palate. The beauty in my mind is that once cooled, I pump into the fermenter and it's already very we'll aerated. In fact, fermentations have been great since I started this method of aeration.

Nice. Thank you...that's what I will do.

I have an electric system with a special whirlpool attachemnt arm. I whirlpool my IPAs for an entire hour and it aerates the s%$# out of it the whole time. If there were such a thing as hot side aeration on a homebrew level, im sure id have experienced it by now

m00ps said:

I have an electric system with a special whirlpool attachemnt arm. I whirlpool my IPAs for an entire hour and it aerates the s%$# out of it the whole time. If there were such a thing as hot side aeration on a homebrew level, im sure id have experienced it by now

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Awesome...

m00ps said:

I have an electric system with a special whirlpool attachemnt arm. I whirlpool my IPAs for an entire hour and it aerates the s%$# out of it the whole time. If there were such a thing as hot side aeration on a homebrew level, im sure id have experienced it by now

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Hey m00ps, if you don't mind I would like to hear more about how you setup an aerator on your special whirlpool arm. Do you have something like a carburetor that sucks air into wort as its speed increases through a throat? I am inclined to build something into my plate chiller-whirlpool circuit and looking for advise.

Its actually an accessory I got with my electric Bress Boss system. Its just a recirculation pipe that shoots out at the edge of the pot, right above the water. The exit hole is shaped so there's slits in it to create a ton of turbulence when the wort shoots out. It makes a ton of foam and legitimately creates a whirlpool as seen in the video. You can buy a standalone version from them to use with non Brew Boss systems

http://www.brew-boss.com/product-p/sb-sa.htm

Now I see what you are doing. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to explain your setup. Unfortunately, the whirlpool and chiller return share the same port into my kettle and they are both 4" below wort level. So, I'll look at a venturi to suck some air in. It will be fun to work on!