wort aeration with perforated pipe

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

On the last batch I tried aerating my wort with a perforated pipe. I only got to about 4 ppm O2 and had to supplement with pure oxygen. Here is the complete write-up:

Wort aeration with a perforated pipe

Kai

2

I do not have DO meter so I do not know what my O2 levels are.
I aerate  with similar method in the transfer to the fermentor.
I have about 4 ft 3/8 clear tubing with pinhole on the BK end.
Pinhole allows air to be sucked to the tubing that mixes with passing by wort in the transfer.
On fermenter end I have a wort Sprayer like this:

I have fermented 1066 beers with no problem.
What I mean with “no problem” is 2 week fermentation and about 1014-1016 FG.

3

I plan to get one of these as well and give it a try.

Kai

4

I have toured Slovak Brewery that was aerating in line with clean (sanitise) air.

I think trick to it is to have air mixed with wort in line.
Longer line (tube) you have more time it has to mix.

Sprayer is just as an insurance in my opinion.

5

I’ve tried one of those as well as the perforated pipe.  Although I didn’t take measurements, my subjective opinion is that neither worked as well as a MixStir.

6

Kai,

You sure have neat tools.  I haven’t even thought about springing for an O2 meter.

It looks like you really need to make a venturi tube to be effective with this method.  I’ve noticed that in the wine world, there is a aeration device called a Vinturi that draws air into the wine as its poured into the glass.  I find its quite effective at aerating from a taste perspective, but have no idea what sort of O2 level it can create.  I don’t see it really working in a homebrew situation.

I pump my wort and use an in-line stone w/ O2.  The aerator is at the inlet end of my 25 foot long transfer hose and that gives the wort time to assimilate the oxygen and reduce foaming.  That has been effective in my opinion.  Too bad I don’t have a meter to check the results with.  My address is…    :wink:

7

I kill two birds with one stone, when I whirlpool before draining my boil kettle to the carboy, I use a large SS whisk
I got at a restaurant supply store. 15-30 seconds of me stirring it like it owes me money. No issues yet…

I would be curious as to what my levels would be with my method.

8

Although I still use my MixStir, I’ve added another technique.  Since I use a pump to recirculate as I chill, once the wort is down to about 85F or so I move the return tubing so it’s just a bit above the surface of the wort.

9

Thanks. I got this a while back with the intention to test various aeration methods. For each batch I keep track how I aerated it and plan to wrap this up in an article at some point. But lately I have been lazy and kept using my O2 wand, which i think works best for me. So I have a lot of data for oxygenation with pure O2.

O2 meters are a bit trickier to use than pH meters. I had a few erratic readings until I realized that I have to turn the meter on a few minutes before using it. I also ended up getting a meter that doesn’t fit into the neck of the carboy. This means I have to take a sample into a glass and test the O2 content there. This sample becomes part of the fast ferment test but it also means that I can’t just keep sampling unless I make sure I rack enough additional wort into the carboy. Testing O2 content in a bucket is much easier.

[quote]
It looks like you really need to make a venturi tube to be effective with this method.  I’ve noticed that in the wine world, there is a aeration device called a Vinturi that draws air into the wine as its poured into the glass.

10

Wyeast got similar results:  http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_oxygenation.cfm

11

thanks for the link. I’m glad my tests agree with the Wyeast results.

Kai