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  • Liqourback into feementor

    Hey all,

    Any issues with liquoring back into a fermentor that has starter fermentation already?

  • #2
    Originally posted by Brewhemoth View Post
    Hey all,

    Any issues with liquoring back into a fermentor that has starter fermentation already?
    That is to say, diluting already fermenting wort

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    • #3
      why would you liquor back when you could liquor front?

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      • #4
        Language

        I just love that an industry that has been around for centuries still lacks a common lingo. I am guessing you are asking about running fresh wort into fermenting beer. Lots of threads on that subject and generally it's not a problem. If the question is something else please specify and we can all learn a new term.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by stevet View Post
          I just love that an industry that has been around for centuries still lacks a common lingo. I am guessing you are asking about running fresh wort into fermenting beer. Lots of threads on that subject and generally it's not a problem. If the question is something else please specify and we can all learn a new term.
          Liquor backing is the term for diluting a high gravity brew to a normal gravity one. It is commonly done on brew systems that are smaller than the fermenting vessel, so that one turn can fill a tank instead of two turns. Larger breweries do this all the time.

          I have not done this, but have considered doing a test on a small scale to seek out the benefits, we make a pilsner, and some other low abv beers that could see some cost improvements this way, but I am not sure of the quality changes.

          Here are my thoughts based on research I have done:
          1. You need to make sure your liquor is at a similar composition as the wort, ie: Minerals, chlorine. Obviously, sugar content does not matter.
          2. The liquor needs to be sterile.
          3. The beer needs to be designed to have higher starting gravities, and also higher IBU. This is not a straightforward scale since AA solubility changes with wort strenght.

          You have three places to liquor back:1. Post boil, blending hot liquor with hot wort pre-HX, and cool as normal. 2. Post HX with cold liquor that has been sufficiently filtered. 3. Post ferment on the way to the brite. This water not only has to be chilled and dosed inline to promote good mixing, it also has to be de-aerated.

          I would not, under any circumstance add water during fermentation. Yeast respond to rapid changes in sugar concentrations, and they could go dormant when you do this.

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          • #6
            Nailed it Jebz, thanks!

            The idea was to boil (sterilise and de-aerate) water, bring it down to pH range with lactic acid, cool it on the way to a secondary fermentor, dryhop into that fermentor and then pump the beer in under that.

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            • #7
              If you have space in the FV it would be better to dilute to desired gravity at end of wort transfer, using some of the sparge liquor, but routing it directly through to the FV (via chiller of course) instead of through the grain bed. Absolutely standard practice in larger breweries, and this way you guarantee the liquor used and the system is sterile, without additional cleans between wort transfer and dilution
              dick

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