Liquering back?

[Andyhull]

Hi all,

Just been reading another thread and liquering back was mentioned, i think around 4 to 6 litres!
If you liquer back back after the boil when the wort is in the FV does it not dilute the hop/bitter flavours at all as 4 to 6 litres is around 1/6th of the final volume?

Andy

 

[BrotherMalice]

I am not certain but the way I think it works is that the hops etc would be more concerntrated before liquering back so when you have done it, it should balance out? - I am sure someone who knows what they are talking about will be along soon to correct me :)

 

[Kev888]

Yes it does dilute the hops as well as the gravity, so broadly speaking you should calculate hop additions based on the final volume rather than the boil volume, if you intend to top up.

Its 'slightly' more complicated than that because the efficiency in extracting bitterness from the hops varies according to the gravity of the wort during the boil - IIRC its a bit counter-intuitive, in that higher gravities can help extraction (to a point). But frankly its all only an estimate anyway, including the %AA quoted on the pack, and its as much an art as it is a science to calculate extraction rates, so I wouldn't personally get too hung up about the subtleties unless you were doing 'really' high or low gravity boils that would affect hop extraction more than normal.

Cheers
kev

 

[Andyhull]

Thanks for the replys guys.

Andy