Questions about spunding and carbonation

[perfection]

I understand that conditioning may be done in unitanks (fermentation followed by conditioning) or alternatively the green beer may be transferred for conditioning to separate conditioning tanks where the lower yeast concentration will mature and clean up the beer
My queries
(i) Is spunding only carried out in a primary fermenter or can the operation be done in a conditioning tank too. Would the pressurized conditions affect conditioning operations in any way?
(ii) Assuming a brewery force carbonates its beers after filtration and prior to bottling in a serving tank, would a beer further carbonate in a conditioning tank beyond what gets naturally saturated in non-manipulated conditions? (is there enough yeast and fermentable sugars remaining?)
(iii) Do beers get their complete complement of CO2 by spunding or is a touch up of force carbonation required before bottling given that they may be subject to other operations in due course before bottling?
(iv) Overall, is spunding a popular practice in commercial breweries?
(v) Can ales too be successfully spunded?
(vi) If introduction of natural carbonation is desired in the secondary tank, can it be done by adding priming sugars (only) instead of actively fermenting wort (gyle) - are sugars usually enough to activate the lower concentration of yeast in the conditioning tank into a secondary fermentation?

Thank you very much for help on these queries

 

[VikeMan]

As you've been told repeatedly on at least one other forum, the questions you are asking are more suited to commercial brewers rather than home brewers. But I'll answer anyway. Keep in mind that some of these answers may depend on a context that's in my head that may be different from the context in your head, as some of the terminology you've used can mean more than one thing.

(i) Is spunding only carried out in a primary fermenter or can the operation be done in a conditioning tank too.

It depends on when you move the beer to the conditioning tank ("secondary" vessel, brite tank). But it's not common to move beer to a brite tank while there's still enough sugar (or any sugar) to carbonate.

Would the pressurized conditions affect conditioning operations in any way?

If fermentation is continued in the brite tank, there will be more yeast, proteins. etc. in the brite tank at the end than there would have been if the beer was transferred to the brite tank after fermentation was finished. This partially defeats the purpose of the brite tank, which is to settle out the small amount of yeast and proteins remaining, and thus minimize their presence in the packaged beer.

(ii) Assuming a brewery force carbonates its beers after filtration and prior to bottling in a serving tank, would a beer further carbonate in a conditioning tank beyond what gets naturally saturated in non-manipulated conditions? (is there enough yeast and fermentable sugars remaining?)

Sorry, can't follow your question here.

(iii) Do beers get their complete complement of CO2 by spunding or is a touch up of force carbonation required before bottling given that they may be subject to other operations in due course before bottling?

This would depend on what level the beer was initially carbonated to and what other "operations" happened afterwards. But I don't know of any breweries who fully carbonate via spunding that also force carbonate later.

(iv) Overall, is spunding a popular practice in commercial breweries?

If you mean "do most breweries spund carbonate," no, they don't.

(v) Can ales too be successfully spunded?

Yes.

(vi) If introduction of natural carbonation is desired in the secondary tank, can it be done by adding priming sugars (only) instead of actively fermenting wort (gyle) - are sugars usually enough to activate the lower concentration of yeast in the conditioning tank into a secondary fermentation?

Yes, it would work. No, I don't know of anyone doing it.

 

[perfection]

Thanks Vikeman
I have tried posting 'pro brewery' questions on at least one ell known pro forum but got NO replies.

Could you PM me the names of any other forums that may address my industrial brewing queries

 

[perfection]

ii) Assuming a brewery force carbonates its beers after filtration and prior to bottling in a serving tank, would a beer further carbonate in a conditioning tank beyond what gets naturally saturated in non-manipulated conditions? (is there enough yeast and fermentable sugars remaining?)

What i meant to ask was "If beer is to be force carbonated, would its maturing period in secondary tanks see an increase in carbonation beyond whatever CO2 dissolved at atmospheric conditions in the primary before being racked out to the secondary - (I am not talking about krausening or adding priming sugars or pressurized secondary tanks"