Stirring in a bright tank?

[mlachelt]

Hi all,

I've got 1000 liters of cider carbonating in a bright tank. The cider is flavored with berries that I picked and juiced. I added the juice to fully fermented cider and racked it from one tank to another through a cartridge filter to remove the fruit particulate. It all looked very nice and so I pumped it all into my bright tank and started carbing it up. I have now noticed that the sight tube (which indicates the level of cider in the tank) is darker red/pink near the bottom, and very faint pink or nearly clear at the top. I'm worried that the berry juice has become more concentrated at the bottom of the tank.

Right now the tank is carbonating and under pressure. Can anyone offer advice? Is my only solution to bleed the tank pressure and then pump the cider from the bottom valve into the very top of the tank (removing the pressure relief valve in order to use the top port)? This is my best idea about how to stir the cider before bottling.

Does anyone out there have experience with this sort of problem? Do you agree that my observation of the sight tube (darker red at the bottom, light to clear at the top) suggests that the berry flavor is more concentrated at the bottom, or could the sight tube be deceptive?

Thanks for your help...I've got to decide on a plan of action very soon.

Mike

 

[Gavin C]

I would advise seeking out the appropriate pro-brewer site.

1000L put s you beyond the annual allowance of homebrew (in the USA). Most folks here deal in 1-20 gallon batches and are not likely to have the level of knowhow needed for your predicament. I sure as hell don't.

I'm guessing you're not in the USA (liters).

Sounds like some particulate made it through and is setling out via gravity and time.

 

[SanPancho]

The juice is likely denser and staying low. I assume it's cold? You can definitely take off the PRV (vent the pressure first) and then pump up into the top port so as to circulate and mix.

Do you have a bottom port for carb stone? you can just pump some big bubbles of co2 through that and let it mix. You can take out the actual stone and just have the gas jet into the tank- jacuzzi style. But you need one way valve or similar to keep liquid in the tank.

Kinda hard to know without knowing your equip. But yeah, a pump to recirc from bottom to top will work too.