Does anyone do 10 gallon batches and not keg (i.e. bottle the whole batch)?

I'm just curious. For those that do (if there are any), do you have a 10 bottling bucket? I'm thinking that would be pretty slick or does doing back to back 5 gal bottling sessions work ok too?

My last few batches have been 10 gal - figured out that it doesn't take much longer to wind up with 2x the beer. We just use a 5 gal bottling bucket and do the priming sugar thing twice, once for each carboy. Really doesn't take much longer, and I'd hate to be hoisting a 10 gal bucket up to a usable height for bottling.

Man... that seems like a lot of bottles. I didn't even like doing 5 gallons. But I guess if you wanted to break it up you could just bottle one 5 gallons one day, and the rest another. Doesn't seem like any extra effort per beer.

Okay, someone needs to intervene here.

That's madness, guys. A keg is $15. You'll need a couple other things that will run the bill up a bit, but if you're bottling 10 gallons you need to bulk it up.

Take back your life. Get a girlfriend. Go to a movie.

Keg your damn beer.

Fingers said:

That's madness, guys. A keg is $15. You'll need a couple other things that will run the bill up a bit, but if you're bottling 10 gallons you need to bulk it up.

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A keg is relatively cheap but when you add up everything for kegging it is definitely not cheap. I'm accruing all of this right now and trying to do it as cheap as possible via craigslist. Trust me NOT cheap. Plus you would need TWO kegs for a 10 gallon batch at roughly $25 a piece that's $50 by itself not to mention the CO2, beer line, gas line, disconnects, swivel nuts, Freezer/Refrigerator, regulator....... it adds up.

Scut_Monkey said:

A keg is relatively cheap but when you add up everything for kegging it is definitely not cheap. I'm accruing all of this right now and trying to do it as cheap as possible via craigslist. Trust me NOT cheap. Plus you would need TWO kegs for a 10 gallon batch at roughly $25 a piece that's $50 by itself not to mention the CO2, beer line, gas line, disconnects, swivel nuts, Freezer/Refrigerator, regulator....... it adds up.

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Yeah, I guess you're right. I ponied up a fair bit to get going because it had to come across the border. I'm just thinking that when you're far enough along in the hobby that bottling ten gallons seems like a reasonable proposition, it's time to invest in the kegs. Heck, I skipped bottling because that sounded like way too much work. Ten gallons? Madness.

Fingers said:

Yeah, I guess you're right. I ponied up a fair bit to get going because it had to come across the border. I'm just thinking that when you're far enough along in the hobby that bottling ten gallons seems like a reasonable proposition, it's time to invest in the kegs. Heck, I skipped bottling because that sounded like way too much work. Ten gallons? Madness.

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You're right It is a lot of work. I wouldn't mind filling the bottles with beer as much as I would keeping the bottles clean, boxed, sanitized and around in my house as an eye sore. I'm tired of working with bottles and hence my transition to kegging.

Getting back to the OPs question. I could see myself bottling 10 gallons but it would have forced me into kegging even faster. If YOU don't mind the work then do it to it!

I've bottled a few 10 gallon batches. It's not the worst thing in the world. But I'd much rather fill two kegs!

Yuri_Rage said:

I've bottled a few 10 gallon batches. It's not the worst thing in the world. But I'd much rather fill two kegs!

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Ditto. To me the worst part of bottling is getting everything out and dealing with the bottles themselves. I find filling/capping the bottles therapeutic and relaxing...... especially while drinking.

ten gallons isnt that bad ...hell i bottled a twenty five gallon batch one time with a few buddies. Once you get a system down for sanitizing it goes by quick enough. just make sure your bottles are clean a day or two before so all you have to do is sanitize them on bottling day.

I've been doing ten gallon batches for a while (probably ten times) and have been bottling in 22oz bottles the whole time. I have a 6.5 gallon bottling bucket and I just wash/sanitize in between carboys. The whole process including cleaning up takes me about an hour and a half or two. The funny thing is I bought everything I need to keg about five months ago but just haven't gotten around to putting it all together. I think about how easy kegging would be every time I fill my bottling bucket, which takes about 20 seconds... On the other hand, I don't mind having an excuse to play some music and drink a couple beers. I also like giving away beer to friends...

I brew 10-12 gallon batches and I keg and bottle. I fill up a corny keg and then bottle the rest. In the Summer the kegs go right on to air and the bottles get set back. This time of year I shut down the kegerator so I'll let the kegs condition until Spring and drink on the bottles.

I do 10 gal and still bottle(for now) Its not much more work than doing 5 gal. you got eveything out,one clean up. and 4 cases. but I cant wait till I get a CO2 tank and reg. but I will still bottle half to give and share.

I do 10 gallon batches, and bottle. I often ferment with different yeasts, to experiment. So, I bottle each 5 gallon separately. Getting all the bottles clean is a pita, so I've started doing that in batches ahead of time. Then, if I have time, I'll bottle both 5 gallons in one day. If not, I can split it over a weekend. Finding time to brew at all is limiting for me, so it only makes sense to do 10 gallons.

I wouldn't mind bottling 10g, I can do 7g in about 45 min. including clean up.

1- Use your MLT as a bottling bucket. I have a Home Depot cooler, it's made to hold that much weight, the handles are very sturdy, and it has a lid.

2- Use bombers. Half the bottling, and who only wants 12oz at a time anyway?

For those of you who bottle 10 gallon batches, I salute you!
I don't have the patience to bottle two six packs let alone four damn cases. Ever since I started kegging it makes bottling that much harder to do.

Couple of good points in this thread - thank you.

Currently I'm doing 5 gal AG batches and bottling. I've got a good system that is working great so far and I really don't mind bottling (yet). I rinse my bottles out well immediately after use and I store them in my file cabinet (see sig) so I only have to sanitize them on bottling day. My bottling process now takes less than 1.5 hrs and I can do that with my young kids around. Brewing on the other hand takes a good block of time and I prefer to do that without the kids around so I have to start after their bedtime. Therefore brewing less often really appeals to me. I do love the idea of kegging, and I hope to get there someday, but I just can't justify the cost at this point.

I like splitting up my batches. I may brew 8 gallons and keg 5, bottle 3 so I can take some on the road or for storage.

I really don't understand all of the whinging about bottling. Granted, it takes a little foresight; wash your bottles after you drink from them. I sanitize in a dishwasher, and start to finish, bottling 5gal takes maybe 45 minutes.

I have a friend coming down from Denver this weekend.....he doesn't know yet that we have 17.5 gallons to bottle!

The time it takes to bottle doesn't bother me, you just have to schedule everything correctly so you have plenty of clean bottles and caps on bottling day. I moved up to 10-12 gallon batches so that I could keg 5 and bottle the rest.

I think it'd be best to do a keg for one and bottle the other. I mean, kegging is great if you want to just drink your beer, but what if you want to set a 6-pack to the side to let it age or a couple 6ers to see how it tastes as it ages periodically. What if you wanted to give as gifts or bring to a friends house? I think it's worth it if you don't just want to drink your own beer or have people come to your place to try your beer. It's more aesthetic that way to me. You can look at a keg and say "that's my beer" or you can look at 48-50ish bottles and say that sheit is my beer.

David-

That was kind of my thought....I would like some bottles to bring to a friends house or enter comps with, but still have a keg (for ease mainly) at the house.