Stepping it up - 10g

Ok, currently I have a Rubbermaid 10g MLT and am comfortably making 5g batches. However, I think it might make my Brew Days a bit more efficient if I went with 10g batches, splitting into 2 fermentors.

I'm thinking of keeping my MLT - I should be able to mash 10g of 1.060 beer. Any big beers I can happily keep to a 6g batch.

I'll need a new brew pot.
I live in Texas and ground water temps are high.
I'd prefer to not use a plate chiller, I'd rather immersion and whirlpool.
Generally, I batch sparge.


My options are:
A) Go with a 15g Blichmann (or do I need 20g)
B) Build a Keggle for a pot

Concerns:

1) How best to filter out trub/break/pellet hops from the pot to fermenter.
2) Best way to chill.
3) Flexibility for the future. (Tiered system?)

pearlbeer said:

1) How best to filter out trub/break/pellet hops from the pot to fermenter.

Click to expand...

Build yourself a keggle and toss in a hopstopper if you are really concerned about the trub... I usually just let it settle out in the primary and that is good enough, but for 10 gallon batches maybe it would be too much.

I am thinking about doing a 10 gallon batch myself and splitting it so I can pitch two different yeasts in the same wort. Here is how I plan to split it evenly, so one fermenter doesn't end up with the "top" or "bottom" of the wort:



Hopstopper:
http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:the-hop-stopper&catid=25&Itemid=54

Great idea on how you plan on splitting your batch Iamnash. I'm planning on doing the same thing as the OP. But I did manage to get a sanke turned into a fermenter so I'll be able to ferment it all in one vessel. I am excited to do 10 gallon batches mainly to collect initial runnings into one fermenter and the tail runnings into another to make two completly different beers. There was an article on this in Zymurgy a few months back.

You can still get boilovers with a keggle doing 10 gallon brews. With boil off i was boiling 12-13 gallons of wort . I went with a 30 gallon pot and never looked back. This is my current setup


I dont worry about hot or cold break it settles out nicely with a cold crash rarely need to use finnings . I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag for the hops they are cheap at lowes or HD

You'll wish you had a 20g pot if you plan to boil anything longer than 60 min. Some recipes (like for pilsner malt) call for 90 min. boils. A 15g pot isn't enough volume to comfortably boil a 10g batch with in my opinion. I have one & am always fighting boilovers trying to max out the kettle's volume. Be it Aluminum or SS, go with 20g & you'll thank yourself for it later.