Can I double a batch???

I just finished making a 3 story gravity system for all grain brewing. I tried it this weekend and everything worked well, except i still need to make a wort chiller. I have 2 kegs that i use to boil in, and a 10 gal Igloo jug to mash in. My question is if i can just double a recipe and then put the wort into 2 fermenters, and make 10 gallons, if i have enough room for everything. Is there anything that i need to think about when i make twice as much.?

Thanks for any help that i can get.

As far as ingredients go you can just double everything and you'll be fine. You may need to dial in your mash and strike temps a bit but that will be left mostly to experience on the new system.

And two identical fermenters are a great way to experiment with yeasts and dryhopping.

I posed the same question on another thread, but it was up to 20 gallons. I figure I can just quadruple the recipe, right?

El Cazador said:

I posed the same question on another thread, but it was up to 20 gallons. I figure I can just quadruple the recipe, right?

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Yup. <extra characters to meet the minimun requirement>

Hermish said:

My question is if i can just double a recipe and then put the wort into 2 fermenters, and make 10 gallons, if i have enough room for everything. Is there anything that i need to think about when i make twice as much.?

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are thirsty.
In theory, yes. In reality well, kinda, sorta, but not really...UNTIL you dial in your system (brewery). What does this all mean?

Each brewery is unique, and with any recipe that you make it will need to be tweaked to match your brewhouse's real efficiency, not some calculated mumbo jumbo off of some fancy software.
I'd consider myself old school since I do all my calculations with a pencil, calculatorm and and excell spreadsheet. I'm officially rambling, so here's the rub.

Go ahead and double your recipe, but consider the following:

1. You'll need to double your yeast starter. a 64 to 128 oz starter is a good benchmark. David's suggestion to use different yeast is also fabulous idea.
2. Your efficiency may suffer at least the first time
3. It will prolly take 2-3 10 gal batches to hit your target gravity. Just remember this is alchemy and not an exact science. Thee beer will be good anyway!
4. Your maximum achievable target gravity is going to be determined by the max volume of your mash tun. Your present vessel is only 40 quarts, consider ramping up to a 53 quart vessel to make higher gravity beers. I'd hate to see you try and make a 1.064 beer and run out of room in your mash tun
5. Consider investing in a 15 gal primary fermenter, and do all your primary fermentation in one vessel (less cleanup, and less lost to trub).
6. Invest in additional glass carboy's for secondary fermentaion, as well as airlocks, and rubber stoppers, It wouldn't hurt to have a few extra around anyway. You be glad you did once you get rolling.
7. Go big with the wort chiller, consider a CFC chiller if you live in a hotter climate where the ground water may not go below 80
8. Bottling 10 gallons will get old really quick (unless your into that kind of thing). Others here who brew more then 5 gal at a time will tell you a kegging system is the way to go.
9. It will still only take aprox 5 hours to brew the batch. :rockin:
10. You won't use that much more gas then brewing a 5 gallon batch.
11. Invest in a good quality mill, and start buying your pale and pilsner malt in bulk. The savings will be, noticable.
12. Start buying your hops by the pound!
13. HAVE FUN!

Monster Mash will probably have some good insight as well.

Brewing larger batches is definatley the way to go. I have gone from 5 to 10 and now putting together a 25 gal rig. If you can get some family or buddies to get in on the brewing you can share the costs and invest in some nice equipment. Buying ingr. in larger amounts is also much cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for all of the good advice. I defenitly think i will try 10 gallons next time. i know that some of you have said that grain is cheaper when you buy it in bulk, but where do you buy from? I live in San Diego, and right now i go to the store of www.homebrewmart.com , and i dont think that they will sell to me any cheaper if i buy more. Also does anyone have advice on the best wort chiller to buy that will fit into a 15.5 gallon keg with about a 12" hole on the top. Or would it be much cheaper for me to make one myself.

Give homebrewmart a call, and ask if they will sell you the 50kg and 50 lb bags. They may even cut you a break if you buy in greater volume (2 bags). Wouldn't hurt to just ask. Oh, and it would help if you showed up with a couple of hombrews to grease their palate, er...palm.