Going from 5gal to 10gal setup.....school me!!!

What differences in terms of existing recipies can I expect? Can I simply double my ingredients, or is there a proportion rule I need to follow? For those of you who made the switch, is there anything you would have done differently, or purchased instead of something else?

Basically looking for any experiences/stories/lessons from any of you that have made the jump from 5 to 10 gal setups so I can do this right, the first time. Please help make me make a smooth transition

Fire away...

No proportional rule, you can double. I use brewsmith and use that to double, or make my batches the size I want. Then you can adjust the batches to match your specific efficiency.

I do 11G batches so after racking off I get a solid 10G, if you do 10 flat, you will end up with less than 10G of brew.


Have at least a 15G pot for your MT and maybe 20-25 for your BK.

Once I went 10G (11G), I never turned back

Thanks Cidah. I'm currently using the 5gal Gott cooler setup from Northern Brewer, and will be upgrading to the 10gal setup of the same kind.

Just need to get a bigger brewpot now. 25qt minimum? Also, what burner are you all liking for a 10 gal setup?

The biggest change IMO is not in the recipe scaling or whatnot, but in process. Whereas I used to just lift and dump my 5 gallon batches from the BK straight into the fermenter, that would totally suck with my 15 gallon pot. It's a lot bulkier and harder to control precisely.

Chilling is another one. My 25 ft copper immersion chiller simply would not work in a 10 gallon batch.

Think about every step of your brewing process right now, and how those things would need to change if you were dealing with twice as much weight & volume. Are you going to be able to carry that BK across the room still? How are you going to handle strike/sparge water? How do you get from MLT->sparge->BK now?

All of that kind of stuff.

Good points wierdboy.

I use a 50ft 1/2 inch immersion chiller for my 11G batches - that is the way to go unless you want to do a plate chiller or something like that.

You want ball valves on all your pots withe high temp hose (I did the lifting for a while, but man don't know what I was thinking. Bargainfittings $40 all stainless ball valves). then I made a copper dip tube.

I have an SP10 burner, and that works great. However I converted to electric and never looked back. 5500w element and it is awesome.

I would say your MT needs to be 15G minimum, if you ever plan on doing IPAs, or barley wine, etc. My 15G MT can do about 40lbs grain bill and mash water. If you go with a 10G cooler you will be limited.

25G isn't "needed" - I currently use a 15G. However I am susceptible to boil overs, and I really need to watch it in the beginning.

Personally, if I could do it all over again I would go with the 25G BK, just so I don't have to watch it at all. Since I probably won't do 15G batches very often, I still think I would stick with the 15G MT. It is perfect for 10G mashes, with little head space so you don't lose temp over the mash. I can probably do a 15G mash for a lager or lower grain bill brew in the 15G MT.


I am not there yet, but my brew partner and I will be building a rack system this winter. I am VERY ready for it. As weirdboy pointed out... once the batch size goes up, so does the lifting We will also be adding a 25G BK to the equation (will be 15G HLT (electric) - 15G MT (direct fire) - 25G BK - Electric).

I agree, lifting 11 gals is a pain! So plan accordingly. That is probably the biggest hurdle. I lifted a near full keggle waist high one time.. Never again! I suggest a pump.

For a mash tun I use an "ice cube" cooler. I routinely fit 23 lbs of grain in it but it would be crowded with a high alcohol dark beer like an imperial stout. I use kegs for the hlt and boil kettle. I've never had a boil over and I don't watch it closely.

I use two heat sticks to boil - 2800 watts total. It takes a bit but I get a good rolling boil. I am installing 240v for a 5500 watt element to expedite the process.

I use a 50ft immersion chiller and it works but not that well. The water in FL is 70-75 deg right out of the ground in summer. If your tap water is cooler then you'd be ok. Also think about how you will keep fermentation temps cool if that is an issue for you.