Bottling 10 gallon batches question

I think most people that brew 10 gallon batches keg their beer but I'm not going to do the keg thing, been there done that and ain't going back to it. That being said I want to start brewing a few 10 gallon batches but I need to ask a few questions about bottling. Here goes...

I've never seen a 10 gallon bottling bucket. Can I just buy a 10-20 gallon plastic fermenter, drill a hole in it, and install a valve for bottling.

Will a regular autosiphon be able to reach low enough into the bigger taller 10 gallon fermenters to get all the beer out?

Is priming sugar harder to get mixed well for even carbonation in the much larger 10 gallon batches?

Many of you probaly think I'm crazy for undertaking a 5 hour bottling process, but we don't mind the extra time spent in our favorite hobby. I have one of those jobs where you work a month and then your off for two weeks to a month, so we have lots of free time to try to fill up , lol. thanks for any info.

I assume you are going to be fermenting your 10 gallons in 2 buckets or carboys?

Why wouldn't you simply bottle them one at a time? Just pretend they are 2 different 5 gallon batches.

Drilling a hole in a fermenter bucket will allow you to turn it into a bottling bucket.

Personally, and particularly if you already have a 5 gallon bottling bucket, I'd split it up and do 2 runs. At least in my process, there'd be a step where I'd have to pick up a 10 gallon bucket of beer and put it on my table/counter...and I don't want to do that.

Now, if your situation allows you a way to get your beer into your bottling bucket and then not have to move that bucket, then it makes more sense...

12-gallon batches here, occasionally will bottle 1/2 of it.

Since both fermenters are 6-gallons, I treat each one like a "different" beer.

M_C

BendBrewer said:

I assume you are going to be fermenting your 10 gallons in 2 buckets or carboys?

Why wouldn't you simply bottle them one at a time? Just pretend they are 2 different 5 gallon batches.

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I would be fermenting in a 13 gallon cube fermenter from austinhomebrew.com.

thanks everyone for the advice.

Neat. Well you could order 2 of them and make a bottling bucket out of one of them. A 10+ gallon pot with a ball valve might work too. Of course just bottling 10 gallons in two steps with your current bottling bucket is still an option.

It doesnt take me 5 hours only about 2.

BendBrewer said:

Neat. Well you could order 2 of them and make a bottling bucket out of one of them. A 10+ gallon pot with a ball valve might work too. Of course just bottling 10 gallons in two steps with your current bottling bucket is still an option.

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Yea and I didn't think about the weight of 10 gallons vs 5 gallons. It wouldn't be that bad to deal with now, but I wouldn't want to pick up 10 gallons 20-30 years from now.

JBrady said:

Yea and I didn't think about the weight of 10 gallons vs 5 gallons. It wouldn't be that bad to deal with now, but I wouldn't want to pick up 10 gallons 20-30 years from now.

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Moving an 80+ lb bucket isn't too bad, but picking it up and putting it on the counter, (and trying to do this gently so as not to splash beer, introduce excess oxygen)...and then add in that you spilled some beer & sanitizer while siphoning into the bottling bucket, so things are variously slippery and sticky, and then your dog gets over the baby gate and comes barreling in...

dorklord said:

and then add in that you spilled some beer & sanitizer while siphoning into the bottling bucket, so things are variously slippery and sticky, and then your dog gets over the baby gate and comes barreling in...

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Ok Ok I get it dorklord, my maltese has no baby gate to hurdle but he does think that my fermenters are trees that hes supposed to hike his leg on, lol.

JBrady said:

Ok Ok I get it dorklord, my maltese has no baby gate to hurdle but he does think that my fermenters are trees that hes supposed to hike his leg on, lol.

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I was just theorizing there, not like I've had something like that happen with a 5 gallon batch of beer. Its not like I have a dog named Charlie who's tall enough to stand up on his hind legs and put his paws on my shoulder or anything...

JBrady said:

I think most people that brew 10 gallon batches keg their beer but I'm not going to do the keg thing, been there done that and ain't going back to it.

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why for no kegging? just like the classic better or a bad experience?

rycov said:

why for no kegging? just like the classic better or a bad experience?

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no bad experience, we just don't want to have to get another kegerator, pay for the equipment, and honestly we actually like the fact that it takes longer, which keeps us engaged in our hobby a little bit more. its easier to pack up a 12 pack to take fishing too, lol.

Yup, since beer is mostly water, and water weighs in at about 10lbs per gallon. A 10G full pot is going to weigh at over 100lbs!! One slip with a pot that size full off boiling water could lead to some very serious burns...

Mark

JBrady said:

Yea and I didn't think about the weight of 10 gallons vs 5 gallons. It wouldn't be that bad to deal with now, but I wouldn't want to pick up 10 gallons 20-30 years from now.

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Water weighs 10lbs per gallon in Canada, 8lb per gallon in the US.

(ok ok ok... US gallon is 3.78L and Cdn gallon is around 4.5L).

M_C

markab said:

Yup, since beer is mostly water, and water weighs in at about 10lbs per gallon. A 10G full pot is going to weigh at over 100lbs!! One slip with a pot that size full off boiling water could lead to some very serious burns...

Mark

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