10 gallon batches and marriage

I usually only make 5 gallon batches, but rarely I do make a 10 gallon batch. Bob doesn't think 10 gallons is a good idea, even though I've explained that 10 gallons is no more work than 5. He argued that dumping the MLT and crushing the grain is twice as much work. He always says that he'd rather have 5 gallon batches, because it's a greater variety on tap, and as long as there was an APA or two around he liked to have the variety. He also said that he didn't want to drink 10 gallons of the same beer, but liked a different APA every couple of weeks, so he talked me into only doing 5 gallon batches. I conceded that, but said I was doing 10 gallons of my IPA anyway and would make all of the other beers as 5 gallon batches, since that is his preference.

So, the IPA is in the fermenters bubbling along, and he asked, with a straight face, "So, when are you going to make a 10 gallon batch of MY favorite beer?"

That's when I hit him.

Being married is like that sometimes.

10 gallons seems like a lot.

Until you float the keg of that beer that JUST got perfect.

Then you realize you have another keg ready to go.

mmmmm. 10 gallons good.

And your marriage sounds alot like mine!

:fro:

As a married man I have to ask..... So what's the problem?..... lmao

For me 10 gallons makes so much more sense when brewing opportunities are limited (wife and 2 kids). I would suggest doing 10 gal batches, and if you need variety use 2 different yeasts or dry hop 1 and not the other. You could even lager one of them. I am guessing you are fermenting in 5 gal anyway right.

My wife drives me nuts! I get asked to brew her favorite beer, so I do, then when I ask her if she wants a pint of it I get "no, I am not in the mood for a beer, Im gonna have iced tea instead." and then the keg of the beer she wanted sits for months, now if she asks me to brew her favorite style I agree and brew what I want instead

You can make 2 different beers out of a 10g batch simply by changing the yeast can't you? I normally do 10g batches because they don't last long at all and even though I enjoy brewing, I don't want to "have to" brew every week.

However, I am moving soon and will be living in an apartment for a few months before we find a new neighborhood. I'll probably scale down to 5g until I can gauge what the new demand is going to be.

I hear ya on the marriage thing also. SWMBO only likes wine but whenever any of my homebrewer friends bring over a bottle of their homemade wine, she's scared to drink it & I end up having to.

On Monday, I had an entire case of my first batch of sparkling cider - it turned out very good. Wife and her friends drank through the entire case this week, today I note that there are two bottles left.

Pappers said:

On Monday, I had an entire case of my first batch of sparkling cider - it turned out very good. Wife and her friends drank through the entire case this week, today I note that there are two bottles left.

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And how's the cider pipeline going?

My wife loves 10 gal batches. I always do 10 gals of my Blonde and Porter (her favorite and the biggest crowd pleasers), then 5 gals of most other batches.

Soperbrew said:

And how's the cider pipeline going?

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Not good. But the good news is she really likes it and its incredibly easy and quick to make. The only challenge is timing the bottling and then pasteurizing the bottles when they are carbonated - but frankly, that's not very difficult.

Myke_J said:

My wife loves 10 gal batches. I always do 10 gals of my Blonde and Porter (her favorite and the biggest crowd pleasers), then 5 gals of most other batches.

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Blonde and Porter? Post ye up that recipe, post haste, good man.

I wouldn't do 10 Gallon batches because I enjoy having more variety on hand. Plus I don't have a kettle or MLT big enough, but tha't is beside the point.

I'm the only one drinking my beer, so 5 gallons lasts for quite a while.

As far as Bob goes, I'd just tell him to brew up his own beer if he wants to start complaining!

Seriously, you could dry hop 5 gallon and not the other, or add something else in secondary as well as pitching two different yeasts.

What kind of beers does Bob like? Have you turned him into a hophead yet?? You know it's only a matter of time!

Homercidal said:

What kind of beers does Bob like? Have you turned him into a hophead yet?? You know it's only a matter of time!

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Yep, actually he has become a hophead at least to a small degree. It started when I got him pouring a glass of Vienna lager, but then giving it a shot of IPA from a different tap. Since I'm a purist, I gasped and said, "What are you DOING?" He said, "I love this beer. But it needs hops."

He's not yet into the bitter IIPAs, but he loves hopped up ambers and APAs, and IPAs. He's crazy about amarillo and cascade hops, and I can dryhop the crap out of any APAs with them and he'll love them. He thought Jamil's recipe for Red Rocket clone was great.

You're right- it's only a matter of time. He now wants a couple of hoppy beers on tap all the time.

In that case, forget about not dry hopping one of them...

It just blows my mind that he isn't at all interested in brewing. This past brewday in Rockford I found that Rachael's husband is the same way. But I just don't get it. Yes he has his own hobbies, but I mean when you do those, you don't get beer at the end!

Teresa is being weird.
She wants me to brew lambics, but does not want the clutter of additional carboys/barrels. When I made a test lambic, she said "Like the ones from the store, raspberry ones". I said " I need a Barrel and a Year". She said, ugh... I'll just have a coke then. I guess the Flanders was not a good thing. Tasted great to me.

Like Bob, she likes variety - but hates the price that it comes with.
More selection = more bottles = more clutter = me frustrated. The Kegerator is a different animal. "Why is there no Porter? What is a Helles Bock?" . "Why do you have so many kegs...?" "Why is all of your IPA beer bitter?" ad infinitum.

Heaven forbid I ever start wanting to use Keggles and make 10 gallon batches.

I have all the trouble i need in a 5 gallon brewpot.

I have a couple of brews that I would do as 10 gallon batches just because they are well received by friends. However, I think other batches I would split at boil and add different hops and yeast to have some variety while still having the time savings of a single mash.

I make 10G batches 90% of the time,.... but always split them with someone else....i just want too much variety, there have been some that I wished I had made 10 G of for myself though

i always make 10 gallon batches. my wife doesn't drink a drop, but my friends seem to help me out quite a bit. it's just a tad more effort to brew 10g so why not?

I wish my problem was that my wife wanted more variety. When I start breaking out the gear on brew day she just sighs and says "here we go again". The funy part is, it was HER idea that I start brewing.
as for 10 gallon batches, I'm going to switch, because brew days are hard to come by with 2 kids and a wife who shares none of my enthusiasm for beer, brewing or drinking

dcbeerboy said:

i always make 10 gallon batches. my wife doesn't drink a drop, but my friends seem to help me out quite a bit. it's just a tad more effort to brew 10g so why not?

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fermenter space!

With a little one running around my brew days are limited. I usually brew somewhere between 12-13 gallons at a time. Wife does not drink anymore which leaves more for me. But my friends enjoy it so it even's out I guess. lately I brew about once every two months and the 12-13 gallons last me just about that length of time. i would like more variety but it is what it is.

I'd rather do 10 than 5 most brew days. Ferm chamber holds 10g quite nicely, I can seperate the boils if I want to and have two different beers. More often I just run the same thing for all 10g and have an extra keg ready when the beer gets aged just right.

For those times I try a really different recipe, I'll do 5g, but otherwise I like having the extra keg when the first one kicks.

I'm brewing my House Pale Ale tomorrow- a 10 gallon batch. Bob's idea. go figure.