10 gal attempt and long term storage questions...

[MikeICR]

My brother, who visits very rarely and almost never likes my homebrew, popped in a while back and LOVED my Lowenbrau clone (kegged). I'd like to make a bottled batch for his hunting camp, where he spends a great deal of his time. He hates drinking from glasses, so I'll force carb and bottle from the keg. I've identified a couple potential problems and need some advice.

This brew has become very popular around here and I was thinking of making a 10gal batch. I have a 48qt/12gal MLT, a 44qt/11gal pot, and a 30qt/7.5gal HLT. I think I can mash it, but how do I boil it? Do any of you folks make 10gal batches this way? If I split the boil, do I need to add the hops to both boils? Is it worth trying to do a 10gal batch, or should I make several 5gals?

However it gets brewed, ounces it's bottled, how long will it last? If it's not consumed during hunting season, it might sit on the floor of the cottage for months. Is it worth pasteurizing? Would it extend the shelf life?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[buckeyebrewer]

I would boil 8 gallons in one pot and 4 in the other. Just hop the 8 gallons with the full amount of hops and boil down the 4 gallons without hops. You can blend them together at the end of the boil to the proper volume. I use this method when I make 15 gallon batches in my 10 gallon system....works every time.

 

[hoppymonkey]

+ 1 on what mike said. Just make to mix the two final worts well for consistency and allow for a bit more than usual boil off.

 

[MikeICR]

Great! Thanks a lot. Do you also split the batches for fermentation? I was thinking of fermenting in two 6gal carboys to make the racking and kegging process a little easier. Make sense?

 

[hoppymonkey]

Yeah, I split mine to two seperate buckets for fermentation as well. I have two of the same on tap now that I had to make that way and you can't tell a difference.