200 Gallons of home brew

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

smccarter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
1,033
Reaction score
176
Location
Milton
It's the middle of November, 2013. I've brewed 28 - 5 gallon batches this year. I've ordered 2 kits from Northern Brewer and that will make 30 batches or 150 gallons. There are 2 adults living in this household, and the state of Florida allows 200 gallons per year for a 2 adult household.

I feel like I've been brewing as fast as I can this year and still haven't reached the 200 gallon mark. How in the world could a person brew that much beer?

Have you?

How many gallons have you brewed in 2013?
 
I think TTB has more important things to worry about. However, and I don't know what the lawyers would say, but the brewer, defined, apparently in order to make clear what happens at a BOP, is defined as he who pitches the yeast. If someone helps me on brew day or if the club brews in my brewery, I have that person or another club member pitch the yeast and sign the logbook as 'Brewer of Record'.
 
I thought about the post after I sent it. Please don't incriminate yourself.... lmao.

Sorry about that.
 
I've done 50 batches since the first of the year, mostly 5 gallons, but a fair number of 3 gallon batches as well. So far this year I have put 194 gallons into bottles. I'll leave the size of the two batches still in the fermenters as a mystery. ;)

Prior to this year I had done 28 batches over the years 2005-2012. I have 4 kids ages 3-9, a wife, play keyboard in a band, volunteer at church, and work full-time. It's all about making time for what you care about. My wife runs marathons, and when she goes away for the weekend and I'm stuck at home with the kids I brew. Last time she was out of town I only brewed 2 batches over the weekend; in September I brewed 4 batches in one weekend. I've gotten really good about scheduling and strategizing, so I can pull it off.

I do all my brewing in the kitchen. I have a gas stove with a 15K BTU burner, which isn't super powerful, but it gets the job done, and can bring 7.25 gallons to a boil in a reasonable time. I'll brew or bottle weeknights when my wife is at class.

If I start bringing my strike water to a boil when I get home at 5:15, I can measure my grains, grind them, and start my mash by 6, then feed the kids. Put 3-year old in bed. Mash done by 7, runoff done by 7:30 (I batch sparge). Put middle kids in bed. At boil by 8:15. Wife gets home at 9. Boil done by 9:15; chilling done by 10, in fermenter, pitched, and everything cleaned up by 10:30. :rockin: Still have time to cuddle with the wife, and go to bed by 11:15. My wife doesn't mind because I always leave the kitchen cleaner than I started. :tank:

I have covered the following top-level BJCP categories (in my mind at least, competition probably wouldn't agree with some of these):
Light Lager (Helles)
Pilsner (Classic American Pils)
Euro Amber Lager (Marzen)
Dark Lager (Schwarzbier, Dunkel)
Bock (Maibock, Helles Bock, Traditional Bock)
Amber Hybrid (if you count a Vienna brewed with Ale yeast; sort of a reverse Cali Common)
English Pale (Ordinary Bitter, Special Bitter, ESB)
Scottish/Irish Ale (Irish Red, Scottish 75)
American Ale (Pale, Amber)
English Brown (Mild, GF Mild)
Porter (Brown Porter, Chipotle Robust Porter)
Stout (Oatmeal Stout, Dry Stout)
IPA (American and Cascade/MO SMaSH with English Ale yeast)
Belgian / French Ale (Gluten-Free Wit, Black Saison)
Strong Ale (sort of, I've brewed two spiced old ales)
Fruit Beer (GF Raspberry Blonde)
Spice / Herb / Vegetable (Pumpkin Pie Beer, Lemon Pepper Saison)
Specialty (Indian Brown, Imperial Amber, misc.)
Melomel (Cherry-Raspberry Melomel)
Specialty Cider (Honey-Cherry Apple Cider)

Only top-level BJCP categories I haven't covered are:
Light Hybrid
German Wheat / Rye
Sour Ale
Belgian Strong
Traditional Mead / Other Mead
Standard Cider
Smoked/Wood-Aged Beer

I'll try to atone for my shortcomings next year.
 
I would never ever advocate breaking the law!

I brew 10 gallon sized batches, well 10.5 sized batches actually.

I brew often.

I make wine too.

I stick with 199.9 gallons per year as my total, as we have two legal adults in our household.
 
I brew within the limits of the law. I never break the law to my knowledge.
 
All very funny...

I'm going to try my best to brew 199.999 gallons next year. I just don't see how I'll be able to do it at the rate that I brew, but I'm going to give it a try.
 
smccarter said:
All very funny...

I'm going to try my best to brew 199.999 gallons next year. I just don't see how I'll be able to do it at the rate that I brew, but I'm going to give it a try.
Click to expand...

I used to say the same thing! 200 gallons- whoever could make and drink that much beer?!?!

Well, right now I have a ton of wine in my living room (some in primary) and more to come. I have 10 gallons of beer in primary also. I have kegs in the kegerator.

It's like "Field of Dreams". "If you brew it, they will come."

I don't even have any parties, but I always have a beer or three for HBT members who happen to be in the Upper Peninsula, and it sure seems to disappear quickly. The wine will age for a couple of years, but sometimes my cellar is a bit low while other times I've got 400+ bottles of wine in the cellar.

I really don't drink much wine myself, but I do drink a LOT of beer!
 
Neighbours.. fellow beer lovers... etc. get to drink my beer.

Of course, it's all consumed in the house that it's brewed in... Wouldn't transport the stuff .. except to a contest or tasting.

I'm glad we get to brew beer legally, but what a stupid law. If I can own an arsenal, why can't I brew as much beer as I want? Why can't I drive a case of my homebrew to a friends house and drink it all? Why can't I sell my home brew?

But... I can own a gattling gun and kill a man for knocking on my door and scaring my wife - in Florida anyway.... Something to think about.

BTW... I don't care about the gun laws... just using them as a comparison... don't freak out gun lovers.
 
Seriously, how the F do you all find so much time to brew? Even if I doubled all my batches to 10 gallons I would max out at 120 gal/year. I only have TWO kids And its tough to brew once per month. This is why no sparge/no chill is of such interest to me. My last brew day came in at 3.5 hours. It's the only way I can continue this hobby.
 
I switched to 10 gallon batches thinking I'd keg half and bottle half, instead of just kegging a 5 gallon batch and then having none in bottles.

When you up the batch size, it is probably very easy to exceed the annual limit if you tried. I'm under 200 still for the year.

Besides, I'm only brewing wort. The yeast are the only ones making beer!

Need to invite neighbors over to pitch the yeast... Good idea.
 
geoffey said:
Seriously, how the F do you all find so much time to brew? Even if I doubled all my batches to 10 gallons I would max out at 120 gal/year. I only have TWO kids And its tough to brew once per month. This is why no sparge/no chill is of such interest to me. My last brew day came in at 3.5 hours. It's the only way I can continue this hobby.
Click to expand...

I hear that. As my kids get older, it's becoming difficult to find time. One day a month is very difficult to nail down.
I've been looking into weekday brewing when I have time off work.

TD
 
smccarter said:
Neighbours.. fellow beer lovers... etc. get to drink my beer. Of course, it's all consumed in the house that it's brewed in... Wouldn't transport the stuff .. except to a contest or tasting. I'm glad we get to brew beer legally, but what a stupid law. If I can own an arsenal, why can't I brew as much beer as I want? Why can't I drive a case of my homebrew to a friends house and drink it all? Why can't I sell my home brew? But... I can own a gattling gun and kill a man for knocking on my door and scaring my wife - in Florida anyway.... Something to think about. BTW... I don't care about the gun laws... just using them as a comparison... don't freak out gun lovers.
Click to expand...

I agree totally. Let's not forget the antiquated three tier distribution system we "enjoy" here in Florida which is stifling the craft beer movement that's sweeping the country for the past decade.....

TD
 
geoffey said:
Seriously, how the F do you all find so much time to brew? Even if I doubled all my batches to 10 gallons I would max out at 120 gal/year. I only have TWO kids And its tough to brew once per month. This is why no sparge/no chill is of such interest to me. My last brew day came in at 3.5 hours. It's the only way I can continue this hobby.
Click to expand...

I don't have kids and will not have any, that's one way.
No gold digger wife, that's another.
Have an awesone woman that doesn't care.
 
geoffey said:
Seriously, how the F do you all find so much time to brew? Even if I doubled all my batches to 10 gallons I would max out at 120 gal/year. I only have TWO kids And its tough to brew once per month. This is why no sparge/no chill is of such interest to me. My last brew day came in at 3.5 hours. It's the only way I can continue this hobby.
Click to expand...

I don't have kids just a job and wife and I still could not get more than 20 brews In a year. And that would be going as often as I can and not worrying about consumption.
 
DuckiesRevenge said:
I don't have kids just a job and wife and I still could not get more than 20 brews In a year. And that would be going as often as I can and not worrying about consumption.
Click to expand...

Right and if you are doing 10 gallon batches...boom there you are.

While it is highly unlikely that the Feds will take notice, this is the exact kind of thing that people get busted for. One or two people without political connections or all that much money, easy target.
 
revelation said:
While it is highly unlikely that the Feds will take notice, this is the exact kind of thing that people get busted for. One or two people without political connections or all that much money, easy target.
Click to expand...

Goes back to not not pissing a person off and it should not become a problem if you are over the limit. Karma has its ways to get even.

Is the next trick to only save notes from the really good batches? :D
 
The trick is having a girl who wants to brew too. No comment on the amount, but double brew days because she wants 10 gallons of mango wheat with my 10 of a big stout means it adds up quickly.
 
I could easily hit 600 gallons a year if I tried, it's not that hard to hit those numbers. My current method of yeast farming gives 200 billion cells every 3 days. I either bake bread or brew beer once every 3 days.

If you have unlimited free yeast, and a ton of grain, you can make a lot of beer...
 

Similar threads

jrgtr42
West Virgina Home Distillation
Replies
2
Views
408
smcinco
S
nxc3441
apple pie cider under 10 bucks a gallon
Replies
2
Views
990
nxc3441
nxc3441
C
Best brewing system for 5-15 gallon batches
Replies
25
Views
2K
Ninoid
Ninoid
B
Tennessee All Brewing Items for Sale (Robobrew, kegs, CO2, Perlick taps, and more)
Replies
1
Views
662
dawsh2
D
B
For Sale Brew-Boss 20 gal System with COFI filter and Hops Boss - UT
Replies
2
Views
387
blklodge
B
CornyKegs 300

Latest posts

Back
Top