Splitting 10 gallons

[asidrane]

I did my first 10 gallon bath yesterday and got to use my new wort chiller, the 5/10 split from more beer, for the first time as well. Now I have a keggle and a wort chiller all thanks to the best wife ever!

The recipe was meant to be an APA:
5 lbs 2 row
4lbs Vienna
1 lbs crystal 60
.8 lbs maltodextrin
6.6 lbs light lme. I need a bigger mash tun!

I mashed the grain with 3.5 pounds of water at 152 and mashed out with 3 gallons. I also added 6 gallons of water to the kettle

Hops were:
1 oz northern brewer 8.6% AA 60 min
1 oz whole leaf centennial 10.3% AA 30 min
1 oz whole leaf centennial 10.3% AA 5 min

I hit my OG spot on at 1.050 and ended up with 5.25 gallons in each bucket. My expected FG is 1.012 which should produce a 5% ABV beer. I used safale 04 in one bucket and us-05 in the other.

What does everyone think of my recipe? I ended up with an extra ounce of whole leaf centennial. Should I dry hop either/both? I can always pick up other hops too.

 

[H-ost]

It looks tasty.

I do 10 gallon batches and split into two fermenters as well and I would suggest saving the extra hops. The reason being that I have been having a lot of fun with experimenting with different yeasts and and pitching methods then trying to discern the differences.

Example: My last batch was an Irish Red and one fermenter got WLP001 and the other I pitched onto a used notty cake, it was unanimous among the super bowl party that the WLP001 beer was tastier (even if they didn't know what they liked better about it it was clear which one was the favorite).

A batch I just made, one had a vial of WLP001 straight into the fermenter and the other received the same yeast that had been sitting on the stirplate for the last 18 hours. It will be cool to see how these two beers differ due to pitching rates/yeast stress and all that.

 

[asidrane]

I have some washed WLP001 and WLP002 in the fridge. Since I was using new equipment and conducting a larger boil I wanted to keep it simple with the yeast. Next time I'll try it with liquid yeast and see how it turns out.

 

[asidrane]

Amazingly, I'm starting to wish I had a bigger kettle than 15.5 gallons. Only getting to experiment with two 5 gallon buckets at a time doesn't seem like enough. :rockin: I can't see myself finding enough space for 12 1 gallon fermentors either, at least not yet.

 

[asidrane]

24 hours after pitching there is a good amount of airlock activity on the us-05 batch and a nice aroma as well. There is no visible activity in the s-04 batch and no smell coming from the airlock, but the temperature has risen from 66-72.

 

[asidrane]

Well, there is still no airlock activity or aroma coming from the s-04 bucket, but the temperature has risen to 73. The us-05 is chugging away happily.

 

[JesseRC]

S-04 has been my go to champion lately. I can control temps, and at 63 F, it eats through sugars like crazy with very little off flavors and hardly any Krausen. In 3-4 days its usually done and starts to fall. Its weird, I havn't used a blowoff in 4 months. So trust me, the S-04 bucket is just fine and will hit target FG just like s-05. Maybe you have a faulty seal on the bucket. I know folks say that s-04 doesnt attenuate as much (vendor says so too) but have seen the opposite.

I used it in Strong Scotch ale recently because I wanted some residual sweetness, well that was not the case. Its already at 1.012 at 7 days from a OG of 1.079.

 

[asidrane]

I checked the lid and the airlock and everything seems snapped into place. With the temperature rise I'm not worried about no activity otherwise, it just seems odd.

I need to do a better job with fermentation control. Sadly I don't have space for a chamber. I would do the swamp cooler, but I don't have a way to keep adding ice. Would it still be effective if the bucket just sat in water?

 

[JesseRC]

Sure, anything is better than nothing. Remember if you can keep temps down while you are home, it will take some time before 5 gallons of beer changes in temp. Some folks put a T-shirt over the carboy/bucket then draped into the water. The natural wicking action helps keep the carboy cool.

Just do what you can. You will still make beer. Your best tool will be the hydrometer readings.

 

[asidrane]

I guess it is too late into the fermentation to worry about dropping the temperature, but I'll get the swamp cooler going for the next batch. Thanks.

 

[asidrane]

When I got home from work the us-05 was still chugging away and there are no signs of anything coming from the s-04. The temp on that bucket has now dropped back down to 70

 

[befus]

The only time I did that I did an all grain Dubel and then used the second runnings to make a mild brown. Bothe turned out dandy.

 

[asidrane]

I was taking a sample of my stout today is I decided to test these buckets as well. When I opened up the lid of the us-05, the one that had been bubbling away and giving off a lot of aroma, there was still a lot of yeast activity on top. The gravity was 1.018. The funny part was the s-04 bucket. I hadn't seen one bubble or smelled any Ramona coming from i, but the gravity was down to 1.012 as expected.

 

[H-ost]

I'm curious, what does Ramona smell like and what would she be doing in your fermenter?

 

[JesseRC]

I was taking a sample of my stout today is I decided to test these buckets as well. When I opened up the lid of the us-05, the one that had been bubbling away and giving off a lot of aroma, there was still a lot of yeast activity on top. The gravity was 1.018. The funny part was the s-04 bucket. I hadn't seen one bubble or smelled any Ramona coming from i, but the gravity was down to 1.012 as expected.

What did I tell you? S-04 , I swear they must have changed the formula/strain cus its not the same S-04 I used 4 years ago. Its not supposed attenuate as much, but Its been a champion lately. NO esters what so ever. Keep it cool and you wont even need a blow off.

 

[PVH]

I'm curious, what does Ramona smell like and what would she be doing in your fermenter?

I think the Ramona emanated from the OP:

"I hadn't seen one bubble or smelled any Ramona coming from i."

 

[H-ost]

I think the Ramona emanated from the OP:

"I hadn't seen one bubble or smelled any Ramona coming from i."

Ahhh... good catch... HAH