Why 5 Gallon Kits??

[NervousDad]

Excuse my rant: Sometimes I don't feel like formulating a recipe and I just want to buy a pre made all grain kit to learn a new style, but they're always based on 5 gallon batches! A 5 gallon kit turns out to be about 4.25 gallons (if I'm lucky) on my system.

I always make my recipes for 6 gallons I lose .5 gallons in the kettle and .5 in the fermentor.

 

[Timdogg]

I know the feeling i just kick up the base grains a pound or so and make 6 gal batches.


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[CorporateHippie]

Some suppliers account for the loss in a hoppy brew.
i.e.--Northern Brewer's The Plinian Legacy Double IPA Kit
(6 gallon batch)

 

[Rev2010]

I don't lose that much in my system, which is a standard simple system. I pretty much always get 5 gallons or a little more into the fermenter and loss to trub in the fermenter is very small, usually under a pints worth. If I'm brewing a beer where I know there will be more wort loss due to lots of hops or absorptive adjuncts/additives I usually just adjust my water amounts and still hit very close to my intended OG. If it were something where I would imagine a significant loss I would just adjust my recipe for a 6 gallon batch and brew as such, never needed to do so yet though.

I get what you're saying and about standardized batch sizes, but I think most people don't lose that much wort to not be able to hit 5 gallons. Matter of fact, my efficiency is typically 81% and I think most of these shops figure for something like 72%, so I have to constantly readjust the bill so that the beer doesn't come out stronger than planned.


Rev.

 

[helibrewer]

Excuse my rant: Sometimes I don't feel like formulating a recipe and I just want to buy a pre made all grain kit to learn a new style, but they're always based on 5 gallon batches! A 5 gallon kit turns out to be about 4.25 gallons (if I'm lucky) on my system.

I always make my recipes for 6 gallons I lose .5 gallons in the kettle and .5 in the fermentor.

Keep base grain in stock and just add it to the kit to get a 6 gallon batch recipe. It's a small enough difference that the specialty grain adjustment should not matter.

 

[acidrain]

Here's a better question... why kits?
Order and brew what you want.

 

[TexasWine]

Here's a better question... why kits?
Order and brew what you want.

In my experience, kits are cheaper for the same volume of beer. Several times I've priced out individual ingredients in the kits, and every time the kits have been cheaper.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Batch size refers to how much beer is going into the fermentor. Typical losses going from fermentor to the package for a 5-gallon batch are between 1/4 and 1/2 gallon. Unless your homebrew shop has an unusual definition of batch size (and some of them do - ask them for their specifications), you should always get at least 4.5 gallons of packaged beer out of a batch, and usually more.

For reference, these are the specs I use to develop my shop's all-grain recipes:

Efficiency: 70%
Pre-boil volume: 6.5 gal (assuming a 60-minute boil)
Boil-off rate: 1 gal/hour
Post-boil volume: 5.5 gal
Cooling & trub loss: 0.5 gal
Batch size (in fermentor): 5 gal

 

[acidrain]

In my experience, kits are cheaper for the same volume of beer. Several times I've priced out individual ingredients in the kits, and every time the kits have been cheaper.

A 50 lb bag of two-row is $50.
Hops from Yakima hops is about $15 per lb.
Yeast can be used over and over.
I'm spending about $20 for a true 6 gal. batch, even though my brewhouse efficiency is horrible.

 

[dobes]

Once you learn your system it should be fairly easy to adjust your recipe to achieve your desired outcome. Especially if you try the same recipe a few times. Just make the necessary adjustments and try brewing it again. May want to try using some of the softwares out there to try and help you out.

 

[gwaugh]

Just up your batch size and use DME to compensate for the difference in gravity, problem solved.

 

[TexasWine]

A 50 lb bag of two-row is $50.
Hops from Yakima hops is about $15 per lb.
Yeast can be used over and over.
I'm spending about $20 for a true 6 gal. batch, even though my brewhouse efficiency is horrible.

Ah, see now we're talking buying in bulk. Different story altogether. And very good point.

Is that bag of grain $50 shipped?

 

[acidrain]

Ah, see now we're talking buying in bulk. Different story altogether. And very good point.

Is that bag of grain $50 shipped?

No, but kits aren't shipped free either.
$50 is local cost. If I were to order through Williams for example, cost for a 50lb sack of domestic two row is $34.99. Shipping is $22.70. Total is $57.69. That is enough grain to make 4 batches if you add your specialty grains and yeast, which admittedly can be a significant add.
My point is, kits are a starting point, and after you move past a starting point, you will eventually start working from recipes adjusted towards your system.

My suggestion is don't get stuck brewing what somebody else has decided is good enough.