Why do you make 10G batches?

[oujens]

I'm curious to know why some of the folks here make 10G or larger batches when they brew. I try to have a few different beers on tap but it is usually me who is drinking the beer. Not many family/friends around to enjoy it with me. Unless its a recipe I really enjoy, it would seem 10G would be a lot for me to make each time and keep in stock.

Basically I'm trying to figure out what would make me consider jumping from 5G to 10G batches in the future. Do you do it to minimize the number of times you have to brew in a year, or is it because you entertain and need the stock?

 

[Auger]

Sometimes, with lighter beers or beers that go quickly, I do a double batch just to have more. Other times, I'll do one batch of wort and split into two 5gal batches and ferment with different yeasts, do different dry hops, etc to experiment.

 

[fatherdan]

I drink a lot.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I fill barrels from 5-30 gallons in size for Wild fermentations. Or bigger batches the require time. I.e. An imperial stout in a bourbon barrel. I can make a 15 gallon batch and age it for 6-12 months. I also like to bottle condition. Split fermentations are another cool way to use big batches,
you split the wort and try 2-3 different yeasts. That can be a great way to select yeast strains. I'll also brew a larger batch to blend with sour beers.

Everything costs more from grain to kettles and fermentors, so make sure you have a reason why you'd want to brew larger batch sizes.
My initial reason was that my friends could kill 5 gallons in a blink of an eye. I'd spend 4 months on a lager and they would kill it at a fire pit in one night.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

With bigger batches, the time / beer ratio goes way down, plus other economies of scale, like that it is easier to go through an entire sack of grain and get the discount price. Plus it is easier to say fill a keg for a wedding or do split batches utilizing differing yeast and/or hopping schedules in order to tweak your recipe.

 

[mattdee1]

If you have thirsty friends/family over even semi-regularly, then 5gal batches vanish way too quickly.

If you don't have such help, or if the beer is something that tends to get consumed 1 at a time rather than several, then I can definitely see 10gal being too much.

I brewed 10gal of a milk stout several months ago and I'm finding out the hard way that it doesn't age well like a regular stout. Now I'm sitting on 50 bottles of past-prime beer.

On the other hand, I've only got 15 or so bottles left from the 10gal of blonde ale I bottled a month ago, because guests just kill that stuff.

 

[oujens]

Thanks for the responses. I can see the value in splitting batches to experiment with yeast or dry hops (almost like having two different beers on tap). Also making the "house" beer in 10G would save time which makes SWMBO happy. I've been looking to upgrade my kettle and kept seeing these "go bigger than you think" comments, and now I can see the value in doing so. You can accomplish things with a 10G batch other than the purpose of having beer on hand for others to enjoy.

 

[permo]

I started with 5 gallon batches, then I started kegging and moved to 10 gallon batches to fill more kegs. Now I have settled on 15 gallon batches as my standard. I figure that brewing does take significant time and effort, so getting the most reward for my investment helps. I have 25 kegs and four beers on draught at all times so I need to keep brewing big batches to keep my kegs and also my friends growlers full.

Also, buying grain and hops in bulk sure brings the cost down.......I bet my average batch of beer, from an ingredients perspective, is right around $25 for 15 gallons. That's pretty awesome.

 

[Citizen86]

Also, buying grain and hops in bulk sure brings the cost down.......I bet my average batch of beer, from an ingredients perspective, is right around $25 for 15 gallons. That's pretty awesome.

Very generous to always fill friend's growlers for them

Where do you buy your grain in bulk? I haven't looked around too much locally yet. I asked one of my two home brew stores, he said a sack of grain is 15% off regular price, and his prices aren't super cheap, although he does tend to stock the higher quality grains and organic ones.

Anywhere online to buy a grain sack seems to be killed by shipping prices.

 

[ViciousFishes]

Ditto on the splitting batches across different yeasts - I've got an IPA and red/Amber currently in such a state. And ditto for certain beers that are consumed quickly due to their mass appeal, such as the Helles I'm preparing to do. But, for me, what's equally important is that 10g batches aren't really any more work than a 5g batch. So it makes a lot of sense to amortize SWMBO concerns about the time it takes over more gallons per brew day. I'm still brewing in the kitchen, so it effects everyone to a degree when I'm monopolizing the space.

 

[permo]

Very generous to always fill friend's growlers for them

Where do you buy your grain in bulk? I haven't looked around too much locally yet. I asked one of my two home brew stores, he said a sack of grain is 15% off regular price, and his prices aren't super cheap, although he does tend to stock the higher quality grains and organic ones.

Anywhere online to buy a grain sack seems to be killed by shipping prices.

You can order 10 pound sacks at www.morebeer.com and qualify for free shipping..ends up at like $50 a bag.

However I collaborate with and am friends with a local brewmaster/brewery owner and I order my hops and grains with him. Let me tell you, the markup at the homebrew level is ridiculous.....

 

[Bbeck8386]

Since I upgraded to a single tier system with two pumps I've found that doing 10 gallons takes almost the same amount of effort as five. I have a buddy who brews so sometimes we'll do a 10 gallon batch and split it.

 

[m1k3]

I make 10G batches because sometimes 15G is too much.

But seriously, I often brew with a friend or two and they get 5 gallons each. They always buy the grain and I supply everything else (maybe not the best deal on occasion) but I have 3 partial sacks of grain in the closet at the moment and I will likely use some of that to brew my own 10G batch.

Speaking of which, I currently have four taps occupied by two 10G split batches where i used different yeast and different late/dry hops. It does give variety and side-by-side comparison as stated previously by others.

Back to my 15G batch size. That is the size that my system "likes" to make. It will do it with virtually no measuring of volumes. My HLT is a half barrel keg (that gets filled twice - once to mash and once to sparge), my Mash Tun is 70qt that hold 40-45# of grain which when filled gets me a 1.060-1.070 OG beer, my kettle is 100qt so when I use all the water in the HLT twice it fills up to the handle bolts and that leaves a great amount of space for a good boil.

So, if your system is appropriately sized to make a specific volume of beer then everything goes much smoother. (not to say you can't adjust, if you need to)

 

[lstrowge]

Between friends, family, Brew Club shares and BBQ's several of my regular rotation go too quick not to. Besides it takes just as long to brew 10 as it does 5!

 

[Double_D]

Between friends and family 10 gal was then only way to go. I regularly split batches with friends. Plus I don't like to be the guy whining about how fast my beer went when my BIL comes to the house.

 

[KegWrangler]

I brew 10G batches because I have young kids.

At first it was so I could brew less often...lately their antics are just driving me to drink more

 

[oujens]

I did not start this thread with the intention of being talked into 10G batches, but now I completely get it. I've been on hiatus due to a move so I haven't brewed in 6-7 months, and now I see how a split 10G batch could provide me some quick relief. I also have kids, so spending less time brewing and provide more to drink would be awesome! Would a 25 ft IC work for 10 gallons? I usually start with hose water and then with excess water I have collected throw some ice in then pump it through the IC. Would this still work for a bigger batch size or would I need to consider an upgrade there as well. Might be a good time to invest in a whirlpool.

 

[devil1]

I brew 10 gallon batches because its not much more effort. I typically brew with a friend and he takes 5 gallons and I take 5 gallons. He buys the supplies for one batch then I buy the next batch. Between batches I will make hard cider for my wife. Typically I have two different beers on tap, pineapple hard cider bottled, and carbonated water in the third keg.

 

[jddevinn]

It's cheaper

At 10 gallons and (3) temperature controlled fermenters I can barely keep up with demand.

I have 10 taps at home. Almost seasonally I end up getting tapped out of 3-4 kegs for parties, occasionally I get "donations" although most of the time collections taken for food/drinks are targeted for a charity.

I was still learning a bunch when I built the system and have changed even more. Once I get my process 100% nailed in (still working on some O2 issues) I'll probably look to jumping to looking at designing a barrel+ sized steam system.

 

[Gonefishin]

oujens, like many others I brew 10G batch. I started because I didn't get to brew as often as I wanted to. But, 10-gal. of one style was too much of any style of beer unless it was for a function. I find a basic mash and make it for 10G. Then I can steep specialty grains for individual 5G recipes and with different hops and yeast I get 2 really different brews without doubling my brew day. It does take me longer than brewing 10G of one beer but it has been working for me. I keep tweaking my process to try to speed it up. I don't brew when I want to, I brew when I can. Good luck

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Its twice the beer for the same time which is nice to have.You can also split the dry hops and yeast to play around with flavors

 

[thereverendmaynard]

I brew 10g batches because I get sad when the first keg kicks, then i remember that I have a second....

 

[schematix]

I do 10G batches because the time investment for 5G is pretty close to 10G.

I've recently upgraded to 12G batches though (3 4.5G corny keg fermenters). 20% gain in production for probably an additional 10 minutes.

In my earlier brewing days when I was still learning the basics it was a great opportunity to do split batches for purposes of learning about different dry hop flavors and different yeast flavors. Now that i'm kind of over that its more about volume.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I have found with large batches the second 1/4 keg is better than the first.

 

[Rivenin]

I have 2 kids, work a bit away from my house and my wife gets home a bit after i do... lets say i don't have much time, so i brew 10 gallons at a time just so i have enough to last until next brew day... which most of the time is every 2 months, sometimes once a month. But rarely more than that.

 

[55x11]

I'm curious to know why some of the folks here make 10G or larger batches when they brew. I try to have a few different beers on tap but it is usually me who is drinking the beer. Not many family/friends around to enjoy it with me. Unless its a recipe I really enjoy, it would seem 10G would be a lot for me to make each time and keep in stock.

Basically I'm trying to figure out what would make me consider jumping from 5G to 10G batches in the future. Do you do it to minimize the number of times you have to brew in a year, or is it because you entertain and need the stock?

I split 10G batches into two or three or four different beers. The base is the same but additions are different. It could be:
1. different yeast (for example, recent IPAs I split into regular clean yeast, like WLP-90 or WLP-001, and another batch with belgian yeast - like belgian strong ale, or saison yeast).
2. Different dry-hops
3. Different addition - one oaked+wine, another standard. Or one stout with coco-nibs, another with pasilla peppers, third one with bourbon.
4. Different fruit. I made 10G of base wheat beer and used 4 different fruits additions - passion fruit (the best), guava, watermelon, peach+cherry.
I did the same for 10G of berliner weisser recently

since I have 70qt cooler and 20G pot, I can easily do 10G, or even 15G (unless beer is too strong), and it takes only incrementally a bit more time, maybe 10-20% more, time-wise (a little longer to boil and a little longer to cool). Total maybe 20-30min more, an hour tops over 5G batch (and I really doubt that, probably closer to 30min). But with prepping and cleaning, and mashing and doing everything else, this means 5.5 hours (or worst case scenario 6 hours) instead of 5 hours.

I gradually upgraded from 5G to 10G batches (sometimes 15), and my strategy is as follows: mash in, boil, aiming to end up with 12G or so. Split it either into two 6G fermenters. Or 6G, + 3G + 3G fermenters. Or 4 x 3G fermenters.

Use different additions. They go into either 2.6G torpedo kegs or regular 5G corny. Sometimes I serve one in a keg and keep another one to "age" at ~65F to see the difference - especially with strong stouts.

 

[bendog15]

My current setup allows me to brew 10 gal just as easily as I could brew 5. It just makes more sense to me, seeing as how the average brew day is 5+ hours. Might as well get the most out of it. At the rate I drink it and give it away, it's usually gone by the time the next 10 gal batch is coming out of the carboys.

 

[hio3791]

I moved to 10g batches for all the same reasons. My kids were little and it was difficult to find the time. Now that they're a little older, I'm realizing I have even less time than before. With school work, functions and sports, I would like to brew 15g (of the lighter beers that I like in the summer). I've been thinking about making a stronger wort, dilute it with water across 3 buckets and get 15g of finished beer.

In the summer, we may get a weekend in the upper 70s. Taking advantage of a cooler weekend to make 15g is a good reason too.

 

[Citizen86]

I moved to 10g batches for all the same reasons. My kids were little and it was difficult to find the time. Now that they're a little older, I'm realizing I have even less time than before. With school work, functions and sports, I would like to brew 15g (of the lighter beers that I like in the summer). I've been thinking about making a stronger wort, dilute it with water across 3 buckets and get 15g of finished beer.

In the summer, we may get a weekend in the upper 70s. Taking advantage of a cooler weekend to make 15g is a good reason too.

This isn't a bad idea, really. I know there has been talk for a long time about hop utilization and how full volume boils are the best. It might take a few batches to dial it in exactly as you do the full volume recipe. I did do this a month or two ago with the Centennial Blonde ale, I wanted to get 10 gallons out of it, so I got about 10 gallons into the boil, got about 8 gallons separated into two fermenters, and brought the water level up to about 5.5 gallons each. But the recipe was for an 10 gallon batch. So I think it worked out pretty well.

 

[hio3791]

This isn't a bad idea, really. I know there has been talk for a long time about hop utilization and how full volume boils are the best. It might take a few batches to dial it in exactly as you do the full volume recipe. I did do this a month or two ago with the Centennial Blonde ale, I wanted to get 10 gallons out of it, so I got about 10 gallons into the boil, got about 8 gallons separated into two fermenters, and brought the water level up to about 5.5 gallons each. But the recipe was for an 10 gallon batch. So I think it worked out pretty well.

How did the Centennial Blonde turn out? One of my favorites from this site. I've made so many variations and it's just a great vehicle for playing with various hops.

I have a 15.5g eKettle. 11g post boil is about the limit so I would split 5 gal of water across 3 buckets. It's just a partial boil. Should work fine for simpler, summer beers. If you're super critical about hop utilization, then play with amounts until process gets dialed in.

Personally, I lose no sleep over these things.

Maybe I'll try it next time!