15 gallon batches fermenting in 3 separate 5 gallon buckets? Need advice.

[eddiek85]

Hello HBT!

I've got a question that might seem a bit stupid, but I just want to make absolutely sure. I have recently purchased a system capable of producing 15 gallons of boiled wort. I also have a temp controlled freezer that can accommodate my 15 gallon fermenter. However, if I were to use 5 gallon buckets I could easily ferment 30 gallons in the same freezer since the small buckets more easily fit into the freezer.

My questions are:

1.) Would I be able to boil 15 gallons of wort and put it into 3 separate 5 gallon fermenters and then pitch each fermenter separately and also dry hop each separately or is it not as simple as I am thinking?

2.) How would I go about dry hopping these individually? Do I just divide up the dry hops for the 15 gallon batch by 3? Or does each of them being in separate fermenters somehow affect the dry hopping amount?

3.) Should I take gravity readings from each fermenter or can I take the readings from just 1 fermenter and assume that each one of the others are on the same path since they have all been brewed/pitched with the same amounts and times?


Thanks a lot for any advice. I'm currently working on getting a better solution for fermenting but want to put more research into it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[V-Fib]

Things to consider:
Higher risk of infection splitting a batch in 3
Wort will need to be mixed pretty good prior to seperating cause sugar can settle to the bottom
You'll need to accurately measure yeast and dry hops to get equal amounts
Gravity readings should be similar if everything is done right
5 gal buckets are easier to move than 15 gal

Splitting them will be more work but it can be done. I'd try it and see how it goes to gauge if its worth it for how fast you're going through beer. Fermenting 30 gallons at once is a lot but once you have a pipeline going your stock can be maintained depending on how often you brew. Additionally it depends on how you can dispense your beer. 15 gallons of the same beer is a lot for me since I'm married with kids along with all my friends. I'm limited to 3 taps and about 100 bottles so I'm happy with 5 gals of a beer in each.

 

[Magnus314]

You're good! I do it all the time with different yeasts, dry hops, etc. as an easy way to get some variety out of one batch.

As far as dry hops, most recipes are 5 gallons scaled up by three so dry hops are probably fine divided by three. Boil hops not so.

If you use different yeasts you have to take ferment times into account and dry hop/d-rest/secodndary/rack accordingly.

 

[Sadu]

I do this all the time, although I split my 5 litres of wort into 3x 2 litre growlers so this is somewhat smaller scale to what you are talking about. I'm betting 5 gallons is easier to carry than 15.

1. I chill to pitching temps in the kettle, stir, take a gravity reading, then pitch the yeast into the kettle. Stir well then transfer to the fermentors, then aerate. I tried measuring yeast into each fermentor, that was too much work and I don't like the idea of variable pitch rates. I'm not aware of any rule that says you can't pitch in the kettle. Each fermentor gets exactly the same volume of wort.

2. For dry hopping I roughly divide the dryhops by 3 and add to each fermentor. It does't much matter if the amounts aren't exact since I will be combining the fermented wort in the bottling bucket anyway. If you were transferring each fermentor to it's own keg then you might want to measure more accurately here.

3. I take a gravity reading from one fermentor only. Since I ferment in glass I can visually see how things are going, and I'm yet to have a batch where the 3 growlers didn't ferment at exactly the same rate, have the krauesen drop at the same time etc.

This system works well for me, I also do the same thing with 12 litres of wort into 3x 5 liter demijohns. Can't think of any downsides other than more cleaning.

 

[MaryB]

I always split my 10gallon batches into 2 fermenters. No problems!

 

[eddiek85]

Thanks for the assurance guys! Gonna experiment with 3 different batches w/ different yeasts in each this weekend just to see what happens.

 

[IslandLizard]

Yeah, aside from using different yeasts, splitting them up allows you to dry hop each one differently too. If you're the only or one of only a few consumers, 15 gallons of the same beer is a lot.

 

[neverfadeaway86]

I have never Split a 15 gallon batch into 3 but I have split a 10 gallon batch in 2. basically I split the batches this way. it was an American wheat beer I split it into two 5 gallon batches, I pitched a different but similar yeast pack in each and dry hopped one with citra and dry hopped the other with amarillo and while they were mostly similar you could taste a difference and I prefered the Amarillo dry hopped over the citra

 

[BowAholic]

it's a great way to have 3 different beers after just a single brew day, but if you use different yeasts then you would need to check FG on each since they will attenuate differently giving you different ABVs...

 

[bajaedition]

here is a secret for you, do you know that the big brewers use the same base recipes for several beers, they just divide after they boil. To get different beers, some get added water to be light beers, some get different ingredients added or a different yeast.

experiment, it is fun

 

[eddiek85]

Thank you guys for the advice! I currently have 3 separate buckets of a dead guy clone bubbling away. I think on the next batch I will take the above advice and try different dry hops in an ipa or yeasts to see how it affects the beer.

 

[eddiek85]

So I've got 3 separate buckets each with 15liters inside of them. Same wort, same yeast. They've been fermenting for 2 days but one of them is clearly bubbling more aggressively than the others, with krausen coming out of the blowtube. One of them on the other side of the freezer is bubbling more slowly, and the other one which is in middle is starting to show signs of krausen making its way up through the tube, but not as aggressive as the first.

Does this mean I should maybe take 3 separate gravity readings on these three or it still safe to assume they gravity will be almost exactly the same?

 

[eddiek85]

Alright so I checked the gravity readings for #1, #2, and #3.

I have only been getting readings from 1 and 3. Before putting the wort into the fermenters, I whirlpooled the wort in the kettle and let it rest for 15 minutes. I then poured wort into container #1, then 2, and then 3.


Today I checked the gravity of #1 and it was 1.013 which is a bit lower then intended. #3 is right where I want it at 1.015. #3 seems to have stopped bubbling for the most part, but after lifting #1 to pour out some beer, and then placing it back down, I noticed that about an hour later it was bubbling every 7 seconds or so. #3 is still quiet.

Will the beer from the 3 buckets taste different in the end? Any ideas as to why the left one is still going? I thought maybe because it was the wort from the bottom, perhaps it had more fermentable sugars?

I guess it wont really matter since I will be mixing them into kegs, but just curious.

btw, i was using a refractometer with the online wort refractometer calculator.

 

[MaryB]

Bucket lids are not always air tight so CO2 escapes around the rim instead of through the airlock. One of mine rarely shows any airlock activity for example.

 

[bajaedition]

Thank you guys for the advice! I currently have 3 separate buckets of a dead guy clone bubbling away. I think on the next batch I will take the above advice and try different dry hops in an ipa or yeasts to see how it affects the beer.

A dead guy clone !!!!

I think I need to come over when it is done to help you sample a gallon or two.

:rockin::rockin: