15 or 30 for a 11-12 gallon batch

[bigken462]

Hey guys, yesterday I was able to introduce a new homebrewer to the family. One of the guys I work with had been talking about it for a while and so I invited him over for a brew day. By the time he left, there was no question he wanted to get started.

At first I suggested us doing a double brew day together of two different recipes, but now I'm thinking it would be much easier to just do a 10-11 gallon batch and split it.

My brewing experience thus far - about 20 batches has always been single 5-6 gallon brews using a 15 gallon pot. It's nice having the extra head room to prevent boil overs. I do have a 30 gallon pot and burner that I can use, but not sure if I can control the burner as carefully as I do on the turkey frier burner which happens to work great.

So, long story short, how risky would it be to use the 15 gallon pot, or should I just go ahead and pull the big guns out for the other.

Also, as for yeast starters I, usually I just a make a 1 liter starter. Is it safe to assume I can just make a 2 liter starter and split between batches, or would I need to make a 1 liter starter, decant and then pour the yeast into another batch of DME for a second round on the stir plate? Worst case, I could make two starters at the same time since I have two stir plates, but I don't see the need to spend the money on buying two containers of the same yeast.

I've never done anything beyond a single batch at a time so i'm stepping into unfamiliar territory.

Ken

 

[tjmac5071]

Use the 15 with fermcap and you will be fine. That is what I do, I don't even always use fermcap and can manage it without much of a problem. For the yeast starter just use a calculator. I personally use the brew united calculator and make it a bit larger to harvest some for future use, which this calculator has a setting for.

 

[BlueHouseBrew]

The 15 gallon kettle should provide enough room for the larger batch. (I brew in keggles and frequently make batches that yield 11 or so gallons into the fermentor with no issues. Starting volumes between 12 and 13 gallons) If you are worried about a boil-over, you can use some FermCap. It is very effective at preventing boil-overs.

How much yeast you will need depends on the OG of the beer you are making. Try plugging your numbers into the Brewers Friend calculator. http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/ That should give you a good idea on how to prepare your starter. (Anecdotally, I generally prepare a 3 quart starter for normal gravity 10(ish) gallon batches. But this overbuilds the yeast by about 100B cells to harvest for the next batch.)

 

[BPO]

I do 12 gallon batches in a 15 gallon keggle with no issues. I agree with using the fermcap. I hardly use fermcap but when I have it works.
http://brulosophy.com/2014/10/02/fermcap-s-the-magical-cure-for-boilovers/

 

[eric19312]

another vote for 15gal being fine for double (10 gallon batch). I have flat bottom bayou classic kettle.

I usually collect 13-14 gallons, boil to 12-12.5 gallons, transfer 11 gallons to fermentors.

When I collect 14 gallons or have a lot of wheat in the recipe I use fermcap.

 

[NewJersey]

I've been brewing on keggles for a bit and realize they're kinda limited to maybe 1070 beers at most. Anything bigger and I would wanna use at least a 20 gallon pot.

 

[dmcman73]

Try it in the 15Gal. Use fermcap like everyone else has said but you could also have a spray bottle full of cold tap water on hand as well. I have 20 gallon kettles I use for 5-10 gallon batches but I usually skim the top of the boiling wort as it starts foaming up and if it rises to high, spray a mist of cold water over it and it knocks it right down, works the same way when cooking pasta.