600 dollars LATER

[Cold_Steel]

I finally got my 80 gallon recipe. :rockin: I have all the ingredients and I cant be more siked!!!!!
WOW!!!
I thought i would share with the other people I knew who would care!

 

[nealf]

I would be much more excited if I knew more details!

 

[babalu87]

Its got to be some huge IPA or something

 

[Cold_Steel]

I am brewing a Belgian Tripel. I will be brewing 2 45 gallon batches in the same day.
This will be the first time I have brewed with the monster I dreamed up almost a year ago.
I built this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/2-54-barrel-s-s-conical-fermenter-build-135991/
for long term storage in a warm room.
I want to become a nano brewer and this is the first run. I have been out of work for over a year and just scratching and clawing to get the money to build this beast.
I plan on ageing the beer for over 4 months. I wanted to wait to til the season became cooler age the beer. I only had money to control the temp. one way. Plus i decided to work with nature not against. It just makes $$$ sense.
PLUS, I got a job interview this week and I had the interview today and it went GREAT. And I mean Tony the Tiger GRRRRRRREAT!
CLOUD 9 for me right now!

 

[Cold_Steel]

anyways i just wanted to share my moment. thanks

 

[dasBuhbuh]

yea. just the idea of dealing with that much fermenting beer terrifies and yet, still intrigues me.

 

[Cold_Steel]

yea. just the idea of dealing with that much fermenting beer terrifies and yet, still intrigues me.

Think about the starter? I still have not figured that one out yet.

 

[humann_brewing]

Think about the starter? I still have not figured that one out yet.

You could make a generic 10 gallon recipe and use the trub as your starter

 

[Cold_Steel]

You could make a generic 10 gallon recipe and use the trub as your starter

I really dont understand cakes that well and I am nervous about using them.
I dont want to risk a 600 buck mistake. To get a starter made from whitelabs its like 150 bucks. SO i need to figure something out soon.

 

[nealf]

According to Mr. Malty you need about a 17 gallon starter (assuming 1.080 OG)... you could probably get by with a 15 gallon batch IMO. I would just keep it low hopped and ~1.040 (Belgian Pale?) and wash the yeast. Or, you could go White Labs if you're nervous.

 

[Cold_Steel]

This was my plan.
1. build 2-2000ml starters. then increase to 5 gallons then 15 gallons.
2.Mount a drill off a bench I have in a 90 degree angel. Attach a stainless steel paddle for stirring and set in on a specific speed for constant stirring.
(kinda like this. JUST DIY STYLE) http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/var...riant_id=23100


will it work???

 

[Dagatris]

Congratulations on both counts! I hope the job comes through, and I hope the beer is smooth and delicious! Brew on Brother!

 

[Noleafclover]

I'd just pitch 45 vials of white labs yeast into it. (kidding of course)

I've never brewed on that scale, but repitching yeast seems to be close to what you want to do anyway. I'd suggest following Humann Brewing's advice. Except the volume should be closer to 15 gallons (if I'm understanding the info on the yeast pitching calculator correctly).

You obviously want to get this right the first time... So perhaps brew up a 5 gallong practice batch of beer and use it to practice the yeast washing process.

Just my 2c.

 

[humann_brewing]

I'd just pitch 45 vials of white labs yeast into it. (kidding of course)

I've never brewed on that scale, but repitching yeast seems to be close to what you want to do anyway. I'd suggest following Humann Brewing's advice. Except the volume should be closer to 15 gallons (if I'm understanding the info on the yeast pitching calculator correctly).

You obviously want to get this right the first time... So perhaps brew up a 5 gallong practice batch of beer and use it to practice the yeast washing process.

Just my 2c.

my bad, I just threw out an arbitrary number of 10 gallons without doing the math. I have never thought on a 80 gallon level........ yet

 

[carnevoodoo]

I'd be more concerned that you're afraid of using a yeast cake as a starter. Are you a fairly novice brewer? This is a big undertaking for someone who doesn't reuse yeast.

 

[Cold_Steel]

Congratulations on both counts! I hope the job comes through, and I hope the beer is smooth and delicious! Brew on Brother!
THANKS SO MUCH!
I've never brewed on that scale, but repitching yeast seems to be close to what you want to do anyway. I'd suggest following Humann Brewing's advice. Except the volume should be closer to 15 gallons (if I'm understanding the info on the yeast pitching calculator correctly).

You obviously want to get this right the first time... So perhaps brew up a 5 gallong practice batch of beer and use it to practice the yeast washing process.

Just my 2c.

I am still thinking about this because if i make a starter I am still making beer.

I'd be more concerned that you're afraid of using a yeast cake as a starter. Are you a fairly novice brewer? This is a big undertaking for someone who doesn't reuse yeast.

I am a total nOOber. see I cant even quote the right way on here

 

[Noleafclover]

Reusing yeast is easy stuff. They're tough little fungi. Sanitization is your biggest worry.

Under normal sanitary conditions, you can even syphon off beer from your primary after it's done and simply add your wort right on top of the old yeast cake. I do this when I'm brewing a higher gravity beer - I'll do a 1.040 (sort of normal starting gravity) beer with the yeast strain I want to use for the higher gravity beer just to get the cell count to the right place. When the 1.040 beer is done in the primary, I'll rack it to a secondary right as my boil on the higher gravity beer is finishing, and once my new beer is ready I'll pitch directly onto the cake.

I'd highly suggest checking out the info here on yeast and starters: http://www.mrmalty.com/

This is the website of a guy named Jamil, who from what I can tell is a total yeast geek. He also has some programs he does that you can listen to.

There is also the practice of washing yeast that you should probably be familiar with. It seems intimidating at first, but let me say that if I can do it, anyone can (virtually anyone).

I also know what it's like to just want to jump into something right away when you have a very cool project ready to go. In this case however, I would suggest building a little expertise working with yeast by brewing smaller batches and reading all you can on yeast. In my opinion, making your wort is the easy part. Sanitization and the proper handling of yeast is the place where your beer is really made.

 

[Noleafclover]

Oh the yeast washing information can be found here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

 

[Cold_Steel]

Ok well I guess I overstated being a noob to a certain degree.
Mr. malty is where i got the pitch rate and you right he is the bomb.
Do you think post #11 would work to build a starter?
I still need to get the yeast.
I have tried probrewer.com to find someone who is brewing a belgian triple but still havent found one....willing.

 

[Cold_Steel]

BTW I hope I am not coming across ungrateful for your help.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Local micro has a 28bbl system... he builds up 1L -> 5 gal -> 50 gal -> 20bbl

then reuses yeast 20-30 times from the conical. Sanitation is paramount at this stage, once you get past the first full batch it isn't as important since if you harvest the yeast after dumping trub you will be overpitching a little bit in subsequent batches.

1L, 5 gal, and 50 gal batches are lightly hopped 1.040 wort with a @$$load of yeast nutrient added.

 

[Saccharomyces]

... one more thought, first batch you can pitch a 5 gal cake into a HALF batch, and the next day dump the rest of your wort onto the already fermenting batch. That way you side step the issue of having to make a HUGE farkin starter. Though if you oxygenate well and are extra careful sanitizing everything, under pitching a bit won't hurt you.

 

[Cold_Steel]

Oh wow he puts hops in it! thats the first time I heard that. Do you know why he hops it?
http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm
Q: Should I add hops when I make my starter wort?

No. It doesn’t hurt, but it really doesn’t help much either. The antibiotic effect is minimal. Remember, the final product of a good starter is healthy yeast, not beer. It is better to have less material floating around, less expense, and less steps to worry about.


I was going to crush up vitiam pills zinc and b's and use them as the nutrients.

 

[leboeuf]

... one more thought, first batch you can pitch a 5 gal cake into a HALF batch, and the next day dump the rest of your wort onto the already fermenting batch.

That's how it was done in the old days :fro:

 

[Saccharomyces]

That's how it was done in the old days :fro:

Still common for high gravity brews today since a 20bbl mash tun won't fill a 30bbl fermenter if you are making a, say, imperial stout...

 

[Saccharomyces]

Oh wow he puts hops in it! thats the first time I heard that. Do you know why he hops it?
http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm
Q: Should I add hops when I make my starter wort?

No. It doesn’t hurt, but it really doesn’t help much either. The antibiotic effect is minimal. Remember, the final product of a good starter is healthy yeast, not beer. It is better to have less material floating around, less expense, and less steps to worry about.

Hops for the beta acids, just for the preservative effect. You only need a few.

 

[Cold_Steel]

... one more thought, first batch you can pitch a 5 gal cake into a HALF batch, and the next day dump the rest of your wort onto the already fermenting batch. That way you side step the issue of having to make a HUGE farkin starter. Though if you oxygenate well and are extra careful sanitizing everything, under pitching a bit won't hurt you.

Now that is a thought! My kettle is 55 gallons so I was going to do 2 brews. If i stager the brew session say a week apart or maybe 3 days I could get away with a 7 gallon starter. Right?
Would that cause problems with head space or contamination when I add the next batch?

 

[Saccharomyces]

Now that is a thought! My kettle is 55 gallons so I was going to do 2 brews. If i stager the brew session say a week apart or maybe 3 days I could get away with a 7 gallon starter. Right?
Would that cause problems with head space or contamination when I add the next batch?

Don't need to be 3 days apart; you only need enough time for high krausen, 12-24 hours, at which point the yeast will achieve a saturation concentration in the wort. So adding the fresh wort will cause one more generation of yeast which will take only about 2 hours to occur.

I would pitch 5 gallon starter into 40 gallons. That is <10x which is fine. Pitching 2 2L starters into 5 gal mitigates sanitation there so assuming you build from two packs, and sanitiation is good your yeast will be VERY pure.

Hopefully you have some inline oxygenation system so the fresh wort will be oxygenated. This will also help.

From a sanitation standpoint the step method is superior to a single fermentation because you only have half the wort in the fermenter during the lag phase as opposed to all of it, so the resulting yeast can be re-pitched into subsequent batches with confidence.

 

[Cold_Steel]

Pure Brilliance