Can't get a "pipeline" started.

[SarahMatt]

I can't be the only one having this problem, but maybe someone has some advice to help me out.....
I started brewing in late May, my 6th batch is in primary. I can't seem to keep drinkable beer in the house! Between tapping kegs and giving bottles away, I sit here with NO HOMEBREW! I thought that was a perk of this hobby/addiction??
So, please help me keep a pipeline going. How do I start? I have 2 fermentors and 4 kegs. I enjoy bottling; HWMO prefers the kegs. We've been doing 5 gallon batches, but its just not enough.
Maybe I brew everyday until everything is full then stop.
BTW at this rate I'll need to build a 6 tap kegerator!
Thanks for the advice and letting me rant....
Sarah.

 

[Demon]

Pick up two more fermenters. Brew every weekend for 4 weeks, then every other weekend thereafter. My pipeline is running low so last week I brewed everyday.

 

[Irrenarzt]

To help with a pipeline, I suggest not giving any beer away until your goals are met. Don't drink your own beer either.

When my pipeline is running low, I go to Sam's and buy 4 cases of SNPA for 22 bucks a case. You'll be sick of it by the time your pipeline recovers but you will have plenty of beer to drink until you are back on track.

But yeah, brew every Saturday and your pipeline will be robust. I had to give away a kegs worth to my bro last weekend to make room as I have an overly full pipeline.

 

[beerkrump]

You need more fermenters.
Unless you stop drinking, you'll never get ahead of the game with just two.

To be able to maintain a pipeline, you need to have the ability to produce more than is being consumed.

 

[Mrclasen]

+1 to buying another fermentor or two. Also stop giving your beer away like its candy on halloween for awhile.

 

[Irrenarzt]

Yeah the fermenter thing is key. I must have 10-12 buckets, 4 glass carboys, a 14 gallon Fermenator, and a 15.5 gallon Sanke fermentor.

I have way too many but at times, they are all full so maybe not?

 

[onipar]

I have the same problem. For my first 3 batches I only had one fermenter. I have a good 2-3 weeks lapse between finishing drinking a batch and another batch being ready.

I finally just got another couple fermenters (albeit 5 gallon ones), so hopefully I'll get a good pipeline going soon.

I know this tip has been given a lot before, but I went to my supermarket's bakery and asked for buckets, and they gave me three 5 gallon buckets and 1 2 gallon bucket. I plan on just scaling recipes down to 4 gallons when I use those, and doing them more often.

 

[just2brew]

Maybe It's time for an equipment upgrade to do ten gallon batches. I used to have a similar problem. Brewing more at once seemed to fix it. Just brewed 15 gallons of hefeweise last week now my pipeline is full again.

Though between 3 buckets, 3 carboys, 4 cornykegs, and 1 sanke I ferment in, I just always seem to have beer....

 

[jd3]

I keep 4 fermenters going, and usually have at least one stout in secondary bulk conditioning for around a month before bottling. Add a couple quick beers, like a saison using 3711 in there and you'll get boosted up faster.

Fermenters are cheap, get more!

 

[Irrenarzt]

Maybe It's time for an equipment upgrade to do ten gallon batches. I used to have a similar problem. Brewing more at once seemed to fix it. Just brewed 15 gallons of hefeweise last week now my pipeline is full again.

Though between 3 buckets, 3 carboys, 4 cornykegs, and 1 sanke I ferment in, I just always seem to have beer....

I think I'll break out a 15 gallon batch of gumball this weekend. I like the bigger batches myself.

 

[Golddiggie]

I have four fermenters that work for batches up to about 6-7 gallons. I have a 13 gallon keg fermenter too (got a line on another too). I'm gathering the gear to be able to brew 10 gallon batches too. Either way, I have another five fermenters that i can use for ~5 gallon batches too. All stainless steel.

I hope to score another 1/2 bbl keg, or two, to complete my 10 gallon batch setup. I might need too get another propane burner, but that's minor IMO.

it is important to establish your pipeline early. I need to brew a few more rapid batches to get mine healthy again.

 

[SarahMatt]

Wow!
Thanks for all the replies!! It's hard not to want to share the drinkable stuff. Even harder not to drink it!!!
I know we need more fermenters, they're on the list. I'm building a chamber this week followed by a wort chiller. The "want list" is constantly growing....
Again, thanks for the advice!! Now, I just need to find something to do while I'm not drinking....
Sarah.

 

[Golddiggie]

I can think of four good things to do when not drinking. Only two are brewing related.

 

[dfess1]

Wow!
Thanks for all the replies!! It's hard not to want to share the drinkable stuff. Even harder not to drink it!!!
I know we need more fermenters, they're on the list. I'm building a chamber this week followed by a wort chiller. The "want list" is constantly growing....
Again, thanks for the advice!! Now, I just need to find something to do while I'm not drinking....
Sarah.

watch craigslist for carboys. I have 4 6.5 gallon primary carboys, 4 5 gallon secondaries, 10 kegs. Right now I have 4 kegs full and ready to go on tap when the three in there are kicked. I can't stand bottling, but I also don't make much that you have to sit on all that long either..

 

[monkeydan]

This thread is making me jealous :-(

I can only fit one fermenting bucket in my temp controlled fridge so really can only brew every 3 weeks. This isn't producing enough beer to satisfy me! That said, it's a typical British summer (i.e. cold!) so I could probably get away with fermenting at room temp. Hmm...

 

[bruin_ale]

You don't really need more fermenters, just transfer to the keg when you need a fermenter. I have 2 primaries, to build up a pipeline I brew every week for four weeks I basically transfer from the older primary to the keg (at that point the batch has been in primary for two weeks) - it's always done fermenting at that point and ready to dry hop or clear depending on what beer it is. Then I let it sit in the keg a couple weeks before tapping. So with 4 kegs and 2 primaries you should be able to build up a fairly substantial pipeline. I have 9 kegs, 2 primaries, and about 8 5 gallon carboys. I rarely use the 5 gallon carboys except for wines. Right now I have 4 beers on tap and 2 in primary. I like to keep the pipeline at that spot given that I never know when I'll kick one of the beers I have on tap.

 

[Gameface]

10 gallon batches have been a huge shot in the arm for my pipeline. I did have to make some equipment upgrades, but getting double the brew out of the same brew-day is worth it, big time!

I bet in a year I'll be looking to sell my entire set-up so that I can move to 20gal batches, hehe.

 

[boomtown25]

This is what I did/do and it has worked out:
I have 3 carboys and one fermenting bucket. Each of my beers so far has sat in primary for 3 weeks and on to bottle conditioning. I brew a batch each week (usually Wed or Thurs). In the meantime, I drink about a case of Sam Adams IPA each week and collect and clean the bottles as I go. I did not begin to drink my frist brew until 2 weeks in bottles and still tried to hold off for longer. I only have a 6 pack of my first batch left, but now have 2 other batches bottled and conditioning. Now, I rinse bottles when I drink them, put on the bottling tree and when I have enough I go and bottle the next batch. The minute I have a fermentor open, I brew again. Since you have kegging abilities, your beer with condition a lot quicker so you need more fermentors. Get some cheap bucket ones.

 

[SarahMatt]

Boomtown:
Thank you so much for the reply. I know it makes the most sense to get more fermenters. I think "5 gallons" sounds like a lot more than it actually is. I work in a kitchen and 7 cooks can put away 5 gallons of water a day. Its not your average 120* kitchen either (we're spoiled at about 75*, cooler in the winter); not everyone drinks water.
I've got a bucket fermenter as well (I guess that means I have 3 fermenters). I usu. bottle 6-12 and keg the rest. It looks like I'm going to have a few "dry" weeks to get caught up. But, once I get going it should be pretty easy to maintain the pipeline.
Thanks again,
Sarah.

 

[lschiavo]

Boomtown:
Thank you so much for the reply. I know it makes the most sense to get more fermenters. I think "5 gallons" sounds like a lot more than it actually is. I work in a kitchen and 7 cooks can put away 5 gallons of water a day. Its not your average 120* kitchen either (we're spoiled at about 75*, cooler in the winter); not everyone drinks water.
I've got a bucket fermenter as well (I guess that means I have 3 fermenters). I usu. bottle 6-12 and keg the rest. It looks like I'm going to have a few "dry" weeks to get caught up. But, once I get going it should be pretty easy to maintain the pipeline.
Thanks again,
Sarah.

It is hard to have too many fermentors. Unless they are all empty like mine are now I hope to change that tomorrow though. A regular brew schedule has been a must for me. Not brewing for 6 weeks equals no beer.

 

[Mrott]

I'm currently approaching a famine type situation very quickly (granted I did just start 6 gallons of cider on Sunday) though it was a planned famine. I am in the process of overhauling majority of my process and hardware. I am moving from 5 gallon turkey fryer batches and full bottling to 1/2 bbl batches and kegging.

From everything I've read, the magic of going larger is that it takes minimal additional cook time and yet you get more beer for your time. It's a wonderful concept. One 4 (ish) hour brew day will suddenly yield ~3x more beer. Plus the addition of kegging, I'll be netting a time deficiency while increasing production 3 fold.

So I would say plenty of fermentation space is a bonus, but if you can pair that with increased production the brew will flow substantially easier.

 

[chapa]

Yeah, get more fermenters and brew up as often as possible! I started last May also, and I just did my 30th batch last week Some were 10g batches also.

 

[Hackinjeebs]

Did 2 batches this last week. Get more fermenters. It's as simple as that. Don't need to rack to secondary. Fill em all with fermenting beer. Hell, even do the bucket if you separate the bucket from your fermenters. : )

 

[onthekeg]

10 gallon batches for sure if you want to ever get caught up. My family kills at least a keg a week around here. Thats not counting the kegs that go missing from the cellar. I was at my Son's place last week, and low and behold a couple empties! (I did tell him he could have them sometime.)
Just keep at it, procure more fermentation vessels and move to 10 gallon batches. Sanke kegs work well for fermentation if you have a basement much of the year.

 

[SarahMatt]

Just scored 4 5g glass carboys with handles & 3 (??) covers for $60 on CraigsList!!! Which brings the inventory up to: 2 6.5g glass carboys, 2 3g glass carboys, 1 Ale Pail & 4 cornys.
We have 3 kegs tapped (Ginger Ale, Cream Ale, Bacon/Maple stout) and 23 gallons fermenting!! Pipeline is going strong.
Thanks again for all the advice,
Sarah.
PS: I've already passed a lot of this advice on to other members asking about the pipeline.

 

[bourgeoisbee]

Nice score on the carboys! I know tons have chimed in, but one thing I like to do too is brew beers that age well like big Belgians, Saisons or Stouts on weekends when I'm waiting for a pale ale or IPA to ferment out (I reuse yeast 5-6 times) and bottle those. That way I can sample those here and there and have them on hand if my kegs kick.

 

[BrewForMe]

To get my pipeline going, I tried all of the different craft brews i could find. Every day I would pick up a sixer of something I had never tried. With this, i learned alot more about different types of beer i probably never would have even tried if I had not become a homebrewer. I now know what styles i like and the ones i dont. In this time, my pipeline was building ans is doing quite nicely now. I love my homebrew

 

[JeepDiver]

As has been said mix in some commercial breed as your building your pipeline. once you get it built you can drink homebrew all the time, but you have to mix in some commercial breed until you get it built.

I moved from DC to Colorado this spring and it sucked having to spend 4+ months killing my pipeline and sucks even more rebuilding it but at least CO has a much better selection of craft beer

 

[SDVmnt]

I had my pipeline built.. Brewed a few big beers to be stored till winter while 3 IPA's and a Wheat were being consumed in the fridge. 95+ degree temps with 85% humidity for nearly a month destroyed it. No way was I brewing in the garage with that heat.

Went on a rampage and bought a few more better bottles and currently have 6 beers in their primaries and 2 in secondaries.

I'm trying to do all I can to keep from brewing in the garage in the dead of winter Also scored a bunch of Corny kegs for 20/each. May the force be with you. 2 kits a day for a few days got rather old!

 

[Chia]

trying to get enough primary buckets now! it adds up when you keep buying bucket after bucket, but i am planning on the many beers i will have on tap!!