Double and Triple Batching

[whatsleftofyou]

Does anybody else exclusively do double and triple batch brew days? Since I've started double batching I've done a few single-batch days and it seems very time inefficient. Including setup and cleanup it takes me about 4 hours to do 1 batch, but about 6 hours to do 2 batches or 8 hours to do 3. Just curious if anyone else feels the same way.

p.s. Clearly I don't have kids to be able to spend this much time at a crack in the garage.

 

[Lucky_Chicken]

I havent ventured into trying back to back brews yet but my AG batches run me about 6 hours for the whole process. I am working on an all electric setup and hopefully I can reduce my time for ramping temperatures with that.

 

[Boodlemania]

I double batch simple single-infusion mashes in one day. I wish I could do 10 gallon batches...

If I'm doing a more-involved mash, I do those solo.

 

[weirdboy]

I don't really have a dedicated fermentation chamber, or I would. Right now I re-use my MLT as a swamp cooler. If I do a bigger split batch, or a double batch, usually one of them is something that can ferment warmer without as much temp control, or that I can stick in my kegerator in a corny and ferment colder. Since neither of those two things happen very often, most of the time I am stuck brewing one batch at a time.


If I could figure out a way to fit temperature controlled fermentation chamber somewhere, I would be on it in a second. But right now I don't even have a way to supply power to one in the only place I could fit it (garage).

 

[Emmett]

I do a double every time I brew, triple a couple times.

 

[bottlebomber]

I would do doubles as an extract brewer, but now with AG its rare. The thing of it is that I brew for enjoyment, and after the first batch it starts to feel like work.

 

[scottland]

As an AG brewer you really need to have a three vessel system. That way you can be mashing in the next batch as you're boiling your first. It's possible to knock out 3 batches in 6-8 hours if you can multi task well.

As an extract brewer, it would be a piece of cake, so long as you can chill your wort quickly.

 

[bottlebomber]

As an AG brewer you really need to have a three vessel system. That way you can be mashing in the next batch as you're boiling your first. It's possible to knock out 3 batches in 6-8 hours if you can multi task well.

As an extract brewer, it would be a piece of cake, so long as you can chill your wort quickly.

You kind of nailed me with that one... I do the ghetto style bucket transfer method. I've got 3 kids the nice 3 tier will be for my midlife crisis

 

[whatsleftofyou]

As an AG brewer you really need to have a three vessel system. That way you can be mashing in the next batch as you're boiling your first. It's possible to knock out 3 batches in 6-8 hours if you can multi task well.

Yeah that's a valid point that I didn't mention. There's absolutely no way that I would do it if I couldn't mash the second while I was boiling the first since that's where all of the time savings comes in.

 

[Zamial]

I recently started brewing up a 12 gallon batch of an ale and a 6 gallon batch of a different ale at the same time. I discovered that since I had a keggle MLT, a large round cooler MLT and a small round cooler MLT that I could fill my HLT up and heat the needed water for both batches at the same time. It does add a tiny amount to of time to my brew day but in the grand scheme of things I find it VERY effecient. HOWEVER it is not a laid back brew day when I do this. I am constantly busy for the 4-6 hours.

 

[day_trippr]

As an AG brewer you really need to have a three vessel system. That way you can be mashing in the next batch as you're boiling your first. It's possible to knock out 3 batches in 6-8 hours if you can multi task well.[...]

Totally agree with this. It'd be a heck of a long day otherwise.

If the weather and schedule forecasts are amenable I usually commit to doubles the day before, when I get my yeast started and crush the grains. It's still a pretty long day but totally worth it as it puts depth in the pipeline. And I've been doing it long enough that I'm pretty much in autopilot mode once I get going. Just crank up the tunes and stay outta my way ;D

I was a bit ambivalent yesterday so I only got one batch ready to go for today's effort. But right now, behind the six running faucets, I have two batches all carbed up, a big @ss RIS ready to keg, two more starting crash-cool tonight, and today's IPA, all in the pipeline, so there wasn't a lot of pressure to double up...

Cheers!

 

[Cape Brewing]

I don't do it but a guy in my brew club does double batches in 4 hours...

He basically just finds two recipes with the same base malt (english pale, two-row, etc), mashes the base malt and then steeps two different "specialty grain bills" and does two boils simultaneously.

Obviously who need an extra pot or two but that's how he has 14 beers (literally) on tap at all times.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't do it but a guy in my brew club does double batches in 4 hours...

He basically just finds two recipes with the same base malt (english pale, two-row, etc), mashes the base malt and then steeps two different "specialty grain bills" and does two boils simultaneously.

Obviously who need an extra pot or two but that's how he has 14 beers (literally) on tap at all times.

Does he need a new best friend?

Definitely have to have a lot of mash vessel capacity to pull that one off!

Cheers!

 

[Randar]

Does anybody else exclusively do double and triple batch brew days? Since I've started double batching I've done a few single-batch days and it seems very time inefficient. Including setup and cleanup it takes me about 4 hours to do 1 batch, but about 6 hours to do 2 batches or 8 hours to do 3. Just curious if anyone else feels the same way.

p.s. Clearly I don't have kids to be able to spend this much time at a crack in the garage.

Had a friend over this past Saturday (rocketman) and we brewed 3 batches. 2 14 gallon batches and a 5 gallon barleywine. I started gathering all the brewstuff on the patio and I started collecting water for mash-in somewhere around 10 am. Done with everything and fully cleaned up by 7 pm.

If you have more than one burner (I don't currently) and can get a mash and sparge going in parallel to a boil, you can definitely knock out 2 brews in way less time than 2 individual brew days.

 

[Sacdan]

I usually do 2-ten to twelve gallon batches on brew day. I crush the grain the night before and run boiling water through the rig. I use 4 "keggles" with 4 burners. While I am boiling the first batch, I mash the second. I have done 3 batches in a day. That was a long day. The biggest pita is cleaning. If you are going to do one batch, you might as well do two.

 

[MoPhunk]

My buddy and I are doing a double this weekend. I figure about 6 hours.

 

[Face Eater]

Took me about 7 hours for 2 all grain brews from start to finish. One the one was in the boil kettle, I started mashing the next. The 7 hours included clean up and I had indeed consumed a bunch of beer during the brew. Good news is that both of this batches turned out great! Belgian tripel and a pilsner both 60 minute boils, fly sparged between 45-60 mins and I mashed 60 mins each.

 

[RitsiGators]

I do double all-grain batches as well now. I dont think I will ever go back to making single batches as it just feels more efficient!

 

[rico567]

Never- there is no way I have the need or desire for more than 5 gal. of a given beer around at one time. There are the remains of parts os 9 different beers on my shelves right now, and 7 batches currently in the pipeline, not all of which are duplicates of the 9. All depends on what you like....

 

[whatsleftofyou]

Never- there is no way I have the need or desire for more than 5 gal. of a given beer around at one time.

I think you misunderstood the question. I was talking about doing 2 or 3 different beers in a given brew day, not 10 or 15 gallons of the same beer. I've never done that either, for mostly the same reasons you just stated.

 

[corkybstewart]

When I do a double batch it adds about 2 hours to my brewday, but since I do 10 gallon batches almost exclusively it makes for a busy day that is too much like work. If I need to brew a lot of beer fast I'd rather do a batch Friday, one Saturday and another Sunday.

 

[Yooper]

I was just thinking about this the other day, when I made 5 gallons of IPA. I often make 10 gallon batches of APA and IPA, because it's no more work and takes just as long. But sometimes I only want 5 gallons of one beer, and 5 gallons of something else. Thursday, I made a rye IPA. Five gallons of that is usually plenty. But I also wanted to make an oatmeal stout, and decided that I would do that another day.

But.............the HLT is just sitting there after the sparge, and the MLT is empty. Why not start another brew?!?

I could crush the second batch during the first mash, and of course keep the HLT full during the sparging of the first batch. Then, go right into another mash when the first sparge is done. It'd be just a matter of dumping the MLT then. The mash could go on during the boil, and once the first batch is chilled, I could pump the second batch right into the BK and either batch sparge that one, or fly sparge. Is that about your technique?

But honestly, maybe it's my age or something but I'm tired at the end of a single brewday. Dumping the MLT twice seems to be the only extra effort, though. Maybe if I got my butt moving a bit earlier in the morning it would be easier!

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I've done a couple of batches in a day. In addition to normally not having enough time on my own I find that trying to do too much at once risks cutting corners but it's important to make sure you're hitting the right temperatures vs. getting close to them, etc.

 

[JonM]

I'm starting to lean that way. I recently did an extract batch and an AG batch on the same day. I started heating the strike water for the AG batch about 10 minutes into the boil on the extract batch and then, as soon as I got the extract batch into the fermenter, it was time to drain the first runnings.

Bottom line, a second batch (as long as it's extract) adds 1 hour to brewday. 100% more beer for roughly 25% more time and effort.

 

[esarkipato]

I am thinking of a triple batch coming up here, and only have 1 brew kettle and 1 mash/lauter tun. A few things I am thinking of to ease the pain of a long day and increase efficiencies:

-do 30 minute boils, using more hops for appropriate IBU level (I like hop flavor & aroma anyway, and have a ton of hops on hand)
-leave the previous batch grain in the mash tun, and add new grain for the next batch. I think this will extract nearly all the sugars of the previous grain. My tun is 60 qt so can hold up to 35# grain.

I'm estimating I could do this in 6 hours, plus setup-cleanup.

 

[downtown3641]

I work with a pretty basic all-grain set-up and the thought alone of a straight up double brew day makes me tired. However, I would like to do a parti-gyle brew day.

 

[Darkness]

Completely agree. I have a three vessel, well four if you count two mash tun's. I love doing multiple brew days. I did three one time a 10 and two 5gal batches and that is a big day. But when you think about it like in four to five weeks we will have about 200 beers it is a great feeling. I have the capacity to ferment 40gal at a time and twenty of that is in two 15 gal demijohn do my 10gal batches. Oh and I just stole a 5 1/2 ft long chest freezer for $45. It now has a Ronco line voltage stat on it and is holding my 6 kegs

 

[509inc]

He basically just finds two recipes with the same base malt (english pale, two-row, etc), mashes the base malt and then steeps two different "specialty grain bills" and does two boils simultaneously.

This is what I do. Each boil gets differents hops and different yeast in the fermenter.

In my opinion it is the best way to build a pipeline with some variety with a quickness.

 

[Darkness]

Two boil kettles make things much faster. I have a 8gal and a converted keg for my 10gal so double boils is the way to go I can do 15gal total in about 5 1/2 with clean up. But I brew inside guys and always have so I don't even know how u all brew on your deck and when I say inside it is a fully setup room in the basement

See pic on thread in photo forum "post your pic if they are sweet"

 

[corncob]

However, I would like to do a parti-gyle brew day.

I was just posting about this on another thread. I do a partigyle every single time I brew. I use 2 8-gallon pots, a keg MLT, a keg HLT and 2 burners. 2 gyles are produced, which can be blended or not, different hopping rates or not. Steeping grain added to one or both or not. Two batches (different or the same), mashed at the same time, done in the time it takes to do one plus 30-45 minutes.

I am also a terrible English beer nerd, so for me it is necessary. I also think the method is particularly useful to homebrewers for the same reasons it was useful to English brewers in the past.

 

[MSP]

I switched to double batches within about a month of learning to brew, the time and hassle savings are huge. Since I've got the fermenter and corny keg capacity now I've even been pondering triple or quadruple batches... But of course it's easy for me because I'm still an extract brewer.