Ideas for a 3-way split batch

[Scuttle_it]

I've been brewing about a year now and want to do some controlled tests of different dry hops and yeasts. I want to split a batch three ways, and do something like the following:

A- Yeast 1, Hop 1
B- Yeast 2, Hop 1
C- Yeast 1, Hop 2

I've got a 15-gal kettle/mash tun, and do BIAB. I want to make all three in one boil, since I don't have the time or equipment to do three separate boils. To really taste the differences, I'd like to keep to a generic profile in the boil. I was thinking just 2-row, C60, and some aromatic and carapils.

Question 1: What are some ideas for single hop/hop blends that would be interesting to contrast? I'm thinking that between A and C, I could do one with a piney Northwest feel and the other with a more juicy hop character.

Question 2: Same for yeasts. What yeast strains really show a contrast (besides Belgians, saisons, etc)? I don't have the ability to lager, so ales only. I think something as subtle as British vs American ale would be lost under the dry hop.

Any other interesting split-batch ideas? I recently completed a high gravity/standard gravity split from one boil. I have small kids, so the more unique beers I can get from one starting mash/boil, the better!

Thanks!!

 

[S-Met]

From a scientific standpoint, you would be better served with 3 identical batches only changing 1 variable. 3 different yeasts or 3 different dry-hops. 3 different secondary additions.

Also, are you able to do 1gal batches? More experimentation, less to drink of they are not to your liking?

 

[Scuttle_it]

From a scientific standpoint, you would be better served with 3 identical batches only changing 1 variable. 3 different yeasts or 3 different dry-hops. 3 different secondary additions.

Also, are you able to do 1gal batches? More experimentation, less to drink of they are not to your liking?

Good point. I hadn't thought to just stick to one or the other. Too many things to explore and I'm just excited to brew!

In that case, maybe a 3-way to compare a WLP001, WLP002, and US-05? Or something like that.

I brewed a 1-gal batch once and vowed never again. Took just as much time as a 5-gal for 1/5 the end result! I do have one 1-gal fermentor. I agree that splitting off single gallons from a larger boil would be a great route to go, just haven't pulled the trigger on the small batch fermenting kits. Maybe this is a good reason to do so!

 

[JohnSand]

I have done several split batches, most often using different yeasts. Sometimes very different, sometimes pretty close. If you want to try different hops, you might use bittering hops only, something neutral. If you have another pot that will hold five gallons, you could rack 5 gallons into that after boiling 45+ minutes. Then add whirlpool or flame out hops. Repeat as necessary. If you use noble hops, you could make English and Belgian styles with one wort and different yeasts. Have fun, report back.

 

[bigplunkett]

Whats the base beer? You could go 2 diffrent yeasts one with oak or fruit. Depending on style

 

[marjen]

I agree with others above, you need to pick one variable, any more and the results are out the window. Maybe first time try 3 yeasts, then next time you brew try 3 different hops, then next time try different hop rates, then maybe different dry hop intervals. etc.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I've pretty much settled into a routine where my standard brew is a SMASH-ish of ~1.047 100% Maris Otter, 25IBU of 60 min bittering from EKG (for sentimental reasons; alpha extract would cut half an hour off the brewday which may be important to a young father), either 13 or 17 litres split into 3 or four (Imperial) gallon buckets with different yeast or dry hop schedules in each. 1 gallon is quite a nice size for packs of liquid yeast that are just out of date, so do quite well picking them up cheap and I have various dry yeasts waiting to be tested in the fridge in case I don't get lucky with the liquids. In the UK our standard size of hops is 100g, so 25IBU of bittering plus one pack of a different hop variety each gyle, spread over 10 min, flameout, whirlpool and dryhop works quite nicely.

I've also taken to doing 100ml mini-ferments with each yeast - either unhopped extract or pulled from the main wort after bittering - at "normal" and "high" (25C/77F) temperatures to get a better idea of what the yeast can do on its own.

That's what works for me - I grew up on Boddingtons so my default beer in a pub is a 4% bitterish SMaSH-ish blonde, using a single malt and fitting it around 100g packs of hops means that my inventory management is trivially easy (and there's less of "YOUR brewing crap" cluttering up the freezer etc and no open bags with bits of hops going stale except for my bittering hops).

Your brain is really good at picking up small differences between things tasted side by side, but is pretty hopeless at remembering quite big differences tasted at different times. So don't worry about not being able to pick up the difference between US and UK yeast, you will. Not just on the flavour of the yeast, but also the different effects they have on hop expression, some mute, some make hops "pop", and that's before you get onto the different ways they affect biotransformation. For instance I recently put Mangrove Jack M36 and Fermentis T-58 in a split batch of Chinook-heavy wort. M36 gave a bright expression of classic Chinook grapefruit, whereas T-58 was fainter but had turned it into lime - you wouldn't have guessed they were the same beer.

So if you wanted somewhere to start, then all-Chinook with say US-05 and T-58 might be somewhere to start. You might want to throw in S-33/Windsor as a yeast that's a cousin of T-58 (so shares its poor flocculation sadly) but which is POF- (ie non-phenolic, or non-"Belgian") if not quite classically British. I'd be interested to see if it has the same powers of biotransformation.

Don't get too hung up on the 15 gallon thing, there's nothing magic about it unless maximising your beer output per brewday is the major priority. Work out how many experiments you want to do per brewday, multiply by the amount that you want to drink of each experiment (modified by practicalities like the size of available fermenters, you want to make sure they're fairly full), and then if that comes to 11.567 gallons or 13.98 gallons - then make that.

I find my drinking is the limiting factor on my brewing, so I don't want to do massive batches, so 3 or 4 gallons split into 1 gallon fermenters suits me nicely. It also seems to suit a hop charge of "bittering plus 100g), whereas in your case you might want to do eg "1lb in 15 gallons, including bittering".

Whatever - you're head brewer, it's up to you.

Edit - hop teas allow you to test different "copper" hops in a single wort, but just yeast and dry hop schedules should keep you busy!

 

[bleme]

I get what others are saying about only changing one variable at a time, but your original plan was fine. You ARE changing one variable at a time but you are running 2 different tests at the same time. You are comparing A & B for yeast characters and at the same time comparing A & C for hop characters. You just can't compare B & C.

 

[bigplunkett]

I get what others are saying about only changing one variable at a time, but your original plan was fine. You ARE changing one variable at a time but you are running 2 different tests at the same time. You are comparing A & B for yeast characters and at the same time comparing A & C for hop characters. You just can't compare B & C.

i agree stick with it

 

[Scuttle_it]

Thanks for all the great comments! I definitely get the "your beer stuff" comments from time to time! I think I'm going to get some 1 gal fermentors and airlocks and start trying some different variables. I like the idea of "mini ferments" and agree that an out of date yeast should be able to handle a volume of 1 gal or less. My brew days are spread out, so getting multiple beers from one boil will be great.

Next question about 1 gal ferments, how do you bottle and carb? I'm thinking of racking straight from the fermentor into bottles and using the carbonation drops. I think with my previous 1 gal batch, I racked into a bottling bucket and added sugar. With multiple beers, seems like that's a lot of clean out between each.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Next question about 1 gal ferments, how do you bottle and carb?

I have a mini auto-siphon and a bottling wand attachment. The way that works best for me is to transfer into another 1-gal glass carboy to bulk prime. I end up needing to clean the siphon after transfer to the second carboy... I rinse it and then pump sanitizer through it and spray the outside with a spray bottle, leaving the hose attached.
As the primed beer starts running low while bottling I put some stoppers under one side to tilt it.
My bottle washer rinses the bottling carboy pretty easily for cleanup.

I make plenty of 1 gallon batches.