Leveled up today

[riderkb]

I did my first ten gallon batch. It has been a long time coming, but I finally got around to it. It went pretty smooth, too except for a slow sparge. I used rice hulls for the first time, which probably saved me from a totally stuck sparge. Apparently 3 oz isn't enough - next time I'll do at least double that.

Pi Day Rye - 10 gal
14 lb Rahr 2 row
4 lb Weyermann Rye Malt
Rice hulls to taste
250 ml 1% lactic acid (to get 5.6 pH)
2 t gypsum
1.5 oz Zeus leaf 17.5 AA 60 min
2 oz each Mt Hood and Saaz leaf 10 min
2 oz Centennial pellets dry hop 7 days
Mash 10 min @ 40 C, 60 min @ 63 C, 5 min @ 75 C
OG 1.059
O2 for 2 min
Pitch harvested US-05 from previous batch
Ferment at ambient temperature of:
15C for 1 day
17C for 6 days
22C for 7 days
Keg, carbonate
Quaff, rinse, repeat

Happy Pi Day!

 

[yukonhijack]

Nice! I have been wanting to move up to 10 gallon batches because its not that much more work and you get more beer in the end My problem is I like to brew high gravity beers, so I would need to get a larger mash tun and my propane burner is not that sturdy to hold that much liquid and my keggle.

As an aside, I ALWAYS use rice hulls. For a 5 gallon batch I use 1 pound and have never had a stuck sparge. I know the local craft breweries use them in their larger brews also (and their hefes) for the same reason. Its a no brainer given that they cost nearly nothing, and provide a super great stuck-sparge solution.

Greg

 

[riderkb]

I have never had a problem with 5 gal batches, even with rye or corn in modest amounts. Doubling the bed depth changed all that. A full pound of rice hulls seems like a lot, but I guess you are doing high gravity stuff.

 

[RM-MN]

Rye is some sticky stuff to start with and then it also has no hull to help with forming the filter. If you increase the percentage of rye too much you will find that even rice hulls won't save you. That is where the BIAB method shines because you don't depend on the grain husks for filtering, the bag is the filter and it can be a filter with a huge surface. If the beta glucans of the rye make the wort too sticky to drain by itself, you squeeze it out of the bag. You don't have to embrace all the BIAB techniques, just line your mash tun with a nylon or polyester mesh bag (Swiss Voille curtain material makes good filters) and if it doesn't want to drain at a reasonable rate, just lift up a bit on the bag to expose more filter area.

 

[SPR-GRN]

oooh 10 gallon batches; I want to move up to 10 gallon batches but the funds just aren't there right now (7 month old son gets all the money). I have to settle for 2 x 5 gallon staggered brews on the stove top if I want that much beer in one shot; takes a bit more time but it's worth it in the end.

Glad it worked out for you, cheers.

 

[Psylocide]

Got a 15 gal kettle w/steamer basket coming... 10 gal batches are on the horizon.

The amount of beer I drink almost requires 10 gal batches, unless I want to brew every two weeks. Which would be awesome, but is hard to swing with the kid/dog/wife running around.

Happy wife, mediocre life.

 

[riderkb]

Got a 15 gal kettle w/steamer basket coming... 10 gal batches are on the horizon.

The amount of beer I drink almost requires 10 gal batches, unless I want to brew every two weeks. Which would be awesome, but is hard to swing with the kid/dog/wife running around.

Happy wife, mediocre life.

That is what motivated me to try a big batch. I was brewing twice a month for a while. It was okay in the winter, but now there are a lot more things going on that I need time for.