More beer or more brew days??!

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

So,
If I could make 10 gallon batches instead of 5, I would have more beer - GOOD!
But then I would have fewer brew days - BAD!

THOUGHTS?

 

[MaxStout]

Then invite more friends to help drink it.

 

[bracconiere]

i don't WANT to brew anymore then once a week. preferably every other....

 

[madscientist451]

I have a big old keggle and can brew 10 gallons, but I just prefer small 3 gallon batches. The smaller pots are easier to handle and clean up, the "brew day" actually goes pretty fast since the smaller amount of water ramps up to mash and boil faster, and I don't drink all that much, so I don't need a large volume and like to have lots of variety. If you are hosting lots of parties and your homebrew gets consumed pretty fast, then go for the bigger batches. Sure, 10 gallons of really good lager in the summer would be great, but I end up with 9 gallons of 3 different beers and that works for me.

 

[bracconiere]

I have a big old keggle and can brew 10 gallons, but I just prefer small 3 gallon batches. The smaller pots are easier to handle and clean up, the "brew day" actually goes pretty fast since the smaller amount of water ramps up to mash and boil faster, and I don't drink all that much, so I don't need a large volume and like to have lots of variety. If you are hosting lots of parties and your homebrew gets consumed pretty fast, then go for the bigger batches. Sure, 10 gallons of really good lager in the summer would be great, but I end up with 9 gallons of 3 different beers and that works for me.

yeah if you don't drink that much, being a homebrewer. having the same thing on tap for more then a week or so gets boring.....

 

[RCope]

I generate more recipes then I can brew in a timely matter, even brewing weekly. Most of my beers are worthy of ten gallon batches, but not all. If you have the space, desire, and level of consumption, then brew 10 gallons. I brew 5 gallons, since I'm always looking forward to my next brew day...YMMV

 

[day_trippr]

If you have the need to get close to the 200 gallon Federal annual limit for a two adult household, it's hella easier to do 3 brews every two months than 3 brews every month. Especially if there's a Spousal Unit involved.

bt/dt, big fan of 10 gallon batches

Cheers!

 

[Drewch]

I'm down to 1 - 2.5 gallon batches for precisely this reason. It takes too long to try out different recipes at 5 gallons per batch. And it hurts a lot less to dump 1 gallon if a recipe doesn't work out.

 

[seatazzz]

I'm with OP on this one; I too have the capacity to brew 10g batches (kinda), but if I did them exclusively I would 1) have a lot of the same beer on tap, and 2) wouldn't be able to brew as often as I do now with 5g batches. Like many of us, while I absolutely adore beer, the process of creating it is even more fun than drinking it. And with 5g batches (and only 9 usable kegs) I can have more variety on tap at any given time.

 

[Stormcrow]

I'm thinking of switching it up to where I brew more, but smaller batches. I've noticed that I get a little bored with even my best beers. Right now is a good example. I want to brew something hoppy, but my beer fridge is full of ten gallons of other stuff. Going to have to give some away.

 

[Coastalbrew]

Small batches for me. I'm all about variety and the fun of brew day

 

[renstyle]

Another vote for small(ish) batches. I keg ferment so it's always about 4-4.5gal max, sometimes less depending on the recipe. Brew day is 3-4 hrs including cleanup. Could almost do weekly, definitely every 2 weeks.

 

[McMullan]

I've been brewing small 10L (2.5 gal) batches quite a lot recently. Either just for fun experimenting or culturing yeast for bigger batches. If I just want to fill kegs with 'house' beer I'll brew bigger batches, but half batches otherwise. I'd agree smaller batches are more fun, a lot easier practically and more about the hobby than being self-sufficient for beer.

 

[Toxxyc]

I do 50 litre batches (around 46l of wort into the end product). I do no-chill, so I'll always store one container with half the wort aside to ferment later. That means I always have wort around, but don't have too much on tap at one time. It helps.

PS: I, for one, don't particularly enjoy brew day for what it is. If I can get more beer for less effort, I'm doing it. I enjoy building the recipe and controlling the fermentation and watching it clear up and condition waaaaay more.

 

[grampamark]

More brew days for me. I have no interest in, or a large enough system to, brew larger than 5 gal batches. I’ve been thinking about kegging 4 gal and bottling 1gal just to build a stash of bottles to have some variety of styles on hand without resorting to buying beer occasionally.

 

[FromZwolle]

brew days are hard to come by. i'd like a few more.

 

[TheCache]

It takes too long to try out different recipes at 5 gallons per batch

I just bought 3 gallon fermonster set up so I can experiment with stove top all grain (BIAB). I've been doing 5 gallon extract and/or partial mash for the last year or two and I am finding that I end up with too much beer (if that is really a thing) and not enough variety. Now I can make smaller batches for experimenting and larger batches when I settle on the ones I want to have around.

So I get both, as many brew days as I want, and as much beer as I can drink.

C

 

[OleBrewing]

I do 10 gallon batches but barely get 2-3 in a year. Goal is once a month then never buy daily beers ever again except for convenience. On the -30 below cold snaps will do a 5 gal batch on stove top.
Good thing I keep notes sometimes it's a while between batches.