Pipeline is started, now what pace to brew?

[cheezydemon3]

Now that I am kegging, my idea to mash all of my specialty grains in my mash tun, and use like 25 lbs of pale DME in a 50 gallon trash can, is sounding better and better to keep my "pale ale" keg filled.

 

[jtkratzer]

My first beer is almost gone, just a few 22 oz bombers left, but I have 3 others in bottles. I started drinking my English Pale Ale and few of the messed up Kölsch beers. I'm not going to drink any more of the Christmas beer other than the first two for taste testing last night until I get back from vacation. I have an Altbier that's been in the primary for more than 4 weeks that I'm going to bottle today and I'd like to get a brew going before I leave for vacation.

I picked up the ingredients for Victory's Hop Devil and Sam Calagione's Blood Orange Hefeweizen to brew when I get back.

I have enough bottles for at least 35 gallons, I'd love to fill them all and have primaries sitting around waiting for open bottles to fill.

 

[rawlus]

Thats ridiculous. That like $70 a month in just yeast! If you are brewing so much, pick a yeast that will work for a lot of those batches and reuse it

i did not mean to suggest i do that much in a single month, only that i buy in qty because my local access to yeast is not good... i dont have the room or time to harvest yeast (one bedroom studio condo)

 

[cheier]

I'm trying to get fermentation happening once a week, but I've been sliding. I have 3 kegs and I have a feeling that I will be needing a couple more yet. Once I get my AG equipment, I am targeting a brewing schedule of at least once a week. The plan is to try something different every time, but once I nail down a few recipes, play around with those a bit.

I do have to second the sentiment that many others are sharing. Extra beer is not something that I have a lot of until I keg my next batch.

 

[ksbrain]

It is all about how much you drink. I find that for me, once a month a two-beer, single-apfelwein brew day gets the job done. That leaves me with enough liquids to do 5x12-ounce servings a day. That is more than enough for me, with plenty left over to give to my friends at work.

 

[jtkratzer]

Hoping to pick up the pace, I haven't brewed since 12/2. Oct - Dec is the busiest time of the year, and then there were the holidays, and then vacation, and here we are...I have a German Altbier that's been in the primary since I brewed it on 11/26. I'm going to bottle that today and hopefully I'd like to get a batch started this weekend.

 

[dvdanny]

I try to brew every 2 weeks, although when I am really feeling it one batch a week for a whole month, that way when I go on a long hiatus (usually never brew over summer) I have plenty of beer to hold me over until I brew again. The most I've ever had tied up in my fermenters was 25 gallons, along with two more 5 gallon batches in various stages of bottle conditioning.

 

[schweaty]

Brew as fast as you drink. Figure that it takes about 4-6 weeks for an ale to ferment, keg/bottle, carbonate. Decide how many beers you'll drink in that time period and brew accordingly. That is one part I love about kegging and have four taps but room for six kegs. I can brew faster than I drink and condition them while they sit.

 

[r8rphan]

I'm just getting my pipeline started... I have four cornys, and two carboys.... I've 5G of IPA 1 week into a ferment, and am brewing up 10G of APA this weekend.. I just ordered 4 lbs of hops, and plan to order another 6 lbs or so after the first..

Next week, I'm buying a 50 lb bag of 2 row, and another corny, and about a 3 month or more supply of yeast...

I want to brew 10G every other week until I have at last 6 cornys full all at once as well as both fermenters...

At that point, I'll brew another 10G batch every time another pair of cornys get polished off (probably a little under once a month)... and 'that' will determine the speed of brewing for the pipeline...

Then I'll finally put the days of drinking 'beer that needs more time', behind me... Eventually, I'll get more cornys, and a lagering fridge and start into that direction too... a second kergerator, with two or three taps on that and the one I have now will be sweet...

My brew system is finally operational to a point where I can just settle into a routine of brewing and experimenting... I'm jazzed!

 

[rexbanner]

I agree. Even session beers benefit from an extra week or two to condition. I have gone the speedy route but better to have patience. Also everyone seems to be off secondaries now, but I think I'm going to start doing it again. I don't care about the "needless risk of infection," that's what sanitation is for.

 

[rjwhite41]

I keg and I drink 2-10 pints a night (seriously I probably average 3 or 4). I brew every 2 weeks and it generally keeps up with me. Ocassionally someone else will have one but usually it's just me. I think the first thing you need to do is figure out how much you drink. If you drink 5 gallons a week then you brew 5 gallons a week and just stay ahead of it. One thing you do need to remember is that session beers go a lot quicker than high gravity/alcohol beers. Anything over 7% seems to take me 3 weeks to drink instead of 2. By the way, I have 6 cornies, 3 6.5 g carboys, and 1 5 g carboy and it seems that only the 5 g is ever empty (and sometimes that is full too). There have been points where I have "worked" to kick a keg just so I have room to brew again. God I love this hobby!

 

[ptakers]

With friends, we brew 1-2 batches every 2 weeks, so by splitting up the bottled beer each time, there is always 3-5 different types available. Having many hands also makes the bottling task easier.

 

[biochemedic]

I haven't even read the whole thread, and perhaps I'm repeating, but from experience I'd say: BREW AS OFTEN AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN...(if you don't drink it yourself, you will have friends who will......)

 

[jtkratzer]

I have 3 different beers that are bottled and ready to drink, plus 2 cases of beer I'm going to save for the 2011 holiday season and I have 3 5 gallon batches fermenting. One of them is getting dry hopped tomorrow, and the other two should be going into bottles around the middle of next week.

I'll probably brew another batch or two in the second half of the month.

I'm hoping to get a lager in before the temps warm up as I don't have a fermentation chamber or extra fridge, but I have a room in the house I don't heat and it's 50*F or lower in there.

 

[JasonToews]

Why not just brew a bunch and let sit in carboys? I've got 20 gallons fermenting right now. I just carbonate a brew 3 weeks befor i run out. the longer you let a beer sit in the primary the better it is i find. I think i average about 5 batches which are 5 gallons each a month. Keg one and bottle one, let others sit in carboys. I love to make beer so much that I just keep making it when I can!

 

[catdaddy66]

The most I have had in the bottle and ready to drink at one time was 3 5 gallon batches last year (about 7 cases). It took me 4 weeks to drink it and gift to friends! I think a batch every weekend or two is very feasible for what your asking about. You can always pause to crack a cold one and ruminate about the space and time it takes to make enough brew for the wife and you.

 

[jtkratzer]

The most I have had in the bottle and ready to drink at one time was 3 5 gallon batches last year (about 7 cases). It took me 4 weeks to drink it and gift to friends! I think a batch every weekend or two is very feasible for what your asking about. You can always pause to crack a cold one and ruminate about the space and time it takes to make enough brew for the wife and you.

I think i have a good tempo going. 6 different beers I could drink right now. A beer lagering, a Belgian honey wit fermenting, 10 gallons of apfelwein fermenting, a recipe to brew and a couple recipes I'm tweaking to put on the brew schedule.