What do you do with all the beer?

[KiwiSander]

Ok, this may be a question that is not generally asked here, but here is my problem.

I like brewing and would love to brew much more often, but even though I make single keg batches, it takes me forever to get through the beer. And looking at how often some of you brew you must have a better way to get rid of beer than to just drink it all?

Thanks!

 

[BeerHolic]

Sorry cannot help. I just drink it.
Brew an average of 5 gallons a week.

 

[zasada]

you must have a better way to get rid of beer than to just drink it all?

Drink it with friends, neighboors, family seems like the "the better way".

 

[KiwiSander]

I could put out the word to my son's circle, but then I'd have to bottle and I'm too lazy for that!

 

[madscientist451]

I downsized to smaller 3-4 gallon batches, although sometimes still do 5 gallons, I used to brew every few weeks, but these days its more like every few months. Also I don't brew at all in the summer, so I'll brew 3-4 batches of lager/kolsch or something similar in the spring and it lasts 'till fall.

 

[AlexKay]

Smaller batches. I’m doing 2.5, 1.25, and 0.5-gallon batches these days. Oh, and there’s still too much beer. I give away what I can, send some to competition, and am ruthless about dumping anything sub-par.

I’m rapidly approaching having every keg I own full. Anyone want to come drink some beer?

 

[scrap iron]

I'm older now and don't drink as much as when I was younger. So, a keg lasts a lot longer now and sometimes I have to dump a partial keg to make room. Here are some ideas for the dumpers.
https://www.brewer-world.com/hacks-using-stale-or-expired-beer/You can also dump beer in the compost pile if you have one.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/can-beer-be-composted.htm

 

[BBeerme]

You could always run it through a still. I think they call the end result whiskey.

 

[scrap iron]

You could always run it through a still. I think they call the end result whiskey.

I asked a friend of mine about distilling old beer and he said the oils from hops can be a pain. Although I have seen hopped whiskey but have not tried it.

 

[mac_1103]

I have several alcoholic friends and relatives, so this has never been a problem for me.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I like brewing and would love to brew much more often, but even though I make single keg batches, it takes me forever to get through the beer. And looking at how often some of you brew you must have a better way to get rid of beer than to just drink it all?

I agree with the others that brew smaller batches. 2.5 gallon batches are my sweet spot. My core equipment is a 5 gallon kettle, brew bag, 3 gallon Fermonster and 10L / 2.6 gal Torpedo kegs. I tend to like the creation and execution part and then sharing something new with friends. 2.5 gallons is about a case of beer, so I have enough to enjoy some myself and bring along a growler or two to an event or club meeting. If the beer is great, it might go a bit too fast, but I can rebrew that recipe (usually with a tweak or two in mind). If the beer is not great, it does not stick around too long and I don't mind dumping that last 6 pack worth.

The other obvious option is to have better outlets for others to drink your beers. I don't often have people over at my house to drink my beers. Filling a large bottle or growler to take with me works okay, but I am looking at putting together a portable draft system, maybe around 1 gallon mini kegs.

 

[eliastheodosis]

I asked a friend of mine about distilling old beer and he said the oils from hops can be a pain. Although I have seen hopped whiskey but have not tried it.

I would think the flavor of the end spirit and the impact on your equipment is going to depend on your setup and how you treat it. Distilling a really hoppy IPA doesn't sound super appealing...

This guy has at least a few videos on distilling beer. Here are a couple links. First one is him distilling a pale ale and discussing the end product and also the effects on the still. He did a stripping run and then a second run through a pair of plates for that one. Second link is him distilling three different "beers" that were byproducts from a local yeast lab. Single run through a pair of plates for each. He does an interesting breakdown and comparison of the three and discusses hop and yeast flavors in the final product. There are a couple more videos on his page if you give it a look.

 

[BBeerme]

I asked a friend of mine about distilling old beer and he said the oils from hops can be a pain. Although I have seen hopped whiskey but have not tried it.

I've never tried running beer through a still, but it is difficult to imagine there being much oil suspended in solution. Does oil get suspended in solution in an acid environment? I don't know, never looked into it.

 

[brewbama]

Figure out how much you want to drink and how often you want to brew. For example, if you want to brew every three weeks, and you drink one beer a day on average, you need about three gal packaged per batch.

Run three packaged beers in your pipeline and you’ll have two beers ‘on tap’ — one you lean on and the other for the occasional variety — with one conditioning/clearing/lagering/maturing. When one batch kicks about every three weeks, you need to brew. Add batches as required to give depth to the pipeline.

 

[eliastheodosis]

If the beer is great, it might go a bit too fast, but I can rebrew that recipe (usually with a tweak or two in mind).

Just usually?!?

In all seriousness, I totally agree with you and others for the small batches. I usually do 5 gallon batches of lagers and table beers but otherwise I have a very similar BIAB setup that can yield 2.5-3 gallons. By the time I have a couple friends over and share a couple bottles with the club it leaves just enough for me to get a good experience of the beer over it's conditioning arc and then I'm done. My keezer has a 6 keg capacity and 5 taps so I can carb, condition, and rotate pretty easily. I'm never at a shortage for beer, but I'm also never overwhelmed. I'm always cherishing the last pints of a couple beers as others are coming online and cleaning up. And I'm always thinking about the next recipe.

 

[beersk]

Figure out how much you want to drink and how often you want to brew. For example, if you want to brew every three weeks, and you drink one beer a day on average, you need about three gal packaged per batch.

Run three packaged beers in your pipeline and you’ll have two beers ‘on tap’ — one you lean on and the other for the occasional variety — with one conditioning/clearing/lagering/maturing. When one batch kicks about every three weeks, you need to brew. Add batches as required to give depth to the pipeline.

This is a good idea.

Also, just give more growlers away. Offer to a couple friends to bring them a growler or have them stop by and fill one. I do this as well and have also gone to 2.5 gallon batches. This way, I can ferment in a keg under pressure, naturally carbonate, etc. It's awesome. The beer turns out so much cleaner tasting for me.
But the main takeaway for you, KiwiSander, is just offer up more growler fills for friends/family. And nothing says you need to brew 5 gallons. People often quote the whole economies of scale thing, but with a hobby, that's kind of irrelevant since the time spent is really about enjoyment rather than making the most money for your time/ingredients spent.

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

I’ve got a group of friends that participate in the bottle exchange, 12 pack of empties for 12 full bottles or growler refills. I keg so I use a tapcooler to fill growlers/bottles.

 

[Broken Crow]

I'm disabled so each brew is a pretty major task for me. It hones my practice to making large enough batches to serve as muscle-relaxants, while avoiding oxygenation, to last until the next time I can torture myself with a brew-day. 'Disabled' as a worker in Canada also means: "Financially crippled for life" so if I want decent palatable beer that I otherwise can't afford, I need to make it...but hey; I've been using it as a combination of neurolgical and physical therapy that provides an otherwise unattainable Quality of Life. Just brew less and focus on lasting quality until you find what's ideal for you.

 

[MaxStout]

I brew about one 5.5-6 gal. batch per month on average. I bottle, so that's around 55-60 bottles a month. I probably drink 8 bottles of homebrew per week, and my wife maybe 2 per week. That's around 40-ish per month consumed by the two of us. The rest is for neighbors, friends and relatives who stop over, though we don't get a lot of visitors. So my pipeline works out about even.

The complicating factor is when I brew big beers that need aging. With the difference in lead times between those beers and smaller ones, I just kind of look over my inventory and decide when I need to brew again. Usually when I brew a big beer I also do a smaller one around the same time, as my ferm chamber holds 2 fermentors. That way I have the faster beer ready soon and the big beer can cellar for however long it needs.

In the long run I rarely go feast or famine with beer.

 

[scrap iron]

I've never tried running beer through a still, but it is difficult to imagine there being much oil suspended in solution. Does oil get suspended in solution in an acid environment? I don't know, never looked into it.

This is a forum thread I found that warns about distilling hopped homebrew in a VM. I'm not familiar with the process or equipment so I don't know what that is. They said it was a mess and hard to clean afterwards and had to take large cuts for heads and tails.
https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6859050

 

[eliastheodosis]

This is a forum thread I found that warns about distilling hopped homebrew in a VM. I not familiar with the process or equipment so I don't know what that is. They said it was a mess and hard to clean afterwards and had to take large cuts for heads and tails.
Distilling home made beer. - Home Distiller

Yeah, that's what I was thinking above when I mentioned that it probably depends on your rig. It's not exactly my area of expertise either, but I'm pretty sure it can be done with many systems. It's up to the user to determine if it's worth the trouble. If you don't have a vapor management system and your cuts are more normal then maybe it's worth it. Seems easier to me to just make a better wash if you're going through the trouble. Grain is cheaper than time...

 

[Langerz]

I have the opposite issue I think. I just started brewing this year and I envisioned having multiple different HBs to choose from. Instead I have brewed about every chance I could (Just finished my 5th 5 gallon batch this weekend) and for the most part haven't have much overlap at all between batches.

Maybe I have a problem.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Maybe I have a problem.

Yes, you do! We are over 4 months into the year and you have only brewed 5 batches?!? Gotta pick up that pace!!

I have 10 batches this year, but 7 of those are 2.5 gallon batches...so I am only a little ahead of you at 31 gallons brewed so far. I find I can quickly swing from having all my kegs in use, to being empty on homebrew.

 

[shoengine]

• Drink it
• Give it away
• Invite friends over to help drink it
• Throw a party (or several)
• Brew for someone else's party
• Marinate with it
• Boil it down and make a barbecue sauce out of it
• Dump it

That's the stuff I've done with it. Making batches that fit your lifestyle is always the best starting point. Most 5g breweries can do much less, and there are a plethora of tools to scale the ingredients.

And when it comes down to it, there is nothing wrong with dumping beer. There is definitely a stigma around that here but if the beer comes out unlike how you planned it and you want to get it right and you have no plans for it... dump it.

 

[day_trippr]

And when it comes down to it, there is nothing wrong with dumping beer.

I just felt a great disturbance in The Force

 

[GoodTruble]

"Too much beer" is usually a good problem. Hosting a tasting party is a good way to go through a lot of beer and get some good feedback.

 

[grampamark]

Drink some, spill some, give some away…

 

[madscientist451]

I’m rapidly approaching having every keg I own full. Anyone want to come drink some beer?

OK! When I retire and roam the country in my mini-motorhome, I'll stop in!

 

[Langerz]

Yes, you do! We are over 4 months into the year and you have only brewed 5 batches?!? Gotta pick up that pace!!

I have 10 batches this year, but 7 of those are 2.5 gallon batches...so I am only a little ahead of you at 31 gallons brewed so far. I find I can quickly swing from having all my kegs in use, to being empty on homebrew.

I know I know. I need to get my kids to drop some activities….and teach them to brew lol

 

[kevin58]

Invest in some 2.5 to 3 gallon kegs and make smaller batches. Or, I bought a Tapcooler counter pressure filler and when I want to clear a keg from my keezer I will bottle what is left (as much as half of whats left in the keg). You could do this to bank half of your batches to save for another day or to share.

 

[bwible]

I’ve written a few times about this. I am the only one in my house who drinks the beer. We’re older, don’t do very much in the way of having parties. We may have people over around Christmas, etc but most of our friends are not beer drinkers. My wife might have one or two of my homebrew once in a while but she counts carbs and mostly likes lighter diet beers like Ultra.

I settled on 3 gallon batches long ago just due to available container sizes. I use a 5 gallon carboy to ferment in. I use a 3 gallon carboy whenever I want to secondary/settle/bulk age. Added bonus, all the containers are smaller, lighter, and easier to handle.

3 gallons ends up being right about 30 bottles. I say its a case plus a 6 pack.

Take a 5 gallon recipe and start by multiplying everything by .7 and use that as a starting point to enter into your recipe software. Tweak from there until you get the numbers you’re looking for. I always figure recipes as 3.5 gallons into primary so that I actually end up with 3 gallons of finished beer.

With a cooler mash tun I would often have issues with re-circulating or clearing due to less grain in the cooler and a shallower grain bed. I bought an Anvil Foundry 6.5 and I use that for 3 gallon batches exclusively. Its perfect for what I want to do. I still have my cooler mash tun for barleywines and big beers or I can supplement with extract out of the Foundry.

My kegerator holds 3 kegs. I have both 3 gallon kegs and 5 gallon kegs. If I want to fill a 5 gallon keg I have to brew twice. I do for lagers. Aside from my kegerator, I do bottle. I have 12 cases of bottles available. Right now, 5 of those are filled with strong beers like my annual barleywine that I brew every year or Russian Imperial stout. I have barleywines every year from 2019-2022 that I mostly like to “sample” and drink in the winter. Bottling can be a pita, but its only 30 bottles each time, not 50.

Just what I do. I like variety and I don’t need 200 bottles of beer after I brew 4 batches.

Lately, I’ve been doing 1 gallon batches of mead also.

 

[IslandLizard]

Invest in some 2.5 to 3 gallon kegs and make smaller batches.

Although that makes sense, I keg 2.5-3 gallon batches in regular 5 gallon kegs. They're 100% Starsan pre-purged then filled through the liquid-out post by means of a semi-closed transfer.

Drawbacks are minimal. You'd use a few gallons more CO2 gas than by using smaller kegs, while they take up more space and are a little heavier when moving around.

 

[bwible]

There are some recipes you can use beer in, like stew or a little Guinness in a pot roast. My dad used to boil hot dogs and sauerkraut in a can of beer whenever he had beer he didn’t especially like or wanted to get rid of.

 

[moreb33rplz]

Because reasons I like brewing five gallon batches, smaller and larger don't work as well for me

I usually brew and consume about one batch a month. If my consumption slows down I sometimes brew something that requires long term aging. That satisfies my brewing itch without me having to drink more

Or the foolproof option of telling my buddies that I have too much beer and having them come over for a bbq

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm a member of a homebrew club, and there are events where we take homebrew to and tap kegs at. At many of those larger, heavily attended events we easily kick kegs or heavily decimate them.

 

[odie]

Ok, this may be a question that is not generally asked here, but here is my problem.

I like brewing and would love to brew much more often, but even though I make single keg batches, it takes me forever to get through the beer. And looking at how often some of you brew you must have a better way to get rid of beer than to just drink it all?

Thanks!

you need friends...just sayin...

 

[Langerz]

you need friends...just sayin...

If OP is in Iowa and needs help with consumption we might have something here

 

[MrClint]

I keep my brews to 1 to 2 gallons a week, sometimes skip a week or two. Smaller batches just seem more manageable all the way around.

 

[Protos]

I brew weekly and I have nowhere to give my beer away to and nobody to share it with.
That's why I switched to 1.5G / 5.5L batches, to be able to drink it up all alone.
I still have a surplus of beers. I have about fourty (40) sorts of it bottled in my cellar. Very rarely I have an opportunity to share it and even rarer I dump a batch I don't care for.

 

[Conehead]

Well, I usually drink it with friends but my last brew I tossed out. Brewing again in a week or so.