Why do 10 gallon batches?

[superjunior]

I'll echo whats been said here - brew buddies are priceless. I've only done 2 five gallon batches. We typically brew 20 and 30 gallon batches, depending on who's "in" that day. when your brew buddies are all on the same page, its amazing how fast and efficient everything goes.

edit - it only takes one drunken brew buddy to complicate things though

 

[rudu81]

There two reasons I will brew a 10G batch and they're both based on the fact that it takes MAYBE an extra hour over a 5G batch because of heating times.
1) If I'm planning on taking a beer to an event, I might as well make enough to have a keg for myself at the house.
2) Me and a buddy that lives an hour away get together a few times a year to brew. He'll brew 10G of recipe A, I'll brew 10G of recipe B, we each take 5G of both.

Those are my two scenarios that I brew large batches for.

And yes, a 15G pot (or keg) is enough for a 10G batch.

I hadn't considered about taking beer to events/parties either. I guess that it'd be worthwhile to not bring my only 5 gal to a party.....

AS far as splitting the grist, keep the mash simple for a pale ale and collect all your runnings. Then steep remaining grains for the second darker/more robust beer.

I take it that steeping the extra grains won't give off a lot of fermentables, but then again character malts don't have a lot of sugars, right? In essence I would do slightly more work this way, but can end up with two seperate 5 gal batches?

A 15 gallon pot works well for 10 gallon batches. Allot of people here including myself use 15.5 gallon kegs for both 5 and 10 gallon batches.

In a setup, would I be able to use 2 converted kegs for HLT and BK and do an igloo conversion for MT? I'm thinking in terms of my ability to acquire this piecemeal.

I really do appreciate the continued advice and interest

 

[Clonefarmer]

I hadn't considered about taking beer to events/parties either. I guess that it'd be worthwhile to not bring my only 5 gal to a party.....

Or if you get a few parties in a row you can bring 5 and keep 5 so you don't mess up the pipeline.

I take it that steeping the extra grains won't give off a lot of fermentables, but then again character malts don't have a lot of sugars, right? In essence I would do slightly more work this way, but can end up with two seperate 5 gal batches?

Check out Partigyle

In a setup, would I be able to use 2 converted kegs for HLT and BK and do an igloo conversion for MT? I'm thinking in terms of my ability to acquire this piecemeal.

You sure can. You can also use the Kettle as a HLT as long as you have a transfer vessel for the wort.

I really do appreciate the continued advice and interest

 

[two_hearted]

I would rather brew more often and try different recipes that have 10 gal of the same beer despite using different yeasts. I even do a lot of 3 gal batches. I drink 95% of my homebrew though so it would take me forever to polish off a 10 gal batch.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I would rather brew more often and try different recipes that have 10 gal of the same beer despite using different yeasts. I even do a lot of 3 gal batches. I drink 95% of my homebrew though so it would take me forever to polish off a 10 gal batch.

I'm sure we all would, but unfortunately, some of us have children/other duties that prevent us from brewing as often as we'd like. I only brew 5-10 times a year max.

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

In a setup, would I be able to use 2 converted kegs for HLT and BK and do an igloo conversion for MT? I'm thinking in terms of my ability to acquire this piecemeal.

That's exactly what I have.

 

[rudu81]

Check out Partigyle

You sure can. You can also use the Kettle as a HLT as long as you have a transfer vessel for the wort.

This seems like a really cool way to get three types of beer from the same grist. If I've read it properly, I can get the imperial stout from the first runnings, a regular stout from the second, and a sessionable one from the third. Would this also eliminate the sparge? And beginning water volume calculated based upon having x volume at end and y water loss in the process?

That's exactly what I have.

How much grain/liquor can you get into the MLT? Curious if there is room to hit the % extract needed in the partigyle method. I've seen Bobby M's thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/, but am not clear which set of numbers to look at at one time.


In the course of the last day or so, I've gone from wanting to do BIAB to 5 gal batches, to 10 gal batches, and now on to a mix of 10 gal batches and partigyle (possibly up to 3 runnings). Does this make sense??

 

[Clonefarmer]

This seems like a really cool way to get three types of beer from the same grist. If I've read it properly, I can get the imperial stout from the first runnings, a regular stout from the second, and a sessionable one from the third. Would this also eliminate the sparge? And beginning water volume calculated based upon having x volume at end and y water loss in the process?

I've done 2 beers from a partigyle with a brew buddy. I think we could have gotten 3 beers, but we only had enough equipment to brew 2.

We added specialty grains to the MLT for the second runnings to try and make a porter. It came out like an Imperial Brown, but still good. I under calculated the amount of dark malts needed.

How much grain/liquor can you get into the MLT? Curious if there is room to hit the % extract needed in the partigyle method. I've seen Bobby M's thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/, but am not clear which set of numbers to look at at one time.

You could do smaller beers as a partigyle with a smaller MLT. You can also add some DME if the gravity is low.

In the course of the last day or so, I've gone from wanting to do BIAB to 5 gal batches, to 10 gal batches, and now on to a mix of 10 gal batches and partigyle (possibly up to 3 runnings). Does this make sense??

Homebrewing is highly addictive

 

[Clonefarmer]

Would this also eliminate the sparge? And beginning water volume calculated based upon having x volume at end and y water loss in the process?

The sparge would be the second and/or third beer. Depending on single or double batch sparge. You won't lose much sparge water to soaked grains. If you add grains on the second or third sparge you should account for them. About .12 gallons per pound. Calculate the sparge to be your pre boil volume.

 

[rudu81]

I've done 2 beers from a partigyle with a brew buddy. I think we could have gotten 3 beers, but we only had enough equipment to brew 2.

We added specialty grains to the MLT for the second runnings to try and make a porter. It came out like an Imperial Brown, but still good. I under calculated the amount of dark malts needed.

Homebrewing is highly addictive

I think that having the equipment would be key. I'd have to move around my fermenters to allow for three primaries at the same time.

Homebrewing is most definitely addictive. SWMBO isn't entirely thrilled about opening pandora's box.

The sparge would be the second and/or third beer. Depending on single or double batch sparge. You won't lose much sparge water to soaked grains. If you add grains on the second or third sparge you should account for them. About .12 gallons per pound. Calculate the sparge to be your pre boil volume.

That's sweet!!! I would then just need to keep more liqour (or add more) in the HLT throughout my brew day.

Is there anything else I am missing, should consider, be aware of, before moving ahead with a 10 gal system (not including equipment)?

Thanks to all who have posted!!! :rockin:

 

[fretsforlife]

You get double the beer at effectively the same amount of work. You can also experiment a bit w/ it and try different yeasts on different fermenters if you want. Ultimately, I've found that it is no different in time to brew 10 gallons vs 5 and means in the end less work!

This is exactly why I switched to keggle brewing. I brewed up 10 gallons of a stout, and split them 5 and 5 with two different yeasts. I hope to broaden my knowledge and perception of different yeasts this way by doing side by side comparisons.

Also, I found that I was kicking kegs way to quick, only to have to spend another day on another 5 gallon batch.

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

How much grain/liquor can you get into the MLT? Curious if there is room to hit the % extract needed in the partigyle method. I've seen Bobby M's thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/, but am not clear which set of numbers to look at at one time.


In the course of the last day or so, I've gone from wanting to do BIAB to 5 gal batches, to 10 gal batches, and now on to a mix of 10 gal batches and partigyle (possibly up to 3 runnings). Does this make sense??

My MLT is a 60qt Igloo Cube. Plenty of room for the batches I do. I've never done the Parti-Gyle method so I can't help much there.

 

[Clonefarmer]

Is there anything else I am missing, should consider, be aware of, before moving ahead with a 10 gal system (not including equipment)?

Lifting a kettle with 12 gallons is difficult. Try and plan ahead to minimize lifting or have someone help.

A sturdy mash paddle helps with the larger mash.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

Like a lot of others here, I like to be able to do a bigger batch to experiment with yeasts and dry hopping etc. You can make two very different beers from the same base beer.

 

[cbauer210]

10 gallon batches sound awesome. I only brew 5 gal batches but once it is ready Me and my girl drink it in about a week. I literally can't brew it fast enough.

 

[coastwx]

I first went to a larger MLT so I could do two 5 gal boils of the same wort with different hop schedules and yeast. Then came the 20 gal brewpot for my birthday that allowed a 10 gal in essentially the same time as 5. I had a bachelor weekend last fall and thought, I wonder if I could sync a second mash as I do the first boil and squeeze 20 gal in a day. It worked well and now 40 gal later my pipeline is jam packed, both bottles and kegs. I actually want to brew more than I need to, but like a previous poster said, it's so cool to have a large variety to choose from.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

awesome Coastwx, do you know how much the 20gal brewpot cost? One thing to remember, apart from the larger capacity brewing equipment, you also need more carboys and kegs! I only do primary in 6.5 gallon (too many messes with huge fermentations) so I need to make sure I have two available for a 10 gal batch as well as two 5 gal carboy's in the near future for secondary, and 2 cornie's for after that.

 

[Bulls Beers]

I like to make lagers, by the time it takes me to get my lagers to where I need them, I have to do 10 gallon batches. It takes me longer to make, then drink'em..

 

[coastwx]

awesome Coastwx, do you know how much the 20gal brewpot cost? One thing to remember, apart from the larger capacity brewing equipment, you also need more carboys and kegs! I only do primary in 6.5 gallon (too many messes with huge fermentations) so I need to make sure I have two available for a 10 gal batch as well as two 5 gal carboy's in the near future for secondary, and 2 cornie's for after that.

This place has a local store. I think I got this pot for less than the price shown here.

If I had to do it over, I'd go the keggle route, although the extra 5 gal I have over a keggle provides plenty for sparging. I was actually able to do a 12.5 gal batch of a session pale.

 

[rudu81]

My MLT is a 60qt Igloo Cube. Plenty of room for the batches I do. I've never done the Parti-Gyle method so I can't help much there.

The 60qt is square vs the 40qt round, right? Any trouble getting the wort out of the cooler?

Lifting a kettle with 12 gallons is difficult. Try and plan ahead to minimize lifting or have someone help.

A sturdy mash paddle helps with the larger mash.

Would you recommend building a sculpture before going with the partigyle or 10 gal boils?

I'd like to make my own mash paddle. Sounds like something fun to do and within my reach!

One thing to remember, apart from the larger capacity brewing equipment, you also need more carboys and kegs! I only do primary in 6.5 gallon (too many messes with huge fermentations) so I need to make sure I have two available for a 10 gal batch as well as two 5 gal carboy's in the near future for secondary, and 2 cornie's for after that.

Currently I have 2 ale pail primaries, 2 5 gal better bottles, and 3 ancient 5 gal(SWMBOs great grandfathers) wine vessels. With going to this system I intend to keg, so investment in everything is in the cards. Just have to figure out how much it will cost and where to get it all from.

This has really helped me and moved me toward better brewing

 

[tekknoschtev]

The single most important reason I'm considering moving to 10 gallon batches is that so after a party, I still can enjoy the beer I put effort into making. This only became a problem recently. Tapped a keg right before a party, a keg of beer I was very excited to consume (my first experimentation on a recipe, although it was a mild experimentation). I didn't drink much during the party, trying to make sure things were kept tame. After the party, I got 2 pints of beer before it started sputtering at me. I was sad. It was then I vowed to do 10 gallon batches of beers I know we all like.

I'm also considering it because I have the equipment, the grain, the time, and really no reason not to. We have 4 fermenters, 9 kegs, and plenty of space for it all, so if we can keep those kegs full, we'll never run out of beer in the fridge. It'll also allow us to have some session beers or beers that are ready for consumption faster while we allow others to age and turn into something amazing!

 

[Clonefarmer]

Would you recommend building a sculpture before going with the partigyle or 10 gal boils?

You don't need a sculpture, but it'll help. I don't use a rig or sculpture. I do have to lift the full kettle onto the burner. Than after the boil I lift it onto a table to drain into the fermenters. The full kettle weighs about 135 pounds. You can probably use a higher burner and transfer vessels to avoid all that lifting.

I'd like to make my own mash paddle. Sounds like something fun to do and within my reach!

One of the guys from my homebrew club makes really nice paddles from a single piece of cherry. He soaks them so the grains raise than sands them. He said he does this a few times than puts mineral oil on them.

 

[Clonefarmer]

One of the guys from my homebrew club makes really nice paddles from a single piece of cherry. He soaks them so the grains raise than sands them. He said he does this a few times than puts mineral oil on them.

Here is the paddle:

Here's a closer pic of the paddle with a Partigyle mash (45 lb mash :rockin

 

[coastwx]

The square Igloo Ice Cube I use works great. I use a paint stirrer like this on a drill along with a brew spoon to mix thoroughly.

10-12 gal is very heavy, but I'm able to lift it up on a stand to fill the carboys, but it's a challenge. My neighbor usually brews with me though.

 

[r8rphan]

To the OP...

Here is a link to my single keggle brew rig.... just to give you an idea of how simple a single keggle and MLT gravity fed system can be.. 10G batches are a breeze now for me..

PMBS build thread

The only change I want to make is to add another bucket or two for collecting the wort from the MLT.. those buckets with six and a half gallons of wort in them are a little heavy to lift and pour back into the keggle... 3 to 4 gallons will be much more manageable...

I also want to switch to fly sparging instead of batch sparging... It's more efficient and seems like less work once it's set up...

There are also some threads on here where everyone has posted pictures and descriptions of their brew rigs.. You can get a lot of ideas there.. everything from the ultra budget, to the cadillacs... Do a search for "show us your brew rig" or "Show us your sculpture" or the like...

All in all, I'm very glad I made the switch to 10G.. Brew day is more streamlined now, and I actually have a pipeline going so that I'm not gonna be drinking green beer anymore...

And yes, more time aging/conditioning makes a difference.. a pretty big one.. it allows the various flavors and bitterness and alcohol to mellow and blend..... which is why green beer is not as good...

I've been obsessed over a lot of hobbies in my lifetime.. Aside from music, this is probably the most rewarding one I've ever been into.. and one of the least expensive...

 

[WTF_Brewing]

New member here and my first post
I have been wanting to home brew for some time and I now have permission to start. I want to set myself up with quality equipment to start out with extract brewing, and leave room to go AG in the future. I also want to go straight to kegging since bottling is kind of a PITA (I have helped the old man bottle a few times).
I know 90% of the time I will be making 5 gal batches, but I can see the need to brew up 10 for parties and such of the more popular brews. I was thinking about getting the 15 gallon Blichman pot to accomodate the occasional large batch, but the Bilchman site recommends the 20 gallon pot for a 10 gallon batch. That seems a little excessive to me.
Earlier posts said people were using a 15 gallon kettle for 10 gallon batches and it looks like the thermometer would still be submerged with only 5 gallons. With the price of these pots, whichever I get, will be the one I'm stuck with for a very long time.
Are there any drawbacks to only doing a 5 gallon batch in a 15 or 20 gallon pot? Should I just get the 10 gallon pot and call it good?
Thanks!

 

[sjlammer]

I have a 15.5 gallon keggle, and it is tight for a 10 gallon batch. I am looking to get a 20 gallon Bk

10 gallons of finished beer
+ 0.5 gallons trub/yeast
+ 0.5 gallons break/hops
+ 0.5 cfc and tubing
+0.5 gallons shrinkage
+ 1.5 gallons of boiloff

= 13.5 gallons into the Bk.... 15 is cutting it close

I have to watch mine like a hawk

 

[Clonefarmer]

I have a 15.5 gallon keggle, and it is tight for a 10 gallon batch. I am looking to get a 20 gallon Bk

10 gallons of finished beer
+ 0.5 gallons trub/yeast
+ 0.5 gallons break/hops
+ 0.5 cfc and tubing
+0.5 gallons shrinkage
+ 1.5 gallons of boiloff

= 13.5 gallons into the Bk.... 15 is cutting it close

I have to watch mine like a hawk

Fermcap or Defoamer help.

 

[rudu81]

...so after a party, I still can enjoy the beer I put effort into making...After the party, I got 2 pints of beer before it started sputtering at me. I was sad. It was then I vowed to do 10 gallon batches of beers I know we all like.

It'll also allow us to have some session beers or beers that are ready for consumption faster while we allow others to age and turn into something amazing!

It's a reason I'm afraid to share my beer too much. Brewing for my own taste means I have to share something really good. Easier to share what you have a lot of than a little of.

You don't need a sculpture, but it'll help. I don't use a rig or sculpture. I do have to lift the full kettle onto the burner. Than after the boil I lift it onto a table to drain into the fermenters. The full kettle weighs about 135 pounds. You can probably use a higher burner and transfer vessels to avoid all that lifting.


One of the guys from my homebrew club makes really nice paddles from a single piece of cherry. He soaks them so the grains raise than sands them. He said he does this a few times than puts mineral oil on them.

Here is the paddle:

Here's a closer pic of the paddle with a Partigyle mash (45 lb mash :rockin

I think that initally I'll be able to squeeze by without a rig at first because I'll be doing 5 gal initially to get comfortable with the method. Once I can produce good beer on the system I'd ramp up to either 10 gal batches or the partigyle.

Those pics are sweet!! I've seen some of the threads here about making your own, which spawned my ideas.

The square Igloo Ice Cube I use works great. I use a paint stirrer like this on a drill along with a brew spoon to mix thoroughly.

Glad to hear that square works as easy as round. I'll have to do research and cost comparison on that. If I wanted to get crazy on the mash, I could take my 1/2" chuck drill and my concrete mixing paddle (looks like a giant egg beater), but that'd probably be overkill for me.

To the OP...

Here is a link to my single keggle brew rig.... just to give you an idea of how simple a single keggle and MLT gravity fed system can be.. 10G batches are a breeze now for me..

PMBS build thread

The only change I want to make is to add another bucket or two for collecting the wort from the MLT.. those buckets with six and a half gallons of wort in them are a little heavy to lift and pour back into the keggle... 3 to 4 gallons will be much more manageable...

I also want to switch to fly sparging instead of batch sparging... It's more efficient and seems like less work once it's set up...

And yes, more time aging/conditioning makes a difference.. a pretty big one.. it allows the various flavors and bitterness and alcohol to mellow and blend..... which is why green beer is not as good...

...this is probably the most rewarding one I've ever been into.. and one of the least expensive...

Thanks for the post! I've actually looked at your PMBS in the DIY forum, and think it's pretty cool. My thoughts had been to start with two keggles as HLT and BK, but using your idea I could get a couple 5 gal buckets and use one keggle. I just have to figure it all out and what will work for my needs.


Now I'm pondering whether to go keggle or pot, gas or electric. If I could brew outdoors year round I'd probably go gas, but winter in Cleveland does tend to suck.

 

[coastwx]

Yeah, I bought a concrete mixing paddle and it works, but you have to be real careful because it mixes so well it's sloppy. The smaller paint one takes a bit longer, but more controllable. I move the mixer at full speed from corner to corner and use a mixing spoon to both keep the SS braid false bottom from being pulled into the circulating mash and to move unmixed dough into the circulation. You can really get good efficiency.