Will this work? 15 gal. of beer, one 8 gal. boil kettle. Saison, Kolsch, Belgian Pale

[adamk816]

I want to get some opinions on an experiment I want to conduct. I have less time to brew and I am finding it hard to keep my pipeline full for guests. To solve this problem, I am going to try and make three 5 gallon partial boil batches of extract beer, with one 8 gallon boil kettle, with one single boil. I want to make a Saison, a Kolsch, and a Belgian Belgian Pale similar to Westvleteren Blonde.

I usually do all grain, full volume boils, so this is a somewhat new concept to me. I realize there are downsides to partial extract boils such as lower hop utilization and darkening as a result of concentrated wort. I believe I have accounted for those by using BeerSmith software to calculate the necessary hops at the lower hop utilization. I am not steeping any crystal malts to keep the beer light, and I intend on adding half of the extract during the last 10 minutes. After looking at some partial boil extract recipes from Northern Brewer, it appears I can get away with a 2.5 gallon partial boil per 5 gallons of beer (which translates to a 7.5 gallon partial boil per 15 gallons of beer). I will split the concentrated wort evenly between 3 carboys, and top up with cold water to get to 5 gallons in each carboy. I will pitch three different yeasts to achieve the three different beers. The Kolsch will be fermented low (60F), while I intend on pitching the Saison and Belgian Pale yeasts at a low temperature (65F) and letting them free rise to the upper 70s.

Here is what I have come up with:

Batch Size: 15.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.76 gal
Top Up Water: 9.00 gal (3 gal for each of three, 6 gallon carboys)
Color: 3.1 SRM
Bitterness: 29.5 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
OG: 1.047 (11.6° P)
FG: Various, depending on yeast
ABV: Various (around 5.0%)

Ingredients
Amount Name
7.5 lbs Pilsner Dry Extract [Boil for 60 min]
7.5 lbs Pilsner Dry Extract [Boil for 10 min]
1.0 lbs Sugar (Sucrose) [Boil for 10 min]

2.0 oz Northern Brewer [8.5%] - Boil 60 min
2.0 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.0%] - Boil 15 min
2.0 oz Styrian Goldings [5.4%] - Boil 5 min
1.0 oz Saaz – Dry Hop (Saison Batch Only)

1 pkgs Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) 1 L starter
1 pkgs Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast Labs #2565) 1 L starter
1 pkgs Belgian Saison (Wyeast Labs #3724) 1 L starter


I don’t need to hear that partial boil extract batches are not as good as full volume all grain batches – I know that. Also, I do not want to buy any additional equipment - I have been able to do 7.5 gal boils in the 8 gal kettle, with some careful attention when bringing up to a boil. With that all being said, I want to know if this is a bad idea, or if it might just work in a pinch? Has anyone tried something similar?

 

[eric19312]

Interesting idea

What if you do it over two days? Make about 6 gallons on day 1, put 2 gal into each of 3 carboys along with the smack packs of yeast (no need for a starter).

Day two make six more gallons of wort, top the fermenters up to 4 gallons each, then top again with bottled water up to 5 gal.

You could do one of the days as an all grain day if you have a bit more time that day to get some fresh malt flavors.

 

[helibrewer]

That should work, there are BIG breweries that make their product from diluted high gravity boils. You could play with the dilutions if you wanted slightly different OG's, or add additional sugar to the Saison fermenter...let us know how it works, great experiment!

 

[adamk816]

Interesting idea

What if you do it over two days? Make about 6 gallons on day 1, put 2 gal into each of 3 carboys along with the smack packs of yeast (no need for a starter).

Day two make six more gallons of wort, top the fermenters up to 4 gallons each, then top again with bottled water up to 5 gal.

You could do one of the days as an all grain day if you have a bit more time that day to get some fresh malt flavors.

I was originally thinking I would do half of the wort as all grain. In other words, regular all grain batch and just load up with half the fermentables as late boil extract additions. But then I decided to make this experiment as much of a shortcut as possible.

I like the idea of doing half the batch on day one and use that wort to make the starters, which I would have to so the day before anyway.

Thanks.

 

[adamk816]

That should work, there are BIG breweries that make their product from diluted high gravity boils. You could play with the dilutions if you wanted slightly different OG's, or add additional sugar to the Saison fermenter...let us know how it works, great experiment!

Assuming this works, I will definitely try varying the OGs through different dilution rates, as well as different sugar additions in primary ferment. Maybe try dark candi syrups to really change things up.

I will post results. Maybe I am being optimistic, but I am already thinking about the next 3 way split: traditional hefeweizen, wheat Saison (w/ white sage and citra dry hop ala Stillwater Cellar Door) and witbier (w/ coriander and orange zest "tea" added separately).

 

[hottpeper13]

I think that's a awesome idea. I would add some wheat,as most recipes of those styles have some in.

 

[adamk816]

I think that's a awesome idea. I would add some wheat,as most recipes of those styles have some in.

I would use wheat extract for the hefeweizen, witbier, saison split batch, which is 50% wheat, instead of pilsner extract.

Anyone have any other ideas for split batches that have the same malt bills and hop schedules? Different yeasts and primary additions (spices, sugars, steeped grains, dry hops, etc) to make the batches different? I am thinking different beer styles (pilsner vs Saison) as opposed to just different treatment of the same style (pale ale with English yeast vs American yeast, oak vs non oak), which has been discussed at length already.

 

[adamk816]

I am getting carried away. Here is another 3 way split batch I've come up with: (1) Dortmunder (2) Belgian Specialty (3) Robust Porter.

Batch Size: 15.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.76 gal
Top Up Water: 9.00 gal (3 gal for each of three, 6 gallon carboys)
Color: 6.4 SRM (darker for Porter)
Bitterness: 36 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
OG: 1.055
FG: Various, depending on yeast
ABV: Various (around 5.5%)

Ingredients
Amount Name
1.0 lbs CaraMunich III (60L) [Steep]
7.5 lbs Pilsner Dry Extract [Boil for 60 min]
1.7 lbs Munich Liquid Extract [Boil for 60 min]
7.5 lbs Pilsner Dry Extract [Boil for 10 min]
1.7 lbs Munich Liquid Extract [Boil for 10 min]
1.0 lbs Sugar (Sucrose) [Boil for 10 min]

2.0 oz German Magnum [14.0%] - Boil 60 min
1.0 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.0%] - Boil 15 min
1.0 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.0%] - Boil 5 min
1.0 oz Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.0%] - Flameout

PORTER

Separate Steep in 0.5 gal of 150F water for 30 min, boil for 15 min, cool, add to primary
0.75 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.50 lbs Crystal 120L
0.25 lbs Carafa III

1 pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) 2 L starter

DORTMUNDER

1 pkgs Bohemian Lager (Wyeast Labs #2124) 4 L starter

Is it possible to add minerals to get proper Dortmunder water profile after the boil?

BELGIAN SPECIALTY

1 pkgs Belgian Ardennes (Wyeast Labs #3522) 2 L starter

Add 0.5 oz of boiled medium toast French oak cubes (or 0.25 oz chips), and Brett Brux in secondary - 4 weeks. Dry hop with 2.0 oz Styrian Goldings for last week.

 

[wilserbrewer]

How about steeping various specialty grains, then boiling in a smaller pot and adding to a separate batch in the fermenter with the top up water....this opens up even more possibilities.

I recall a post or HBT article whereby the brewer varied a batch several ways to end up with various styles from the same boil.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[adamk816]

This worked like a charm and I filled three corny kegs in the same time it normally takes to do one 5 gallon batch with an 8 gallon boil kettle. Beers were all very different because of varying yeast and post boil treatments. I find my all grain batches with water treatments to be superior, but this is a really good way to make a lot of beer, fast.

 

[JKaranka]

You can easily make ranges of British beers following this method. All you need to vary is the proportion of wort to water, and optionally, dry hop and invert sugar syrup.