doubling brew volume

[Dexter101]

Hi guys,

So did my first brew (5ltr) last weekend and it (so far) has gone swimmingly.

I have a few more brews planned for the coming weeks ready for Christmas, I am doing a brew for each member of the family, half will be their present, the other half is for my stock. I have a walk in cupboard which stays a very nice constant temperature, however you have to walk in sideways so larger brew vessels aren't able to fit in. On a side note, my pregnant wife isn't able to fit in either :)

I will at some point be keen to do a 10ltr brew to have a bit more volume for a session beer and was thinking of ways to do this with my current equipment.

Now I have 2 6ltr stock pans so was thinking mash at double strength, sparge between two pans and then boil. I know they potentially may be slightly different but should be close enough I think.

I had trouble working out how to chill the wort, but have recently been reading about no chill...

Would it be possible to pour the wort straight into a FV to cool? thinking either a glass DJ or plastic DJ? I know people say you shouldnt pour hot liquids into glass but couldnt I warm up the DJ first maybe in a water bath?

would plastic be affected by the heat?

My other option is to do two brews at the same time but staggered so one cools whilst the other boils...

Thanks guys for any input you have, can't wait to get a photo of up of my first poured beer!

 

[BeerCat]

Get a spare fv to let it cool in then pour into another one to oxygenate it. Don't ever pour hot wort into a DJ. They will break.

 

[Dexter101]

Get a spare fv to let it cool in then pour into another one to oxygenate it. Don't ever pour hot wort into a DJ. They will break.

So would a plastic DJ be ok?

 

[foxy]

You can pour hot wort into a HDPE container, you will get leaching from the plastic, but being as you're making a toxin anyway I wouldn't be to worried about that. Also if you are going to "no chill" you will have to have a different hop schedule as your aroma/taste hops will be increasing the bitterness.
What I have found to work so far is just add your bittering hops, save some wort, next day when your wort has cooled in the plastic fermenter, boil up the wort held back and add your aroma/taste hops to the mini boil after allotted time depending on whether you are using pellets or fresh hops add to the cooled wort and pitch your yeast.

 

[chewie]

So would a plastic DJ be ok?

Ask down your local chippy or chinese how they buy in there mayo or gravy, it will be in tubs like these http://www.eatbig.co.uk/shop/condim...MIkZiw6-Ch1gIVx8myCh0kZwGeEAQYASABEgKk3_D_BwE If they use them then ask for there empties as they just throw them away, there food grade plastics and all you need to do is give em a good clean and drill a hole in the lid for an airlock bung, at 10l they are ideal for smaller batch brews and there free.

 

[Dexter101]

Ask down your local chippy or chinese how they buy in there mayo or gravy, it will be in tubs like these http://www.eatbig.co.uk/shop/condim...MIkZiw6-Ch1gIVx8myCh0kZwGeEAQYASABEgKk3_D_BwE If they use them then ask for there empties as they just throw them away, there food grade plastics and all you need to do is give em a good clean and drill a hole in the lid for an airlock bung, at 10l they are ideal for smaller batch brews and there free.

Will have to see if I can find one, problem I have is the width, if it doesn't fit in the cupboard, there's no where else I can store it.

 

[chewie]

A 10 litre tub like those will be about a foot wide.

 

[BeerCat]

I leave mine to cool in the pot with the lid on. Never had an infection from doing this. You could put cling film over it. As foxy said I would rather rather not put boiling liquid into plastic. Many do thoughts so have I but I find leaving the pot outside overnight works for me. Cover pot in a bin bag to keep out any rain.
​

 

[Dexter101]

I think 1ft would fit through. just measured my own gut and guess that I am about a foot wide too...

In which case am i correct in thinking I could:

Mash in 2, 5 litre pots
Boil in 2 5 litre pots
pour both worts into the 10L tub, seal and allow to cool.
add yeast to tub or alternatively split into 2 DJs and add yeast.

off to go and track down some 10l tubs...

 

[chewie]

You need to use a bigger tub than 10l if you want to combine 2x5l, there will need to be space left for fermentation which can be quite active in some brews depending on yeast/temp. I would put no more than 6l into a 10 litre tub.

 

[sdt7618]

All told you need a bigger cupboard!!:whistle:

where are you going to get the 3 x 25l fermenters, the big shiney stock pots, the 250x500ml bottles the brew fridge and all the rest of the gear your about to need......:grin:

 

[Dexter101]

All told you need a bigger cupboard!!:whistle:

where are you going to get the 3 x 25l fermenters, the big shiney stock pots, the 250x500ml bottles the brew fridge and all the rest of the gear your about to need......:grin:

Once I get producing some (hopefully) good beers I will have ammo with which to convince the better half! Garage is plenty big enough for everything although with no running water or drainage might not be suitable...

 

[BeerisGOD]

I leave mine to cool in the pot with the lid on. Never had an infection from doing this. You could put cling film over it. As foxy said I would rather rather not put boiling liquid into plastic. Many do thoughts so have I but I find leaving the pot outside overnight works for me. Cover pot in a bin bag to keep out any rain.
​

I may do this one day if I forget to freeze some water bottles. It would be another fear of a practice that wasn't worth the worry like many others.

 

[BeerCat]

I may do this one day if I forget to freeze some water bottles. It would be another fear of a practice that wasn't worth the worry like many others.

I was concerned but done loads of brews like this and never had a problem. Well the only problem is I don't have a tap so have to get help to pour it out. I have never chilled a batch down to pitching Temps yet. If I had the right kit I would just to get it over and done with.

 

[BREWERS DROOP]

Sometimes i leave my brew overnight to cool down with the lid on,especially when doing a small 5 gallon brew,as my wort chiller is no good for small brews.Never had any problems.

 

[Dexter101]

So I have been talking to the better half and have suggested some ideas for Christmas and birthday presents :whistle:

Thinking that if she can tell anyone that asks, this gives me less of a "look how much your hobby is costing us" look...

My new idea is to tidy out the garage and from there brew in larger volumes when/if I want to.

Idea is to get:

Peco boiler and use this for BIAB and then for the boil.
Fementing buckets with lid to no chill

The garage has electricity so no problem there although doesnt have water source. However If I was to get a couple of large water carriers, I could fill these up at the start of the day for use in the brew and for sanitising etc. Theres a drain that waste chemical water could go down and any other water could be poured into a waterbutt for use in the garden...

The garage has rear door and then double doors at the front so plenty of ventilation.

it also tends to stay a very constant "cool" temperature so thinking that with some insulation in a cupboard the brews could also ferment in there?

my only other real question is if I wanted to only do a 10L brew, can you still do this in a peco? thinking that 50 bottles of a beer I drink regularly would be great. 50 bottles of some niche brew may just sit around taking up space (and bottles!)

 

[AlanManley]

I Have a Peco boiler and do anything from 5-25ltr batches depending on what I'm doing.

I don't often do less than 10ltrs however have once.

I have a similar problem with water source/drainage however I am thinking of getting something plumbed in from the bathroom upstairs or the outside tap. Drainage is the tougher part. Nearest drain is at the back of the house or on the roadside and both are a bit of a trek from the garage door.


Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Dexter101]

I Have a Peco boiler and do anything from 5-25ltr batches depending on what I'm doing.

I don't often do less than 10ltrs however have once.

I have a similar problem with water source/drainage however I am thinking of getting something plumbed in from the bathroom upstairs or the outside tap. Drainage is the tougher part. Nearest drain is at the back of the house or on the roadside and both are a bit of a trek from the garage door.


Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Thats perfect to know.

I am lucky in that the drain is right next to the door of the garage so should be fairly easy to manage!

 

[chewie]

If you fill your water containers the day before you are going to brew then it will speed you up slightly, as winter approaches tap water will be a lot colder, pre filling your water beforehand will allow the water temp to rise by as much as 10 degrees depending on your interior temps.