split batch ideas?

[Pennine]

I was thinking for the rest of the year of doing split batch brews to test out some brewing variables. I think the first one with the summer temps will be to do a 20l batch and then split between fermenters and pitch one with be134 and one with belle saison. because SAISON!

the other two batch ideas i came up with was to use just a base malt and one with a small crystal addition. or even possibly a base recipe then steep two different crystal malts. or even doing a stout and using two different roasted malts.

I also liked the hops idea @Hazelwood Brewery posted. my initial thoughts on that were citra/mosaic, tettnang/saaz and centennial/Chinook.

the one worry is if a recipe sucks it's a lot of ****** beer to drink. so I will likely keep the recipes basic or use proven ones. and use ingredients I have had success with, not new and unproven ingredients. also keeping it simple with 2 variables should help keep the brewdays enjoyable and also allow some nice blending opportunities.

any other ideas for comparisons that I am not thinking of? doing two separate mashes is doable but less preferable than one and then splitting at the boil as a I have a 10l braumeister and a 20l robobrew.

 

[MyQul]

Just have a look at the brulosophy site. This is basically the modus operandi for the chap who runs it (except he does two entire batches with a change in variable rather than splitting a batch into two)

 

[geigercntr]

Maybe racking half onto fruit and leaving half unfruited (or half onto a different fruit)

Add some dregs from a bottle of Orval to one split and see how Brett effects the beer

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It all sounds great to me, I look forward to hearing about the trials and outcomes.

Another idea maybe - malty beer? How malty can you go? What if you add say 20% melanoidin malt and 80% Munich, how about 30% melanoidin?

You could also try some flavour additions using flavour drops or fruit / nuts, even something whacky like marmite

 

[Pennine]

Just have a look at the brulosophy site. This is basically the modus operandi for the chap who runs it (except he does two entire batches with a change in variable rather than splitting a batch into two)

yeah I read there stuff regularly and have been for a while. would be kind of interesting to do some triangle tests too but I am more interested in personal preferences. I really like their hop Chronicles and was thinking of doing something like that for comparing.

 

[Pennine]

I like those ideas, orval and marmite!

I'm not a big fruit beer fan though, 1 per year is good for me.

I think for the malt ones doing much smaller batches might be good. drinking 20 bottles of 80% melanoiden might be cumbersome.

 

[Sadfield]

I like to do mash and boil for a saison, split it and add saison yeast and dry hops to one and sugar and an Abbay style yeast to the other to get a stronger belgian blonde.

 

[Drunkula]

Step aside.

* Adjust the sulphite to chloride ratio either in the glass as you're drinking it or in batches as you bottle it - you can easily get a few splits from one ferment.
* Wheat vs carapils vs nothing vs porridge for head retention
* Accent various special malts like special X vs special B vs Special X vs Crystal 240
* Leaf hops vs pellets for the same year
* DIY crystal malt vs real crystal malt
* Dry hop vs hop tea (hint: don't do a hop tea early in fermentation)
* Different hop teas at bottling - again easy to split one ferment into 5 x 8 bottles.
* Condition some bottles at room temp vs a fridge then get them same temp and do a side by side
* Fermentation temperatures for same yeast
* As you're drinking it try salt vs calcium chloride. You can do that with any beer any time.
* Same wort, different yeasts. Great way of trying out yeasts. I'm doing a 9 way split when I can be faffed.
* New yeast vs repitch
* Force carb some beers vs bottle priming. Can use a carbonation cap and a messy schrader valve setup. My early tests with this showed leaving the DIY carb caps I made with schrader valves made the beer taste of rubber when I lay them down in the freezer to quick cool. Still drank it. Comparison out the window, though.
* Sucrose vs dextrose vs malt vs honey vs Haribo for bottle priming. Some people say they can taste the difference with sucrose - I won't believe** it until it's triangle tested. Haribo is pretty easy to pick out. Plus it's hilarious to watch Tangfastics grow huge in the bottle.


** Not believe as in your friend sees you'be got a jar of jelly babies. They say there are an even number of jelly babies in the jar. Don't come up with ideas for that - it's not the point.

 

[Pennine]

Step aside.

* Adjust the sulphite to chloride ratio either in the glass as you're drinking it or in batches as you bottle it - you can easily get a few splits from one ferment.
* Wheat vs carapils vs nothing vs porridge for head retention
* Accent various special malts like special X vs special B vs Special X vs Crystal 240
* Leaf hops vs pellets for the same year
* DIY crystal malt vs real crystal malt
* Dry hop vs hop tea (hint: don't do a hop tea early in fermentation)
* Different hop teas at bottling - again easy to split one ferment into 5 x 8 bottles.
* Condition some bottles at room temp vs a fridge then get them same temp and do a side by side
* Fermentation temperatures for same yeast
* As you're drinking it try salt vs calcium chloride. You can do that with any beer any time.
* Same wort, different yeasts. Great way of trying out yeasts. I'm doing a 9 way split when I can be faffed.
* New yeast vs repitch
* Force carb some beers vs bottle priming. Can use a carbonation cap and a messy schrader valve setup. My early tests with this showed leaving the DIY carb caps I made with schrader valves made the beer taste of rubber when I lay them down in the freezer to quick cool. Still drank it. Comparison out the window, though.
* Sucrose vs dextrose vs malt vs honey vs Haribo for bottle priming. Some people say they can taste the difference with sucrose - I won't believe** it until it's triangle tested. Haribo is pretty easy to pick out. Plus it's hilarious to watch Tangfastics grow huge in the bottle.


** Not believe as in your friend sees you'be got a jar of jelly babies. They say there are an even number of jelly babies in the jar. Don't come up with ideas for that - it's not the point.

nice that's a really good list. I have done some of the easy ones like dosing salts into finished beer, bottle conditioning vs. forced and soem various yeast side by sides. I like the priming idea with gummi bears. this also reminded me about dropping a pellet of various hops in a bottles of lager to sample dry hopping qualities.

 

[MyQul]

also reminded me about dropping a pellet of various hops in a bottles of lager to sample dry hopping qualities.

I came across this idea a few years ago. I posted on the forum about it and people said the pellet creates nucleation points and the beer just foams out the bottle. Never did get around to trying it so I'm not sure whether this is correct or no