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Batch Size Per Kettle

 
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LincAllen




Joined: 04 Mar 2020
Posts: 3
Location: New England


PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:02 pm    Post subject: Batch Size Per Kettle Reply with quote


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Just fond this site and forum. So much amazing information. I have been slowly accumulating part and pieces for my setup and had a quick question on "The Electric Brewery" design and setup. I am currently only brewing in 5 gallon batches however I can see increasing that to 10 gallon batches in the future.

Based on the design and build layout for the kettles in your system, if I were to purchase the 20 gallon kettles, is there any reason why I couldn't brew 5 gallon batches in the larger kettles until I have a need/want for the larger batches? Do the dimensions and valve layout for the 20 gallon system still work with smaller batches? Is the efficiency or boil off going to be noticeably different if I brew a 5 gallon batch in a 20 gallon kettle system? Will I still be able to use the grain bed still effectively filter during the sparge with the decrease volume of grain? Will the thermometers and outlets for the system allow for small batches based on location of described mounting in your instructions?

I apologize if this is a repeat question. I did try a forum search and didn't see a definitive answer. Thank you all and I'll be in touch with my build.

Thank you,

Lincoln
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Batch Size Per Kettle Reply with quote

Hi and welcome to the forum!

LincAllen wrote:
if I were to purchase the 20 gallon kettles, is there any reason why I couldn't brew 5 gallon batches in the larger kettles until I have a need/want for the larger batches?

Nope - 20 gallon kettles can be used for 5 gallon batches.

Quote:
Do the dimensions and valve layout for the 20 gallon system still work with smaller batches?

Yes - no problems.

Quote:
Is the efficiency or boil off going to be noticeably different if I brew a 5 gallon batch in a 20 gallon kettle system?

Shouldn't be if you use our recommended components and follow our instructions. You may notice a slight decrease in mash efficiency but it should be consistent.

Quote:
Will I still be able to use the grain bed still effectively filter during the sparge with the decrease volume of grain?

Yes. Keep in mind that it's not during the sparge that the filtering starts. It starts the moment you start recirculating during the mash. By the time you get to fly sparging the wort will already be completely filtered and crystal clear from the long recirculation (basically a continous vorlauf). Check out how clear the wort is from recent batches I brewed:

Lighter wort (it's already a few inches deep so it looks darker): https://www.instagram.com/p/B3AyaCHHb_Z/
Reddish wort: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QheIPnnWq/
Darker wort: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8E5fKsHRjo/

(It's a 10 gallon batch but you get the idea)

Quote:
Will the thermometers and outlets for the system allow for small batches based on location of described mounting in your instructions?

Yup.

Cheers!

Kal

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LincAllen




Joined: 04 Mar 2020
Posts: 3
Location: New England


PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Kal! What a great site and resource!

Lastly, can you see any reason (money aside) not to go with the larger kettle system regardless of my batch volume intentions?
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LincAllen wrote:
Thank you Kal! What a great site and resource!

Thanks!

Quote:
Lastly, can you see any reason (money aside) not to go with the larger kettle system regardless of my batch volume intentions?

Can you be more specific about what you want to do exactly? Do you mean the 30 or even 55 gallon kettles and a 50A control panel like these?:

30 gallon kettle: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/blichmann-boilermaker-30-gallon-kettle
55 gallon kettle: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/blichmann-boilermaker-55-gallon-kettle
50A control panel for 30+ gallons: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/control-panels/products/50a-electric-brewery-control-panel-for-30-gallons-pre-assembled

You can certainly do that as well. As you get larger however the opportunity to brew very small batches goes away however. For example, the 5-7 gallons you'll have in a 55 gallon kettle will be too low.

Give my FAQ a read too: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/faq

Especially this question: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/faq#How_much_beer_can_you_make_with_your_setup__What_size_kettles_should_I_buy__What_brand

20 gallon kettle are definitely the most popular size for homebrewers as you can still do 5 gallon batches, with 10 more standard, or as much as 15 or possibly more if you push it.

One popular option too is to use our 50A control panel for 30+ gallons on a smaller setup with 20-30 gallon kettles in order to have 2 heating elements in the HLT to heat faster. (But only have a single element in the boil).

Cheers!

Kal

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LincAllen




Joined: 04 Mar 2020
Posts: 3
Location: New England


PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The largest I would go would for the foreseeable future would be a 10 gallon batch. I just wanted to make sure that a 20 gallon kettle is capable and able to brew 5 gallon batches efficiently and require minimal adjustments to grow to a 10 gallon system. I unfortunately have too many time constraints to try to expand beyond 10 gallon batches. Thank you so much for getting back to me. I appreciate your commitment to the group and homebrewing. I'm sure I'll have more as I work through my build!

Thanks!

Lincoln
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds good!

LincAllen wrote:
I unfortunately have too many time constraints to try to expand beyond 10 gallon batches.

Not sure what you mean exactly but keep in mind that the time to brew does not really reflect batch size. It takes the same amount of time regardless of batch size (assuming a properly designed setup).

Cheers!

Kal

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itsnotrequired




Joined: 15 Sep 2015
Posts: 177
Location: central wi


PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

to echo what kal said, total time spent on brew day is not a 1:1 relationship. in other words, a 10 gal batch doesn't take twice as long as a 5 gal batch and a 15 gal batch doesn't take three times as long as a 5 gal batch. there are plenty of 'fixed' times regardless of batch size. after all, an hour long boil for a 5 gal batch is the same length of time as an hour long boil for a 10 gal batch. Razz

there are little incremental time increases, the biggest probably being that it takes longer to get, say, 20 gal of water in the hlt up to temp than it does 15. similar for the boil, takes longer to get 15 gal of liquid up to boil than 10 or 5. clean up time is essentially the same.

if time is an issue, larger batches have the advantage of not having to brew as frequently. three separate 5 gal batches may take you six hours each or eighteen hours total. a single 15 gal batch may only take eight hours. the flip side, of course, is that you are 'stuck' with the same kind of beer for a single 15 gal batch whereas three separate 5 gal batches can be wildly different. sure, you could split that single 15 gal batch into different fermentors and use different yeast, different dry hops, etc. but you get my drift.

i'm the biggest beer drinker in the house and 10 gal batches work out perfectly for me, typically brew once every 5-6 weeks. most batches last anywhere between two and four months, depending on style, how much i take to events to share, etc. i had a 11% barleywine that lasted almost a year. that's another thing to consider with batch size, the style. do i really need 10 gal of 11% beer? next time, i'll probably only make 5 gal. similar for a supper fresh hoppy beer. aromas fade over time so the last few pours out of a 15 gal batch are probably going to be pretty tame compared to a 5 gal batch.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 1:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some good info by itsnotrequired. Right on the money.

Most of this is covered in the FAQ too - specifically: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/faq#How_much_beer_can_you_make_with_your_setup__What_size_kettles_should_I_buy__What_brand

10 gallon batches is very common for homebrewers for the reasons stated. It's often a perfect balance between not having to drink the same beer for months on end and getting the most out of the work involved. But at the end of the day the choice of batch size is up to you.

Throw a couple of heating elements in the HLT with our 50A Electric Brewery for 30+ gallons (even with smaller batches) and you'll save time if that's a concern.

Making only 5 gallons of stronger beer instead of 10 is often mentioned, but keep in mind that often these stronger beers (RIS, Barleywine, etc) are beers that age really well. So sometimes it's very advantageous to make more. Here's some 9 year old Barleywine I made: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4I1yzMHtsw/?utm_source=ig_embed

I'd say the one strong you may not want 10 gallons of is a double IPA as they're best consumed fresh. I always make 10 however. Wink Pay close attention to process and boil hard (basically follow by building/using instructions) and your beer will have maximized long term stability. Other brewers are often surprised how my hop flavours/aromas do not seem to fade as fast as they'd expect. My lower ABV Electric Hop Candy Jr at 5% ABV often stays on tap for ~6 months. In fact I have some on tap now that was brewed in August 2019 (about 6.5 months old) and the hop flavours/aromas are still very fresh. It's lower ABV though.

Kal

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225




Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 103
Location: Asheville, NC.


PostLink    Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is all good info. I plan on doing 5 gallon batches until we get moved into a bigger place. But With all the elements low, I didn't see it being a problem. And I think it would be easy to adjust water / mash water amount by the formula explained in the brew day article.
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dp Brewing Company




Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 664
Location: Midwest

Drinking: Chocolate Taco, Raspberry Mango Cider, American X, Sandy Dunes

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PostLink    Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I brew 10 to 15 gallon batches but really need to cut back to 5 gallon batches during the winter months. During the summer months my neighbors drink up plenty of my brews but come winter everyone hibernates.
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