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Old 11-28-2007, 07:08 PM
RunDownHouse RunDownHouse is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Nashville
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Default Re: any homebrewers?

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when you do 10, do you buy 10 gallon equipment? or 2 sets of 5 gallon equipment?

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It's all about the boil. Most people that do more than 5 gallons split the batch into a couple fermenters, but the boil all takes place in the same vessel. If you're still on the stove, I really doubt you're going to be able to bring 13 or so gallons up to a boil. Lots of people use a commercial keg that has had the top sliced off and a valve added (a keggle) and a propane burner and brew outside. I have a 15-gallon pot as opposed to a keggle. When you start doing the bigger volumes, it pays to think about the physics before you decide what boil kettle to get. By "physics," I mean, "How am I going to move this 100-pound pot full of boiling wort around so I can cool it and get it in my fermenter?"

Other than physically being able to hold the volume and bring it to a boil, it's the same to do 5 gallons or 10 gallons or 10 barrels.

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But, I have no need for 5 or 10 gallons of beer!

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That's fine, and lots of people do smaller batches. A pro brewer with Sierra Nevada is experimenting with brewing a single bottle of beer. But don't be daunted by numbers, either. Keep in mind that two gallons is going to be ~20 12-ounce bottles and 5 gallons is going to be ~48 12-ounce bottles. You'll typically get a bit less beer into the bottle than the total volume in your fermenter because coagulated proteins, dead/inactive yeast, etc, drops to the bottom of your fermenter and forms a sludgy mess known as the trub. And nobody bottles the trub.

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I suppose I could buy a regular kit and just make smaller batches though! Right???


[/ QUOTE ]Yes... with a sort of qualification. You don't want a fermenter that's tooooo big for your volume of fermenting beer. You do want some excess room, as the wort (unfermented beer) will be generating a bunch of CO2 and foaming up, so you either need enough headspace in the fermenter to contain it or a way for it to blow off, as Govment Cheese discovered in the third or so post in this thread. At the same time, you wouldn't want to ferment one gallon of beer in a 40-gallon fermenter, because there'd be too much room and not enough CO2 generated. I'd think 2-3 gallons in a 5-gallon bucket would be just fine. I've never done it, but I can't imagine that'd be a problem.

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Also, another question... How long does this homemade beer keep for?

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Just as long as any other unpasteurized beer, which many microbrews are. Assuming you don't have any infections or oxidization problems, your beer will be fine for months. Even after that, it will be "ok" in the sense of perfectly fine to drink, but the taste will start to mellow then dull the longer it sits after a certain point. The higher the ABV and the more hops, generally the longer until peak flavor. Something like your nut brown will probably be best to drink within 6 months; a monster 10% American Barleywine will probably not be great until it has sat for a couple months, and won't peak until 9-12 months out. Part of the fun is tasting your beer over intervals and seeing how it changes.
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