236 replies to this topic

[BlKtRe]

by the way I am not criticizing anyone for making bigger batches, I just like where I am

Its nice to be able to take growlers of beer to meetings and have stuff around when people stop by (weekly) without freaking out about blowing your favorite keg. And yes, my wife is as much a hophead as I am. Plus with all the fundraisers and weddings I do 5g can't even be in the vocabulary unless I'm doing 5g test batches of the various ways to handle Berliner Weisse.

[Humperdink]

I would be putting out a donation jar at that point

Nah, the neighbors cook for us all the time, D's brother gifted me some equipment and I like to be generous. That said, it has been brought up when $$$ was a little tighter.

[Humperdink]

5g can't even be in the vocabulary unless I'm doing 5g test batches of the various ways to handle Berliner Weisse.

Which by the way I am all ears on...

[BlKtRe]

Which by the way I am all ears on...

That's a entire different thread that would generate some good stuff.

[Humperdink]

That's a entire different thread that would generate some good stuff.

Yes please. You and George are the ones with the knowledge.... tutelage-ize us.

[HVB]

That's a entire different thread that would generate some good stuff.

Start it!

[BlKtRe]

Yes please. You and George are the ones with the knowledge.... tutelage-ize us.

I don't know all there is but have studied and brewed the style different ways. I probably can't start it till later being at work and all.

[Humperdink]

I don't know all there is but have studied and brewed the style different ways. I probably can't start it till later being at work and all.

That's fine, just don't basser it on us please. I've been really curious about that style for a while now. Never had a commercial example.

[Mya]

Start it!

done

[johnpreuss]

I need more friends I guess, it doesn't helps that SWMBO doesn't drink beer

That

[djinkc]

even 10 gallons is to much for my consumption rate

When I started again at the end of '04 there was no way 5 gallon batches would be brewed here. The entire brewery was designed so I could easily brew and move 10 gallons around. Twice the beer in nearly the same time. Occassionaly I get tired of a higher gravity one, but we seem to deal with it........

[Mya]

When I started again at the end of '04 there was no way 5 gallon batches would be brewed here. The entire brewery was designed so I could easily brew and move 10 gallons around. Twice the beer in nearly the same time. Occassionaly I get tired of a higher gravity one, but we seem to deal with it........

5 every 2-4 weeks is more than I can drink

[denny]

5 every 2-4 weeks is more than I can drink

Same here and that's with 2 of us drinking.

[Mya]

If I do make 10 gallons, it's 2 different beers

[Humperdink]

If I do make 10 gallons, it's 2 different beers

The only time I don't use two different yeasts is if I'm dryhopping one. Its a great way to leave yeasts too. ONe neutral known yeast and one experimental.

[Mya]

The only time I don't use two different yeasts is if I'm dryhopping one. Its a great way to leave yeasts too. ONe neutral known yeast and one experimental.

see that is the secondary reason why I do 5.5 to 6 gallon batches, experimentation! for me homebrewing is an adventure, not a production line, If want the same beer over and over again, sure I can do that, or keep Deschutes and SNBC in business, but I trying new hops, new grain combos, new variations, and going back and re-trying old recipes with new twistsI am trying to reverse engineer a local favorite called Quilters Irish Death, this Spring

[Jdtirado]

Can I invoke the newbie dumb question clause in my contract and ask:1. What is fly sparging versus other forms of sparging?2. All this talk of efficiency when sparging in making my head spin, so can someone explain?3. This may be a question outside this thread but when recipes are posted here, are they assumed to be 5 gallon batches?

[Humperdink]

FLy sparging is when you are draining your mashtun, you continuously add water to the top of the tun to replace the wort being drained out of the bottom. Batch sparging is you just drain the mashtun til dry, add more water, stir like crazy and run dry again. Both have their champions, but both make great beer.There's two types of efficiencies that are commonly talked about, mash and brewhouse. Mash is generally what folks refer to, so I'll stick with that one. Mash efficiency refers to the amount of sugars you are able to pull from your grains compared to a laboratory defined sugar content. So say if mash a pound of grain in one gallon of water the lab says you would garner a gravity of 1.034. That would be 100% efficiency. What you measure your system to have gotten from your grainbill compared to that standard is your mash efficiency. They vary from 50% to 90% at commercial breweries. Most homebrewers get between 65 and 85, depending on a lot of factors. Feel free to ask before you take the plunge to all grain so we can talk about equipment designs etc.Generally unless otherwise stated, yes. THe are usually 6 gallons finished, 5.5 gallons into the fermenter and 5 gallons kegged or bottled.

[Mya]

Can I invoke the newbie dumb question clause in my contract and ask:1. What is fly sparging versus other forms of sparging?2. All this talk of efficiency when sparging in making my head spin, so can someone explain?3. This may be a question outside this thread but when recipes are posted here, are they assumed to be 5 gallon batches?

1. Fly Sparging, is the more traditional sparging process, whereby hot water @170°F is gently sprinkled on top of the grain that you have mashed, while you drain out the resulting sweet liquor from the bottom of your vessel, through either a manifold or a false bottom, during this process you have to maintain a head of hot water on top of the grain bed and go slow enough to maintain the head. Batch sparging is where after your mash is converted, you drain off all the liquid in the mash vessel, then add a calculated amount of water all at once in a batch, stirr your mash back up, and run it all out quickly through either a braid or manifold or false bottom. 2. Efficiency is simply a measure of how much of the grains potential fermentable sugars were extracted and made it into your kettle.3. Yes, 5 gallons is mostly standard and if otherwise will be marked.

[denny]

For questions about types of sparging, see www.dennybrew.com