10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System

Brewing Processes
1

So my buddy and I had an idea (keep in mind, we had been drinking); we want to do a 10 gallon batch of a low gravity beer on our 5 gallon system.

We figured that we could double the grain bill for a low gravity beer and it will fit in our mash tun, but we only have the capacity to boil 7 gallons.

So if we simply double a low-gravity recipe, process it like a high-gravity 5 gallon batch, then add water prior to fermentation to equal 10 gallons would we end up with two five gallon batches of a low-gravity beer that would taste similar to the original 5 gallon recipe?

Is our logic flawed?  If not, are there any pitfalls to be aware of?

Thanks in advance and good health,

Curt and Ken

2

How are you doing it? Which method of getting the wort out?

3

We batch sparge with a gravity fed system.

4

You can top up however you may also hit an extraction loss due to a lower grain/water ratio. Not having the ability to do bigger boils sucks. Bad situation. You could run off the full amount with a third sparge- do two boils, and blend before boiling and after.

5

It’s similar to doing a partial boil with extract - it may take you a few tries to dial it in, but you can work it out.

6

So you might need to up the hops a half an ounce or so.

7

Brewing software should help you out.

8

With a 11 month old baby this method allows me to keep brewing. I’ve also found it leaves room for experimenting. About 2 months ago I did an oatmeal stout, with 5 gal getting dry nibbed. Last thurs I did a brown ale half got wlp007, half got wlp500.