Five gallon batches, or go all in on 10 Gallon batches?

[rob_f]

I use a 15-gal kettle for 5-gallon batches 90% of the time.  But when I’m brewing for an event or a party, I’ll do 8 or 10 gallons so that I’ll still have some beer left.  That flexibility is worth the larger kettle to me.

[ynotbrusum]

@jkirkham

I have a 15 gallon kettle and 8 gallon brew pot. I make 5s but could make 10s if I really wanted (just by moving equipment). I can’t drink that much beer that fast though. Sometimes I struggle with 5 gallons if I am alone. I would just go bigger though if I was you. I would be more consercerned about how I was going to mash if I was you.

If you plan for 5 gallons but the capacity of 10, you can make big beers depending on your set up. I have friends who struggle to make 10 gallons of big beer because they can only mash 20-25 pounds of grain. I can do that easy for 5 gallons but it would be hard for me to makes 10 gallons of a 10% beer.

See Klackitat Jim thread on and Denny’s Experimental Homebrew podcast on iterated/double mash approaches.  We can go bigger ABV than our tuns allow with single or BIAB size constraints, if we get innovative.

[charlie]

I wasted a lot of money on my first 5 gallon system. Three years later I went to 10 gallons and used keggles, which are about the cheapest 15 gallon brew pot you can imagine!

It takes the same amount of time to brew 5 or 500 gallons of beer (except for shoveling the spent grain. lol), so if you like your beer don’t mess around with small equipment.

Charlie

[charlie]

…  unless you go through your beers quickly, 10-gal batches of homebrew are best suited for beers that can sit around for a while, i.e. lagers, darker ales, etc.

Or you have beer sponges for friends.

Charlie

[denny]

In 530 batches, I think I’ve only brewed a handful larger than 5 gal.  I really have no interest in brewing larger batches.

[chumley]

@alestateyall

I brew 3 gallon batches about once per month. I can barely consume that. I could move to 5 if I took more to parties.

I don’t know how people who brew large batches get rid of all the beer.

I drink a lot of beer.  :o

I brew 10 gallon batches, an occasional 5 gallon batch when I make a RIS, IIPA, barley wine. etc…  Love splitting it with different yeasts.  I just blew a keg of throwback mild brewed with WY1318 that was delicious, but am now looking forward to the WY1469 version that I will tap tonight.

Occasionally I will end up dumping beer that I get sick of drinking, but that is usually the result of brewing 10 gallons of something I really only needed 5 gallons of (like rauchbier), so it is my fault.  Can’t go wrong with 10 gallons of pilsner.