Im wanting to upgrade to 10 gallon batches. My aim is to have a single vessel using the BIAB method but I have a few questions.
Would 10 gallon grain bills create a noticeable efficiency problem without circulation?
And if anybody here does brew 10 gallon batches what type of propane burner are you using?
I already have my pot picked out from spike brewing, im just looking for some info before I pull the trigger
I don’t know how a single vessel will work out but I’m sure it’s more than possible. They make giant grain fathers now. Probably way more efficient than my keggle system I used to have. I used to constantly recirculate my batches but they came out just fine before I bought my pump. I just stirred every 20 minutes or so.
I find it funny watching the evolution of brewers over time. I started with the classic cooler and turkey fryer, jumped up at a 3 keggle system, and now I’m back down to 5 gallons batches on an electric system. My day is way less complex than it was even at the start.
Yea I’m wanting to upgrade in batch size the cheapest and most efficient way possible!! But I dont mind spending money on quality
I started with a cooler system, then a BIAB on my 8 gallon kettles then to an Anvil foundry and now I mash in the foundry and boil in a univessel. (Boil chill and ferment in same pot) I think if I were to spend the money on another all in one system I would buy a speidel. I personally am not impressed with these over priced foreign made items. Like the anvil and its like
I’ll have to look up the univessel… I’m just curious about it from the name lol
Its from chapman
Can’t help with your other questions but the Camp Chef burner does the job for, I would say, 15-gallon pre-boil volumes or less. It’s a pretty badass burner.
If I may ask, which electric system do you use for 5 gallon batches ?
Thanks
A larger thermal mass will hold heat better than a smaller one. You’ll still need to stir during the mash, and insulating the kettle helps a lot too. Even at that, brewing outdoors in cold weather will be a challenge.
A banjo burner puts out a lot more BTUs than conventional propane burners and they can be found for under $100.
I have two main brew systems - an Anvil Foundry for my 3-6 gallon batches and for the 10 gallon batches, an 18 gallon Stout tank electric boil kettle with sling-blade 4200W element (actually it is set up for a BIAB using a basket, but lifting it is a pain, even with a hoist, so I have gone away from the basket in large batch brews). Instead for the 10 gallon batches, I have an InfuSSion Mash Tun (20 gallons - it is an older version than what is now sold by SS Brewtech) and I can recirculate through a 9 gallon HERMS HLT (by Stout) for step mashes. 10 gallon fermentation is done in a Kegmenter, which is pressure capable. I have pressure-capable (Brewzilla All Rounder) and non-pressure SS Brew buckets for fermenting. Frankly the lifting and moving of the 10 gallon batch size will limit my 10 gallon batch use at some point, as I get older…plus consumption is waning a little each year, so the 10 gallon batches are usually brewed for special occasions, like parties or weddings.
Cheers on the upgrade - best of luck in making your choice.
I used to do 10 gallon BIAB batches using a converted keg. I never recirculated but made sure to stir every 15 minutes. My efficiency was between 75% to 80%. As for burners I just used a cheap turkey fryer kit burner and never had a problem.
@Fire Rooster I have the Anvil Foundry. Honestly I love the upgrade… Downgrade? I don’t know how some would look at it from a 3 keggle system lol
I thought about buying that before I bought the Delta Fermtanks.
There are probably as many ways of doing a thing as there are people doing said thing. Most of my batches that are under ~1.080 wind up with 10 1/2 to 11 1/2 gallons post boil, and I haven’t seen any drop in efficiency from the smaller batches of the same recipes I did before. I do brew bag in a cooler & batch sparge, no pumps, all gravity flow. I picked up a 15 gallon kettle about a year and a half ago, thinking I’d only use it for the occasional monster beer, but at some point I realized that I never wind up with too much of any particular beer, and usually less than I’d like. Consequently my batch sizes have crept up to where I am now, which is right at the limit of what I can physically handle, and with 12 plus gallons in the kettle preboil, about as much as I can go and retain a safe amount of freeboard for adding hops. The physical limit part is that since I don’t pump I have to climb up on the counter and lift the kettle a couple feet up onto a stand so I can drain it into the chiller bucket. Lifting 11 1/2 gallons of 200* liquid sloshing around in a 15 G kettle is as much risk and strain as I’m willing to take. I brew indoors on a gas cooktop, I’ve found that with the larger batch size on an 18,000 BTU burner de-rated for our 5,000 ft elevation, I need to leave the lid about 3/4 of the way on the kettle if I want to maintain a good rolling boil, with the lid off all the burner can muster is a very low boil that’s close to a simmer. That inexpensive Brewer’s Edge kettle is one of the best brewing purchases I’ve made, my pricy 10 gallon Blichmann hasn’t been out of it’s box in the closet in close to a year.
I just wanted to emphasize this [emoji28]