Flexibility with an 8 gallon brew pot

[nztkdt]

I've been doing a lot of searching the forums here and haven't really been able to find the answer to the questions I have. I will present them before you, the masses, for help.

I'm wanting to brew primarily 2.5 gallon all grain batches with the option for the occasional 5 gallon batch and I was hoping to be able to accomplish this with one pot.

I know the 8 gallon is not ideal for 5 gallon batches, but certainly do-able. Is it, however, too large for 2.5 gallon batches?

Any thoughts? Advice? (Other than the standard buy a 15 gallon pot and do only 5-10 gallon brews) are greatly appreciated.

 

[vinylrooster]

I've been doing a lot of searching the forums here and haven't really been able to find the answer to the questions I have. I will present them before you, the masses, for help.

I'm wanting to brew primarily 2.5 gallon all grain batches with the option for the occasional 5 gallon batch and I was hoping to be able to accomplish this with one pot.

I know the 8 gallon is not ideal for 5 gallon batches, but certainly do-able. Is it, however, too large for 2.5 gallon batches?

Any thoughts? Advice? (Other than the standard buy a 15 gallon pot and do only 5-10 gallon brews) are greatly appreciated.

First of all, let me say that I normally do all grain 5 gallon batches.

I have a ten gallon kettle for my 5 gallon fermentations. That being said, i normally boil around 7.5 gallons (after boil off end up with around 5.5-6 gallons), so you might be cutting it a little close the 8 gallon pot.

I can think of two alternatives that I would do if I were you:

1. you could just scale your recipes down to 4 gallon fermentation which will give you around 6-6.5 gallon boils, giving you plenty of room in your 8 gallon pot.

2. Keep your 5 gallon recipes, but just boil around 6.5 gallons, which after boil off will give you a little under 5 gallons, then just top up with fresh water. Alternatively, you can just add some fresh water into your boil as the water is boiling off

Hope this helps.

 

[govner1]

I routinely do 3 gal batches & use an 8 gal BK & HLT. My boil volumes average about 4.5 gal.
If you put 6-6.5 in an 8 gal pot you'll only be a few inches from the top of the pot & risking a boil over when you reach the hot break.
If you already have a 10 gal pot keep it and add the 8 gal to your equipment inventory. You can always use the 10 gal as an HLT. this will give you more flexibility in your brewing.

 

[flipfloptan]

I use a 9 gallon pot for my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon batches. I biab no issues.

My 2.5 gallon batches end with 3 gallons. I put 2.75 in fermenter then 2.5 bottled or kegged.

 

[nztkdt]

I use a 9 gallon pot for my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon batches. I biab no issues.

My 2.5 gallon batches end with 3 gallons. I put 2.75 in fermenter then 2.5 bottled or kegged.

When you scale recipes, do you scale down to 3 gallon or 2.5 gallon?

 

[flipfloptan]

I scale to 3 gallons. Doesnt add much$ to recipe. Plus I know I am getting 2.5 gallons of beer at the end.

 

[nztkdt]

I use a 9 gallon pot for my 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon batches. I biab no issues.

My 2.5 gallon batches end with 3 gallons. I put 2.75 in fermenter then 2.5 bottled or kegged.

You primary in a 5 gallon carboy? I was looking at the 3 gallon Better Bottles for 2.5 gallons. 2.75 will probably be too much.

 

[Trippel-A]

First of all, let me say that I normally do all grain 5 gallon batches.

I have a ten gallon kettle for my 5 gallon fermentations. That being said, i normally boil around 7.5 gallons (after boil off end up with around 5.5-6 gallons), so you might be cutting it a little close the 8 gallon pot.

I can think of two alternatives that I would do if I were you:

1. you could just scale your recipes down to 4 gallon fermentation which will give you around 6-6.5 gallon boils, giving you plenty of room in your 8 gallon pot.

2. Keep your 5 gallon recipes, but just boil around 6.5 gallons, which after boil off will give you a little under 5 gallons, then just top up with fresh water. Alternatively, you can just add some fresh water into your boil as the water is boiling off

Hope this helps.

I'm new to all-grain, and there is something I don't understand. If one is using about 1.25 gallons water per pound of grain between the mash and sparge, aren't you limited to pretty low-gravity beers if you only have a 10 gallon kettle? Mine is 9 gallons (a turkey fryer). For my first AG batch, which had only 7.75 pounds of grain, I had trouble keeping temp up, so I had to add extra hot water during the mash and at mashout. I then had to cut off sparging early, because the kettle was full, and I had to boil off the excess, which took quite a while. How on earth do you end up with only 7.5 gallons of wort when a grain bill is 10-12 pounds or more?

 

[vinylrooster]

I'm new to all-grain, and there is something I don't understand. If one is using about 1.25 gallons water per pound of grain between the mash and sparge, aren't you limited to pretty low-gravity beers if you only have a 10 gallon kettle?...

Tripple, I think your problems are a very easy fix. You want to do somewhere between 1.25-2.0 QUARTS per lb of grain. Keep in mind that 4quarts=1gallon. So you are using almost 4 times too much water in your mash!

 

[kwadric]

I have an eight gallon pot and brew a mix of 5 gallon and 3 gallon batches. I boil off 1gal/hr. When I do a 90min, the wort is very close to the top of the kettle. I watch the boil intensely and when it starts to foam, I spray the surface with my Star San bottle. Water would work, but since I already have Star San in spray bottle. The spray breaks up the foam and prevents the boil over.

It is works, but is more trouble than the smaller batches.

 

[billl]

Well, 8 gallons is pretty much the minimum for a 5 gallon batch. That is as small as you can go.

You can do 2.5 gallon batches too. You might need to dial back the gas a little to keep the boiloff reasonable.

 

[Trippel-A]

Tripple, I think your problems are a very easy fix. You want to do somewhere between 1.25-2.0 QUARTS per lb of grain. Keep in mind that 4quarts=1gallon. So you are using almost 4 times too much water in your mash!

Yeah, I remembered wrong, having only done it once before. 1.25 gallons is crazy.

However, my first batch did use only 7.75 pounds of grain, and my 9 gallon boil kettle was full to the brim before I was done sparging. I know that part of this was because I didn't sufficiently pre-heat the coolers, which meant I had to add more hot water at a couple steps in the process. But still, if I'd had a 12 pound grain bill, would all the wort have fit? It's hard to imagine. And even with a bigger kettle, how do people use a big grain bill and get a pre-boil volume that doesn't require an hour or more of boil off before adding the 60 minute hops?

 

[vinylrooster]

I've done 12 lb grain bills for a5 gallon fermentation and still got around 7-8 gallons in my boil kettle using beersmith

 

[jflongo]

I have done TONS of 5 gallon brews in my 7.5 gallon pot, with close to 7 gallons at the start. You have to watch the hot break closely and lower the heat(spray bottle is good idea), same with the first hop addition. Other than that, it's easy. Bigger is better, but 8 gallon is large enough.

 

[vinylrooster]

I've done 12 lb grain bills for a5 gallon fermentation and still got around 7-8 gallons in my boil kettle using beersmith

Here's my actual numbers (I'm at work, so this is on my beersmith mobile app). Looks like around 36 total quarts (9 gallons) for mash and sparge. After beersmith does it's auto calculations for grain water absorption,I was left with just over 7 gallons for boiling.

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[Trippel-A]

Here's my actual numbers (I'm at work, so this is on my beersmith mobile app). Looks like around 36 total quarts (9 gallons) for mash and sparge. After beersmith does it's auto calculations for grain water absorption,I was left with just over 7 gallons for boiling.

Let me know if you have any questions

Thanks, I appreciate that. I haven't started using software yet. Just trying to learn the basics, still.

 

[vinylrooster]

Thanks, I appreciate that. I haven't started using software yet. Just trying to learn the basics, still.

That's fine. If you ever need someone to crunch the numbers for you in beersmith, just start a post asking people to check your recipes and I'm sure someone will plug it in for you. Always looking to help out a new brewer

 

[jflongo]

Thanks, I appreciate that. I haven't started using software yet. Just trying to learn the basics, still.

There are lots of free ones out there too, like BrewTarget, that make it easy. Just download one, add your ingredients, and you'll see how easy it is.