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Author Topic: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System  (Read 3401 times)

Offline curtcrock

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10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« on: February 08, 2011, 09:07:41 pm »
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

Offline euge

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2011, 09:16:25 pm »
How are you doing it? Which method of getting the wort out?
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline curtcrock

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2011, 09:20:02 pm »
We batch sparge with a gravity fed system.

Offline euge

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2011, 09:31:58 pm »
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.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2011, 10:03:40 pm »
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.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline BrewArk

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2011, 10:10:44 pm »
So you might need to up the hops a half an ounce or so.
Beer...Now there's a temporary solution!

Na ZdravĂ­

Offline skyler

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2011, 02:09:10 am »
Brewing software should help you out.

Offline phished880

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Re: 10 Gallon All-Grain Batch on a 5 Gallon System
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2011, 07:40:53 am »
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.