Lessons learned moving from 5 to 10 gallon batches

MikeinRH, thanks a lot!

MikeinRH said:

With SS disconnects, I can chill 10+ gallons in less than 10 minutes.

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This is an impressive result! Are you precooling your chill water?
R, Slurk

Only in the summer when hose water is above optimum temp. The only difference in my set up is that I add a 20 lb bag of ice to the 20 gallon plastic garbage can where my sump pump sends water into the chiller. I realize I can connect the chill plate directly to the garden hose, but I've gotten into the habit of using the garbage can full of water, instead. I was trained to get the boil temp to the mid to low 70's before pitching yeast. Then I was reading a White labs article where they recommend anything below 80. Hmmm. Are you doing 10-gallon batches?

(This probably should be in a chilling thread but somewhat related.)

I brewed a 5-gallon batch a couple weeks ago and the ground water was 50 deg F. I have an immersion chiller in a keggle. I had the itch to get a plate chiller but came across a few articles on whirlpooling with a pump and on wort stirrers. I don't have a pump nor stirrer so I used my brewing spoon to whirlpool the wort while chilling and cut my chilling time by almost 2/3's (6-7 minutes). I don't see many using slow speed wort stirrers and was wondering why?


Mike

MikeinRH said:

Are you doing 10-gallon batches?

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No, only 5-6 gallon batches.
Chilling that volume will not be an issue I think. In addition water from the tap here is rather cold (41 - 52F).
I am planning to make a test set up first basically for finding out:
- how much difference in height I need between the wort kettle and fermenter when using gravity based wort transport through the plate chiller (how much flow I could create)
- how to keep the equipment set up and cooling process simple
- cooling capacity

Regards,
Slurk

Hey, Slurk ... be prepared to consider an alternate course of action if you encounter a blockage as trub debris gets stuck in the chill plate before you have a chance to entirely drain your kettle. This is why I hooked up a March pump between the kettle and chill plate. The enhanced flow created by the pump really blows product through the plate without a problem.

Thanks MikeinRH!
Yes, I always had in the back of my mind this what if scenario. What if the trub debris gets stuck in the chill plate while using gravity based transport and 4 gallons of boiling wort still have to be cooled down?
Based on feedback I received earlier, I have put this risk aside. A filter should do the work the main conclusion was.
However, since you are mentioning this risk, how are you filtering your wort in the cooling process and how often do you have problems with your plate chiller getting stuck?

Regards,
Slurk

I decided to collect at least another half gallon of wort for the boil and do as much as I could to prevent trub/etc from leaving the kettle after the boil. I went back to putting hop additions into muslin bags and my oversized tea strainer balls. (Sorry. No other way to describe them). Well, there's no question in my mind that anything more than tossing hop pellets into the boil is going to reduce IBU's. I'm dry hopping again, and I'm also allowing more stuff to flow through pump and chill plate now that I have somewhat of a handle on what amount of stuff will go through. Do you get BYO magazine? Great article on AG brewing. One thing I learned is that you should let everything settle in the conical for an hour before pitching yeast. Doesn't say anything about draining off trub from bottom valve at the end of that hour. On the other hand, I've brewed some excellent beer that appeals to the wife and most of my friends ... not too hoppy. Too bad for me. Once a hop-head, always a hop-head. We go to a burger joint near the Claremont Colleges. They've got 25-30 beers on tap ... Pliny, Green Flash, Stone etc. I get a kick out of seeing women order the max IBU beers! I also get a sense of satisfaction in knowing that I can brew almost anything they have that tastes the same or better. Ha!

MikeinRH said:

On the other hand, I've brewed some excellent beer that appeals to the wife and most of my friends ... not too hoppy. Too bad for me. Once a hop-head, always a hop-head. We go to a burger joint near the Claremont Colleges. They've got 25-30 beers on tap ... Pliny, Green Flash, Stone etc. I get a kick out of seeing women order the max IBU beers! I also get a sense of satisfaction in knowing that I can brew almost anything they have that tastes the same or better. Ha!

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There has been a very interesting Beer travel program on Belgium TV (Tournee General) last year, where a female beer/food expert said that the industry should not focus on producing "female" beers (sweet, not bitter, not strong, fruit additions etc.) but focus on learning women to drink the variety of existing and fantastic (Belgium) beers.

R, Slurk