Full Volume Boiling

Brewing less than 5G would require me to start buying my recipes piecemeal, which I'm not quite ready for, I think. Anyway, I've decided to take the plunge and get a 10G Tall Boy, hopefully everything will work out. I tested my 5G kettle on one of my secondary burners (I have a gas stove) and was able to get about 2G boiling in it. If I can manage 4G in the Tall Boy then I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I'm only out about $50, because the kettle was on sale and I had some store credit that I couldn't find another use for.

 

Another fine option, if you aren't into building your own recipes, is brewing one gallon batches. On a stove you could brew two at once if you wanted. There's a pretty good selection of kits out there these days. I personally would vote, get some software, scale things and build it up yourself for any batch size but that's some learning time and not brewing right now time so I understand that may not be preferable.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/Beer/One-Gallon-sm-All-Grain-Recipe-Kits/
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits

 

For brewing a beer like Pliny, another solid option is to do two boils on two different days (if you have only one kettle), and splitting the hops evenly, but using less extract on the first day.
Benefits:
1) You get a bit of a yeast starter like wort allowing the yeast to get comfortable before raising gravity to full strength all the way.
2) Adding some O2 on the first day of fermentation should be rapidly consumed by the yeast
3) You get 5G of Pliny!

Pliny is beer you need to do full boil imho. Reason is theoretically lets say you end up with 100ibus at the end of boil with 3gal, if you then add 2 gal of water to make 5gal, then the most you can get is 60ibus before fermentation even starts (and the yeast will be stripping more ibus from the beer). You're not making anything close to pliny going that route. Split boils are the way to go if doing stove top 5gal batches. 3 gallon batch sizes are a great alternative.

 

Actually, I've just realized that a propane burner hooks up to a standard barbecue tank - I was somehow under the impression that they required special propane cylinders that would add to the cost. At $50 for a cheapo burner, I guess it isn't very expensive to get into outdoor brewing. But I'm still going to try a stovetop split boil for my next batch, because once winter rolls around then heading outside might not be an option. I don't want to think about how long it takes to boil 6G of water at -20 celsius...

 

I don't want to think what -20C feels like! Even if you are standing near a burner... 8-O

 

Less time than you might think. I brewed a 6 gallon boil last January on the coldest day of the year. It was super windy too haha. Bonus was we were able to cool 5 gallons in a cooler with water and snow alone in less than 30 mins haha.

 

I got my 10 gallon kettle! This thing is bloody massive, to the point where it will easily straddle two burners on my stove top. That being the case, I think I'll be able to do the full boil using only the new kettle, but I'll keep my old one around as a backup in case that doesn't pan out and I have to split the wort up. My next batch will probably be NB's Two-Hearted clone, I'm pretty excited to get started on it. Can't start it until I've bottled one of the batches that I currently have fermenting, though, since my bottling bucket is also my brew bucket.

 

Aw man, even giving it an hour sitting on two burners I wasn't able to get 6.5 gallons boiling. I was only about 15 degrees shy, but that's not good enough. I'll have to try splitting that water between the two kettles to see if that works. If all else fails, guess I'll look into getting a burner for brewing outdoors...

 

If you can get set up to brew outdoors, it is definitely the way to go. Over time, brewing indoors will take its toll on the stove, unless it is commercial grade. I had to replace the wiring to the burner on a stove that I used for boils before I moved outside.

Now I always boil outside, even in the dead of winter. Aside from heating mash water, sparge water, and doing the boil, I can do all else inside if I am so inclined, which I often am in January and February.

 

Brewing outside might be a good long-term plan, but in the short term it's going to be a pain in the ass for me between the cold weather, the darkness and the 3-year-old. But thankfully, I was able to get a split boil going with 4 gallons in the big kettle and 2 in the smaller one, so that's what I'll do on my next brew day. Still waiting for a good sale to come up on Northern Brewer (I have a bunch of credit) before I buy one of their Two-Hearted clone kits...

As for the stove, mine is a gas stove, so I don't think that using the burners for extended periods is too hard on it. And if I do kill it, well, my girlfriend thinks it's too small anyway, so she won't mind if we have a good reason to replace it.

 

Since Natural Gas is available at your home and you don't already have a burner, I would strongly encourage you to skip the hassle and expense of propane and get a NG burner. Going off on a tangent, you might be able to convert your gas grill to NG at the same time for a few bucks (manufacturers vary on this). You'll get a hefty dose of peace of mind and your wallet will thank you, too.

Regarding indoor brewing during the winter, I tend to brew one or two extract batches on the stove during the winter just to keep the pipeline from running dry (poor planning, I know). Typically styles that don't showcase the hops, since that's one of the issues with a partial boil. Then I promise myself I'll do better next summer.

 

Ha ha, that's a good idea, but I just placed my order with NB for my next kits...and got a free Dark Star burner as part of their current promo. So I'll have the option of doing a split boil inside using NG or a full-volume boil outside with propane. As for converting my grill to natural gas, are you referring to my barbecue or the stovetop? My barbecue is a pretty cheap thing that I couldn't see myself investing any money into, and I can't imagine it would very easy to hook it up to our gas line. Unless I'm misunderstanding you?

 

I'm referring to your gas grill. Many manufacturers offer a conversion kit at minimal cost - a few dollars, in some cases (I'm assuming your stovetop is already NG. That's why I concluded you have NG service in your home). Regarding ease of hooking it up to the gas line, I have a ball-lock quick disconnect on my patio. It's easier than hooking up a propane tank (not that a propane tank is difficult to hook up) and there's no tanks to get filled -- ever!

 

Hmm, aside from the part where I'd need to run a gas line through the back wall of my house, that does sound pretty good. I have a feeling that laziness will probably win this one, though. As it is, I don't use that much propane, and I'm sure that kind of work would cost enough for me to go another 10 years refilling my propane tanks before I'd save any money.

 

I have natural gas in my house, and sometimes wonder what it would cost to run it out to the patio. I never wonder enough to actually get a quote, but does anyone know roughly what's involved?

 

It's a project that is not outside the skill set of a reasonably proficient DIY plumber. Regarding the cost savings, while the price varies, NG is about 80% cheaper than propane in my neighborhood today. Obviously, ymmv.

 

There's no way I would be allowed to run my own gas lines without getting it approved by the gas company, that's where I figure most of the expense would come in. As it is, I probably only use about $35 of propane a year, so I'm not looking at a ton of savings. If I was doing outdoor brewing on a regular basis, I suppose I'd probably end up spending more, but for now I don't think it's going to be costly enough to warrant the effort. I'm lazy!

 

To do it around here I've seen $600-$800...and the cost of the permit was approx. $200 of that.

 

Not sure why you think you need permission from the gas company. Even if you did, I suspect there would be no charge for that service.

In my neck of the woods, $35 will buy you fewer than two 20# refills. The same quantity of NG (same BTUs) costs me about $4.50 today. It's been as low as $3 in recent years. Saving $30 on $35 worth of gas is a no-brainer for me (that's enough to buy the ingredients for two batches of beer). The convenience is icing on that cake. I could just as easily have said that the convenience is a no-brainer and the cost savings is icing on the cake!

 

I've never priced it. But, say WHAT!!!???