Double Batch in 70ltr kettle?

[Brewsta]

G'day guy's,
i'm new to AG brewing & have done 5 batches so far, they've turned out great thanks to advice on this forum. First thing i have realised though is how little i know about brewing & 20ltrs is just not enough for 5hrs work.

I have a very basic 3V system, a 55ltr esky as my Mash Tun, a 60ltr ferment for my HLT, & a 70ltr s/s kettle. Is it possible to do double batches with this set up or do i need to go bigger?

1.040 - 1.060 brews is about max at the moment, i've done a single batch of 1.070 & it boiled over much to my surprise.

Thanks!

 

[mstrelan]

Yes

 

[TidalPete]

No worries!

 

[nosco]

Use your brew software to calculate how much extra water to add to the boil. I do biab so not sure how that would work but it maybe be extra sparge water?

 

[neal32]

Easily. I got 80qt ones, so ~75L and i fit a double batch of doppelbock with a lot of room to spare.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I do 40lt brews in a 55lt keggle. The pre boil volume is at 55lt real close to the brim. The trick is to boil each run off in turn. Batch sparging etc. Boiling off each run off in turn divides the hot break instead of one big hot break that would boil over. You still have to be careful though especially with high gravity wort.

<<Reference the Avatar pic. 55lt of fresh hopped IPA boiling.

 

[Droopy Brew]

70L- easy. You could do 50L brews.

Working on evap loss of about 7L per hour and trub/kettle waste of 5L, you need a preboil vol of 62L, leaving 8L of space assuming a 60 minute boil.

Keep a spray bottle of water at the ready to prevent boil overs.

 

[n87]

I can do triple batches in my 82L... with a little care
you should be fine

 

[Hpal]

I BIAB and do triple batches in a 72l kettle, that's 3 cubes at 17L = 51L at about 1.046 OG. I could boil more volume if I mashed in a separate vessel.

 

[fdsaasdf]

OP: Yep, easy to do, it's possible to get 60L cubed from a 77L pot. I've done 40L cubed from a keggle.

 

[Brewsta]

Thanks for the reply's guy's,

this photo was a 1.050 brew just before hot break, approx 28ltrs pre boil, as you can see my fear is that twice this volume will be a messy clean up, could my boil be too vigorous? do i need to back off the heat? i'm using a NASA burner if that matters?

I'll try the spray bottle next time Droopy Brew, thanks!

Danscraftbeer, how do you mean boil each run off? excuse my lack of knowledge.

 

[Bribie G]

I do a 40 L brew split between a 40L and a 20L urn - in other words 60litres available space.

And with urns when they say 40L that's exactly what it is.

Never had a boilover.

 

[mstrelan]

Hard to tell from the photo but it seems either the kettle holds less than 70L or you have more than 28L in there, or there is a lot of foam. What are the dimensions of the kettle? How confident are you of those volumes?

 

[A3k]

Hi Brewsta,

your system is big enough as others have said.

i'd say it's to vigorous or not controlled enough. in my experience, the boilovers usually happen early when you have the gas cranked trying to get to speed, and you haven't reached hot break yet. Or if you've reached a vigorous boil and add hops in.

i watch mine closely whilst its getting up to boil, you can tell, and then back off, then add hops.

Another trick i've heard of is to FWH (add hops before it gets to boil). i believe this adds nucleation sites due to the debris, allowing vapor to dissipate early rather than all at once when the boil is reached.

cheers,
alan

[edit] Mstrelan, i'm pretty sure that's foam taking up the space. well at least that's what i've based my response on

 

[barls]

one thing no one has mention is the use of anti foam to reduce the problem. grape and grain has it
i use a 70L pot and I've boiled 65L in it and with no boil over.
i also first wort hop as this does make my life easier
as they all have said a double batch in a 70 L pot no problems. preboil of 56L with final volume of 44-46L to account for trub

 

[n87]

Have a spray bottle of water handy, when it starts to rise, turn the head down. If it rises too much, start spraying the top, this will cool the surface and it will drop down.

 

[Brewsta]

Thanks for the reply guys.

I did a 40ltr 1.043 brew in it today, took your advice & backed the off the heat once it reached 100 deg c & used the spray bottle, worked a treat!
I maintained a rolling boil this time instead of it trying to jump out of the pot.


one extra keg on brew day & save some on gas.

Happy days...Thanks!

mstrelan - FYI it's a 70ltr pot 450x450mm, i'm confident on the volumes, photo is mostly foam from too much heat yeah?