Making the jump from 2.5 to 5 gallon kits.

[jivex5k]

Hello there!
I'd like to help you ease your transition with some things I found to be incredibly useful.

So, you've been making these smaller batches, but find yourself wanting more beer still?
Well so did I, 2.5 gallons just wasn't enough. I had the basic Mr. B setup, one Little Brown Keg, some plastic PET bottles, and a spoon with some one step sanitizer.

Now the first thing I did was go out and buy a second LBK...but that was it, and man that wasn't nearly enough! Well it was, but my first 5 gallon batch was painful.

So here are items I'd recommend getting, in order of importance, to help ease your transition:
0. Second LBK, or 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket/carboy/steel-toed boot. Ok, don't use a boot, that was a joke.

1. 5 gallon brewing pot. This is the perfect size for apartment brewing for 5 gallon extract kits. You can boil 3.5 gallons comfortably in it, without worry of a boil over. Pot material is up for debate, I went with Stainless Steel and it's been working great.

2. Wort Chiller. This is a game changer! You are going to be boiling ~ 3.5 gallons of liquid, and keeping your top off liquid cold doesn't cut it any more, you need to get that boiling liquid down to ~ 100F for the top off water to bring the entire temperature to ~ 60F. There are many options available for wort chilling, I've found an immersion chiller made from copper to be the most cost effective. I also had to buy a faucet adapter for a couple bucks that allows you to hook up the chiller to your faucet. Most of them use standard GHT (Garden Hose Thread).

3. Bottling Bucket. This one is huge as well, especially if you are splitting the batch between two LBKs. This enables you to put all the sugar in at once during bottling day, which saves a ton of time vs each bottle, but more importantly its great for brew day as well if you have two LBKs.
It's hard to get the water top off right with two LBKs and one 5 gallon batch, but with this bucket there is no more guessing. You pour your boiled wort in the bucket, top it off to the 5 gallon mark and voila! You can pitch your yeast in the whole bucket, stir the crap out of it if you need to oxygenate, and THEN split it perfectly in half between your two LBKS. Now your yeast and wort/top off ratio is consistent through both LBKS!

4. Auto Siphon/Bottling Wand. This has proven very useful for a few scenarios. Transferring the wort from the stove to the bucket with this leaves behind all kinds of extra gunk resulting in a clearer beer! And then on bottling day I use this attached to a bottling wand, instead of bringing my bottles to my spigot now I bring my spigot to my bottles.

5. Bottle Tree/Jet Washer/Hand Capper. These 3 items allow me to indefinitely use my glass beer bottles. The tree and washer keeps the bottles clean, and I can just throw them in my dishwasher's heat cycle to sanitize them the day of bottling. The capper is simply required to use glass bottles, works fine, got the Red Baron one, some people swear by bench cappers though. If you have the cash go for the reliable bench capper, but I haven't had a failure yet.

That's about it, may seem like a lot but it's really not.

[FrozenInTime]

Nice write-up. All good info.

[BrewHa]

Great advice. Thanks.

[haerbob3]

WELL SAID!!!!

[Beer-lord]

What he said.
I would suggest some common sense info and that would be, only brew if you have time. If you try to fit a brew day in when time is short, there's bound to be a frack up somewhere down the line.
And, I suggest the largest pot you can afford to boil full volumes.

[Bluejaye]

I agree completely with this list. I'd only add that #4 & 5 are great no matter what you are doing, LBKs, 5gals, etc. and would be the first things I'd recommend to any new hobbiest.

My wort chiller is my new favorite toy.

[Brewbirds]

I would add a hydrometer (with sample tube) and thermometer to the list of must haves.

Also if and or when you can afford a scale for hops and grains you can divide the ingredients and brew as two separate batches if you are using a small kettle/ice bath set up.

A chemical resistant spray bottle and Star San sanitizer come in handy as well.

[haerbob3]

one thing I forgot to tell ya. Those 2.5 gallon batches can easily become 25'ers!!

For 5 gallons I recommend a 10 gallon pot. Yes, you can get by with less but not by much do all grain and it is a must. You could easily have 8 gallons of wort to boil down to a bit over 5 gallons

[jimjohson]

one thing I forgot to tell ya. Those 2.5 gallon batches can easily become 25'ers!!

For 5 gallons I recommend a 10 gallon pot. Yes, you can get by with less but not by much do all grain and it is a must. You could easily have 8 gallons of wort to boil down to a bit over 5 gallons

i agree i got an 8 gal and some times it's tight.

[haerbob3]

A couple of other things I would recommend when transitioning to 5 gallons.

1. Brewing software, ---> learn to put your own recipes together ---> saves you money
2. Partial Mash or Steep ---> will add a freshness to your beers that is hard to duplicate with HME's or straight extracts
3. Full volume hop boils ---> better hop utilization ---> saves you money ---> less hops needed, better flavor profiles
4. If using liquid yeast do a starter ---> once again better tasting beer, lower cost, yeast harvesting possible

Most important of all better tasting beer

[mtsoxfan]

Good info. That's what we are all about here.... Useful stuff to help others...

[FedoraDave]

I would add that none of these suggestions are empirical. Good beer can be made at any volume, and in nearly any space, so don't feel if you can't manage a five-gallon carboy or bucket, that you're doomed. Be practical about your own space and be creative in maximizing your usage of that space.

Whenever possible, go larger, as was suggested about the pot. Even if a 5-gallon pot is serviceable, an 8 or 10 gallon pot is better in the long run, and will save you money by avoiding upgrades.

[Gymrat]

I brew in my extra garage and ferment in my basement. Instead of carrying a bucket with 5.5 gallons of liquid into the house and down the stairs I pour half into my ale pail and half into a food grade bucket from Lowes. This not only lightens the load on me but I am more confident a handle isn't going to break off a bucket on the way down. And as an added bonus pouring one bucket into the other oxygenates the wort incredibly well.

[haerbob3]

Now why didn't I think of that. I either brew in the kitchen or outside. Our house a quad level so I am always negotiating stairS

[creativewoody]

A couple of other things I would recommend when transitioning to 5 gallons.

1. Brewing software, ---> learn to put your own recipes together ---> saves you money
2. Partial Mash or Steep ---> will add a freshness to your beers that is hard to duplicate with HME's or straight extracts
3. Full volume hop boils ---> better hop utilization ---> saves you money ---> less hops needed, better flavor profiles
4. If using liquid yeast do a starter ---> once again better tasting beer, lower cost, yeast harvesting possible

Most important of all better tasting beer

well said. I use qbrew on my laptop and have a quick brewing app on my phone for hop timers as well as any recipes that pop in my head.

I use two lbks (and still do) for all my 5 gallon kit batches. Splitting the yeast and wort evenly between the two is easily done in my opinion.