HELP...stuck trying to find a way around double brew

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HOP-SLAVE
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HELP...stuck trying to find a way around double brew

Post by HOP-SLAVE »

Hi...ok so basically we double brew. as we cant back-to-back brew, we do it over two days. So the setup at the moment is- we brew on day 1, break down (for both brews) and pitch. On day 2 we brew second brew (same beer) but obviously do not need to break down. the reason we do this is because we cant level-dip accurately on 2nd day due to the new yeast on the top from the fermentation overnight- giving us false readings! so we run the big risk everytime we brew of just kinda hoping 2nd brew will be the same as the first...otherwise the break down on day 1 will be wrong. Confusing i know...kudos to anyone who even understands this badly written thing, and eternal life to anyone who can solve our problem!

Many Thanks in advance
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Sounds like you need a bigger brewpot and/or mash tun.
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Post by HOP-SLAVE »

well i have a 20 brl mash tun at the mo...
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slothrob
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Re: HELP...stuck trying to find a way around double brew

Post by slothrob »

HOP-SLAVE wrote: the reason we do this is because we cant level-dip accurately on 2nd day due to the new yeast on the top from the fermentation overnight- giving us false readings!
I'm not sure I understand, but are you saying you can't take a gravity reading because fermentation has already started?

In that case, you could just take a reading in the kettle on each day, multiply it times the volume on each day, then add the two together. Or am I not understanding your problem?
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

I'm with you sloth. After reading through that again, I'm confused now.

I thought he was saying he was brewing double batches and combining them on the second day. I'm not sure what he means by "level-dip" and "break down"

Are you doing this on a commercial level, or homebrewing? A 20brl Mash is huge.
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
HOP-SLAVE
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Post by HOP-SLAVE »

yes its comercial...but i have the same problem @ home. By breaking down i mean adding water to the wort to try and get my target OG bang on...so as you can tell its very risky breaking down the day before! lots of maths and a little guessing. I know we are comercial...and this is a homebrew site. but we genuinely need help. By level dipping i mean figuring out exactly how much our final collection is. we use a laser that measures the distance from the top of the FV to wer the liquid starts...but obviously that doesnt work with the yeat on the top. So yeah need the volume to figure out how much to break down At the moment we calculate it on day 1 and double it, just assume/HOPE!!! that the 2nd brew is the same. Ok, so you might say...chill on day 1, dont pitch then stop chill on day 2 add second brew, breakdown and pitch then....well we need the yeast for the third day! ...its a mess i know. anyway i guess your right, a bigger mash tun is needed....but then that means awhole new top end!!!
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volume

Post by slothrob »

You could wait until day 2 to add water, when you know the OGs of both batches. Then the only missing information is the volume of the second batch. Can you determine that volume any other way? For example, can you measure the volume in the kettle?

Alternately, you could take measures to hit your target OG with the second batch, then you wouldn't need to dilute it and it's volume wouldn't matter.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Some homebrew mash tuns have glass sights on the side of the pot. Could you fashion something like this to view the level below the yeast?
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
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Post by HOP-SLAVE »

hmmm....well i did considder this...but our FVs are about 6 inches thick...with cladding and glycol inbetween. So no can do!
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