Stephen's Blog

Brewing 5 gallon batches is convenient for the beginning homebrewer, but it can quickly become very tedious, especially when friends like to help you drink your creations. I found myself brewing once a weekend, and often more frequently, for a period of time. I began looking toward brewing larger batches in order to keep the kegorator stocked without the need to spend each weekend brewing up another batch of beer.

Keggle

Some months ago, I attended the North Texas Homebrewers Association (NTHBA) club meeting for the first time. I met quite a few interesting people and had a great time. I started a discussion about  brew kettles with a couple fellow brewers I met that night. One of these brewers, a very active member, was kind enough to offer to cut a spare 15 gallon half-barrel keg I had sitting around, and I quickly took him up on that offer (and for the record, he did an immaculate job).

I was surprised to find that he would only use an angle grinder to make the cut. The initial hole was very rough around the edges, but he proceeded to smooth it out into a seemingly perfect circle.

Before creating my first batch with my new ‘keggle,’ I decided to make an effort to help estimate volumes. I picked up an aluminum yardstick at Home Depot. One quart at a time, I filled the keg. I dipped the yardstick in the water after each increment and quickly pulled the stick out and made a notch where the water level was.

I can now read volume with a high degree of accuracy and precision up to the full 15 gallons this beast can boil. My first batch quickly demonstrated the need for a spigot. My attempt to pour the wort from the keggle into a funnel was a disaster, as you might expect.

During my next trip to the homebrew supply shop, I purchased a ‘weldless’ keg spigot. These use some heavy duty rubber gaskets to maintain a very tight seal. I then picked up a titanium plated step drill bit and lube in order to cut a hole in the keg. The bit made the job extremely easy. As I recall, the hole was cut in under 30 seconds! Unfortunately, I made the hole a little too low, and the curvature of the keg made the installation of the spigot very difficult. I recommend estimating a bit high, otherwise it’s very tricky to get a seal. After a few tries, though, I was able to get the seal, and it’s held up since.

In order to use this on my turkey burner, I picked up a large, round char-coal grill grate for about $10 and set the keggle on top of it. Be cautious when doing this to center it very well, and make sure your stand will hold the weight. A full keg can weigh around 150 pounds.  Keep in mind that heating more liquid will take more time. This sounds incredibly obvious, but it will affect your brew schedule.

Recycled 15 Gallon Drum

The other largely successful upgrade to my system came by suggestion while at the homebrew supply shop. I was discussing the pros and cons of glass carboys and plastic buckets, and an employee there suggested that I scrap that idea and try fermenting in one of their used malt extract containers. I admit I was skeptical initially, concerned that cleaning and transferring beer might be difficult. When told they sold these for $5 each, I decided to give it a try.

My concerns were definitely valid, as it is a pain to clean, and siphoning liquid in and out comes with some nuances. Cleaning is particularly annoying because there is a lip around both holes on top (see below) which prevent 100% of liquid from escaping. Cleaning krausen from the sides takes some patience. The best way I have found to sanitize these is to pour a couple gallons of boiling water in and seal it off. It will poof up and look like it is about to explode, but these are made of heavy duty plastic. Let the steam kill any living micro organisms for about 15 minutes.

The smaller hole fits a #2 rubber stopper. They measure about 26″ tall and 14.5″ in diameter. Most have very strong handles on top and volume markings along the side. Many are solid and will block out harmful light. Compared to glass carboys, they are similar in width but are much taller, which can allow vertical space to be utilized more effectively.

I have since come to realize that these are standard 15 gallon plastic drums, and are widely used in different industries. You can find them on eBay and elsewhere for $10 and up (or so.) A word of recommendation – a used drum is probably not a good idea unless it was originally used for food (or similar) purposes.

These are two very cost effective pieces of equipment which will allow brewing larger batches of beer. To the homebrewer who seeks to get more out of his time, this can go a long way.