two kits in one barrel?

[yeasty]

I've got a party coming up in June and was planning on making some strong beer to put in my keg. I am planning on using Woodfords headcracker but wanted more than the 24 pints it makes. I hate to see my keg only half full.

Can I make two kits and put them both in the same keg? I know its more expensive but still cheaper than buying cans.

Any suggestions??

[StrangeBrew]

Don't see a problem with that as long as both are brewed together in the same FV so they finish at he same time.
You could make them up to the combined 48 pints, keg 40 and bottle the remainder or make the two kits up to 40 pints and have a slightly stronger brew although it's already 7% ABV without reducing.

[fivetide]

Not only can you do this, now you've thought of the plan, you must.

[alefric]

Is it worth making two Geordie kits into only 40 pints rather than adding sugar or spraymalt.....still cheap at only £10 ?

[Andy S]

alefric, I just kegged last week a brew of 2 geordie kits. As DaaB says, it was a little on the hoppy side but then I like beer that way. I'm expecting it to mellow a little after a few weeks though. You might find it worth a try.

[alefric]

I do like hoppy beers so i'll give it a try ...thanks for the advice

[yeasty]

Is sugar etc. not required if combining 2 standard kits? I assumed that the more expensive 2 tin kits already contained the sugar/malt required and if you combined 2 standard kits you would need double the sugar/malt.

I have decided to make just one headcracker kit for the time being to make sure I like it. I am tempted to make some cider as well but not sure if I should buy a kit or try the legendary Turbo cider??

[Andy S]

What I did was to use 2 geordie 1.5 kg 40 pint kits to make a brew of only 40 pints. That way I did not need to add any other fermentables in a kit that was designed to have 1 Kg of sugar added but at the risk of having an over hopped beer. If you want to make two 24 pint kits up as a 40 pints brew then I guess you will end up with a stronger tasting and higher alcohol beer. Or you could make it up to 48 pints and transfer 8 pints to a demi john to keep it as per instructions and bottle what does not fit in into your keg. Either seems to me a good way to brew up the beer you want but make sure you have enough for your requirements.

[Andy S]

I am currently brewing up my first ever batch of TC and eagerly waiting to see the results. Fingers crossed that I like it as it was so easy to set going. Just 4 litres of Morrisons best buy AJ and a packet of youngs cider yeast.

[yeasty]

Just to clarify.. If I use two standard kits in one FV do I need double the fermentables to maintain hop balance?

i.e. 2 x kits
2kg x spray malt/sugar

Thanks

[Andy S]

You should not need any extra fermentables in your 40 pint brew using 2 x 24 pint kits unless the original instructions with the kits were you add sugar. If it's a case of 2 x 3Kg kits in 1 40 pint brew then you are on for a strong enough brew as it is a as you are making up 8 pints short of just making up 2 kits in 1 fermenter, i.e 48 pints. So if you have 2 x 3Kg kits then you should not need to add any more fermentables. If they are 1.5 - 1.8 Kg kits then yes you will need to add spray malt/sugar.

If that makes no sense, don't blame me, blame the TC.

[yeasty]

Thanks Andy, I think that makes sense but what made me ask the question in the 1st place was your previous post:

What I did was to use 2 geordie 1.5 kg 40 pint kits to make a brew of only 40 pints. That way I did not need to add any other fermentables in a kit that was designed to have 1 Kg of sugar added but at the risk of having an over hopped beer.

You say you didn't need to add any other fermentables but that was 2 x 1.5kg kits. I assumed that using these would need 2kg of fermentables?

Am I missing something??

Sorry.. still new to this but I want to make sure I am doing things right.

[Andy S]

I think of it this way, one kit is the beer I'm making and the 2nd kit provides the LME for the fermentables that should be added to the first. But this is for kits that require in their instructions fermentables to be added to the kit. If you are using kits that do not require added fermentables then by making up 2 x 24 pints kits to 40 pints it means that you do not need to add anything, you are already making it up 8 pints less then instructed and are therefore going to end up with a stronger brew than the manufacturer intended. So the answer is no, you don't need to add anything other than the 2 kits made up to 40 pints.

[yeasty]

Sorry Andy, I think its me who has confused things. When I talked about two standard kits I meant 2 x 1.5kg single can kits as apposed to a two can kit.

I realise that nothing needs adding to a two can kit but wasn't sure about a single can kit.

[Andy S]

Ah ok, I think I got a little confused as well. The only possible problem with using 2 standard kits is that you will be making 40 pints with the hops in the kits for 80 pints. This is not a problem for me as I like a bitter beer but it may not be to your liking. I kegged a brew as discussed recently and early indications are good.