Patience Is A Virtue

Back in April of this year in a post titled, "Patience & Planning Ahead", I posted about the necessity of patience in the brewing and fermentation process.  I think, with my latest batch of IPA, I have finally realized the true benefits of patience and planning. 

Back in late June, I brewed an IPA for a competition.  The competiton is the Fly-PA IPA competition being put on by the Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery.  It's a cooperative members-only competiton to find Flying Bike's 'flagship' IPA beer.  The winner will have their beer scaled up and contract-brewed by Three Skulls Ales here in Seattle.  It's a rare opportunity for a homebrewer, like myself, to not only have their beer featured at a local pub, but to create what will be the first ever production beer created for the Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery; an important milestone for any brewery - or brewer.  I brewed a nice and hoppy Imperial IPA, with a final acohol level somewhere in range of 7-8 percent (7.75% ABV). 

A Beautiful Imperial IPA

The Imperial IPA I brewed stayed nestled in it's primary fermenter at 68 degrees for a full three weeks before I moved it from the fermenter to a 5-gallon keg for conditioning.  I had intended to let the beer condition for just a week or two before dry-hopping it, but I got so busy and sidetracked that I didn't get around to dry-hopping it until about a week ago (August 17th); which means the beer was allowed to condition for about 4 1/2 weeks before being dry-hopped.  This was not a bad thing. 

The beer was not carbonated during conditioning.  I only placed a gentle blanket of CO2 at 10PSI into the keg just after filling it, and then disconnected the CO2 line.  Two days after adding the hops (in a 'hop sock') to the keg, I began carbonation. 

Last night, I got the first true taste of the finished beer - dry hopped an all.  I was very pleased.  I can honestly say that this may very well be the best IPA I have ever brewed.  It was also the first batch where my wife, Lynn, was my assistant brewer.  So it was a great milestone for her as well. 

The aroma, appearance and flavor of my IIPA were all right where I wanted them to be.  I had to stop myself from going back for more.  I want to let the beer sit a few days longer, and then I'll bottle some this weekend for the competition.  After that, I can begin enjoying the rest for myself and bring some to a few friends for them to enjoy as well. 

I used a brand new recipe, concocted from scratch by myself, for this batch.  It is definitely a recipe I'll have to try again.  I had originally planned to use Simcoe hops for this batch, but I was unable to find any, so I used a combination of different hops as a 'substitute'.  Now, I have my hands on some Simcoe from this year's crop, so I'll have to try the Simcoe version as well and see how it compares to what I've got now. 

So wish my luck!  If I'm fortunate enough to win the Fly-PA competition, it won't be long before you'll be able to taste my beer on tap right here in Seattle.  If I don't manage to win, perhaps you'll be able to taste some anyway... but you'll have to find me!  ;) 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there! 

Selecting A Keg Can Be A Challenge

Have you ever ordered a keg or been asked to supply a keg of homebrw for a party?  Whichever way you decide to go, it can be an agonizing decision to make.  If you order a keg, what do you get?  There's a nearly endless supply of beers to choose from.  You can save money if you go with a local brewery - if you have one.

If you go with homebrew, there's a whole other set of considerations.  Do you have a batch ready?  Do you have enough to supply the party?  Are you willing to watch a whole batch of your homebrew disappear in just a few hours - much of it to people you may not even know? 

A homebrew 'Cornelius' Keg

In the time before microbreweries and the proliferation of homebrewing, when the keg you'd find at 95% of parties would be Bud, Bud Light or Coors, this was not an issue.  Nobody knew what good microbrew or homebrew was, so everyone was content drinking the same old crap as always.  If you were lucky, your party host would splurge and perhaps get Heineken or Henry Weinhard's instead of Bud.  Ooh, fancy! 

Choices, Choices:
In most of today's beer markets, you can find a local keg source that will have a wide range of options for you to chose from, possibly even including some exotic choices from overseas.  We're fortunate here in the Northwest.  We have distributors that can get an amazingly wide variety of different beers in kegs from across the country and around the World. 

Distributors:
Going through a distributor, an unfortunate necessity in much of today's beer market, can mean wider selection of beers from farther away but it also means higher prices.  So the farther away you want your beer from, the more it's likely to cost you.  For example, I'm in Seattle, WA.  If I want a keg of Avery IPA (Colorado), it'll run me about $235 for a standard 1/2 barrel keg.  If I want to go even farther away, Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock (Germany), for example, would be about $225 for a 1/4 barrel keg (half the size of the $235 Avery keg from Colorado). 

If I go more local, but still through a distributor, the price drops a bit.  For example, I could order a keg of Elysian The Immortal IPA (Seattle, WA) for about $190 for a standard 1/2 barrel.  That's still a bit on the high side though, since we're still going through the distributor. 

Going Local:
The best way to go for ordering a commercial keg of beer, if you have the means, is to go to a local brewery.  We have several in the Seattle area, so when I need a keg I have some choices to make.  Going directly to the brewery instead of through a distributor can save you a lot of money. 

For example, that keg of Elysian The Immortal IPA from Elysian brewing right here in Seattle would be $190 through the distributor.  Directly from the brewery, however, the exact same keg of beer is only about $125 - $65 less.  That $65 saved could be used to order another 1/4 barrel from the brewery. 

So, if cost is your main consideration (and if your local breweries just happen to have some pretty darn good beer), it's really the best way to go.  The cost is much lower, and for the exact same beer you'd pay more for through a distributor. 

Going With Homebrew:
If you are a homebrewer, or you know a homebrewer, you have another option.  Rather than ordering a keg from a distributor or local brewery, you could supply some of your own homebrew or ask a friend to supply the beer for your get together. 

As mentioned above, there are a few different considerations if you'll be supplying homebrew as the kegs for a party/event.  Do you have enough homebrew available at the moment to supply what's needed?  If so, are you willing to part with all of that beer; as most kegs get pretty closed to drained at most get-togethers I attend.  Is the beer you have appropriate to the event?  For example, you don't want to serve up a keg of homebrewed Belgian Farmhouse Ale to a group of people who are used to or expecting something more along the lines of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or worse, to a group of sports fans who are used to Bud and simply won't appreciate the hard work the homebrewer has put in on the beer. 

Several years back, I had the opportunity as a homebrewer to supply the beer for a friend's wedding.  It was a lot of work, but it was my gift to them.  I supplied 5 gallons of IPA, 5 gallons of Raspberry Stout and 3 gallons of non-alcoholic Root Beer.  Seeing a group of party guests enjoying your homebrew can be a really satisfying experience and worthwhile if you know those you'll be supplying the beer for will appreciate it. 

If you have the means, and if you know your party/get-together guests will appreciate the extra effort, go ahead and break out a keg of homebrew for your next party or get together.  If you don't have the means, find the best keg ordering option you can; be it a distributor or a local brewery, and try to order a beer those attending will enjoy.  If it's a special event, perhaps spend those few extra dollars and get a keg of imported beer from Germany or Ireland or Belgium.  Whichever way you go, make your selection one that everyone can enjoy - don't just shop for your own personal tastes. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

Beer, Beer Everywhere, But Only Some To Drink

Seattle Beer Week 2011 is a wrap; and boy did it wear me out.  I started the week strong, hitting several events per day the first 4-5 days, but faded a bit in the end, only hitting one event per day for the last few days.  Then, far too soon, I had to be back to work. 

This is what happens when you give Mrs. Beer Monger too much beer.

Back to the Brew:
Beer-wise, however, it was time to get back to focusing on my homebrew.  Luckily I managed to arrange things where I didn't have any brewing, bottling or kegging planned during Seattle Beer Week.  I had a batch of IPA that went into the primary fermenter on May 1st and batch of Oktoberfest lager that went into its primary fermenter on May 8th.  Both were good to go until at least May 28-29. 

Unfortunately, I didn't quite get to them on the 28th or 29th, but did manage to get everything taken care of yesterday (June 1st).  I moved my IPA from its primary fermenter to a keg and force carbonated it.  I wanted this beer to be ready for my annual crawfish boil this month.  I took a hydrometer reading to verify the beer had fermented out all the way and then gave the sample a taste.  It was flat and warm, of course, but otherwise pretty darn good.  Nice and hoppy, which I Love.  I may even dry-hop this batch in the keg to give it even more hop aroma. 

Time to get kegging.

Next, it was time to keg my Oktoberfest Lager and let it start its 3-month lagering period prior to carbonation.  As with the IPA, I tasted the hydrometer sample.  Wow!  Being the first lager I'd ever made, I wasn't sure what to expect, taste-wise, as this point in the process.  It tasted great; comparable to other commercial Oktoberfest beers I've had.  This is extremely encouraging, since I still plan to let this beer lager (age & improve) for three full months before serving it. 

I also still had a keg of Chamomile Ale in my fridge.  I bottled the other keg a few weeks ago for my last homebrew club meeting.  Now that the Chamomile Ale has had some time to mature a bit, however, it's gotten pretty good too.  The carbonation level is right and the Chamomile flavor comes through nicely. 

Ready to Drink?:
So, I now have three full kegs of beer in my beer fridge: the Chamomile Ale, the IPA and the Oktoberfest Lager.  At the moment, however, the only one of them that's 'ready to drink' is the Chamomile Ale.  I did 'quick carbonate' the IPA when I kegged it last night so it would technically be drinkable by tonight, but I plan to wait on drinking it until at least this weekend if not a full week. 

I have to wait until September to enjoy what these ladies are enjoying.

The Oktoberfest Lager, while it did taste great when I kegged it, still needs to lager.  I really don't want to rush things with this one.  A one-month lagering period would probably be sufficient, but I really want to let it go the whole three months and not start serving it until September 17th, the first official day of Oktoberfest in Germany this year.  Perhaps I'll have to do it up right and make a full, authentic German meal to go with it on that day.  Jäegerschnitzel anyone? 

What's Next:
Now I'm ready to brew again.  I can't do another lager yet, because I just don't have the extra fridge space for the fermenter.  I have been rather experimental with a lot of my brews so far this year (Chamomile Ale, my first ever Lager, trying the 'batch sparge' method, etc.), and I'd like to continue that trend. 

In all my years of brewing, I have never made a Barleywine.  A lot of patience is required for a good Barleywine.  It's not something that can be rushed, and I want to make sure I do it right.  So, I think my next batch will be my first ever Barleywine style Ale. 

I have a lot of things to consider, recipe-wise, but I have a feeling I'll want to shoot for a darker, maltier Barleywine.  I'd also like to try oak aging it.  I don't want to spend the money for an oak barrel right now, however, so I'll just use Oak chips (soaked in bourbon, of course).  I don't have a brew date yet, as I'd like to soak the oak chips in the bourbon for, at minimum, 2 weeks and, as I said, I'm still formulating the recipe.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there. 

The Limitations of Time & Space

No, this is not a physics post.  It's about the demands of 'real life', the realities of space limitations and trying to find the time to get everything done. 

What's In The Fridge?:
Those of you who have been following my brewing know that I currently have a 5 gallon keg of Strawberry Cider in my beer fridge along with 2 recently kegged 5 gallon kegs of Chamomile Ale.  That makes 3 kegs plus my 20lb CO2 tank taking up space in my fridge.  Also, I was planning to brew an Oktoberfest Lager this coming weekend.  I could still squeeze one more keg into my fridge if I needed to, but not a carboy (the vessels I use as fermenters).  Carboys are 'fatter' than Cornelius Kegs, so they take up more space in the fridge. 

Lager vs. Ale:
Lager beers, like the Oktoberfest I want to brew this weekend, are fermented at lower temperatures than Ales.  Ales typically ferment in the temperature range of 64-75 degrees, depending on the yeast strain used.  That's why I, before the summer months, I have to keep my fermenters in a water bath with an aquarium heater to keep the fermentation temperature steady and in the proper range. 

Lager yeasts, on the other hand, work best in the range of 45-60 degrees, depending again on the yeast strain used (though Lager yeasts can be used at Ale temperatures for some styles).  That means, to keep the fermenter at the proper fermentation temperature, I will need to keep it in my beer fridge - or get a second fridge just to house my lager fermenter(s). 

I'm not sure I'm quite ready to buy another refrigerator, so my only other option is to make more space in my current beer fridge.  To do this, I will need to get at least one keg out of the fridge so that I have room for the fermenter for my Oktoberfest.  The best way to do this would be to bottle the contents of one or more of my kegs. 

A 5 Gallon Cornelius Keg

Bottling From The Kegs:
I haven't bottled anything in quite a while and, months ago before I got back into brewing this often, I got rid of some extra bottles I had due to space concerns.  Now I'll need to take an inventory to see how many bottles I have and whether I have enough to bottle a full 5 gallons worth of beer or cider from one of my kegs.  If I come up a bit short on bottles, I can always raid my recycle bin.  I have at least a dozen 12 and/or 22 oz bottles in there that I can de-label, clean and sanitize to use for my own beer or cider. 

Since I still want to allow my Chamomile Ale to condition for a few more weeks before I bottle it, that leaves my keg of Strawberry Cider.  This past weekend, I added a bit more extract to the cider, and now the flavor is right about where I want it to be.  So the cider is the keg I'll be looking to bottle sometime this week. 

A Jet Bottle/Carboy Washer - Hooks to Sink Faucet

My first step will be cleaning and sanitizing my bottles.  I'll also need to de-label any newer bottles I plan to use, which can be accomplished with a soak in a simple ammonia solution to dissolve the glue on the labels.  Once the labels are off, I give the bottles a good cleaning with a jet bottle/carboy washer.  This device provides a powerful spray to clean the inside of each bottle.  Once cleaned, the bottles go onto my bottle tree to dry.  This device holds the bottles upside-down and allows them to drip dry. 

Bottle Drying Tree

Once clean, the bottles then need to be sanitized.  For this, I use a sanitizing solution injector that sits atop my bottle tree.  I press each bottle down onto the injector a few times, and the inside gets sprayed with sanitizing solution.  Place back on the bottle tree to drip dry again and then the bottles are ready to be filled. 

A Sanitizing Solution Injector

Using A Counter-Pressure Bottle Filler:
There are a few different ways you can bottle your beer or cider from kegs, but the best way is by using what's called a counter-pressure bottle filler.  This is a device with a few different valves and knobs, which allows you to fill a bottle from your keg without any significant drop in pressure or loss of carbonation. 

A Counter-Pressure Bottle Filler

The counter-pressure filler has two input valves: one for liquid and one for CO2.  The liquid side is hooked up to the keg you want to bottle from while the CO2 side is, obviously, hooked to the CO2 tank.  To start the process, the bottle to be filled is placed below the filler and the filler is lowered into the bottle until the stopper seals the mouth of the bottle.  The relief valve on the filler, which lets pressure out of the bottle, is opened slightly and then the bottle is filled with a blanket of CO2 by opening the CO2 valve and allowing the gas to fill the bottle.  The air in the bottle is displaced and escapes through the relief valve.  The relief valve is then closed, allowing the pressure inside the bottle to match the pressure inside the keg.  Then the CO2 valve is closed. 

Now that the bottle is filled with CO2 and its pressure matches that of the keg to bottle from, the liquid valve can be opened.  Then the relief valve is opened very slowly; just enough to allow the beer or cider to start flowing from the keg into the bottle.  There should be very little to no foam during the filling process, since the counter-pressure filler allows you to keep the majority of the keg pressure on the beer or cider as you fill each bottle.  Once the bottle is full, the relief valve is closed, followed immediately by the liquid valve.  Then the relief valve is cracked slightly and the filler is removed from the bottle, which is immediately capped. 

This may sound like a lot of work but, once you get going, it actually goes pretty quickly.  I made things even easier for myself by constructing a bottling table to mount the filler and capper on.  I will video myself filling some of the bottles when I'm ready, so you can have a look at my bottling table and the whole bottling process. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.

Sanitization & Infections

Yeast is the smallest ingredient in beer brewing; in fact it's microscopic.  But yeast is the crucial ingredient that gives us all of our wonderful brews.  Without yeast, there would be no beer.  So raise your glass and thank God for yeast!

Yeast is a living thing.  It's a micro-organism whose function in brewing is to consume sugar and oxygen, and produce carbon dioxide and alcohol.  What a wonderful little organism, isn't it?  As a living micro-organism, however, it will eat and interact with whatever you provide it.  This is why sanitization is so important in brewing.  Introduce a yeast to a wort or some brewing equipment that is unsanitary, and you risk introducing any number of undesirable micro-organisms into your beer.

Don't worry.  It's not possible to produce any pathogens from brewing.  There's nothing that will kill you or make you horribly ill or anything like that.  If an unwanted organism does make it into your beer, however, it can infect the beer and definitely impart some off flavors, smells, aftertastes, etc.  An infected beer is never a good thing. 

Sanitization & The Boil:
When brewing, you always want to use clean equipment.  I always clean and sanitize nearly everything my beer or any of its ingredients will touch.  Before reaching the boil kettle, however, full sanitization is less crucial.  Sure, you want everything to be clean and sanitary, but it's less important before the boil than after it.  That is, of course, because boiling your wort for approximately and hour would definitely kill any micro-organisms that might have found their way into your beer before it reached the boil kettle. 

After the boil is when proper sanitization becomes crucial.  Once your finished wort drops below boiling temperature, it becomes susceptible to infection.  If you allow the wort to come into contact with anything dirty or unsanitary, it has a chance of picking up something unwanted.  That is why it's important to keep the boil kettle closed while cooling the wort after the boil, and why you want to get the wort cooled and into an airlocked fermeter as soon as possible after the boil is complete. 

I Use 'Star San' Sanitizer To Sanitize My Brewing Equipment

Later, when you move your beer to a secondary fermenter, to a keg or if you bottle it, you must continue to make sure that anything that touches your beer is clean and sanitized.  Even though your beer may be finished fermenting, the yeast is still alive.  It's merely gone dormant after consuming all the available sugar and oxygen, but it can 'wake up' again if it finds a new micro-organism to interact with. 

One Piece of Faulty Equipment:
In my previous post, I was discussing the importance of patience in brewing.  I was becoming unhappy with the first batch of IPA I'd brewed this year, because it seemed to be a very mediocre beer, and I had been blaming my impatience in rushing the beer into the keg and into the glass.  I still maintain that patience in brewing is important and that I absolutely did rush that batch of IPA, but I discovered last night that was not the reason the beer was not as good as it could have been - and actually seemed to be getting worse over time. 

I was adjusting a few things in my fridge last night when I made a shocking discovery.  The bottom of my fridge was a bit wet and rather sticky.  Closer inspection revealed a slow leak around the liquid-out fitting on the keg I had been serving from.  The ball-lock fitting for the liquid out connection wasn't sealing securely and I had, apparently, had a leak from the keg. 

Ball-Lock Fittings (Grey = Gas | Black = Liquid)

Thankfully the leak was very slow and not serious enough to flood the fridge with beer or drain my newly-exchanged CO2 tank.  However, it seems that the leak in the connection was just enough to allow the beer in that keg to pick up an infection.  The ball lock fitting had a thin layer of yeast crusted around the edges, and I found the same sticky, yeasty liquid leaked liquid all around the fitting and even down the side of and under the keg.  Clearly, whatever had infected the crusty yeast on the keg had also gotten inside and spoiled the beer. 

I decided to dump the keg.  Why keep a beer around that doesn't taste good? Drinking homebrewed beer is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, not something that becomes work or a chore to be checked off.  That's no fun.  And since this beer seemed to be getting even worse, not better, I saw no reason to save it.  Who wants to drink an infected beer? 

A Wonderful Discovery:
If you'll recall from back when I brewed this batch of IPA, I wound up a bit under the 10 gallon mark.  In fact, I wound up with just slightly under 9 gallons due to equipment and evaporation losses.  That means I wound up having one keg with just under 5 gallons in it and one keg with just about 4 gallons in it.  Unfortunately, the keg with the leaky ball-lock fitting was the keg with 5 gallons in it.  Up to that point, I had been serving beer only from that 5 gallon keg and allowing the other keg to just sit near the back of the fridge. 

Well, last night after pulling the bad keg from the fridge and dumping it, I went to try a beer from the 4 gallon keg.  I was fully expecting the possibility that this keg either had an infection as well, or still suffered other detrimental flavor effects due to my impatience.  I crossed my fingers and grabbed a glass. 

Immediately after tapping off the beer I brought it to my nose and was very pleasantly surprised by an instantly citrusy, hoppy nose, with some subdued caramel malt aromas in the background.  I took a sip.  Amazing!  Despite my impatience early on in the fermentation and kegging process, allowing this keg to sit for a couple of weeks before tapping it really made a difference.  Sure, it still had a bit of haze to it, but even that was not as bad as the beer from the first keg.  This was a beer I wanted to drink; a beer that I would be proud serving to my friends and family.  Thankfully, the problem with the one leaky keg had not been transferred to this keg.  But it was a great learning experience about how easily beer can become infected and how important it is to always check your equipment for leaks or other faults. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there!

Patience & Planning Ahead

Brewing is an art that requires patience - not only on the day of brewing, but also in the days, weeks, months and sometimes years that follow.  A lack of patience can lead to undesirable results.  You don't want to interrupt an active fermentation to move your beer to another fermenter.  You don't want to be impatient about letting your beer condition a while before kegging it.  You don't want to tap a newly filled keg without allowing it time to settle a bit.  Etc. etc.  All of these things can lead to problems with your beer. 

Brewing also requires planning.  If you want to have a beer ready by a certain date, you have to plan well in advance to make sure you hit that date.  Take, for example, an Oktoberfest beer.  Since Oktoberfest is a Lager, it will take longer to ferment and condition as an Ale would.  Preferably, you want to age an Oktoberfest for several months and, ideally, they should be ready by mid September.  That means, if you want to make an authentic Oktoberfest beer and have it ready on time, you should be thinking about brewing it around May or early June at the latest to allow it sufficient time to ferment and condition. 

The Price of Impatience:
Sometimes, as homebrewers, we can forget about patience.  The result is a noticeable difference in the quality of the finished beer.  Take, for example, the batch of IPA I brewed back on March 20th of this year.  It was my first batch of homebrew in nearly seven years and, as a result, I was impatient.  I hadn't had any of my own homebrew in several years, and I was eager to take my first sip and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  So, I left this beer in the primary fermenter for only a week - and in the secondary fermenters for only one more week before kegging it.  To make matters worse, I started drinking that kegged beer almost immediately. 

I could taste a few 'off' flavors in my beer.  But I attributed this to it being so 'young', so I forgave it's problems and kept on drinking it.  Don't get me wrong.  It is by no means a horrible beer.  It has a good color, a good, medium body, holds a head quite well and has an overall decent flavor.  However, it does have it's share of problems, mostly associated with my own impatience.  It's hazy, it's a bit husky/grainy and it's slightly astringent.  Definitely not my best beer and nothing I'd be particularly proud serving.  As a result, I have resolved to work harder at exercising my patience going forward. 

Slow it Down:
The Chamomile Ale I brewed on April 9th, for example, has now been in the primary fermenters for 9 days, and I plan to leave it in those fermenters for nearly another three weeks before moving it to kegs and allowing it to continue to condition for another 3-5 weeks.  Admittedly, I may tap some of it just a bit 'young', so I can bring some to my next Impaling Alers homebrew club meeting on May 20th, but I'm taking my time with this one. 

I also recently learned something new about today's yeasts and how the strains have improved over the years.  For example, when homebrewing was young (back in the late 70's and early 80's), it was common to recommend racking your beer off the yeast in the primary fermenter as soon as primary fermentation was complete.  The idea was to get your beer off the yeast cake at the bottom of the fermenter so that your beer wouldn't pick up any 'off' flavors from the spent yeast. 

Now, that concern is mostly gone.  Most experts agree that, with today's yeast strains, you should only have to rack your beer off the yeast in the primary fermenter if you plan to do a true secondary fermentation (adding more ingredients to the second fermenter for the yeast to do it's job on) or unless you plan to dry hop your beer or add any fruit or other adjuncts.  Less racking of your beer means less chance of oxidation or introducing any contaminants that could infect your beer.  With today's yeasts, you should be safe leaving your beer in the primary fermenter, on the spent yeast, for up to four weeks before having any issues with the yeast imparting any off flavors to your beer. 

Adjusting My Schedule & Batch Size:
All of these considerations along with some equipment restrictions have made me rethink my brewing schedule and realize that I have to slow down a bit.  Originally, I had planned to brew an Imperial IPA this past weekend, but I had to reconsider due to the time my 10 gallons of Chamomile Ale still needs in the primary fermenters.  I only have one water bath with an aquarium heater to regulate the fermentation temperature, and that bath holds only two six and a half gallon carboys.  So, I have to wait until the Chamomile Ale is ready to be moved to the kegs and start conditioning in the fridge before I can brew another batch. 

Another issue is keg and refrigerator space.  I have a fairly large brewing fridge.  It's big enough to hold up to four full Cornelius kegs and my CO2 tank and regulator.  However, when I brew 10 gallon batches, that means two kegs per batch (unless I bottle half).  That would mean I could only have two different beers on tap in my fridge at any one time. 

That seems insufficient, so I have decided to drop down to brewing only 5 gallon batches for a while.  I'm sure I'll still brew the occasional 10 gallon batch, but if I stick to 5 gallon batches it will afford me many advantages.  First, I'll have room for two different batches at a time in the heated water bath I use to keep my fermenters at proper fermentation temperature.  Second, it virtually doubles my capacity to ferment and keg beers - since each batch will only be half the size of what I've been doing.  Finally, with only one keg per batch, I should be able to keep up to four different beers on tap at any one time in my fridge. 

What's Next?:
I still want to brew an Imperial IPA once my Chamomile Ale is done, but I would also like to make an Oktoberfest this year to be ready by mid-September.  Since each of these will only be 5 gallon batches, however, I think that should definitely be doable. 

My Chamomile Ale should be out of the primary fermenters and into kegs for conditioning on or about May 7th.  That means, I can brew my Imperial IPA on the weekend of May 7th or 14th and my Oktoberfest on May 14th or 21st.  I should have enough fridge space for the two kegs of Chamomile Ale and the fermenter for the Oktoberfest, while the Imperial IPA will ferment in my heated water bath. 

I also have a 5 gallon batch of strawberry cider in the works, but that should be ready to rack off the strawberries and into the keg by next weekend (April 23rd).  I plan to keg it and then fill some bottles from the keg a week later.  I will definitely have some of this cider to bring to my next homebrew club meeting. 

Drink responsibly and stay safe out there.