Reduced batch size?

I have never brewed beer before. I would like to try making small batches at first to test different variations on a single recipe and to limit the quantity of beer made if something goes wrong and the end product is not drinkable.

Since many beer kits require you to make 5 gal. of beer. Is it possible to scale a batch from 5 gal to 1 gal and use smaller fermentation vessels etc?

Will a 1 gal batch be comparable to a 5 gal batch for flavour, CO2, head etc. when I scale up a 1 gal recipe to 5 gal?

Once a can of malt extract is opened how long can it be stored in a refrigerator?

What is the shelf life of a bottle of homebrew when kept in refrigerated conditions?

Thanks!!

1) yes you can scale down. i wouldn't recomend going down as far as 1 gallon though. the amount of work that goes into it is just not worth it for only 1 gallon of beer. at least do 2 or 2.5. i do 2.5 gallon batches sometimes and use my same equipment, however if you intend to do smaller than that a 3 gallon carboy would be good. look at pro-mash software, you can create any size recipe you want with it.

2) if you do the same recipe, but perfectly scaled down it will be the same. note you will be using small amounts of yeast, which will be the hardest part (if youre still considering 1 gallon batches), and you might wind up with a beer with too many undesirable yeast characteristics.

3) don't know

4) homebrews have a pretty long shelf life, up to a year or more in most cases, although some reach their peak earlier, so you want to drink them by then, like a mild ale. most peak after 2 or 3 months, some sooner, some like barleywine, much later.

my opinion- small batches are good for experimenting, and almost all the beers you make will be drinkable, regardless of the batch size. when you run across one thats real good, as with 2 of my last 3 small batches, your pissed you didnt make more. plus its hard to keep around 1 gallon of beer for long, so you won't see all the flavor changes as time progresses. i would do no less tha 2.5 gallon batches. when you realize how much time goes into a batch, you'll want more than 10 beers for your 3-4 cumulative hours of work.

Extracts in liquid form are higly fermentable. Crack the seal, use em. That's it. No shelf life at all. You will find that they become experiments in fungal research.

Make a lot of beer. Your friends will drink it. I got a buddy brewing just before Christmas, and he's gone through 5 gal no trouble already. Not even really trying.

It seems like a huge amount of beer, but it just plain isn't.

If you have a half carboy, you can brew the canned kits with no additives to see what they taste like. But you get strong, malty stuff.

I don't know the shelf life of a bottle of homebrew, because quite simply, it all gets drunk real fast.

Bag your extra extract and freeze it.

I don't know about bottles, but in kegs 4-6 months seems to be the limit for moderate ABV's. I have a barley wine that is 2 1/2 years old and has never been in the fridge, but it's around 10 %.

instead of storing the leftover extract.. why not make a couple of half batches at the same time? Then you could make the variations and be able to compare side-by-side.

Thanks so much for the feedback and great suggestions!

The amount of yeast being pitched is the last thing I'd worry about. Most hombrewers pitch less yeast that they should, including myself. If I make a half batch, 2-3 gallons, I still use the same amount of yeast for 5 gallons, including making a starter. I recently made 3 gallons of barleywine that I pitched on the entire yeast cake left over from a 5 gallon pale ale recipe. No yeasty flavors. They do their job then settle out.

I am new to brewing as well, this is my first post :-D, and was wondering the same thing about smaller batches.
Do most of you who do 2.5 gallon batches use the same 5 gallon equipment? Is there too much air space in a 5 gallon carboy?

kevy_kev said:

I am new to brewing as well, this is my first post :-D, and was wondering the same thing about smaller batches.
Do most of you who do 2.5 gallon batches use the same 5 gallon equipment? Is there too much air space in a 5 gallon carboy?

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The extra air space shouldn't really effect the beer. The fermentation produces enough gas to push out the oxygen. If you are getting No action in the secondary this could be a problem... but I've only done a couple smaller batches in 5 gallon equipment.