small batches

Do you all who make smaller than 5g batches (I have a 3 gal keg for experimenting) still use a 5g carboy?

I've always read bad things about too much empty/head space. Should I be worried about making a small batch in a bigger bottle?

What say you?

SaltyTX said:

Should I be worried about making a small batch in a bigger bottle?

Click to expand...

no. at least, i don't. i routinely ferment 2.5 gal in my 5 gallon carboy.

I'll bet you are concerned about all that open space in the larger bucket or carboy and the opportunity for oxidation or contamination. I was too until I started thinking about it. When you pitch the yeast, you try your best to aerate the wort so the yeast can multiply. At this point, all that air won't hurt anything. Then the yeast start the fermentation and excrete CO2. This CO2 is heavier than the air in the bucket and forms a covering layer above the fermenting wort and gradually pushes out all the air. No air, no oxidation.

I do 2.5 gal batches in my Mr Beer keg. There's sometimes not enough head room but I loosen the lid just enough to let the blow off out then tighten again. Just be sure you have the equipment close by to manage the blow off and don't try and put a 3 gal batch in a 3 gal bucket. You need a little headroom.

RM MN..

I personally could find no reason it would be a problem, but have read on here that perhaps its not the best..

I'll just do it. 2.5-3 gal in a 5 gal carboy!

i do half batches as well. call them sample batches in my 6.5g fermenter. no worries about a blow off tube if you have that much headspace. if i understand it right, beer does not matter but wine does on headspace.

There is a ton of small batch threads on here, including those in the similar thread box below.

You can brew any sized batch you want. I do a lot of 2.5 gallon recipe test batches. You can even do 1 gallon AG brews. The basic brewing guys call that the six pack brew.

A recipe is scalable, so a 1 gallon recipe is 1/5th of a 5 gallon one....a 2.5 gallon one is half the ingredients.

2.5 gallons is one case of beer.

I use my normal 5 gallon mash tun for most of them, but I do a lot of Experiments, test recipes, or beers that I know I won't need/want more than a case of.

I sometimes use an unmodified 2 gallon cooler for a lot of my small btaches it holds up to 4 pounds of grain.

I just us a folding steamer in the bottom along with a grain bag. Just break off or unscrew the center post.



One of these, it helps to lift the grain bag above the spigot to keep the drainig from getting stuck.







I posted a lot of info in the mr beer thread that you may find helpful.

I posted some all grain small batchrecipes here, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/785533-post702.html

ANd a bit of a primer on AG with pics here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/738927-post659.html

But I mostly use my regular 5 gallon cooler mash tun which holds 14 pounds of grains...and 14 pounds of grain for a 2.5 gallon batch can be a mighty big beer.....


One of our memebers chubbykid had plans for a minikeg mashtun http://sites.google.com/site/chubbykidhomebrew/Home/equipment/mini-keg-lauter-tun



THe basic brewing radio guys are big fans of tiny batch brewing...3/4 gallon (1 6pack) in a 1 gallon winejug fermenter.

They demo the 6-pack IPA here

[ame]http://en.sevenload.com/shows/Basic-Brewing/episodes/PERGFAJ-01-12-06-Basic-Brewing-Video-A-Six-Pack-of-IPA[/ame]

and they also have done barleywines as well.

I ferment my 2.5 gallon batches in all manner of things, I have a 3 gallon better bottle, I also use 3 gallon water jugs, AND my old Mr Beer keg (it's perfect because you can even lager in your own fridge with it when you are starting out.)

You can even ferment a 2.5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy if you want, though I would say a 6.5 gallon carboy is a little too much headspace for my confort.

Hope this helps....any more questions feel free to ask...But look through ALL THE OTHER INFO first and I bet you, you won't HAVE any other questions. This has been thoroughly covered like just about everything else.

Oh, and you don't have to do anything with hops in terms of hop utilization, except scale it in the same proportion, as you do your grain. Nothing else.

Hey all, The above links do not work since the website change earlier this month. Where can they be found.

Thanks

I brew small batches all the time and its no that hard to find appropriate vessels. I use a 7L whey protein container for primary then a 5L glass demijohn with zero headspace for secondary (I like to lager them several months in this). A large primary bucket would work if you don't plan to age it at all but I don't like the extra space it takes and having a shallower vessel makes it harder to rack off cleanly compared with a taller vessel. And keep in mind you lose that co2 blanket if you have to remove the lid for any reason.

P retty mu ch I only do 2 gal batches which produce about 17 bottles. Here is a video I made years ago. I've made a few changes since then but it's pretty much the same as this.

I do BIAB in 4 gal Anvil fermenters and keg to 2.5 gal kegs.

Hey guys, thanks all for your replies. C-Rider, nice video and loved the palm trees, we were at 8F last night in Maryland, I'm jealous.

I did a small batch last night. I brewed a simple ESB as a test run, also played with the water chemistry. FWIW, I have brewed 11 gallon batches for many years but wanted to scale down for trial brews and huge brews. While I don't expect to use this method exclusively it truly has a place in my brewery, especially when the weather is nasty.

Equipment: I used 3 and 5 gallon pots with a home depot paint strainer. I was surprised how simple it was. Easiest brew ever, cleanup was simple, I was able to do everything on stovetop.

Mash: I used the 3 gallon pot to mash in, placed it into a cardboard box full of foam insulation. It held the temps for the entire mash. I hit my numbers perfectly! 3 gallon carboy is bubbling away nicely @ 66F.

Chilling: I chilled the brew in the sink in 5 gallon boil pot. I placed 4 quart size frozen water bottle and all of our ice. This worked better than I thought i twould. I was going to put the brew outside(8F) if it took too long but it did not.

Ferment: I poured the wort into a 3 gallon carboy through a large strainer and funnel. I poured slowly leaving behind the whole leaf hops and cold break. added the yeast and all was good.

Thanks for the advice