Can I brew a half batch? (2.5gal from 5gal kit)

I've read here that there may be oxidization if I do this. Is that true? For my first time brewing I'd like to make two half batches of two different flavors if it is possible.

Thanks.

Oxidation of what from where?

The only thing I would be concerned about is the other half of the kit's ingredients being less than fresh by the time you get around to using it....depending on how long that would be.

Oxidation of the beer from having so much room in the 6gal fermenter? That's what I thought you guys were talking about. If I just have to worry about ingredient freshness, awesome! I'll look into ways of storing them for a couple months instead.

Half of a batch of ale in a fermenter will create more than enough CO2 to purge the headspace.

Wrap the leftover ingredients and freeze them. I'd recommend getting an extra packet of yeast for the second run.

why not just brew the 5 gal kit and enjoy?
In extract u only boil like 2 - 2.5 gals of water and add the rest as cold water to bring the temp down of the boiling wort so u can pitch the yeast.

this is what i do.

bring 1.5 gal of water w/ specalty grains to 154degrees F let sit for 60 min
then i dump that into a collender(i now use my mash turn) thats in a funnel in a bucket. I then sparg w/ 170 degree F water. i then take the 2+ gals of wort and bring that to a boil. while i'm bring it to a boil i add the rest of the Liquid malt extract(LME) once at a boil i add the hops and set the timer for 60min (or the boil time for the recipe) then using the same funnel and collender to transfer into the carbo (or other sutible vessel for fermintion) and pitch the yeast once it hs cooled to around 80 degree.

i hope this helps and i'm sure others will chim in but this is what works best for me when i was starting out.

Your 5 gal batch will get drunk faster than you think. Unless you are doing something directly side by side (e.g. do the recipe and ferment half with one yeast and the other with a different yeast to see the difference in flavor) I don't see how it's worth the effort. Brew the kit, and then get down to HBM sometime in the next 3 to 6 weeks and get your supplies for the next 5 gal batch. By the time your second batch is ready to bottle, I bet your first is at least nearly gone (if not, I might be able to help you there ) The effort will be the same for the 5 gallons (less actually, you won't have to split things up and store them)

So no worries about oxidation with a half batch then? How about in a secondary?

I'm finding the experimenting with as many different recipes as possible is the real appeal for me, and my liver is going to be very angry with me if I do 5 gallon batches each time.

autoferret said:

why not just brew the 5 gal kit and enjoy?

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I haven't acquired enough bottles for more than 5gal yet, and I want more than one kind of beer.

I can already tell I'm going to need a couple mini fridges and a couple more fermenters and 200 bottles.

:cross:

reshp1 said:

So no worries about oxidation with a half batch then? How about in a secondary?

I'm finding the experimenting with as many different recipes as possible is the real appeal for me, and my liver is going to be very angry with me if I do 5 gallon batches each time.

Click to expand...

One thing to consider is lower gravity batches/session beers.

If you're going to do smaller batches and you want to secondary (I would consider just riding it out in the primary for 3-4 weeks), you can always use a 3 gallon carboy for a secondary or purge your current secondary w/ co2 before racking if you are concerned.

Ever get up to north county? I've been religiously saving my bottles for a few months now and could easily part with 12 ea of 12 and 22 oz bottles.

NitrouStang96 said:

I haven't acquired enough bottles for more than 5gal yet, and I want more than one kind of beer.

I can already tell I'm going to need a couple mini fridges and a couple more fermenters and 200 bottles.

:cross:

Click to expand...

Ignore the doom and gloom of some of these blokes.
Brew you half brew and freeze balance of residuals.
Assuming you have one yeast, pitch it all.
When fermentation finished and you have bottled your beer pour yeast sediment into a large air tight container and stick in fridge. (read Threads on washing yeast) Or if ready, make up next half batch and throw on top of the yeast cake (Of course no boiling wort on yeast cake or you will kill the yeast).Otherwise, go buy a new / different yeast .

Have fun - it's your hobby. It's your goddam right to play around with anything you brew - and don't panic.

NitrouStang96 said:

I can already tell I'm going to need 200 bottles.

Click to expand...

Or 4 soda kegs.

Thanks fatgodzilla

And Germey, I do frequently. How far off the 5 are ya?

Some of my best batches have been small. Big problem - you don't want to share them because half of a batch goes really quickly when you start passing it out to friends.