Smaller batches and Head Space

Hi,

I want to start making smaller batches, say 3 gallon as opposed to 5, so I can experiment a little more and not spend to much money on a flop brew.

Now, I'm fairly certain I can use my 6th grade math to figure out quantity of ingredients, but my question was more about my primary ferment.

I'm using 5g buckets and carboys, but if I only brew 3g of beer does the extra head space in the bucket make any difference at all? Would it be safer to use a 3g bucket/carboy?

Just a thought

Thanks
J

There are some who will swear that extra headspace will spell the evil death of deaths for your beer.

However, still others will simply point out that CO2, being heavier than air, will quickly form a blanket on top of your fermenting beer, protecting it from the oxygen.

Use a starter to get a vigorous fermentation happening quickly if you are really worried about it but, in all honestly, you'll probably be fine. The amount of beer exposed to air in a 6 gallon carboy is about the same whether you have 5 gallons or 1 gallon in it.

Hi J,

I was just reading about this question this morning. I don't have any intricate, first hand knowledge but here is the link to what I read this morning. Early indications are that it's possible....


http://www.bodensatz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?forum=1&showtopic=8617/

I've always figured that once the airlock starts poppin' along that the air has been pretty much purged from the fermenter anyway. Besides, since most fermenters are cylindrical, the contact area of beer doesn't change if there's 1 gallon or 6. As long as there is enough beer in there to generate sufficient CO2 volume to purge, it seems to me it should be good to go.

But then again, I could be wrong - just ask my soon-to-be ex-wife.

Jester369 said:

I've always figured that once the airlock starts poppin' along that the air has been pretty much purged from the fermenter anyway. Besides, since most fermenters are cylindrical, the contact area of beer doesn't change if there's 1 gallon or 6. As long as there is enough beer in there to generate sufficient CO2 volume to purge, it seems to me it should be good to go.

But then again, I could be wrong - just ask my soon-to-be ex-wife.

Click to expand...

Exactly. And when you transfer over to a secondary, there is enough CO2 in suspension in the beer that it will from a new CO2 blanket almost instantly. Even the quietest transfer disturbs the beer enough to get it to release what CO2 it does have in suspension.