5 gallon canning pot too big for 1gallon boil?

[henkelbrau]

Hi! I am new to brewing and im trying to get supplies for my first batch. I am looking at the NB small batch starter kit. It includes some things not included in the brooklyn brew shop kit for only 9.99 more. I am interested in 1 gallon batches because I dont know what Id do with 5 gallons of beer and I want to cycle quickly. Id rather do 2.5 or 3 gallon batches but all the kits I saw are for 1 or 5 gallons. My main question involves a 21 qt canning pot im thinking about buying for a brew kettle. Im interested in canning too so this seems to be a good value for me. Would this pot be too big for my 1 gallon batch? I figured it would be perfect if I want to upgrade to 2.5 gallon batches.

Thanks!

 

[reinstone]

Yes, you can boil in that pot but evaporation and color will be enhanced. Be careful not to burn the wort.

More important....if you want to do 3 gallon recipes look in the recipe section and ask about a scaled down version. The thread starter will usually be willing to break it down to a smaller amount. It's also cheaper!

 

[henkelbrau]

If i want to do 3 gallon batches cant I just scale everything by 3/5 or 60% of a 5 gallon kit or recipe? I was thinking 2.5 gallons would be easier to do by just halfing everything in a 5 gallon kit. If i wanted to get myself a 2.5 gallon set what would i use for the fermentor? Could i use a 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket? Or could this all be done in a 3 gallon carboy? I wanted to buy everything in a kit if possible.

 

[SpentGrains]

I would buy the 5 gallon setup, it would be fine for 2.5 gallons.

For kits I would just buy the 5 gallon, and grab an extra ingredient to brew two different beers:

add fruit to second batch
IPA/Black IPA
Dry stout/sweet stout

or buy a 5 gallon kit but modify and brew for 2.5 gallons (ale/pale ale become IPA, stout becomes RIS, etc)

OR any local homebrew store can put together a 2.5 gallon ingredient kit for you.

 

[henkelbrau]

I think im just going to do 5 gallon batches. I was worried about getting together enough bottles for that much beer. I dont have the extra funds to buy them. I suppose I could have friends save bottles for me. It just seems silly to buy empty bottles.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

It just seems silly to buy empty bottles.

It is considering that you can buy them full of beer for a little bit more.

 

[woozy]

My main question involves a 21 qt canning pot im thinking about buying for a brew kettle. Im interested in canning too so this seems to be a good value for me. Would this pot be too big for my 1 gallon batch? I figured it would be perfect if I want to upgrade to 2.5 gallon batches.

Thanks!

This would be perfect for 2 to 3 gallon batches full boil batches. And it'd be fine for 1 gallon. But if you have a pasta pot that'd be even better for one gallon. A 2 or 3 gallon pasta pot is good for smaller batches too but the canning pot is *great* for 2 to 3gallon all-grain batches.

If i want to do 3 gallon batches cant I just scale everything by 3/5 or 60% of a 5 gallon kit or recipe?

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I was thinking 2.5 gallons would be easier to do by just halfing everything in a 5 gallon kit. If i wanted to get myself a 2.5 gallon set what would i use for the fermentor?

Promise not to laugh? A Mr. Beer Little Brown Keg. If you buy just the keg (and not the god-forsaken disgusting instant beer mix) it cost only $10 and is *perfect* for fermenting 2 gallons to 2.5 gallons.

Hey! You promised not to laugh!.

Could i use a 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket?

Yes, but I don't like the extra headroom. I'm told that with the layer of CO2 it's fine but...

Or could this all be done in a 3 gallon carboy? I wanted to buy everything in a kit if possible.

Yes.

Well, you can buy a 1, 3, or 5 gallon kit and pick up off size carboy's and bottling buckets later. 1 gallon carboys are just apple juice/carlo rossi wine bottles. A one gallon kit becomes a 5 gallon kit with the purchase of a fermentator and bottling butcket.

Bottles. Get your friends to help you. Once you get a core number it's easy to maintain. You can buy a case or two to get started. Or go dumpster diving. (Offer a homeless guy 6 cents a bottle...) But once you've got your core amount of bottles you're pretty stable.

 

[unionrdr]

A 5gallon batch will average 48 bottles,or two cases. sometimes a few more bottles. It's a good idea to collect at least 3-4 5 gallon batches worth of bottles. This amount will easilly keep two 5G fermenters busy. And a small batch won't be ready any faster than a normal size one.

 

[henkelbrau]

So here's my plan,

I was going to buy the Northern Brewer essential starter kit because it seemed like it was the best deal out of the most basic 5 gallon kits that one can purchase mail order. It doesn't come with a hydrometer and that bugged me so I decided to go with the Brewmaster's Warehouse bronze starter kit which has basically the same contents except it lacks an ingredient kit (for the same price) and doesn't come with any bottle caps but does have a hydrometer.

I searched their recipes and came up with an American wheat beer. I used the Brew-Builder to modify the recipe to 3 gallons and changed the Wyeast to dry yeast because it just seems easier to deal with.

It is as follows:
Briess Bavarian Wheat Liquid Extract
2 lbs, 0 oz
Briess Bavarian Wheat Dry Extract
1 lbs, 6 oz
Briess 2 Row Caramel 20
0 lbs, 10 oz
Cluster Pellets
.6 oz @ 60 mins
SAFBREW WB-06 Wheat Beer
1 ea

I also picked up a thermometer and some muslin bags to steep the grains in.
Any suggestions that might improve my rudimentary recipe are appreciated. The 3 gallon size should produce a manageable amount of beer for me to deal with (approx 30 bottles?) and I can always purchase a 3 gallon carboy as a secondary or upgrade to 5 gallon batches later (3 gallons of ingredients are cheaper).

Thanks for everyone's thoughtful suggestions!

 

[woozy]

So here's my plan,
....

Sounds like a fine plan. My advice, don't muck about changing recipes until you you know enough to be able to recognize the effects of your changes.

 

[henkelbrau]

Im a little bit afraid of that Wyeast belgian wheat yeast that was in the original recipe. Ive read differing things about having to make a starter etc. I have baked bread for years so dry yeast is comfortable for me. I've made starters for bread before but it seems more complicated for beer. Other than the yeast I just cut everything to about 60% of the original.

Also, how would one scale down the amount of yeast?