Going small

[LLBrewer]

So I'm thinking of moving away from the normal 5.5 gallon batches and going to more frequent smaller batches, maybe ~3 gallons. I think the the benefits far outweigh the negs. First, I'll brew more often. This will allow me to experiment more and tweak recipes until I'm perfectly happy with them(read: never). Let's face it, variety is the spice of life. Smaller batches means more batches means more styles / unit time. 2. Brew day won't take nearly as long. To me, this ones kind of meh as I actually enjoy the long process. But there are times when I'm brewing that the huge time sink puts pressure on other aspects of life. You guys know what I'm saying... 3. Clean up would be much easier. 4. cost: much less. Besides the obvious decrease grain and hops, I envision being able to brew a small batch at the same time I'm transferring a beer to the keg meaning I can re-use yeast without the hassle of washing. Savings: huge. 5. I can actually complete the entire brew process (easily) in the kitchen.

Now for the process. How to control mash temperature? BIAB is an obvious choice but closely monitoring temps and needing to turn the burner on and off during mashing doesn't sound like fun. Maybe a better option is to do a MIAB in a smaller cooler and then just dump the entire wort into the boil kettle. Could probably do a batch sparge step this way too.
I'm really considering doing a concentrated boil and then topping off with ice cold water. This would get me down to pitching temps almost immediately. It's what I used to do when I was starting out doing extract batches and the beer always came out ok (as I remember). Anyone see a problem with this (other than hop utilization)?

 

[RM-MN]

So I'm thinking of moving away from the normal 5.5 gallon batches and going to more frequent smaller batches, maybe ~3 gallons. I think the the benefits far outweigh the negs. First, I'll brew more often. This will allow me to experiment more and tweak recipes until I'm perfectly happy with them(read: never). Let's face it, variety is the spice of life. Smaller batches means more batches means more styles / unit time. 2. Brew day won't take nearly as long. To me, this ones kind of meh as I actually enjoy the long process. But there are times when I'm brewing that the huge time sink puts pressure on other aspects of life. You guys know what I'm saying... 3. Clean up would be much easier. 4. cost: much less. Besides the obvious decrease grain and hops, I envision being able to brew a small batch at the same time I'm transferring a beer to the keg meaning I can re-use yeast without the hassle of washing. Savings: huge. 5. I can actually complete the entire brew process (easily) in the kitchen.

Now for the process. How to control mash temperature? BIAB is an obvious choice but closely monitoring temps and needing to turn the burner on and off during mashing doesn't sound like fun. Maybe a better option is to do a MIAB in a smaller cooler and then just dump the entire wort into the boil kettle. Could probably do a batch sparge step this way too.
I'm really considering doing a concentrated boil and then topping off with ice cold water. This would get me down to pitching temps almost immediately. It's what I used to do when I was starting out doing extract batches and the beer always came out ok (as I remember). Anyone see a problem with this (other than hop utilization)?

If you mill your own grain and mill it fine (double crush) you won't need to monitor your temperature and keep adding heat because you don't need the hour long mash. Try one batch with only a 30 minute mash, wrapping your pot with something like a bath towel or coat. Since you are indoors you won't have to deal with cold and wind and with the relatively large amount of water you probably won't lose more than one degree it that much time.

 

[LLBrewer]

If you mill your own grain and mill it fine (double crush) you won't need to monitor your temperature and keep adding heat because you don't need the hour long mash. Try one batch with only a 30 minute mash, wrapping your pot with something like a bath towel or coat. Since you are indoors you won't have to deal with cold and wind and with the relatively large amount of water you probably won't lose more than one degree it that much time.

Thanks RM I don't have a mill but my LHBS might double crush for me. If not, what about doughing in as normal and then putting the mash in the oven at the lowest temp? For me, that's 170. I wonder how many degrees the mash would rise over an hour. hmmm...

 

[Oginme]

For my 1 liter (~2.8 gal) BIAB batches, I preheat the oven at the lowest setting while I am heating up my strike water. After I mash in and am happy with the mash temperature, I cover the pot and stick it in the oven. Normally, I turn the oven off at that point. My former oven the minimum temperature was around 165F, so I would turn it off immediately when I did low temperature mashes (148 - 152), leave it on for 5 minutes before turning it off for mash temperatures of 152 - 154, and leave it on for 15 minutes for mash temperatures a 155 and above. Seemed to hold the temperature of the mash for 60 minutes fairly well, with only a 1 or 2 degree loss at most.

My new oven has a 'dehydrate' mode, so now I can dial the mash temperature to +5F over my mash temperature (oven thermometer offset) and it holds very nicely.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I do a lot of 3 gallon batches. It really doesn't save much time. You still mash and boil for the same times, the only real difference is in the time it takes to reach boil and cool to pitching temps. The clean up also seems to take about the same time.

I mash in my cooler mash ton the same as I would for a 5 gallon batch. It works about the same, it might lose 2* in an hour instead of just 1* with the full 5 gallon batches.

I like it because it can be done in the kitchen on the stove and in a smaller pot. Which is a huge advantage this time of year here in Western New York State. It also gives me a chance to experiment with new things and not have to be stuck drinking 5 gallons of something I don't really care for. However, it really stinks to brew a really good beer and know that there is only a case and a half of it.

3 gallon batches are much easier to move around than the 5 gallon batches. The smaller carboys and pots are not only lighter but are not as bulky.

The down side is the pipe line. Last weekend I had family at the house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It really put a hurting on my store of my favorites, and I only have one 3 gallon batch fermenting right now, to fill the growing supply of empties. I will need to be brewing a couple 5 gallon batches in the next couple weeks to catch up. I only have a sixer of my IPA left and that takes about 6 weeks from brew to finally fully carbed in bottles. I may even do a double batch of it this go round.

 

[LLBrewer]

I do a lot of 3 gallon batches. It really doesn't save much time. You still mash and boil for the same times, the only real difference is in the time it takes to reach boil and cool to pitching temps. The clean up also seems to take about the same time.

I mash in my cooler mash ton the same as I would for a 5 gallon batch. It works about the same, it might lose 2* in an hour instead of just 1* with the full 5 gallon batches.

I like it because it can be done in the kitchen on the stove and in a smaller pot. Which is a huge advantage this time of year here in Western New York State. It also gives me a chance to experiment with new things and not have to be stuck drinking 5 gallons of something I don't really care for. However, it really stinks to brew a really good beer and know that there is only a case and a half of it.

3 gallon batches are much easier to move around than the 5 gallon batches. The smaller carboys and pots are not only lighter but are not as bulky.

The down side is the pipe line. Last weekend I had family at the house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It really put a hurting on my store of my favorites, and I only have one 3 gallon batch fermenting right now, to fill the growing supply of empties. I will need to be brewing a couple 5 gallon batches in the next couple weeks to catch up. I only have a sixer of my IPA left and that takes about 6 weeks from brew to finally fully carbed in bottles. I may even do a double batch of it this go round.

Thanks Kirk but I disagree. 3 gallon batches will cut at least an hour (likely much more) off of a brew day. I don't think that's insignificant.
To your other point, I don't expect to brew less beer but less beer more often. If I brew a killer batch I'm fairly confident that I can reproduce it if I run low. I realize you're probably playing devils advocate but I'm still not seeing a down side.

6 weeks for a beer? Thats crazy talk around here, especially for an IPA. No, I don't brew anything that doesn't go from the kettle to mug in more than 3 weeks.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks RM I don't have a mill but my LHBS might double crush for me. If not, what about doughing in as normal and then putting the mash in the oven at the lowest temp? For me, that's 170. I wonder how many degrees the mash would rise over an hour. hmmm...

Preheat the oven, then turn it off and it will probably hold the temperature pretty stable.

I bought a Corona style mill and a 50 pound bag of pale malt. Because of the larger amount the difference in cost probably paid half of the cost of the mill. Even if it didn't, the high efficiency I get from milling my own makes it worth the little cost of the mill. http://www.discounttommy.com/p-189-...er-for-wheat-grains-or-use-as-a-nut-mill.aspx

 

[Owly055]

Thanks Kirk but I disagree. 3 gallon batches will cut at least an hour (likely much more) off of a brew day. I don't think that's insignificant.
To your other point, I don't expect to brew less beer but less beer more often. If I brew a killer batch I'm fairly confident that I can reproduce it if I run low. I realize you're probably playing devils advocate but I'm still not seeing a down side.

6 weeks for a beer? Thats crazy talk around here, especially for an IPA. No, I don't brew anything that doesn't go from the kettle to mug in more than 3 weeks.

I am able to complete a 2.5 gallon brew in 2.5 hours consistently, including taking out equipment and cleaning up and putting things away. There is no downside. I get to brew more often, in fact I've brewed 13 times so far in 2015.

The keys are shortened mash times (still with full conversion and good attenuation), fast heating and fast cooling...... and of course being well organized and efficient.

Those of us who've experimented with ultra short mashes have seen complete conversion in just a few minutes. I've seen virtually no difference in attenuation between a 30 minute mash and an hour mash..... Provided the grain is crushed appropriately.

H.W.

 

[thrashandburn]

I brew small batches occasionally. I do them biab and I have a few recommendations for holding temperature.

Traditionally biab brewing requires using your full water volume for the mash, removing the bag and going right into the boil. However, because the mash is so thin, it has less thermal mass and I've found that because of this, temperature swings occur more rapidly.

To counter this and maintain more stable mash conditions, I would recommend mashing at the typical 1.25 to 1.5 quarts per pound and using two kettles. The thicker mash will have more thermal mass and hold temperature better. One kettle will act as the mash tun which you will submerge the grain bag into. I would suggest using a kettle that will be filled almost to the brim with the grains and mash water to eliminate head space to keep the temperature more stable. When I do this, over the course of an hour I only lose around 2 degrees which is pretty close to my cooler mash tun I use for 5 gallons. I also don't cover the kettle with a blanket or anything like that. If you cover the pot with a blanket or something of the like, it might actually hold temperature even better.

The second kettle, which for me is my 8 gallon brew kettle, you can heat sparge water in. When the mash in over, transfer the bag into this kettle and stir like a mini batch sparge. Remove the bag, combine first runnings into this pot and start your boil.

 

[LLBrewer]

I brew small batches occasionally. I do them biab and I have a few recommendations for holding temperature.

Traditionally biab brewing requires using your full water volume for the mash, removing the bag and going right into the boil. However, because the mash is so thin, it has less thermal mass and I've found that because of this, temperature swings occur more rapidly.

To counter this and maintain more stable mash conditions, I would recommend mashing at the typical 1.25 to 1.5 quarts per pound and using two kettles. The thicker mash will have more thermal mass and hold temperature better. One kettle will act as the mash tun which you will submerge the grain bag into. I would suggest using a kettle that will be filled almost to the brim with the grains and mash water to eliminate head space to keep the temperature more stable. When I do this, over the course of an hour I only lose around 2 degrees which is pretty close to my cooler mash tun I use for 5 gallons. I also don't cover the kettle with a blanket or anything like that. If you cover the pot with a blanket or something of the like, it might actually hold temperature even better.

The second kettle, which for me is my 8 gallon brew kettle, you can heat sparge water in. When the mash in over, transfer the bag into this kettle and stir like a mini batch sparge. Remove the bag, combine first runnings into this pot and start your boil.

Awesome idea with the sparge! I will definitely try that. I'm going to be making a dry stout and I was a little worried about the thin mash anyway.

 

[Oginme]

To counter this and maintain more stable mash conditions, I would recommend mashing at the typical 1.25 to 1.5 quarts per pound and using two kettles. The thicker mash will have more thermal mass and hold temperature better.

Um, if I use full volume I start with 15.5 liters of water for about 2.3 kgs of grains for a total thermal mass of around 17.8 kgs. If I use only 1.5 qts/lb, I would have approximately 7.2 liters of water with 2.3 kgs of grains for a thermal mass of only 9.8 kgs.

I do use the method above for recipes with higher grain loading to help with maintaining my efficiency, but it will not help with maintaining temperature.