2.5 gallon batches ?

[KerryD]

I'm having trouble finding a 3 gallon food-safe brewing pail bucket for half batches.

Bakeries and donut shops.... I get 2 gal, 3.25 gal, and 4.25 gal pales from them. I've used the lids they come with but most are made by the same people who make the Ale Pails so those lids fit as well. They don't always seal well enough to make your airlocks work, but they don't present infection problems either.

 

[lowlife]

you dont have to scrub better bottles or glass. I throw in a scoop of oxyclean and fill with water. Come back the next day and it is clean. For really stubborn krausen I just fill partially and shake, then fill with water and oxy and let sit. It is very effective.

 

[eanmcnulty]

I have been brewing 2.5-3 gallon batches for a couple of months. I love it. I am back in the kitchen, cooling is faster, and torage is less of a problem. I have just been using my 5 gallon carboys. I don't bother with secondary. Everything is going well. I might get a 3 gallon better bottle. See how that goes. Does anyone bottle directly from the spigot on from a primary better bottle?

 

[Revvy]

I have been brewing 2.5-3 gallon batches for a couple of months. I love it. I am back in the kitchen, cooling is faster, and torage is less of a problem. I have just been using my 5 gallon carboys. I don't bother with secondary. Everything is going well. I might get a 3 gallon better bottle. See how that goes. Does anyone bottle directly from the spigot on from a primary better bottle?

I just brewed 2 at the same time on Sunday. One in my mash tun and the other I did Brew in a bag.

1,3,4, & 6 are all 2.5 gallon batches { #1 Grain test Pale Ale 1 (dry toasted) #2 German Apfelwein (hard cider @ 3 months) #3 Grain test Pale Ale 2 (soaked in sugar solution then toasted) # 4 Grain Test Pale Ale 3 (soaked in water then toasted) #5 1-gallon Date Wine #6 Old Ale Brewed on New Years, then oaked for a week and racked to a tertiary to bulk age).

 

[jkarp]

I'm having trouble finding a 3 gallon food-safe brewing pail bucket for half batches. Could someone please point me in the right direction? I'd buy the Better Bottle, but something about trying to clean a carboy after primary fermentation doesn't sound too appealing to me. At least I can get my arm into a bucket for some elbow grease scrubbing. Maybe I'll get one for secondary fermentation (which I've never done before...)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Vittles Vaults. I've been using them for years. Any of the big-box pet stores carry them.

 

[BadKarma]

I've been brewing short batches for over a year now. My 3 gal carboy is reserved for cider and the 3 gal BB's are for beer. I have several 1 gal jugs that keep the mead flowing.

By brewing like this I can keep 5 or 6 different beers in the cooler at any one time. I like variety.

 

[Vongo]

Just did my 1st 2.5 gallon stove top batch yesterday. I wish I has started doing these sooner! It was rainig it's a** off and I didn't need to leave the kitchen to go outside to boil and clean up was a snap.

 

[eanmcnulty]

Cheers!

 

[bleedbluesgtr71]

Your local grocery store bakery generally will save their 3.5 gallon frosting buckets if you call up there. They're nice buckets too, the lid has a nice rubber grommet on it. The only thing is that you need to wash it out real good before using it cuz they smell pretty strongly of frosting...

 

[Revvy]

You do know this thread is from 2011, don't you? We have a ton more recent threads on this subject.

 

[Calichusetts]

Anyone do the 1 gallon batches like the do on Basic Brewing? I'm ordering a 3 gallon Better Bottle and a 1 Gallon glass jug so I can get going on a few more recipes.

I'll get to 50 1 gallon batches under my belt this year by Father's day! I LOVE 1 gallon brewing! I hit 70% and I literally just mash in a pot then dump the grains in a strainer and run the wort through 4 times. No worries about weather, no worries about 30+ beers I didn't like. I've learned so much about brewing and experimented so much by sticking with it.

SWMBO gave me the go ahead in Febraury to go to 5 gallon and get whatever i want, still haven't bought a single piece of equipment. I will probably go to 2.5 gallon next year, but I also usually do double batch brew days and I get a 16oz 12-pack out of it...thats really all I need. Not the biggest drinker and I do love "researching" craft brews so its not really a big deal to me. Right now I got 5 left of one of my best batches...2 batches finishing carbing, 2 batches finishing dryhopping and one batch almost done fermenting.

As for fermentation vessels...if you really want 2-4 gallon glass "carboy." Go to a nice wine store and have them order the cheapest Salmanazar (2.1 gallon) Balthazar (3 gallon) or Nebuchadnezzar (3.7 gallon) of wine/champagne you can get. It won't be the cheapest but you do get to drink the wine/champagne. I great excuse would be an engagement/wedding/etc. If you can get the punted bottoms on them the trub will settle out in the lower ends and you can siphon off of the peak with little fear of ever sucking up trub. This is the only solution I can find besides scientific equipment which is simply outrageous. You can get a 4-pack of 2.2 glass carboys for $800 on Amazon. I favor glass in case you didn't figure that out