Anyone do 3 gallon batches?

[arnobg]

Who really enjoys doing 2.5-3 gallon batches? I am considering changing from my normal 5-6 gallon batches to 3 gallon batches and this is why:

1. I enjoy the brewing process just as much as the final product and I can't drink fast enough to keep up with the amount of times I would like to brew a month.

2. I have only been brewing about a year and I am so eager to brew different styles and experiment with different ingredients that I haven't been able to try yet. Brewing 5 gallon batches like this may mean drinking 5 gallons of a beer that isn't that great after 12 beers. Some of my best brews were an exception to this though as I enjoyed it to the last glass and was sad when it was gone.

3. My equipment is pretty much at the max it can handle with moderate 5 gallon grain bills. Brewing 3 gallons into the fermenter would help with this.

4. I have sold some old pin lock kegs and have some money to finally purchase 2.5 or 3 gallon ball lock kegs which is why I am really considering this the most. Just looking for opinions form others that brew these batch sizes.

 

[wobdee]

I downsized to 3 gal batches about 4 years ago for many of the reasons you posted. 5 gal is too much and 3 gal allows me to brew every other weekend and do a lot of experimentation. I have 6 ea 2.5 gal kegs in my pipe line which is about right to keep my 2 tap kegerator on line with a good variety.

 

[DemonsRun]

I do a lot of 3 gallon experimental batches, then once a season I might do a 10 gallon batch of the best.

 

[kenoglass]

I want to start 3 gallons just need to find cheap 3 gallon kegs. They are almost as much as a 5 gallon one here....

 

[Ewow]

I do! The volumes are easier for me to deal with and I find I get to brew more often. I feel like the increased frequency of brewing helped me to get a better sense for my system and the ingredients. If you give it a shot, good luck!

 

[Biscuits]

I like to push the envelope...due to my living situation, I only have room for VERY little in the way of brewing equipment. In an act of desperation, I have been brewing 1.375 - 1.5 gallon batches.

 

[PhillyBrewDoug]

I started doing 3 gallon batches about 3 months ago. They're a great way to brew enough beer to be able to share and have enough left over for yourself, and also brew more often. I'm on the same every other week schedule as wobdee, which is the best case scenario IMO.

 

[pshankstar]

I started doing 2.5-3 gallon batches once I made the switch from extract to BIAB. I do these small batches as a "test" batch to see how they turn out before I make a 5-6 gallon batch of that brew. I do not brew very often, so of course I find the smaller "test" batches do not last as long. I have to bottle it all of the smaller batches b/c I do not have any smaller corny kegs, but that is on my list as my next purchase. Although they are the same price or more than the 5 gallon keg!!! ARGH!

But it looks like the feedback on here is that many of us do make smaller batches often. Cheers!

 

[Aristotelian]

I started with 1 Gallon and moved up to 2 and now 2.5. 2.5 is perfect for me. I am tempted to bump it to 3 but that would require getting a bigger kettle pot. I don't drink very much and really don't want to get stuck drinking the same beer for months at a time. No urge to get any bigger than 3 gallons.

 

[dstockwell]

I do 3.25G batches so I have 3G bottled. I like that I can have more variety on hand going this route.

 

[smyrnaquince]

All of the above, plus you usually don't need to make a starter for your liquid yeast. The amount you buy is enough!

 

[arnobg]

I'm on the fence to buy a 2 pack of 2.5 gallon or 3 gallon kegs. I can get both brand new for about the same price. Any suggestions on this for you 2.5-3 gallon brewers?

Also, my buckets are 7.8 gallons which was fantastic for 5-6 gallon batches however, this is way too big for 3 gallons. Will my 5.0 gallon glass carboy be good for the smaller batches?

 

[WestMichBrewer]

I mainly do 3 gallon batches. I size my recipes for 3.5 gallons to account for losses, ferment in 5-gallon carboys, and keg in 3 gallon pin-locks.
Sometimes I'll end up with a bit extra that I then bottle.

I do the 3 gallon batches for all the same reasons: More frequent brewing, smaller equipment, get bored of same beer in the keg for months, etc.

 

[Ewow]

I have both 2.5 and 3 gallon kegs. Just depends on what you want and what you have to work with. Obviously, 3 gallons gives you a little more wiggle room.

I ferment in 3 gallon plastic carboys. No idea about using a larger (e.g., 5 gal) size, sorry!

 

[Calichusetts]

3.75 at flameout...Perfectly get 3 gallons in a keg. Love it. Managable and no need to modify a mini-fridge if you don't want, they fit nicely

 

[brew703]

I do 2.5 & 3.5 gallon batches. I now brew about once a month, may two times a month.
If I can find something my wife likes then I might have to increase production. But she is a Ultra drinker and I no plans to brew anything like that.

 

[McGarnigle]

Same boat here. Not a lot of space, don't drink a ton, can brew more often.

Marginal cost increases aren't meaningful for me. I don't need to have a super-low cost per bottle.

Also, my 3g carboy fits in my mini-frdige and can be used as a secondary for 3g batches, or primary for 2.5 gallons.

 

[beersk]

I brew smaller batches for the same reasons listed. Even if a beer only lasts a week, I can just brew it again, because it's fun. I have been cutting back on the amount I drink and 5 gallons has been lasting too long in the keg.
Plus, with 3 gallon batches, I can ferment in kegs and close transfer them to the serving keg. I'm in the process of buying 2.5 gallon kegs. I have one and really like it, wish I had 10.

But yeah, just because 5 gallons is the standard size doesn't mean you have to conform to that. It's only 2 more gallons of beer and if you have the free time, smaller batches are great because you can brew twice as often, basically, if you want to.

 

[Arminius757]

I am doing 3 gallon batches as well. I started off doing 1 gallon extract, then did two 5 gallon extract batches and now I have moved to 3 gallon BIAB. To me this is the perfect amount of beer. I am still new, just about a year of brewing under my belt, and my beer storage abilities are very limited... I have just enough bottles for 3 gallons and try to line up my brews so that when one finishes, the next is ready. 3 gallons is the perfect amount in my eyes.

 

[Arminius757]

I'm on the fence to buy a 2 pack of 2.5 gallon or 3 gallon kegs. I can get both brand new for about the same price. Any suggestions on this for you 2.5-3 gallon brewers?

Also, my buckets are 7.8 gallons which was fantastic for 5-6 gallon batches however, this is way too big for 3 gallons. Will my 5.0 gallon glass carboy be good for the smaller batches?

The size of your primary fermenter doesnt really matter. You can safely use a 7.8 gallon bucket to ferment your 3 gallon batches. Heck, I have even fermented 1 gallon batches in 6.6 gallon buckets. The CO2 produced during primary fermentation will provide a protective blanket to protect the beer. The only time that it does matter is when you are putting your beer into secondary for conditioning. The beer will not produce enough CO2 to clear the headspace, and could lead to oxidation.

 

[SeraW]

I like my 3 gal batches. I can do BIAB on the stove in a tiny apartment and still brew often enough to rotate styles regularly.

 

[arnobg]

Reading all of this makes me feel good about my decision to downscale to 3 gallon bathes thanks!!! I have found a place to pick up 2 keg packs for about $150-160 so I will probably pull the trigger.

Only concern I have with my equipment is that my immersion chiller goes to the top of 5 gallons of wort, so it won't fully immerse in 3-3.5 gallons.

 

[specharka]

The size of your primary fermenter doesnt really matter. You can safely use a 7.8 gallon bucket to ferment your 3 gallon batches. Heck, I have even fermented 1 gallon batches in 6.6 gallon buckets. The CO2 produced during primary fermentation will provide a protective blanket to protect the beer. The only time that it does matter is when you are putting your beer into secondary for conditioning. The beer will not produce enough CO2 to clear the headspace, and could lead to oxidation.

Not to nitpick but that's only a valid assumption if you have an airtight seal on your fermenter and you never open the lid to peek. CO2 will readily escape when exposed to other gases. Additionally, plastic buckets are quite oxygen permeable and will oxidize a beer over longer periods of time. Definitely do not want to use one as a secondary vessel.

 

[PhillyBrewDoug]

It's better to have a chiller that's too big than too small. I've kept using mine since downgrading with no problems.

 

[A2HB]

I'm another 3 gallon brewer. I have 3-3 gal carboys that I keep in rotation, and I find they work best for my situation. I can do 5 gallon batches, but like everyone said, 3 gal is the perfect amount so you can brew a few times a month and have some variety without too much sitting around.

This is a great thread I had no idea there were so many 3 gallon brewers out there. Do you guys ever have any problem scaling down recipes?

 

[beersk]

This is a great thread I had no idea there were so many 3 gallon brewers out there. Do you guys ever have any problem scaling down recipes?

Nope, Beersmith makes that easy.

It is a good thing to brew smaller if you're the main person consuming the beer. If I was the party host type, I'd probably brew 10 gallon batches. But that is not me and will never be me, so brewing smaller than standard 5 gallons and having the occasion friend or two over is my style. I don't care for it when a beer lasts more than about a month on tap. I get bored of it and want something new. I used to bottle from the keg when I wanted to clear it out, but I've been finding I just let the bottles sit and they don't get drank. What's the point of that?

 

[BarkingSpider]

I was doing 1 gallon batches for quite awhile which allowed me to brew 4 times a month... I don't have the time to do that for the most part though, so I've gone up to 2.5g batches. I also going to start doing some split batches for the sake of efficiency if I can.

 

[chickypad]

I've scaled down from doing almost exclusively 10 gal batches and now brew about 90% of the time 2.5-3 gals. It's turned out to be the perfect size for me - I'm brewing a lot more often by choice and have much more variety on tap. I've had some back and shoulder problems with age, so now brew day in general as well as the 3 gal kegs and fermenters are much easier to manage. We also end up drinking fresher beer (style appropriate), but it's still almost a case worth per batch so lasts long enough to seem worth it. I love being able to brew inside in any weather. I can also do the occasional 5 gal batch this way - i.e. BIAB 3 gals of wort and top off to 5 in the fermenter.

 

[jrcrilly]

I downsized to 2.5-3 gallon batches for the winter so I could brew indoors and never got around to going back outside. I have a couple of 2.5 gallon kegs but all the rest are 5 gallons. I ferment only in 5 gallon kegs and serve in whatever is clean at the time I transfer. There isn't really any downside to using 5 gallon kegs except for a very small increase in CO2 consumption..

 

[beersk]

I downsized to 2.5-3 gallon batches for the winter so I could brew indoors and never got around to going back outside. I have a couple of 2.5 gallon kegs but all the rest are 5 gallons. I ferment only in 5 gallon kegs and serve in whatever is clean at the time I transfer. There isn't really any downside to using 5 gallon kegs except for a very small increase in CO2 consumption..

This is true, but the one 2.5 gallon keg I have makes me want more. They so small and easy to clean by sticking your arm in there and scrubbing the sides, rather than using a brush like I do with my 5 gallon kegs. Way easy to move around too.
It's just harder to purge that 2.5 gallons of headspace 100% unless you fill the keg to the brim with sanitizer solution and push it out. That seems like a waste of water to me also. I did that once and the sanitizer created a white sludge at the bottom of the receiving keg after it sat there for a couple weeks. Gross.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I'm on the fence to buy a 2 pack of 2.5 gallon or 3 gallon kegs. I can get both brand new for about the same price. Any suggestions on this for you 2.5-3 gallon brewers?

Also, my buckets are 7.8 gallons which was fantastic for 5-6 gallon batches however, this is way too big for 3 gallons. Will my 5.0 gallon glass carboy be good for the smaller batches?

I've been fermenting 2.5 gallon batches in a 3 gallon Carboy with a blowoff tube for the start. Only had one krausen so big it pushed the stopper out, and for 3 gallon brews I use a 4 gallon bucket which is perfect.