Newbie - Might try to start brewing

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mjh0505

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Hi there. I would like some advice if possible from experts - for a complete novice who is only thinking about starting.

I read the book Beer Craft - brewing small batch brews. It seems exciting - and am wondering if I should go down that route.

If there is anyone out there that has tried the techniques described in this book I would appreciate any feedback...

Thanks.
 
twelvelookslikex said:
Whats a small batch? I would go ahead and brew a 5 gallon batch:D

Agree, 5 is a good size. Personally I wouldn't do less unless I'm trying to perfect a recipe. Us homebrewers generally do 5 or 10 gallon batches, but in the scheme of things, 5 is relatively small.
 
On brew day, brewing a small batch and brewing a 5g batch will take the same amount of time more or less. You will have to clean larger vessels and bottling (if that is your method) will take a bit longer. But I guarantee you, when you drink the last beer from a small batch you will kick yourself for not brewing more of it in the first place.
 
On brew day, brewing a small batch and brewing a 5g batch will take the same amount of time more or less. You will have to clean larger vessels and bottling (if that is your method) will take a bit longer. But I guarantee you, when you drink the last beer from a small batch you will kick yourself for not brewing more of it in the first place.

+1
Very true, I am brewing 3 gallons at a time and cannot brew it fast enough...
So made a temporary jump to 5 gallons and plan on going to 10 as soon as the hobby budget builds back up!
Go 5 from the start, I wish I had!
 
Thanks for the responses! Y'all haven't convinced me! 5 gallons is way to scary...I do agree - a small batch (1 gallon in this case - not really a case) will be gone in a weekend.

I think I will start with a Stout. Like the tip, gestyr, - do it or don't! I'm in....
 
if i look at a recipe, i have to decide if it's worth doing 11 gallons... unless it's a specialty, like a stout, porter, wit, hefeweizen... oh well, i brew it all, 5.5 or 11 gallons :D
 
Thanks for the responses! Y'all haven't convinced me! 5 gallons is way to scary...I do agree - a small batch (1 gallon in this case - not really a case) will be gone in a weekend.

I think I will start with a Stout. Like the tip, gestyr, - do it or don't! I'm in....

1 gallon will get you ~10 bottles. And that's assuming you don't spill any and don't lose too much liquid from testing the gravity. I would definitely not go below a 2 gallon batch.
 
I have my first 2 batches fermenting happily away right now... 5 gallons each batch. not scary at all, just need a big pot.
 
I do 2.5 gallons at a time, gets me a case of beer. I don't drink an awful lot though so it lasts even when I give some away. When I get a bigger place I'll probably go for bigger batches but for the time being 2.5 gallon batches works nicely for me, I can brew more often as well so have a nice diverse selection on hand.
 
5 gallons amounts to about 50 or so bottles. It's really not that much. I do 10 gal all grain batches. It's enough to last me a while and gives me enough that can freely share with others without worrying that my stash will run low. If you're going to do it go whole hog and get a decent kit with buckets or carboys and a good sized kettle (maybe a turkey fryer) and a bottle of Starsan. Don't do the whole Mr. Beer thing, that's a disappointment waiting to happen.

I would second the recommendation of Palmer's "How to Brew." That is a fantastic read and after almost 5 years of brewing I still refer to my outdated hardcopy often!

It is extremely easy to make a 5 gal batch from extract! The only significant hurdle for an extract brewer is learning proper sanitation which is essential for good beer. All grain really isn't that much harder, it just requires more time and equipment (but the results are worth it IMO).

If you love beer then this is a great hobby. You really begin to appreciate flavors and styles once you better understand the role that hopes, malt, and yeast play in the flavor. That said, it can become an obsession so be ready for that :tank:
 
5 gallons is less than you think....plus....if you make one or two gallons...then you have to wait 4 weeks to drink it....what if its amazing? You will no doubt share it with family and friends...it disappears fast... You'd be hitting your head like Homer Simpson.."Doh!"...why didn't I do 5 gallons!
 
I do 2.5 gallon batches about as frequently as I do 5 or larger gallon batches (I've even done a 30 gallon batch.) A lot of my experiments are done as 2.5 gallon batches, on my stove, and most of those I enter in contests. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with brewing small batches....Many of us have even done 1 gallon or beers, or wines or meads as well (funny, there is a lot less "snobbiness" in the wine, mead and cider communtiy, than there is in the beer community about making 1 gallon batches.)

But I have FUN no matter what size I'm brewing. And brewing a lot of different sized batches (including using the old mr beer keg) means I have a lot more varieties of beers in my pipline, I can brew twice as many types of beers as folks who always brew 5 gallons, and still stay under the 100 gallon limit.

Most of my awards have come from my small batch experiments.

There's a ton of us who do small batch brewing, and a ton of threads on this subject.

I posted a thorough primer on doing them here.

Don't let these other folks dissuade you, if you want to do it, you'll be joining a lot of other brewers who do it all the time.
 
Heck even the basic brewing radio guys are big fans of tiny batch brewing...3/4 gallon (1 6pack) in a 1 gallon winejug fermenter.

They demo the 6-pack IPA here

[ame]http://en.sevenload.com/shows/Basic-Brewing/episodes/PERGFAJ-01-12-06-Basic-Brewing-Video-A-Six-Pack-of-IPA[/ame]
 
Respectfully, and I do mean respectfully Revvy, I would offer the following rebuttal:

You are correct in that there is no shame in brewing small batches. However, I'll bet when you brew a small batch you have 20 gallons of drinkable homebrew on hand. I would submit, that if your homebrew inventory is zero gallons, brewing 5 gallons will be much more beneficial than brewing less than 5 gallons.

I offer this opinion on bended knee in supplication to the mighty Revvy. (I say that with tongue in cheek, but I do mean it.)
 
Respectfully, and I do mean respectfully Revvy, I would offer the following rebuttal:

You are correct in that there is no shame in brewing small batches. However, I'll bet when you brew a small batch you have 20 gallons of drinkable homebrew on hand. I would submit, that if your homebrew inventory is zero gallons, brewing 5 gallons will be much more beneficial than brewing less than 5 gallons.

I offer this opinion on bended knee in supplication to the mighty Revvy. (I say that with tongue in cheek, but I do mean it.)

Nope...sometimes all I've had is my 2.5 gallon batch...And I go buy beer....

Sorry pal, If a guy, ANYONE wants to brew ANY size batch, I support them...some of us aren't EACs.... Not everyone puts away 2 cases of beer in a week, or a day....

Don't forget the first batches many folks brew, (MR Beers) are 2.5 gallon batches. And many folks are perfectly content with that size for ever....

It's not the size of the batch, it's the quality of the beer.
 
...some of us aren't EACs.... Not everyone puts away 2 cases of beer in a week, or a day....

It's funny, when I started brewing earlier this year, I was all bent out of shape trying to build a pipeline (mainly because waiting for the first batch to condition killed me). Now, 4 months and 6 batches later, I have over 7 cases in my closest.

Thing is, I'm not that big a drinker. I'll have maybe a couple beers a *week,* unless it's a party or BBQ. That pipeline filled out real quick, and I have a feeling it'll be a while before it's gone.

In the meantime, I've started messing around with 1 gallon batches. The only thing I have in primary at the moment in fact is a 1 gallon American Wheat test batch.

It's fun doing small batches because I feel more comfortable playing around a bit with it. :mug:
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback! I hear y'all loud and clear. Specially preciate the encouragement, Revvy. I like the techniques described in this new book, Beer Craft. And I really like the techniques described in this forum! I just ordered my equipment and malts, hops, and yeast to make a stout! Thanks again!
 
Hi there. I would like some advice if possible from experts - for a complete novice who is only thinking about starting.

I read the book Beer Craft - brewing small batch brews. It seems exciting - and am wondering if I should go down that route.

If there is anyone out there that has tried the techniques described in this book I would appreciate any feedback...

Thanks.

Brewing small batches sounds good in theory, but like others have said, you pretty much have to do the same amount of work for 1 gallon that you have to do for 5 or 10 gallons (except for bottling day). My friend and I thought that we would do some test 1 gallon batches. We quickly realized it just wasn't worth it. Sure, we were saving some money on ingredients, but the cost of the ingredients is not all that much to begin with. We'll never do anything smaller than 5 gallons ever again.
 
Brewing small batches sounds good in theory, but like others have said, you pretty much have to do the same amount of work for 1 gallon that you have to do for 5 or 10 gallons (except for bottling day).

So what? If you have fun doing something, then the size of it doesn't really matter.

I don't find brewing to be "work" in any way shape or form....If it were work I sure as hell wouldn't be doing it. It's a hobby....the act of doing it gives me pleasure. If I spend my time brewing, the act of brewing is what I enjoy...so If I do smaller batches, then I also get to do MORE of it.

And in reality a smaller batch takes less time. If you're doing a 1 gallon AG batch (or extract for that matter) or a 2.5 it's going to take less time to bring all water you need to correct temps, and conversely to cool it. That shaves a hellova lot of time off a brew day.

And bottling sure as heck takes less time...20 minutes for a 2.5 gallon batch....

So to me it's acutally less...."hobby" to do small batches.
 
I've never done less than a 5 gal batch so I can't speak from experience. That said, my first priority after going to all grain was to move to 10 gal batches. It is hardly any more work but you get double the product. I agree with Revvy that it's a hobby and we should enjoy brew day. And I do. But I have a wife, 2 dogs, and a 2 year old. Plus a job and I'm still working on that Ph.D. So I don't have time to screw with small batches. Maybe your life is different.

I do like the idea of experimenting but I'd do that with a 5 gal batch. It's only 50 beers, really that's not that much. Although I do drink a beer everyday, some days two, and several more when watching college football.

And if you keg then the whole bottling issue is a moot point other than the fact that the corny kegs are 5 gal size. There are the 3 gal ones but why buy one of those when the 5 gal ones cost just as much or less?
 
Out of the 6 batches I've done all but 1 have been 2.5gl. Because I was/am new to brewing I couldn't see making 5gls of beer that I didn't know anything about. At the time I hadn't even tasted 4 out of 6 styles beers I'd brewed! Now that I'm more versed in beer styles and brewing I'll start doing all 5gl. I use 22oz bottles so 5gl is 24 bottles. It's not about quantity for me its about learning and trying something different.
 
A lot of good arguments here for smaller batches; but I'm going to make what I think is a pretty convincing one for 5 gallon batches: kits.

There are a ton of vendors out there marketing high quality recipe kits. There may be some smaller kits, but all of them I've seen have been 5 gallons. So long as you stick with a known good vendor (NB and AHS kits worked well for me starting out) you know your recipe is sound, and you as a beginning brewer only need to be concerned with your cleaning, sanitation, and process.

That said, now that I'm getting a much better feel for what I'm doing, I may start experimenting with smaller batches in the near future, so I can play with recipe formulations and such...
 
A lot of good arguments here for smaller batches; but I'm going to make what I think is a pretty convincing one for 5 gallon batches: kits.

And all anyone needs to do to brew a 2.5 gallon batch using one of the kits is.....




Are you ready for it?








Ready?






USE HALF THE INGREDIENTS, and store the rest. ;)

Just seal that half ounce of hops, seal the half packet of dry yeast, freeze the LME, and stick the dme in a jar to keep it dry, and you're golden.

OR....Experiment with the other half of the ingredients, add some fruit, or honey, or spices, or interesting sugars, and you get two batches for the price of one!!!

Besides, how many folks stay doing kits for a long time? Most folks do 1 or 2 and move on. AND as I have shown in my 2.5 gallon AB primer on a stove with a mr beer kit. You can "make the leap to ALL Grain" really easy on the stove with a 2-3 gallon unmodified water cooler......Makes for a really easy start to brewing recipes with a minimum investment in gear, or need for fancy techniques. And splitting any recipe is easy.

People can brew any damn sized batches they damn well please these days....and we fellow brewers, should just support them. It's the brotherhood of the brew, NOT the small batch vs big batch, or ag vs extract or Coopers vs everyone else, or mr beer vs "real" beer, or whatever small minded arguments folks wanna make. It's ALL beer.......
 
IMO, if you like the book, then do it. It's your hobby. Brew as you wish. You said it seemed exciting, so get excited and brew small batches :)

SWMBO uses 1 very old Mr. Beer keg for her beer as she likes making it herself but doesn't drink it frequently so small batches are perfect, and I use it for experiments, similar to what you are thinking of doing. Some of these 'experiments' I was glad I didn't have 5 gallons, let alone 10...

And yes, I also make 5 gal. batches for myself and others.
 
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