Question for Smaller Batches

[Malachi_Constant]

I'm new to home brewing.
I purchased a starter kit and brewed my first batch, and I'm really looking forward to future brews! I've browsed this forum (excellent information!), and I have a question. I want to try lots of different variations/ingredients etc., but the kit I bought brews a ton of beer, and I don't want to brew lots and lots of beer each brew.
If money were no object (it is, but let's suppose), and you wanted to brew smaller batches of different types of beer, what would you recommend? I'm aware that I can just buy a smaller kit, but if there is some equipment that makes this whole process more streamlined and doesn't brew 24+ beers per batch, I would love to know recommendations. I did discover Picobrew machines, but that seems more of a 'buy a kit, plug it in, and it'll do the rest' kind of thing, and not necessarily geared toward trying lots of different custom ingredients.
Thanks for any input!

 

[kev211]

What kit did you buy? If it were me Id go buy 5 or 6 1 gallon fermenters and airlocks and use that. Anything that you have other than that from the (presumably) 5 gallon kit should work just fine. That being said, it would be easier to point you in the right direction if we knew what kit you bought.

Also, welcome to the forum and the hobby addiction

 

[Weezy]

Check out the Brewers Edge system ($300)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=595987

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=597922

It's made for typical 5 gallon batches but you can do smaller batches with it too. Some of use brew 3 gallon batches and use 2.5 gallon kegs. In site the guys here using it would be glad to give you step by step as well. $300 sound steep? Believe me that's a lot of value at that price point, when you consider you're getting a pot, heater, and temp control all in one.



And welcome aboard!

 

[Vedexent]

I have a similar "ask" as you do.

I want to do a lot of experimenting, but don't want to do 10 gallon batches.

What I ended up doing is simple "Brew in a Bag" technique, using stove-top equipment. Some searching of the web / youtube / this forum (there's even a whole sub-forum for BIAB) can give you a ton of information as to what's needed to go this route.

My modest setup can handle batches up to 3 gallons, and it wasn't that expensive to outfit.

The big advantage of small batches is that you can transition to all-grain quite easily, using your kitchen, and doing "full volume boils" to bypass all the grain sparging steps.

It allows you to sample a good cross section of brewing without the need for high-capacity, high investment equipment - or at least not yet

 

[bajaedition]

I have about 15 recipes I use
My major influence when I started brewing was the book "Clone Brews"
It had recipes for beers from around the world that I could identify, and I knew the beers were not somebodies LSD influenced pumpkin spiced IPA with turtle livers and kitten fur.
they were clones of good beers
Gradually as my experience grew I experimented with these recipes changing one item at a time so I knew what I had done. I kept very meticulous notes of each brew.
and now after starting out this hobby in the early 80s, I brew the majority of my beers of my recipes from that book, they were good recipes and good beers.
As a base I cannot complain
now days you can access millions of recipes on line, each claiming to be the best. I consider most of them being some novice brewer trying to get his 15 minutes of fame.

Clone brew is based on 5 gallons, That is a standard that is easy to convert up or down. It also is an amount that is easy to duplicate, trying to get accurate with a 1 gallon brew is going to be exceptionally anal with measurements and conversions. It is also not a huge investment for a beer, I can do one for 15 to 30 clams.

After all these years, my favorite brews are still based of that book, it covers a gamut of styles and each is broken down in both extract and grains or full on all grain

as far as BIAB or 3 vessel all grain, that is u to you. Either one is good.

 

[Calder]

24 beers - 12 ozsers, pints, liters, Metric, Imperial, US, UK.

24 beers is an odd number, In the US (whers most of us seem to be located) that would be recognized as about 2.25 US gallons. To most of us that is already small.

If that is the size you are working wit, and that is big enough for you, then I'd suggest working with that size, but splitting the batch in two, and use different yeasts, different dry hops, or different spices in the fermenter, etc.

The smaller you get the more effort it is per bottle.

There are some 1 gallon beer kits and equipment available. Just look on-line at the various internet places if that is what you want.

 

[Malachi_Constant]

Great info, thank you.
I bought the Essential Brewing Starter Kit from Northern Brewer.
There are a lot of steps, and I understand that that's part of the process, and I'm learning a ton.
However, are there items you can buy to make this process more efficient than two large plastic buckets and a big metal drum and different tubes and siphon etc.
I did enjoy the process, but I'd love to know what kind if recommended equipment is out there for future brews.

 

[NSMikeD]

Let's keep this simple and start with your desire to brew small batches and hold off on changing your 5 gallon set up - although do have fun in the meantime reading up on RIMS and HERMS units which automate the process. Peruse the Electric Brewing forum here.

Back to small batch:


A good place to look is stove top small batch brew in a bag (BIAB). The simplest equipment is a kitchen stove, a pot and a mesh bag. You put all the water into the kettle, bring it to strike temperature, line the kettle with a mesh bag, add the grains, wait for the mash it be done and them remove and drain the bag - from here, you boil as normal.

There are a number of Electric BIAB options out there which were designed for 5 gallon batches but I understand they can do 2.5 gallon. Grainfather and Braumeaister are the two most common, however Brewers Edge Boil and Mash at $300 has been getting good reviews here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=597922

Small Batch BIAB = less work, less time and faster cycle = more variety and experience.

And, if you like a certain beer, you can always scale it up to 5 gallons since you already have the buckets.

How much is small batch? It's up to you. 1gallon, 2 gallon, 3 gallon, ....?

A pot, a mesh bag and a fermentors will run <$50 and you have the rest of the equipment.

I prefer 2.5 gallons = 20 pints. That will usually last me 2 weeks. This means I am brewing about every two weeks, as I enjoy having a pint when I get home from work. And when family gets me a kit as a gift, the math is easy, I simple divide it in half.

I just tapped a Trappist Doubel (my first attempt at a Belgian). I have a smoked stout (40% cherrywood smoked malt) that has been conditioning for about a month now, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone that I just kegged which is a variation (I hope for the better) of another recipe I previously brewed. Yeah, 2.5 gallons is a nice batch size for variety & brewing experience for me.

There is a BIAB forum here and in this forum there is a 1 Gallon Brewers Unite thread.