Small Batch

[dalejr03]

I am new to this site (thanks for having me) and new to homebrewing (5 months). I have a keezer with 3 taps - 2 x 5 gallon and I recently won a 2.5 gallon keg from local homebrew store. I wanted to get some feedback from experts regarding small brewing. I have 2 x 6.5 gallon big mouth carboys with spigot. I plan to purchase 1 x 3 gallon big mouth carboy with spigot soon. Some beers direct you to add yeast and let your wort then ferment before kegging (this is great I can do small batches in the 3 gallon carboy). Others (I am brewing a 5 gallon hazy IPA right now) direct you to let the wort sit and ferment for a few days then transfer to a secondary fermenter for the remaining amount of time. My question is what issues will I have for the latter if I let it ferment for a few days in a 6.5 gallon carboy before transferring to a secondary 3 gallon carboy.....if any? Will I lose anything? Introduce unwanted anything? Thanks in advance.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Others (I am brewing a 5 gallon hazy IPA right now) direct you to let the wort sit and ferment for a few days then transfer to a secondary fermenter for the remaining amount of time. My question is what issues will I have for the latter if I let it ferment for a few days in a 6.5 gallon carboy before transferring to a secondary 3 gallon carboy.....if any? Will I lose anything? Introduce unwanted anything? Thanks in advance.

Transferring beer introduces

1) the (low) risk of infection. Easy to fix with good sanitation practices.

2) the (almost certain) risk of oxygen ingress (which leads to oxidation). Closed transfers are a common approach for managing this risk.

 

[dalejr03]

Thanks for the quick response. Can I ask you this....would it make more sense to buy 2 x 3-gallon carboys and use them with the smaller keg? I read a bit about the potential for the flavor to be affected b/c there is so much headspace which could cause oxidation.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Good question.

Given the title of this topic ("small batch') and the forum ("extract brewing"), you may want to start a new topic for the question (maybe "best fermenter for 2.5 gal kegging") over in the "bottling/kegging" forum.

 

[Steveruch]

Thanks for the quick response. Can I ask you this....would it make more sense to buy 2 x 3-gallon carboys and use them with the smaller keg? I read a bit about the potential for the flavor to be affected b/c there is so much headspace which could cause oxidation.

Oxidation wouldn't be a problem in the 2-3 weeks it takes for most batches to finish.