Completely new to home brewing and would like to start small, I have a few questions before I purchase equipment that I am hoping to get advice/answers to. I would like to start small, considering either 1 gallon or 3 gallon batches. 1 gallon seems easy enough as online retailers such as Northern Brewer sells 1 gallon extract kits. The problem with 1 gallon batches is, I drink a lot of beer. Waiting a month for 8-9 beers does not seem worth it when I could easily drink that on a Saturday afternoon watching College Football. That had me thinking, what about 3 gallon batches? The reason I do not want to start with 5 gallon batches initially is the fear of brewing something that I will not like, then having 50 beers that I do not want to drink. 1 or 3 gallon batches, even 2 gallon would yield less beer meaning if I did not like the beer I would not have as much to drink. The only issue I have with 3 gallon batches is it seems there is no 3 gallon extract kits (or any other types of kits) prepackaged and ready to brew. One of the beers I would like to brew is the Dead Ringer kit from Northern Brewer, how hard would it be and how do you go about scaling down those 5 gallon batches that online retailers sell? Once I start brewing and find out exactly what I like I am sure I will feel more comfortable brewing 5 gallon batches, but for now I would like to start small and try different beers more often. Any advice or help here would be appreciated. Thanks!
Starting small, need advice.
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Fordmi
Well-Known Member
You can brew small batches in bigger equipment. If you drink a lot of beer you're most likely going to want to upgrade quick. That's expensive and frustrating.
When I started I thought 5 gallons would be enough. Now my buddy and I brew 25-35 gallon batches. We upgraded within 3 months....
If you make a bad batch, well, that's what friends are for.
When I started I thought 5 gallons would be enough. Now my buddy and I brew 25-35 gallon batches. We upgraded within 3 months....
If you make a bad batch, well, that's what friends are for.
beertroll
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't bother with 3 gallon batches. Since you'll be starting with kits, the cost will be the same and the amount of work will be the same for 3 gallons or 5 gallons. If you aren't happy with a batch, you can either force your way through it, dump it, or give it to the friend who will drink anything that has alcohol. No matter what, your investment is the same whether it's 3 or 5. Most information, recipes, and equipment are scaled for 5 gallons, so it's a very beginner-friendly size.
1 gallon batches are nice and easy, and a little less time consuming (chilling 1 gallon of wort is much, much faster than 3 or 5 gallons). I have a couple of 1 gallon fermenters I use for experimenting with a recipe that I'm not sure I'll like (like a sage hefe) or for sampling single hop varieties. Because the kits are cheap, very little equipment is required, and they don't use much space, you could have several 1 gallon batches fermenting at a time. That might help with your volume concerns.
TLDR: 1 or 5 gallons are both good sizes, with their own strengths and weaknesses. 3 gallons isn't worth the effort.
1 gallon batches are nice and easy, and a little less time consuming (chilling 1 gallon of wort is much, much faster than 3 or 5 gallons). I have a couple of 1 gallon fermenters I use for experimenting with a recipe that I'm not sure I'll like (like a sage hefe) or for sampling single hop varieties. Because the kits are cheap, very little equipment is required, and they don't use much space, you could have several 1 gallon batches fermenting at a time. That might help with your volume concerns.
TLDR: 1 or 5 gallons are both good sizes, with their own strengths and weaknesses. 3 gallons isn't worth the effort.
beertroll,
With all of the recipes floating around the internet, couldn't I just scale whatever 5 gallon batch recipe down to 3 gallons and take a ingredients list to my LHBS? If hop addition times are the same no matter the batch size, that simplifies things a bit.
With all of the recipes floating around the internet, couldn't I just scale whatever 5 gallon batch recipe down to 3 gallons and take a ingredients list to my LHBS? If hop addition times are the same no matter the batch size, that simplifies things a bit.
Honestly I would just go with the 5 gallon batches. As long as your sanitation is good and you follow the kit directions, and ask for help when you need it, it's really pretty hard to ruin beer.
If you are worried about messing it up, it doesn't matter whether it's 1 gallon or 5. It's the time you have invested. The best mindset for home brewing is to realize that you may not hit one out of the park every time. There will be some mediocre batches and maybe a few failures. That's OK. If you learn from that, you become a better brewer.
That said, instead of starting out small, maybe you should start out simple, and do a full 5-gallon batch. Find a kit for a beer style that you like, one that is a bit forgiving of minor mistakes. My LHBS sells a lot of the Irish red ale, in fact, I think it's their best seller. It's very popular with new brewers. Follow the process well, and you will end up with 2 cases of good, tasty beer.
Start out with the basics and just learn to make good beer.
That said, instead of starting out small, maybe you should start out simple, and do a full 5-gallon batch. Find a kit for a beer style that you like, one that is a bit forgiving of minor mistakes. My LHBS sells a lot of the Irish red ale, in fact, I think it's their best seller. It's very popular with new brewers. Follow the process well, and you will end up with 2 cases of good, tasty beer.
Start out with the basics and just learn to make good beer.
I don't think it is that I am worried about messing up, I just think I'd rather have 25 beers of 1 style and 25 of another rather than 50 of just 1. I drink a lot of craft beer and switch styles regularly. Making smaller batches would allow me to have more than 1 style of beer fermenting or in the fridge ready to drink.
I don't drink a whole lot of beer at a time, so 1 gallon is perfect for me. I also like the variety and experience I get brewing different beers. So, I brew about three beers a month. I find that with an extract kit from NB, I can be done in two-to-three hours. That means I could easily brew twice in one day if I wanted. Good luck.
gr8shandini
Well-Known Member
Good advice here. If you're just looking to brew kits for now, just concentrate on the process (top tip: it's all about fermentation temperatures). It takes the same amount of time to make 1 gallon as 10 gallons as 100,000 bbl. If it all goes well (and it usually will), you'll be assured that you'll have a beer that you'll like since you're using a proven recipe in a style you enjoy. So you may as well make as much as you can reasonably enjoy while fresh.
That said, if you want to experiment, scaling a recipe is as easy as dividing by 5 and multiplying by the number of gallons you wish to produce. It's true that you can always go smaller than what your equipment will produce, but there are some limitations. I wouldn't go less than 50% of what your rig is designed for. What that means is that if you want to do 3 gallons on the standard 5 gallon setup, it'll work just fine. But if you wanted to do 1 gallon batches, you might want to invest in some different equipment.
I too drink a lot of craft beer and a wide variety of styles. I have been brewing 5 gallon batches for a year now. Just because you start homebrewing doesn't mean you'll stop buying commercially made craft beer. Brew styles you like and drink them when you want. I think you'll find that 5 gallons goes a lot faster than you think it will, especially if you give away a six pack here and there to a friend. If you like brewing and stick with it for a while, it won't take long to have bottles from several different batches in the fridge.
WissaBrewGuy
Well-Known Member
I brewed 3gal all-grain for about a year and made some great stuff. 3gal is a really great size because it is 1 case of beer but you can still do it on a kitchen burner. The issue I find with the smaller volumes especially 1gal is that every little variation throws the beer off completely aka no repeatability. Think about it: add an extra hop pellet in a 1 gal batch and you just increased the IBU by a few points, throw an extra pellet in 5gal and you won't really notice anything. I would stick with the kit sizes if doing extract (so either 1 or 5) but you could get a cheap all-grain setup going to produce 3gal. Let me know if you go down this route and I will give you a bill of materials for building your 3gal system.
Also remember if you ever brew a batch you aren't particularly fond you can always use it for cooking.
gr8shandini
Well-Known Member
What's your storage situation like? One of the nice things about home brewing is that even a 3 month old homebrew is likely to be fresher than the less popular beers in your local bottle shop. Nothing says you have to finish drinking a batch before you can brew another one.
And as Tall Dan said, once you get decently proficient, you'll find that you'll always have friends and family stopping by for a beer. Heck, I've even thrown parties where I've kicked 4 corny kegs in one night. In 5 years of brewing, I've only had 2 truly undrinkable batches. Otherwise, I've never once said "boy, I wish I hadn't made so much of this one." But plenty of times I've said "damn, that should have been 10 gallons instead of 5."
captainkirk83
Well-Known Member
I started with 2 gal mr beer size and still use it some but five gallons will go quick.
I started with the mr. Beer kits personally and quickly picked up a second. I found myself in the same predicament. Recently I moved into 5 gallon kits, and considering your thoughts would recommend the same.
Consider this: if you like craft beer, why stop buying craft beer? Doesn't hurt to have the extra bottles anyway...
Secondly if you are looking at different styles and don't want to drink just one style, consider setting yourself up for a pipeline of beer. When you get your kit (5 gallon), pick up a secondary fermenter. Brew one style one week, a second the next. Move the first batch into your secondary after a week (pretty standard) and your fresh batch into primary. Week 3, another style. You will never have a shortage of beer, and the style is up to you, from week to week!
Consider this: if you like craft beer, why stop buying craft beer? Doesn't hurt to have the extra bottles anyway...
Secondly if you are looking at different styles and don't want to drink just one style, consider setting yourself up for a pipeline of beer. When you get your kit (5 gallon), pick up a secondary fermenter. Brew one style one week, a second the next. Move the first batch into your secondary after a week (pretty standard) and your fresh batch into primary. Week 3, another style. You will never have a shortage of beer, and the style is up to you, from week to week!
I wouldn't bother with picking up a secondary, but instead just get a couple of primaries so you don't have to go through the trouble of transferring for no reason. Getting a few 6.5 gal buckets to use as a primary is generally pretty cheap (~$15 each).
Thank you for all of the replies everyone, I really appreciate it. I wanted to start small to try different styles and kind of get the hang of brewing because making larger batches but maybe I will start on 5 gallon batches. I am a huge fan of 3 Floyds beer and it is not readily available where I live so I wanted to start brewing clones of my favorite beers from them. That right now is my ultimate goal in brewing but I can see myself eventually brewing and making changes to recipes to try to create new things.
snowtires
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I'm like you. I drink a lot of beer.
I cannot find the time to brew enough to keep me supplied and I brew 5 gallon batches. If you have a lot of spare time to brew smaller batches are OK if your like me and don't have a lot of free time I would go 10 gallons
I sure wish I did
I cannot find the time to brew enough to keep me supplied and I brew 5 gallon batches. If you have a lot of spare time to brew smaller batches are OK if your like me and don't have a lot of free time I would go 10 gallons
I sure wish I diddavygoat2
Well-Known Member
I'm a newb to brewing, only up to 15 gal total.
One of the thing I find really interesting about homebrew is the
new found appreciation for the Beer, bordering on a awe or reverence without being sacrilegious. Drinking Homebrew at a rate on par with knocking back mass produced mainstream lagers is just not happening for me.
The quality drinking outweighs the necessity of quantity. I'm very happy I started brewing and keeping fermentor and secondaries full is a rewarding result of each 3 hour endeavor. I have the ability to brew in a commercial kitchen in my FD so I could upscale from 5 gal batch size with the addition of an extra 6.5 gal fermentor bucket.
I've been taught that this size works best for initial Krausen with out a blowoff tube,and racking to secondary isn't really necessary but frees up the primary for the next batch.
I got close to a blowout on a creme ale extract, noticed my airlock cloudy and some leakage around the lid rim as i opened it to bottle.
I need to work on controlling fermentation temps more evenly and a bit lower perhaps. Either way I'd rather not knock back a 30 of Coors or Bud Lite anymore, my tastebuds are revolting when I try.
One of the thing I find really interesting about homebrew is the
new found appreciation for the Beer, bordering on a awe or reverence without being sacrilegious. Drinking Homebrew at a rate on par with knocking back mass produced mainstream lagers is just not happening for me.
The quality drinking outweighs the necessity of quantity. I'm very happy I started brewing and keeping fermentor and secondaries full is a rewarding result of each 3 hour endeavor. I have the ability to brew in a commercial kitchen in my FD so I could upscale from 5 gal batch size with the addition of an extra 6.5 gal fermentor bucket.
I've been taught that this size works best for initial Krausen with out a blowoff tube,and racking to secondary isn't really necessary but frees up the primary for the next batch.
I got close to a blowout on a creme ale extract, noticed my airlock cloudy and some leakage around the lid rim as i opened it to bottle.
I need to work on controlling fermentation temps more evenly and a bit lower perhaps. Either way I'd rather not knock back a 30 of Coors or Bud Lite anymore, my tastebuds are revolting when I try.
althalos
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I am going to strongly disagree with everyone who said 3 gallon batches are a waste of time. A 3 gallon batch, while taking an equal amount of time to brew initially, saves some time and space later. A 3 gallon batch will net you a case of beer with some left over for friends to sample. That's one less case to bottle. Also, space is a consideration for me; I'm looking to maximize the number of styles I have on hand, and two cases for each beer means only 3 styles in my beer fridge at once. That is not okay with me. Clearly, by and large 5 gallon is the way to go, and I will be upgrading once I start kegging, but for now it suits me better to do 3.
JR_Brewer
Well-Known Member
Here are some thoughts...
I really like having a 3 gallon better bottle around. It's easy to move around and it fits inside my bottling bucket if I'd like to put it in an ice bath at the beginning of fermentation. It's where I try out new recipes before brewing a bigger batch. Now I have 3, 5, 6, and 6.5 gallon carboys to choose from, so I have some freedom. I understand that might not be reasonable when you're just getting into the hobby.
My outside-the-box alternative for you is to get 2x 3 gallon better bottles. That way, if you're creating your own recipe, just scale down to 3 gallons. Then, when you use a 5 gallon pre-packaged kit, just split your wort into 2. As a side note, this would easily facilitate some experimentation (diff yeasts, dry hopping, etc).
Anyway, whatever you do, good luck and happy brewing!
I really like having a 3 gallon better bottle around. It's easy to move around and it fits inside my bottling bucket if I'd like to put it in an ice bath at the beginning of fermentation. It's where I try out new recipes before brewing a bigger batch. Now I have 3, 5, 6, and 6.5 gallon carboys to choose from, so I have some freedom. I understand that might not be reasonable when you're just getting into the hobby.
My outside-the-box alternative for you is to get 2x 3 gallon better bottles. That way, if you're creating your own recipe, just scale down to 3 gallons. Then, when you use a 5 gallon pre-packaged kit, just split your wort into 2. As a side note, this would easily facilitate some experimentation (diff yeasts, dry hopping, etc).
Anyway, whatever you do, good luck and happy brewing!
fartinmartin
Well-Known Member
Brew any size you want to , but invest for what will be right later on.
A 1 gal brew is fine in a 6 gal pot, can't do vica versa.
A 1 gal brew is fine in a 6 gal pot, can't do vica versa.
just do 2 5 gallon batches at once and taste it before you bottle. if it's infected or totally messed up you can pour it out and start over. if you do extract kits and follow instructions reasonably well you are likely to get good results unless you let it get oxidized or something
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