The case for 3 gal batch brewing for apartment dwelling budget minded beginner

[Dinklefwat]

I'm an apartment brewer, and pretty much all my batches are 2 - 3 gallons. I use a 2G cooler for my MLT, and line the cooler with a mesh bag for lautering. I can mash up to 5 lbs of grain that way, which is perfect for small batches (if I'm brewing a barleywine or RIS, I can always throw in a pound of DME). My kettle and electric stove can handle the full boil. I also have 3G carboys for fermentation.

But the best part IMO is not having to make a starter. I LOVE being able to directly pitch a smack pack or WLP vial and not have to worry about under-pitching. I find making a starter to be really annoying, and it of course introduces the possibility of contamination. As was mentioned before, for a 2 - 3 G batch, one vial / smack pack is usually just about the perfect amount of yeast.

It also means I get to experiment and brew more often. Someday, maybe I'll go to larger batches, but for now, I'm loving the small batch set-up.

 

[vmaxept]

What??? Just post! Nobody cares if you're doing small medium or large batches...at least nobody that I've run across!

I really don't see any Us vs. them when it comes to batch size on HBT, but based on a few small batch brewing posts recently, I'm missing something.

OPS I have to watch my sarcasm comments. Was not trying to be offensive.
r

 

[Draken]

For all those brewing small batches, like me. You might want to check a yeast calculator.. I've typically had to make starters for most of my beers in the 2.5 gallon range. Mainly due to the date on the package, but sometimes because the cell count is short.

 

[MikePenn]

I tried to set my self up for 5 gallon brewing, it is hard to do living in an apartment on the 7th floor with an electric stove. I did this mainly becuase when doing research I found way more information and recipes for 5 gallons. Well after doing more reseach I found that the recipes are scalable and there are calcutators for everything. Well I am down grading myself to 3/3.5 gallon brews because I am progressing to AG brewing. Also thinking about doing experimental 1 gallon brews. Nice to see others out there brewing in an apartment, I get jealous seeing the pictures of people with brew sheds and patios with hops growing all around them. One day I will grow my batches to 5 gallons until then 3/3.5 are my magic numbers.

 

[ChrisL_]

I am just getting set up to brew my first batch and plan on doing only 2.5 gallon batches. I have lots of space, but just don't drink enough any more to justify the large batches ( I should have started this when I was 25 instead of 45 ). Plus I would like to be able to try several different types/styles of beer so 2.5 gallons will be plenty for me. 2.5 gallon fits nicely into a 3gallon carboy for fermenting and in the end I will have 20 500ml/16oz bottles to enjoy while I start on my next batch

 

[char005]

I have a question for the apartment brewers out there. I am looking to start brewing 3 gallon all grains in my apartment because me and my brewing partners cannot brew as often as i like in our 15 gallon set up, which is at my buddy's house. I also conveniently have a 3 gallon corny kegerater set up at my apartment. This seems like a no brainer to me. I am an experienced brewer so not worried about process other than chilling. I won't be able to hook up an immersion chiller to my apartment's sink and I am genuinely not sure about how to chill 3 gallons of boiling wort down quickly. I am not really Interested in trying no chill because I am looking to replicate the process from our larger system to be able to make "pilot" batches for the larger system. How are you apartment brewers going about chilling?

 

[flipfloptan]

Ice bath in sink. I slowly stir wort every 10 minutes. Once wort goes below 100 degrees I change water out in sink and add more ice and water.

Takes about 30 minutes.

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ cool water bath in the sink while stirring will work fine. Change the water out a few times add ice toward the end. Will be almost as quick as your IC for bigger batches.

 

[drinkslurm]

You could always do a "no chill". Ive had no change in results when I do that.
I basically chill it as much as an ice bath will allow (usually to around 110-100 degrees or so), then transfer into carboy as normal and add airlock to keep O2/bugs out. Wait til the temp is the same as the room and pitch. Usually temp is good when im all cleaned up.
Plus...you are in Pittsburgh...its gonna get pretty cold soon. Ive used snow drifts to chill my wort when I lived in my condo.

 

[Captain Damage]

Got a big plastic washtub from Walmart for around $6. Kettle of hot wort goes in the washtub. Completely fill deadspace with ice from the supermarket (30lbs=$5). Spin the kettle clockwise a half dozen turns or so; spin it counterclockwise a half dozen turns or so and repeat - and repeat -and repeat... Gets 3 gallons of wort from boiling to 60F in less than 15 minutes.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Could use a IC, Wash tub and fountain pump.

Connect the fountain pump to the IC and recirculate the water to the wash tub with ice water in it.

 

[joemc33]

I have 2-1 gallon carboys and 1-3 gallon carboy. I don't feel the need to EVER do a 5 gallon batch. I enjoy swapping out flavors quickly and always have enough beer.

 

[stevem86]

I have a question for the apartment brewers out there. I am looking to start brewing 3 gallon all grains in my apartment because me and my brewing partners cannot brew as often as i like in our 15 gallon set up, which is at my buddy's house. I also conveniently have a 3 gallon corny kegerater set up at my apartment. This seems like a no brainer to me. I am an experienced brewer so not worried about process other than chilling. I won't be able to hook up an immersion chiller to my apartment's sink and I am genuinely not sure about how to chill 3 gallons of boiling wort down quickly. I am not really Interested in trying no chill because I am looking to replicate the process from our larger system to be able to make "pilot" batches for the larger system. How are you apartment brewers going about chilling?

I fill my sink with ice and water, place the kettle in the sink, put 1 finger in the handle if the kettle and spin the kettle.
I can get it from boiling to 90 degrees in about 7 minutes ( I stop to drain some water and add more ice twice)
Very quick and only uses about 9-10 pounds of ice

 

[robertus]

I had great success with my first small batch, a 2.5 gal Porter. Thinkin about doing that one again at 5 gal, but probably won't get to it til next year some time. Free time and space are severely lacking. Hoping to brew again on my birthday, as tradition requires.

 

[mcmeador]

I have a question for the apartment brewers out there. I am looking to start brewing 3 gallon all grains in my apartment because me and my brewing partners cannot brew as often as i like in our 15 gallon set up, which is at my buddy's house. I also conveniently have a 3 gallon corny kegerater set up at my apartment. This seems like a no brainer to me. I am an experienced brewer so not worried about process other than chilling. I won't be able to hook up an immersion chiller to my apartment's sink and I am genuinely not sure about how to chill 3 gallons of boiling wort down quickly. I am not really Interested in trying no chill because I am looking to replicate the process from our larger system to be able to make "pilot" batches for the larger system. How are you apartment brewers going about chilling?

Are you sure you can't connect to your apartment sink? All I had to do was unscrew the stock filter from mine and screw an adapter on in its place.

 

[Steelers77]

I just found this thread (haven't been on HBT browsing lately), and I have to say that we are huge advocated of 3 gallon kits here at Farmhouse. We are offering a 3 gallon starter kit in the shop for the holiday's and think it will be a nice entry point for most beginners.

I personally brew a ton of 3 gallon batches, in my case I usually do 20 lbs of grain and make a big beer with the first running and then run off a second beer that is 5 gallons. Just did a IIPA and Milk stout off the same base malt, worked out great.

I've also done straight 3 gallon batches of extract to try new recipes for the shop then I scale them up if they are good, not wasting much if its not what we want.

Cheers and keep brewing!

 

[char005]

Are you sure you can't connect to your apartment sink? All I had to do was unscrew the stock filter from mine and screw an adapter on in its place.

Turns out that will probably work. I didn't think of it at the time but I am assuming I can find some sort of adapter to screw in there to attach a pipe nipple to. So that should work. I also forgot that in the summer we would use that pond pump trick mentioned earlier to recirculate ice water in a plastic tub through the chiller. That might be a good play as well. I did a walk through with water the other day to see how the electric stove would handle a boil and unfortunately it didn't go as well as planned. I got a 5 gallon SS pot with relatively thin metal bottom because i thought the thin metal would transfer the heat faster. The result was that I could only get what I would call a barely simmering boil with 4 gallons of water. I could see bubbles forming in the shape of the eletric coils in the water, so the heat was pretty concentrated ina small area of the pot. I don't think this is going to work too well. For you guys doing boils on electric stoves, does a thicker bottom pot allow a better boil?

 

[Robusto]

I know that I’m coming late to the dance here, but I mainly brew 2 or 3 gallon batches for a number of reasons. What I really like is that I get to brew more often, which means that my ADD brain forgets less between batches. It also means that I can tweek or modify a recipe while it is still fresh in my mind (or fridge), giving me a more tangible reference thank just my notes. Also, I am the one drinking most of whatever I make, so smaller batches let me have some variety.

A myth that I can dispel is that it is budget minded. I spend more per batch because even though I’m only using an ounce or two of a specialty grain, or an 1/8 of an ounce of a particular hop, I still have to buy a minimum of a pound of that grain or minimum of an ounce of that hop. Even with more frequent brew sessions, I still end up throwing out a good bit of grain and hops because they go stale.

All in all, I like making smaller batches because I feel that the advantage, for me anyway, outweigh the disadvantages.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I know that I’m coming late to the dance here, but I mainly brew 2 or 3 gallon batches for a number of reasons. What I really like is that I get to brew more often, which means that my ADD brain forgets less between batches. It also means that I can tweek or modify a recipe while it is still fresh in my mind (or fridge), giving me a more tangible reference thank just my notes. Also, I am the one drinking most of whatever I make, so smaller batches let me have some variety.

A myth that I can dispel is that it is budget minded. I spend more per batch because even though I’m only using an ounce or two of a specialty grain, or an 1/8 of an ounce of a particular hop, I still have to buy a minimum of a pound of that grain or minimum of an ounce of that hop. Even with more frequent brew sessions, I still end up throwing out a good bit of grain and hops because they go stale.

All in all, I like making smaller batches because I feel that the advantage, for me anyway, outweigh the disadvantages.

Simply keeping the hops bagged and in the freezer helps them last a lot longer. Using a vacuum packer would be the next step. Of course it only works if you have space to store everything.

 

[TheArmada]

I usually brew 1.5 gal batches but have pondered going to 3.0 gal.

I live in a small appartment with a tiny budget and don't think that much. I do think it's a lot of effort though for a small amount of beer in the end. This is why I'm considering altering my setup to be able to brew bigger.

 

[TheArmada]

I have a question for the apartment brewers out there. I am looking to start brewing 3 gallon all grains in my apartment because me and my brewing partners cannot brew as often as i like in our 15 gallon set up, which is at my buddy's house. I also conveniently have a 3 gallon corny kegerater set up at my apartment. This seems like a no brainer to me. I am an experienced brewer so not worried about process other than chilling. I won't be able to hook up an immersion chiller to my apartment's sink and I am genuinely not sure about how to chill 3 gallons of boiling wort down quickly. I am not really Interested in trying no chill because I am looking to replicate the process from our larger system to be able to make "pilot" batches for the larger system. How are you apartment brewers going about chilling?

I fill my bath with cold water. Enough to ALMOST submerge the kettle. Don't even need ice. Temperature goes down crazy fast. 10 minutes and I take it out. Leave on the counter for another 10 minutes so it gains room temperature. Voilà!

Just have to leave the cover on!

 

[Ilan34]

I do 2.75 gallon brews (in 3 gallon carboys with Fermcap and a blowoff tube). I have a weak electric stove, so I split my wort after the mash into two 2 gallon pots. My sink is divided into two parts, each large enough for a pot. I'm lucky enough to live above a dining hall kitchen (we have a unique living arrangement), so with a few minutes left in the boil I take two buckets down the elevator, fill each one 3/4 full of ice, and dump a bucket into each sink. Then fill halfway with cold tap water.

I usually get the boiling wort down to 60 in 30 minutes.