Wheres the 2.5 Gallon Brewer'$???

[z-bob]

I used to do 5-gallon partial mash brews, many years ago. When I got back into brewing, I started doing 3 and 4 gallon all-grain BIAB. I was planning to step that up to 5 or 6 gallons, but 3 gallon strong beers and 4 gallon "normal" gravity beers seems to be a good size, and I won't need to buy a bigger kettle.

I might even do a few 1-gallon beers if I try anything weird. (like a creeping charlie gruit)

 

[Owly055]

Yeah. I had a 4.5 gallon and it was a squeeze. 5 would've been a little more comfortable. But you won't be able to do BIAB at that size (if you're interested at all in BIAB).

If you are planning on doing BIAB, go for 6.5 gallon or greater. That's what I have now and I like it.

I do BIAB all grain 2.5 gallon batches in my 24 quart kettle all the time and have plenty of room..........

 

[hannibalmdq]

I do BIAB all grain 2.5 gallon batches in my 24 quart kettle all the time and have plenty of room..........

So you're saying a 6 gallon kettle is as doable as a 6.5 gallon kettle for 2.5 gallon batches. I'm fine with that statement.

But to comment I replied to, a 4.5 or 5 gallon kettle would be pushing it for BIAB in my opinion. Especially if the grist was particularly large or if you have a large boil off rate. You may be able to mash some grists in it, but you could definitely run into problems. Of course there are work arounds for everything. Spending a few extra dollars on a slightly larger kettle to have some flexibility down the road is the path I would choose.

For what it's worth I normally end up racking 2.75 gallons into my 3 gallon fermentor and packaging about 2.5 during bottling. I'm never sure if when people say X gallon batches what volume they are actually referring to. Ending kettle, ferementor, or packaging volume.

And I'm big fan of brewing at the 2.5ish gallon size. It's significant enough to last for a while, but small enough to encourage brewing often for variety.

 

[joe_four_strings]

My 2.5/3 gal fermenter setup.

 

[sumbrewindude]

3gal AG brewer.

Love the size, plenty to drink, and equipment is cost effective/easy to store.

 

[sputnam]

i do 3.2 gallons...is that close enough? I realized that if i do 3.2 gallons in 5 gallon fermentor I can leave the racking cane unattended and balanced on the hump (in better bottles) never get any trub and get the keg FULLLLLL...i have some 2.5's and a few 3 gallons. Plus in 5 gallon ferm, i NEVER worry about blowovers

 

[HK823]

2.5 gl for brewing a AG recipe for the first time and you don't know what it is.
5 gl for tastier stuff (including liquid kits).

Luckily my fridge allows for my 5 gl fermenter + 2 gallon bucket

 

[brewprint]

For those who keg their 2.5 gallon batches; does it carb in half the time as a five gallon keg? I have both sizes.

 

[HK823]

No it takes just as long. I have both sizes too.

 

[Gish]

I like to use a 2.5 gallon BIAB batch as a big starter and repitch my yeast into a 10 gallon batch. I like to make Smash beer to understand all my malts hops and yeast. This size of batch works out perfect for pitching 1 vial of yeast and then into a 10 gallon according to Mr. Malty.

 

[brewprint]

No it takes just as long. I have both sizes too.

Thanks for the tip. I just cranked up the keg to 25 and will leave it there for at least 24 hours. Should be nice by Friday.

 

[SnakeRidge]

I like to use a 2.5 gallon BIAB batch as a big starter and repitch my yeast into a 10 gallon batch. I like to make Smash beer to understand all my malts hops and yeast. This size of batch works out perfect for pitching 1 vial of yeast and then into a 10 gallon according to Mr. Malty.

I do this too. I hate pouring out the starter beer so why not make something worth drinking?

 

[watermelon83]

I usually brew two 2.5g batches and then just mix them together in the same fermenter.

 

[HK823]

Boil up 2 batches of 2.5 gl each? Hopefully at the same time otherwise you must have some really really long brew days.

 

[Weezy]

Besides fermenting in 5 gal corneys, I really like my brewdemon. Top crops easy and the spigot is above the trub line. It'll ferment 2.5g plus a little just fine.

https://www.brewdemon.com/equipment/all-equipment/fermetation-equipment

I like it better than my 3g better bottle with rotating spigot.

 

[Calder]

My norm is 6 gallons, but I experiment with 2.5 gallons.

In jan I split 11 gallons in to 4 x 2.75, and pitched 4 different yeasts - they were starter yeast for my next 4 full size batches.

At bottling, I often take 2.5 gallons to add extras to it. Such as, coffee, oak, vanilla, liquor, etc, even a different or extra dry hop.

 

[ericbw]

2.5 or 3 is a great size batch. I have 2 2.5 gal kegs and 2 3 gallon. 4 tap kegerator with one shelf that still fits.

 

[paul_111]

I am wanting to get to 2.5 gallon eventually - sticking to 5 as I learn for the ease of extract kids - what size fermenters do you use for a 2.5 g batch?

I've been brewing 2-3 gallons, fermenting in either 3 or 5 gal better bottles.

 

[divrguy]

Correction 2.75 .

2.75 here too! Cheers!

 

[CUrchin]

2.5 to 3.5 gallons here. 5 gallon pot, 5 gallon buckets, 5 gallon paint strainer bags. Very cheap way to do this hobby. I did one gallon batches for awhile but that wasn't enough. I like to experiment, but 5 gallons is too much to have for a mediocre beer.

 

[HK823]

Besides fermenting in 5 gal corneys, I really like my brewdemon. Top crops easy and the spigot is above the trub line. It'll ferment 2.5g plus a little just fine.



https://www.brewdemon.com/equipment/all-equipment/fermetation-equipment



I like it better than my 3g better bottle with rotating spigot.

Looks really nice. Considering it is made of plastic how is the quality of the molding, especially the fitting of the lid? I had the FastFermenter conical for a month and was so unhappy with it that I send it to the recycling plant.

 

[socjiuyon]

Its a nice size for my Brewdemon conical, and most recipes are easy to convert.

 

[Weezy]

Looks really nice. Considering it is made of plastic how is the quality of the molding, especially the fitting of the lid? I had the FastFermenter conical for a month and was so unhappy with it that I send it to the recycling plant.

No complaints. The lid fits well and threads work well. There's no gasket but none is needed. I wouldn't recommend it if I had complaints.

 

[wobdee]

The only problem I have with my Brewdemon is the spigot. I like to harvest yeast slurry and the spigot clogs up when I try to drain it. I may have to come up with a different spigot.

 

[Weezy]

Top cropping gets enough for another batch.. its worth doing and easy. Do you mean the trub and yeast is up higher than the spigot or are you trying drain the yeast out of the spigot to collect it?

 

[wobdee]

Top cropping gets enough for another batch.. its worth doing and easy. Do you mean the trub and yeast is up higher than the spigot or are you trying drain the yeast out of the spigot to collect it?

Trying to drain the yeast out of the spigot after racking the beer to my keg. The yeast cake is usually right at or slightly above the spigot but I take a hydro sample before racking which clears the spigot beforehand.

My Speidel fermenter works just fine with this technique. I've thought about top cropping but I heard you can't do it with lager yeast?

 

[Owly055]

Trying to drain the yeast out of the spigot after racking the beer to my keg. The yeast cake is usually right at or slightly above the spigot but I take a hydro sample before racking which clears the spigot beforehand.

My Speidel fermenter works just fine with this technique. I've thought about top cropping but I heard you can't do it with lager yeast?

I agree about top cropping lager yeast.......... One of my 3 fermenters is a Brew Demon... my least favorite because of the internal "features" which make cleaning a pain. My other two have absolutely smooth interior walls. the conical shape of the BD is cute but utterly useless unless you can figure out a way to lengthen the legs and install a bottom tap of some sort, and that would have to be much larger than the spigot. The original spigot is garbage......mine broke almost immediately, and I replaced it with a much larger brew bucket spigot. I've long contemplated buying another vessel as they are only about $11 as I recall, and experimenting with making a bottom tap to drop the trub out first and later to harvest yeast.

My 3 gallon Walmart Ice Tea jug is a vastly better fermenter....... the one with the taper fit lid that does NOT come with an ice core. It has a batch of lager in it at the moment, and I plan to harvest yeast after I rack. Due to the longer slower fermentation, the yeast appears to be on top of the trub layer which consists of cold break and hops material. You can clearly see the separation line through the clear sides. The plan is to simply dip it out with a sterilized stainless steel ladle into containers taking mostly just the top layer. There is no reason of course not to wash it except that I doubt I would gain much. The harvest should make a really large pitch for my next lager.

H.W.

 

[Weezy]

I just swirl up the yeast cake and dump it into a glass pitcher for washing. This is a tiny container. Theres no Ned to rely on the spigot for anything but draining the beer with minimum risk of oxidation. Cleaning is the same point. It's tiny with a big open lid. You hand reaches everywhere. But theres always 100 ways to skin a cat.

 

[HopSong]

The best fermenter I've found is a 3 gallon ice tea dispenser from Walmart.

Is the spigot easy to disassemble and clean?

 

[Owly055]

Is the spigot easy to disassemble and clean?

About as easy as any spigot.......... It does disassemble easily unlike the brew bucket spigots.........

H.W.

 

[Synap6]

Im a 2gal brewer. Using two Little Brown Kegs for my all grains and im loving it. Variety over quantity. Plus these LBKs are magic when comes cleaning time. No airlocks, no siphons, no carboys, no tubing

 

[joe_four_strings]

My simple setup for 2.5 and 3 gal batches. 6.5 gal kettle with Wilserbrewer BIAB bag. 3.5 gal bucket with air lock, 3 gal PET carboy and mini fridge ferm chamber with temp control. :rockin:

 

[whovous]

No complaints. The lid fits well and threads work well. There's no gasket but none is needed. I wouldn't recommend it if I had complaints.

Question about the "no gasket needed" part. Brewdemon says if you want to add an airlock or a blowoff tube (and I do), then you need one of their gaskets for the lid to fully seal.

I want to step up from one gallon kits and do my first 2.5 gallon AG recipe brew tomorrow. I bought the gasket from Brewdemon (and paid the d#mn $8 shipping) and promptly lost it. Have you been using an airlock or blowoff tube when you brew, or do just rely on the little red vent to do the job?

 

[JohnSand]

I have used the vent without trouble. Only once it clogged with krausen while fermenting a Belgian. That cause some pressure inside. I loosened the lid.

 

[Bailey_Brew]

Newbie here. I'm continuously building a "Countertop Brutus" variant for 2-3 gallons, with an immersion chiller. Kudos to jkarp!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=6781267&postcount=29

That's a three gallon cooler for the mash tun ... for low to medium gravity ales.

The latest thing I have added is a whirlpool port and siphon port on the kettle valve, and a 300 micron mesh hop filter to get more complete draining of the brew kettle. I started with a 6" kettle screen connected straight to the valve, but that left a lot behind in the kettle. I bet I'm not the first to discover that! Haven't tried them in a brew yet.

I've only done four batches so far, but I have had good performance from the Brew Demon small conical. It has stayed tight and after bottle conditioning, the beer is pretty darn clear with only one stage of fermentation in the Brew Demon.

Customer exerience with Brew Demon was excellent, as well.

 

[Weezy]

Question about the "no gasket needed" part. Brewdemon says if you want to add an airlock or a blowoff tube (and I do), then you need one of their gaskets for the lid to fully seal.

I want to step up from one gallon kits and do my first 2.5 gallon AG recipe brew tomorrow. I bought the gasket from Brewdemon (and paid the d#mn $8 shipping) and promptly lost it. Have you been using an airlock or blowoff tube when you brew, or do just rely on the little red vent to do the job?

It seals pretty well without a gasket. the air lock bubbles as normal. You have zero worries.

Remember, fermentation doesn't need to take place in a hermetically sealed vessel. You're just trying to stop bacteria and wild yeast, that is floating in the air, from drifting into your beer. A loose piece of tin foil would do.



Besides, open fermentation is not a crime.

 

[Mismost]

The best fermenter I've found is a 3 gallon ice tea dispenser from Walmart. It is clear with a pale green tint, and the lid fits into a taper on top and seals very well. It comes with a vent hole..... You can't open one if the vent is plugged due to the tight seal. I drill the vent out and attach a fermentation lock using clear silicone. Acrylic is considered the most food safe of all plastics. I rack into my cold crash / bottling container using the spigot, and also use it to take samples. It's a superb fermenter for about $20, and extremely easy to clean, unlike the Brew Demon which I also have a copy of. The Brew Demon has internal "features" such as the letters and the threads for the lid that make cleaning it a bit of a pain. This is absolutely smooth. It also makes top cropping the krausen extremely easy. I top crop with a boiled ladle, and the top crop yields extremely high quality yeast, ready to go, Below is a link to a photo on Dropbox......... For some reason I can't insert an image today.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ls2pz97xphr9bam/beveragedispenser.jpg?dl=0

H.W.

That is cool....does it really hold 3 gallons with built in ice tube? I think would be fun to watch the bugs at work!

 

[photobru]

Mostly 2 and 2.5 gallon batches here. Can't get through the beer brewing every other week or so and I can't do 5 gallon AG on my system anyway.

 

[Owly055]

That is cool....does it really hold 3 gallons with built in ice tube? I think would be fun to watch the bugs at work!

Both the ice core and the non-ice core fermenters hold a full three gallons. The ice core one does NOT have a good seal, and I use a 15" long 2" wide rubber band around the joint. The lid just sitson a ledge. The non-ice core jug has an excellent taper fit........ so good that it's difficult to get the lid off...... impossible without some venting. It is a very very good fermenter.

I'm fermenting a brew in a stainless steel stock pot at the moment, and I feel blind. I love to be able to see what's going on.

H.W.

 

[Malty_Dog]

Picked up 6 food grade buckets with lids from a local donut shop - $5! They hold about 4 gallons, maybe a tad more. Perfect fermenters for 3 gallon batches. Picked up some grommets from LHBS (already had spare airlocks) and I'm in business. With 3 gal brewing everything just seems a lot easier, from equipment needs, cooling time, temp control, bottling time, etc. I'll still make 5 gal recipes, especially the favorites, but I'm pretty excited to start experimenting a lot more with small batches. Blueberry wheat for SWMBO & friends was first.