Small batch questioin

I’m considering buying the Delux Brewer Startere Kit. Are there smaller recipes or can I divide recipes? I’m not sure I want to make five gallons of every beer I try. Thanks!

Well, my real question is can I brew smaller batches in the five gallon setup. Stop laughing. I’m a beginner;-)

Yes. :cheers:

However it is basically the same amount of effort to brew a single gallon as it is to brew 5 gallons, but nets you 2 cases instead of a 12 pack

I think a half batch is a good happy medium. Get a food-grade 5-gallon bucket and omega lid from a local box store, drill a half-inch hole to fit the airlock grommet. Makes a perfect fermenter for a 2.5-3.5 gallon batch. You can do a full boil on most stoves, is small enough to cool in a water bath in the sink, and in most cases you don’t need to make a starter for liquid yeast. In the end, you usually get a case plus a few.

I disagree. Its less effort both in cost of goods and equipment but also time involved, and you can experiment with many different styles and basically brew every weekend. I have about 10 different beers to choose from and I am always making a new and different recipe.

To each is own, but I love small batches. :smiley:

I disagree. Its less effort both in cost of goods and equipment but also time involved, and you can experiment with many different styles and basically brew every weekend. I have about 10 different beers to choose from and I am always making a new and different recipe.

To each is own, but I love small batches. :smiley: [/quote]
How long does it take you to brew a small batch? Takes me about 3 hours on brew day, setup to cleanup, for 5 gallons, and about 2 hours on bottling day. If I make the jump to kegging, most of that 2 hours would go away.

There is certainly an ingredient cost savings for the small batch, but time wise, you save the time it takes to get the water to a boil, the time it takes to cool the wort, and of course only bottling 12 instead of 2 cases. Not sure what that would add up to.

If I had the free time to brew every weekend, I’d probably still go for the 5 gallons, and have friends kick in to cover ingredients in exchange for taste testing.

45-60min boil (extract brews, all-grain would double this for mashing time)
15min to cool
5min transfer to fermentator & Airate
15min clean up

Typical brew day time about 1.5 hours. I can usually be done before the wife and baby wake up. :smiley:

Bottle day:
10 minutes to prep and sanitize bottles
20 minutes prime, bottle, and cap
30 minutes total on bottling day.

I can do this in my kitchen on the stovetop with an electric stove.

All this said… there are times that I wish I had a 5-gallon batch for those awesome batches. However, I love the variety.

Cheers!

I do mine in the kitchen on the stove as well.

3 gallon boil pushes 2 hours for a full 60 minute boil.
20 minutes to cool, 10 minutes to transfer to fermenter, combine with cold spring water.
Setup and cleanup 20-30 minutes each.

Bottling day runs about 2 hours for 2 cases.

So it does save you some time for sure. The bigger time/effort savings is on bottling day. One of the reasons I’m looking into kegging :slight_smile:

For me, it’s not about brew-day time as much as balancing the frequency I want to brew against my consumption rate. So 3-gallon batches every 3-6 weeks. I have a healthy backlog in cases, and usually something in the fermenter.

Plus it’s completely doable on my electric kitchen stove. No propane burner, or weather concerns.