5 litre Batches of Beer. Why?

[terrym]

I occasionally read on here that folks are brewing 5 litre batches of beer. I have to say that I can’t understand why it’s worth the effort for that small volume, given my minimum is about 12 litres. If you are doing all grain then a lot of the activities will take just as long I guess, and the same goes for other types of brewing although that's less significant time-wise. I also imagine that small brews like this cannot replicate very well due to the small quantities being used, scaling factors matter perhaps. But the biggest thing for me and many others perhaps is that 5 litres for is only enough for the equivalent of a few days worth of beer at most. If I brewed 5 litres at a time I would be brewing every week which is not always convenient.

I can understand that someone might want to try out an unusual recipe and don’t want to risk a large brew, or they live in a bedsit and have little space, but what are the other reasons?

So come on you 5 litre brewers, please explain to me why small is important for you.

 

[Gunge]

It's cos they've got too much time on their hands. There's this dude across the way from us and he washes his car every single goddamn day. Too much time on his hands y'see.

 

[pvt_ak]

I don’t - but for those that do, maybe it’s a space and affordability issue ?

 

[Sadfield]

This probably goes hand in hand with the "bought beers" thread. Those that are happy drinking only homebrew, won't see the point, those that love variety, will.

 

[MyQul]

I normally make 10L but very occasionally make 5L. It's actually much faster to make a 5L brew than a 23L brew because things take a lots less time to heat up. If you then do a 30min mash/30min well it's even faster. I can knock out a 5L 30/30 in 1 and 1/2 hours

Also, if your in any way physically impared it would be almost impossible to make 23L because of the weight. I have a bad back and lugging around 23L would kill me, so I do 10L which can easily manage. Say you only had one arm or were say in a wheelchair a 5L brew would be very easily managable I think (I remember about a year about a wheelchair user was asking about brewing as they were worried about all that hot liquid - not sure whether he persued our hobby as he only posted a couple of times)

 

[SteveH]

I only recently started brewing and the main constraint was size and cost - I need to brew on the kitchen hob and didn't want to spend a fortune until I'd gained some experience and proven I could make some drinkable, or even nice beer (had a terrible experience with kits about 20 years ago!)

Admittedly I did get a 17l stock pot off ebay so my batches have been more like 10litres, but if we already had a suitable pot I would've given 5 litres a go just to learn the process.

That said, I've now done a few successful brews now and been bitten by the bug, most batches do go very quickly (particularly if I have friends/family helping me drink it!) so I can see the appeal of doing larger batches - that's going to mean more equipment to buy/store though, and also probably also brewing outside which isn't that appealing this time of year!

 

[Gunge]

It's actually much faster to make a 5L brew than a 23L brew because things take a lots less time to heat up. If you then do a 30min mash/30min well it's even faster. I can knock out a 5L 30/30 in 1 and 1/2 hours

Aha! Never considered that! 5ltr batches here I come....

 

[MyQul]

Aha! Never considered that! 5ltr batches here I come....

Another little tip for 5L batches; because you need a much smaller pot, just put it in the oven at you mash temp for the mash. No need to mess about with bankets/duvets/mini mash tuns

 

[Madhouse]

I brew 5L AG.

In general I like that I can have a few different types of beer in the fridge at once so I've generally got something I fancy in there. If I look in there now I've got sours, porters, NEIPA's, low-alcohol, belgian, red, saisons, and a ton of IPAs (not all my own brews I must add).
From a brewing perspective it's all about experimentation. AG may not be the quickest but I like the process, it's not just about the end product, it's about crafting something out of a few simple ingredients that I have put together and then seeing if it turned out as planned. Small batch does tend to mean I don't bother with session ales and most of what I brew is over 6% - may be a small batch but it'll pack a punch

It also means I'm still buying and trying different beers, which feeds my recipe creating side. Maybe one day I'll get a bigger FV and do bigger batches for family events and the like, I can see that'd be useful.

 

[Tunabeast]

When brewing lower quantities do you still mash for 60/75 mins or can you reduce this? Would it just impact efficiency? Also is there any issue with carbing smaller batches in a 19L corny keg?

 

[Graz]

On the above basis (it's a lot quicker to do than 5 gallons) and as a kit only brewer I think I might have a go at a few AG batches this year. If it's something I can knock up in an evening then that would be great!

Pressures of family life prevent me for dedicating hours /days to brewing at the moment.

 

[Graz]

When brewing lower quantities do you still mash for 60/75 mins or can you reduce this? Would it just impact efficiency? Also is there any issue with carbing smaller batches in a 19L corny keg?

I think I'd bottle if it were only 5L, even 10L isn't too bad to do.

 

[Mavroz]

It's cos they've got too much time on their hands. There's this dude across the way from us and he washes his car every single goddamn day. Too much time on his hands y'see.

Snap, the bloke who lives opposite us washes both cars around 4 times a week on average. He is anal though, in all fairness.

 

[phildo79]

The first time I brewed an extract with grains recipe, I brewed a 10L batch. It turned out great, which annoyed me. Now I only do brews that I can fill a corny keg with. It's barely any extra hassle for twice as much beer. Unless you have proper limitations, I don't understand why anyone would go to all the effort for 9 pints of beer!

 

[MyQul]

When brewing lower quantities do you still mash for 60/75 mins or can you reduce this? Would it just impact efficiency? Also is there any issue with carbing smaller batches in a 19L corny keg?

As mentioned above on the odd occasion I do 5L batches I do 30min mash/30min boil. I've never noticed a reduction in efficiency but my efficiency isnt massive anyway it's always 66%. Dunno about cornies as I've never used them

 

[MyQul]

I think I'd bottle if it were only 5L, even 10L isn't too bad to do.

Bottling 5L takes absolutely no time at all. Even my 10l brews only take about an hour or so to bottle (and I mostly use 330ml bottles)

 

[Ajhutch]

This is a good thread with excellent points on both sides. My kit setup is best for batches 12 litres or more because of the dead space in the kettle. I really should get a stock pot though and do smaller batches on the stove top, as I want to brew a wider variety of beers. As I never manage to brew as often as I’d like, one thing I try to do is maximise variety from a brew day, for example taking a gallon of wort to sour or dry hop differently, or post fermentation adding another ingredient to a portion of beer.

 

[Madhouse]

one thing I try to do is maximise variety from a brew day, for example taking a gallon of wort to sour or dry hop differently, or post fermentation adding another ingredient to a portion of beer.

I like this idea, I have a couple of FV's and my pan's big enough for a 10L boil so I could split the wort and do different stuff with it.

Thinking cap on ..........

 

[MagnusTS]

This is a very timely thread.

I do occasional 5L brews. Lots of good reasons to brew 5L:
Small enough to do in the kitchen, so not banished to the shed.
Can just use a cooker gas ring for the boil, and not too much steam.
Quite a bit quicker than 23L, because of heating times.
Great for experimental beers, or strong beers where you might not want to drink 23L

But having said all that...
I just did a 5L brew last weekend, and I decided that it would be my last.
For all the reasons people have said on here, just too much effort for 5L beer.
And I always seem to get masses of trub, so a 5L brew often turns into 3.5L of beer.

I'm going to buy the small brew pipework for the GF
and do 15L brews for the weird or strong ones from now on.
In the shed.
Where I belong.

 

[Ghillie]

Some folk don't drink a lot (weird I know). A couple of bottles a week would make 5L last over a month...

I often ponder with getting a bigger setup, brewing 1bbl batches for example. But if I did (and I drink a good bit more than a couple of bottles a week) then I'd literally be brewing once every few months. Not good...

A lot of folk enjoy the brewing process as much as the end product, so want to keep it regular thing. 5L batches might keep it a regular thing for one guy, 23L batches keeps it regular for me. It's about your personal situation and what you want I guess.

Infrequent brew days with bucket-loads of one beer vs frequent brew days with small batches and variety.