5 litre Batches of Beer. Why?

[phildo79]

The first beer I ever made that wasn't a kit, was a Charlie Papazian recipe for an imperial stout. His recipes are pretty much always for 19L so I halved everything and made approx. 10L. It was delicious and I instantly regretted not making the full 19L.

 

[fury_tea]

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.

When I started out I just had a couple of demijohns and a 12L stock pot, I would do small batches, I'd make them as strong as I could and bottle into 330ml or 250ml bottles to try and make them go further.

 

[Norse John]

I'll say I take my hat off to anyone who is brewing their beer from scratch regardless of quantity - more marks if they're distilling their own spirits. I only do it the lazy can kit/wine bag way (which I'm happy with), and brew at least 18L to make it worth my while. I guess it all comes down to how seriously you take it and how much of a hobby and artisan craft you see it. For me, I like a nice generic brew which I can make simple adjustments to, else simply would not do it.

 

[obscure]

Hi, first post here. I've just started a Northern Brewer 1 gallon kit I got as a gift (great gift as I've now got the bug).

I'm finding out a lot from this forum since I started this first batch but the issue I now have is I am struggling to find 1 gallon kits for my next batch after I bottle. A lot of kits come as 40 pints, so 5 gallon, I assume I could just use a fifth of the ingredients and make 5 different batches?

Or there is a gallon all-grain kit on eBay that someone has put together that could be worth a try. Although at the moment I'm being tempted towards making up a ginger beer wort the day of or the night before bottling and adding it back into the vessel sediment after bottling.

Also for me, 5L isnt enough to provide more than a few days worth of drinks but at this stage I am ok with getting more practice with the processes and the different styles. I'm planning on only opening a bottle every few days to learn about how it conditions.

What I typically do is take a standard 23L and scale it accordingly, any fractions of a gram I round up. One thing to remember an American gallon is not the same as an imperial gallon, five US gallons is roughly 19L, five Imperial is about 23L.

I then typically use geterbrewed recipie builder to order grain and hops.

 

[wyreforestred]

I’m only 6-7 months into this new wonderful hobby. At first it was to make beer to drink as cheaply as possible. Now I’ve gone All Grain I enjoy the beer even more... but probably enjoy the process of making it, the learning of a new skill, the trying of new recipes, every bit as much as drinking the beer. I make 10-12 litre batches but can see why people would make smaller batches, just for the fun of it. I’ve just this week got my youngest daughter (16) helping a bit in the brew day which has been fantastic, and my eldest (19) is being weaned off cheap cider and alcopops by trying what I create. The making is become a bigger part than the drinking which is a revelation.

 

[dwhite60]

What I typically do is take a standard 23L and scale it accordingly, any fractions of a gram I round up. One thing to remember an American gallon is not the same as an imperial gallon, five US gallons is roughly 19L, five Imperial is about 23L.

I then typically use geterbrewed recipie builder to order grain and hops.

I'm in the states. I really try to do all my brewing, volume, weights, temperature, in metric units. It's a struggle sometimes.

 

[Baz Chaz]

Been away from brewing a little while, finally got the mojo (and health) back and brewed 23 ltr AG Hobgoblin recipe!

My biggest problem, being rather ancient, is handling the weights involved with 23 ltr. Finding it harder than it used to be.

Really like the idea of cutting down to 10 or 12 litre brews, apart from handling less weight, the opportunities for experimenting obviously appeal as well.
Certainly don't think the 40 ltr boiler won't cope. Plus I've always bottled, so could be a win win situation?

 

[Joc9410]

I've been doing kits so far but would like to try AG to find out the taste difference between the two and if its as good as I hope then maybe get a robobrew or a brew monk for AG. A 5 litre batch to try sounds like a good stepping stone. I have a 7 litre pot would this be large enough to boil up a 5 litre batch? Would save me having to buy pots if I decide to go down the robobrew idea

 

[chthon]

For five litre batches a 10 litre pot is safer. 7 litre is really tight, might work for 3 or 4 litre batch.

 

[Joc9410]

For five litre batches a 10 litre pot is safer. 7 litre is really tight, might work for 3 or 4 litre batch.

Cheers
Might scale it down to that then
Might try a kilo of marris otter and cascade hops for a simple smash to try out

 

[Baz Chaz]

Further to my post on 14th July, since then I have brewed once at 12 litre and 3 x 15 litre brews.
Have found it much quicker, easier to handle and therefore more enjoyable than my previous 23 litre brews.
Only reason I've stuck to 15 is because the 12 litre brew was a 'bit lost' in the 40 litre boiler.
If I replace the boiler at any time would buy a smaller boiler and go with 10 or 12 litre brews.

 

[MagnusTS]

Cheers
Might scale it down to that then
Might try a kilo of marris otter and cascade hops for a simple smash to try out

I used to use a 7L pot for 5L brews, and as @chthon says it is a little tight. I used to boil a bit short (if that's the right expression), so I was aiming for 4L post boil, and would add 1L water in the fermentor. The smaller volume fits easier in a 7L pot, takes slightly less time to bring to the boil, and the 1L cold water added to the FV helps with cooling down to pitching temperature.

I think the downside is that it might have a small effect on IBU and colour, but my palate was never good enough to notice the difference.

 

[Joc9410]

Magnus
How much do you lose in boil 2 litres or so?

 

[chthon]

Magnus
How much do you lose in boil 2 litres or so?

The amount you lose in the boil depends on the power used. If you boil on a stovetop, then it is difficult to know the power of the hobs on which you boil.

However, power works two ways. You need much more power to bring the wort to the boil. Once boiling it is possible to reduce the power, and let it boil much calmer.

The simplest test you can do is fill your boil pot half with water, bring it to the boil, let it boil for 15 or 30 minutes (possibly adjusting power to have a calmer boil, but it should still be boiling), then afterwards measure how much water you still have left.

 

[Joc9410]

The amount you lose in the boil depends on the power used. If you boil on a stovetop, then it is difficult to know the power of the hobs on which you boil.

However, power works two ways. You need much more power to bring the wort to the boil. Once boiling it is possible to reduce the power, and let it boil much calmer.

The simplest test you can do is fill your boil pot half with water, bring it to the boil, let it boil for 15 or 30 minutes (possibly adjusting power to have a calmer boil, but it should still be boiling), then afterwards measure how much water you still have left.

Thanks will give that a go

 

[Lehmann]

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.

Hi, I am not sure if u are still brewing once your post is a bit old. So I am trying to reduce the 30L buckets recipe to 5L, so I did all proportions, but looks like mine 5 Liter is not fermenting, do you add more than the calculated value? Mine yeast was supposed to be only 2g (less than a dessert spoon), my scale could almost don't read it, probably was a wrong measurement. should I put more yeast just to ensure the start of the fermentation?

TIA

Lehmann

 

[Pezza24]

Definitely put more yeast in if you've only gone for 2g. I do about 10L batches and half a packet of yeast usually works fine.

 

[Lehmann]

Definitely put more yeast in if you've only gone for 2g. I do about 10L batches and half a packet of yeast usually works fine.

Thanks for your response.

The yeast pack was 12g (still closed) it's for 23L mark level in the original (30L bucket), I am doing 3.5L (in a 5L bucket), I will add another 2g ish (will be 1/3 of the packet) for 1/6 of beer recipe.

Does it look a good plan?

TIA

Lehmann

 

[Pezza24]

Sounds fine. Is the fermenter in a suitable place? You need on average 20C to get the fermentation started, also how long since pitching in he yeast?

It won't hurt to pitch more so give that a go but unless you've got the right temp nothing will happen.

 

[colm89]

For much the same reasons as outlined above, I alternate between 5 and 12 litre batches for the following reasons:
quicker to heat strike water
lower weight of grains to lift/dispose of
quicker ti reach boil
quicker to cool post boil
i can buy nicer kit in smaller sizes (ss brewtech brew bucket mini)
I brew more often and have more variety

i do full volume biab in a 30l catering urn, so have the option to do 23l batches if my circumstances change and I can’t brew fortnightly.