small batch brewing

[jolemi]

Has anyone tried or can anyone recomend any way of doing small batch brews. 5 litres instead of 20. I'm thinking of storage space and experimenting with recipes I've not tried before.

Cheers
John

 

[alawlor66430]

Division my friend, just divide the amounts in a recipe accordingly

 

[jolemi]

Division my friend, just divide the amounts in a recipe accordingly

Doh. Should have thought of that.

 

[alawlor66430]

Still, better to ask if you're not 100% :-D

 

[RobWalker]

It's deeper than that. You need to account for hop utilization which is usually pretty disasterous down to 1 gallon, you may need to use up to double Boil off is also likely to be the same as a full batch, so you may need to boil 12L for a 5L batch!

It's entirely possible, but I would try for 10L, and extract is quite easy to do in a 12L stock pot. Don't do anything too hop intensive, IPA's etc, instead go for bitters stouts wheats etc with little aroma hops if possible. use relatively high alpha hops, and if you want a decent amount of aroma, try dry hopping instead of hop bursting at the end...you'll be amazed how much space they take up in a small boil!

alternatively....cider and wine? :p

i get the impression you're avoiding full batch brewing, as I did...but it's really not neccessary, and a wonderful upgrade. particularly when you can brew a batch of 23L for £10...

 

[jolemi]

I've done about 5 batches and I giggle at how cheap it is ( I make the wet and dry kits) its purely space. I have to wait till I've got bottles ready etc. Plus if I make a 40 pint kit and I don't like it then I've wasted valuable time and energy. Hence wanting to try smaller batches.

Cheers

John

 

[boozy_shoes]

I've just bought a 15L stock pot for smaller and more experimental batches, both for space and reducing the risk of waste. I just divided the recipe accordingly and it looks like i've got a cracking little belgian tripel on my hands.

I'd consider if 5L is too small though as if it's all grain you're doing then 5-6 hours for 8 pints is quite labour intensive and you'll kick yourself if you make a really good one. I spent quite a long time working out what size pot to get but I think I made the right choice as I can comfortably boil 2 gallons but push it to 3ish if I really want. It's also a good size for mashing lots of grain for a high abv batch.

 

[h_doody]

Is it possible to do 23L extract batches in a 15L stockpot and just add the rest of the water to the fermenter? Would probably help to cool the wort as well?

 

[taylorj29]

I don't have the space to do batches above 10 litres (2 x 5 litre demijohns) so when I first started I went directly to all-grain. It really isn't very hard and my first kit consisted of a 6 litre spaghetti pot which I did almost everything in. :shock:

 

[ryanshelton]

Is it possible to do 23L extract batches in a 15L stockpot and just add the rest of the water to the fermenter? Would probably help to cool the wort as well?

Good question, I was wondering the same!

 

[Intelekt]

Is it possible to do 23L extract batches in a 15L stockpot and just add the rest of the water to the fermenter? Would probably help to cool the wort as well?

Good question, I was wondering the same!

I'm also wondering the same :whistle:
I know this is an old thread but still relevant me thinks!

 

[fbsf]

Yes, it most certainly is. You just have to adjust the bittering hops as a thicker wort stops some of the bitterness being extracted, so you need more hops.

Apart from that, yes - it works well (I did a 12L extract brew in a 7L pot, topping up with cold water afterwards and it turned out lovely).

 

[pittsy]

your answer to using a 15 ltr pot for a 23 ltr brew is correct , yes you can . Many extract recipes call for just that . All you do is use approx 20% more bittering hops than an AG recipe calls for because boiling with less liquid will absorb less so more is used (hops) and as mentioned you just top up your water to your wanted total (23ltr) .