Mini Brew

[philthy]

I've read a lot of great info on this site already, but as a relatively new brewer I still have a lot to learn so this will undoubtedly be the first of many questions.

1 issue I have is that I enjoy creating beer as much as I like drinking it, but not all my brews are as good as I'd like them to be... so I'm thinking about brewing smaller brews, maybe around 10 -12 litres. This would mean my smallish brew pot will be big enough for partial mash brews, and i can play around more with different malts and hops. Are there any good reasons why we always brew 23 L batches, is there anything wrong with half size batches?

I'm thinking things like too much head space in the fermenter, too much yeast in a packet, that sort of thing. Cheers for your advice.

[Ralph]

I often brew in 17.5L batches because that is what fits nicely into my 20L cube that I use as a fermentor. This means I can have 2 brews fermenting in my cabinet at once, where as with a 23 L brew I can only fit one in there at a time.

 

I think most people do a 23L brew because that is what fits easily into their fermentor and does not overflow when fermenting. I think there is nothing at all wrong with half size batches, and I would not even worry if there is a whole lot of head space in the fermenting bucket as the CO2 will sit as a blanket on the fermenting beer. The amount of yeast in a packet is generally aimed at fermenting a 23L batch, so you could use half packets. There is not too much issue with over pitching so if you get a bit more in there than you need I would not worry too much.

 

I think for when you are experimenting and trying new ingredients/techniques etc it can be good to have smaller brews to work everything out. Then when you have your recipe and technique sorted you can scale up to bigger brews less often. I have been experimenting with my 17.5L batches, and have done a few 23L brews of the ones I really like.

 

I have posted a few of the things that I think are key to making good home brew on my blog over here http://inzanebrew.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/key-factors-to-making-gr...

[MrC]

I've brewed many 12L batches in my 30L brewcraft fermenter and they were just as good as my other beers. I don't think the headspace makes a difference at all to the fermentation. If anything it may make for better yeast growth due to the extra oxygen available to the yeast during the initial growth phase.

Sometimes I brew a 23L batch and split it 50:50 into two fermenters and ferment with different yeasts or add dome thing extra to one of them as an experiment.

I think the 23L size is a hangover from the kit & kilo with 30 PET bottles. I now aim for 21.5L batches so I fill a keg without having to bottle (much).

[mattd2]

I would have to agree that the 23 litres most likely is from the kit & kilos. I have been doing more 21 litre brews (5.5 US Gallons) as most of the US recipes are for this size and it is easier to just follow them than adjust up a couple of litres!

I think the ~20 litre batch is a nice size for the trade off between the time needed to brew and the volume you get out, 1 brew will last me about 1 months at the moment.

Smaller batches would be good for me if I could find more time to brew per month! You could always go a bit smaller and use the 10 litre pails from Bunnings (or a bit bigger and use the 20s). Small batches are great for trying new things, and because of this thread I have just now decided to try do some 8 litre BIAB batches on my BBQ wok burner. 1 keg per month of a good all-rounder type beer + 1 bottled smalled batch of a style that is a bit different, Cheers!

[Chris Mills]

I would suggest that 23L of beer is a sensible weight for one person to lift and has enough mass to maintain a relatively stable temperature. Maybe also because 6 an 5 gallon fermenters were cheap to buy back in the late 1970's when homebrewing started to take off.

[Michael]

Philthy,

Great questions!

I generally brew 21L to 50L, mostly since if I am going to go through the trouble to brew, I just prefer to get more beer for my effort. Brewing smaller batches is no problem at all! As a matter of fact, I may on occasion brew a very small batch as an experiment to see if it matches what I am aiming for, and then scale up to large batches. This is good for saving the cost of materials, but the time and effort is the same. :(

For me, I rather do at least 21L to make it worth my time, but if you have plenty of time, but not plenty of resources, go for the smaller batches to experiment. Experiment and have fun! :)

 

 

[denimglen]

The biggest problem with small batches is they're generally the best you ever brew and then you've only got a half size batch - has happened to me on multiple occasions.

 

Pitch the right amount of yeast (pitching rate calculator over at mrmalty.com).  Also good way to grow up yeast for a large batch of beer from dry or liquid.

 

If you've got the time go for it.  I did a few but found it wasn't worth the time/effort:volume ratio for me.  Shit, last weekend I brewed 20L of 1100 wort and watered down to 40L @ 1050 because I'm getting so lazy haha, will be interesting to see how that turns out...

[Sam]

I got a 12L carboy for smaller experiments (a bit of a pain as no tap for samples, but I like the clear glass as it lets me see what's happening), some home brew shops now sell smaller plastic fermenters to. I also use 5L demijohns for small side experiments but use them mainly for lower effort brews such as cheats cider. As others have mentioned though with all the time put into all grain brews it may not be worth going lower than 20 litres, if your doing not doing something quick.