Small Batch Brewing

[baloonon]

This is a question that obviously has no right or wrong answer, I'm
throwing it out there to shoot the breeze more than anything else.

Do people brew small batches (less than 5 gallons) and if so, for what
beers and why?

I'm going to bottle a 1 gallon batch of a basic bitter that I brewed as
much as anything as a glorified starter, in order to get a big batch of
yeast for a higher gravity stout. I bought a one gallon glass bottle of
cider earlier this fall and thought it would be a good vessel for larger
starters.

As I do the math, subtracting out the slurry at the bottom of the bottle,
random spillage and what have you, I realize I'm likely to get maybe 9
bottles out of it. That would be a pretty minor return on the investment
of time if I wasn't getting a good batch of yeast out of it.

I'm thinking 2 gallons will be the sweet spot for future small batches, but
I'll see how that goes.

[Tom Biasi]

Post by baloonon
This is a question that obviously has no right or wrong answer, I'm
throwing it out there to shoot the breeze more than anything else.
Do people brew small batches (less than 5 gallons) and if so, for what
beers and why?
I'm going to bottle a 1 gallon batch of a basic bitter that I brewed as
much as anything as a glorified starter, in order to get a big batch of
yeast for a higher gravity stout. I bought a one gallon glass bottle of
cider earlier this fall and thought it would be a good vessel for larger
starters.
As I do the math, subtracting out the slurry at the bottom of the bottle,
random spillage and what have you, I realize I'm likely to get maybe 9
bottles out of it. That would be a pretty minor return on the investment
of time if I wasn't getting a good batch of yeast out of it.
I'm thinking 2 gallons will be the sweet spot for future small batches, but
I'll see how that goes.

I have done small test batches in the past but have concluded that
anything less than 5 gallons was just not a good representation and cost
almost the same as 5 gallons and was the same work.

[baloonon]

Post by Tom Biasi
I have done small test batches in the past but have concluded that
anything less than 5 gallons was just not a good representation and
cost almost the same as 5 gallons and was the same work.

I can see that perspective. I doubt it will be a regular thing for me. I
think I'll probably limit it to things like Imperial stouts that I tend to
be slow to drink. Big Belgians too, which may be a good candidate for
yeast cultured from bottle dregs.

Come to think of it, there are times when I've got a mix of aging leftover
malt and hops that I want to use up, but don't have enough for a full
batch.

[Ecnerwal]

Post by baloonon
Do people brew small batches (less than 5 gallons) and if so, for what
beers and why?

At some point... I gathered 1-gallon bottles and got the right stoppers,
etc.

Since my mode of experimenting is primarily one that results in
drinkable products, I found them lousy on the work to reward scale. Not
great on the waste to product scale, either. I only do 5 gallons now...

[Joerg]

Post by baloonon
This is a question that obviously has no right or wrong answer, I'm
throwing it out there to shoot the breeze more than anything else.
Do people brew small batches (less than 5 gallons) and if so, for what
beers and why?

Yes, all the folks with the Mr.Beer kits do. I think those hold just a
tad over two gallons max.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Beer-Premium-Homebrewing-Making/dp/B001BCFUBU?th=1

A friend of mine had it but returned it because he found the hardware to
be a bit flimsy and something didn't fit right.

Post by baloonon
I'm going to bottle a 1 gallon batch of a basic bitter that I brewed as
much as anything as a glorified starter, in order to get a big batch of
yeast for a higher gravity stout. I bought a one gallon glass bottle of
cider earlier this fall and thought it would be a good vessel for larger
starters.
As I do the math, subtracting out the slurry at the bottom of the bottle,
random spillage and what have you, I realize I'm likely to get maybe 9
bottles out of it. That would be a pretty minor return on the investment
of time if I wasn't getting a good batch of yeast out of it.
I'm thinking 2 gallons will be the sweet spot for future small batches, but
I'll see how that goes.

I used 1/3rd of my Cream Ale trub to start a Stout and had so much trub
left over from that plus an Autumn Amber I racked off on Saturday that
we just whipped up a starter for this bread:

http://hubpages.com/food/SALLIEANNES-TRUB-BREAD-A-Wonderful-Yeasty-Bread-Made-Using-Beer-Trub

It bubbled nicely overnight and the bread will be baked this evening
over wood fire as another experiment.

[Derek J Decker]

Post by baloonon
This is a question that obviously has no right or wrong answer, I'm
throwing it out there to shoot the breeze more than anything else.
Do people brew small batches (less than 5 gallons) and if so, for what
beers and why?

I do a one gallon batch, all-grain stovetop brew-in-a-bag, every Sunday afternoon,
and have for years. Saturday is bottling day. I've been accused of running a scale
model brewery at times.

This results in 9 12 oz bottles, or 7 pint bottles of beer a week. I don't actually
drink that much beer, so over time the beer fridge in the garage fills up with
bottles of various sorts. There are a few beers I like that I try to keep on hand.

My Sunday Brewday takes about 4 hours (3 if I want to compress it, but I go about
brewing in a relaxed manner) from start until everything is cleaned up and put
back away. It's a pleasant and relaxing way to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon.

I brew a wide assortment of beers and styles - I get a lot of recipes from the
Shut Up About Barclay Perkins blog, I do a Saison of the Season (who can resist
a pun like that?), and once winter is here I'll do a few lagers. I have a few
recipes of my own I tinker with - I make a Grodziskie by malting wheat grown by
the kids at the local agricultural college, for example. This sort of
experimentation is easy at the reduced scale I brew at, and not painful if by
some happenstance something goes awry.

I'll also occasionally make some cider or a batch of small mead. I have apple
and pear trees producing fruit now - I can see a press in my future, and perry
as well as cider.

Why do I do it this way? I started with small batches at first because 5 gallons
seemed like an awful lot of beer, and I could do the entire thing in my kitchen
with minimal investment in equipment. From there I just worked to get better at
it. It's also nice that I can use the dishwasher for cleanup.

The guys at the local microbrewery still laugh at me, though

-Derek

[Joerg]

On 2016-10-24 09:28, Derek J Decker wrote:

[...]

Post by Derek J Decker
Why do I do it this way? I started with small batches at first because 5 gallons
seemed like an awful lot of beer, and I could do the entire thing in my kitchen
with minimal investment in equipment. From there I just worked to get better at
it. It's also nice that I can use the dishwasher for cleanup.
The guys at the local microbrewery still laugh at me, though

These days it's all in the buzz words. Just call it a nanobrewery and
then everyone becomes interested. The next step would be a picobrewery
where the process results in exactly one pint :-)

[baloonon]

Post by Derek J Decker
I'll also occasionally make some cider or a batch of small mead. I
have apple and pear trees producing fruit now - I can see a press in
my future, and perry as well as cider.

Cider sounds like a great thing for smaller batches, since I don't drink a
lot of it but like a glass of dry still cider from time to time.

I don't have my own tree, but may be able to talk a neighbor with an
ornamental tree into letting me pick some of their tart ones, which I could
add to a regular cider. I'll need to figure out where to get some decent
stuff without preservatives.