Half Size Brews

[BOG]

Hi,

The wife has said I need to cut down my brewing as I have just over 150 bottles maturing now.

However, I still want to brew something. I'm a bit lost without the magic sound of a bubbling brew so I've purchased a 15 Litre fermenter. That way I can make half as much.

I've done some half can brews, storing the other half in a cleaned Maccona Coffee jar (yes the big ones take 500ml perfectly). The jar is stored in the fridge for later use.

I'm interested in Cans that can be used as a one shot. Malt Shovel is an example of a single can that brews to 11 litres. Are there any others out there?

Also, I've done a Cooper's Ginger at 11 Litres rather than the recommended 23. It turned out great. A real ginger kick but it's not beer as we all know it.

Does anyone use a can at what could be called double strength and get ok results?



BOG

 

[DJR]

The generic Homebrand lager kits i remember don't have much bitterness to them and could probably be used in that way. Not sure exactly though. You could also just get unhopped malt extract and use that along with a quick boil of some bittering/aroma hop pellets, would only take you half an hour or so over a standard batch, plus you get to boil some malt which is always nice.

You could always just pour out half a standard kit, add 500g of sugar and make up to 11.5L, put some gladwrap over the top of the kit with a rubber band and leave the rest in the fridge for later, give it a quick boil to make sure there aren't and nasties for the 2nd batch. That would be a bit quicker than using the coffee jar.

 

[Drulupis]

Hi,

The wife has said I need to cut down my brewing as I have just over 150 bottles maturing now.

However, I still want to brew something. I'm a bit lost without the magic sound of a bubbling brew so I've purchased a 15 Litre fermenter. That way I can make half as much.

I've done some half can brews, storing the other half in a cleaned Maccona Coffee jar (yes the big ones take 500ml perfectly). The jar is stored in the fridge for later use.

I'm interested in Cans that can be used as a one shot. Malt Shovel is an example of a single can that brews to 11 litres. Are there any others out there?

Also, I've done a Cooper's Ginger at 11 Litres rather than the recommended 23. It turned out great. A real ginger kick but it's not beer as we all know it.

Does anyone use a can at what could be called double strength and get ok results?
BOG

Hey Bog
I'm in the same boat .. a lot of bottles building up. I LOVE brewing and the peaceful "me" time that comes with it, except I'll drink maybe 4 beers per week. SO I find myself building up a rather large stock.
That's one of the reasons I started mashing, so I could control the batch size and make half batches. I get to experiment with various malts, blah blah, but not end up having 100's of bottles of beer in stock.

I just put down an ESB Bock last weekend, and can highly recommend it. It has everything in the can so all you need to do is add boiling water to mix then top up with cooled water. The can makes 18 litres, but could drop this futher to make a stronger brew.

Happy Brewing.

 

[tarlox]

I did a coopers lager with 200g of honey. I turned out quite strong but still drinkable. Instead of buying a 15 l fermenter i just converted a fresh wort container into a fermenter. (insert a tap into the bung and drill a hole in the lid for an airlock - easy). It does 11.5 - 12 l brews no worries.

Another alternative is to have a go at doing extracts. Download qbrew for free and have a play around. you could do something like:

1.5kg light malt extract liquid (unhopped)
0.25 light dry malt extract
150g crystal steeped
15g POR hops 30 mins
15g Saaz hops 10 mins

The above is just a suggestion. You could try any combination of malt and hops depending on your tastes. (ie ale/lager light/dark etc)

Regards

Dave

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

... Instead of buying a 15 l fermenter i just converted a fresh wort container into a fermenter. (insert a tap into the bung and drill a hole in the lid for an airlock - easy). It does 11.5 - 12 l brews no worries.

Or use cling film and a rubber band. You can return the container to other uses if you want and the washing up reduces.

I tried doing this and stopped, but came back again. It makes the life of a lazy ******* easier.

 

[Brooksy]

Bog,

Any kit is available for use in a half brew. Use the entire can and no sugar/dextrose. You will end up with an all malt brew @ abt 6.5 - 7.0% ABV.

I've done many different ones and I can assure you that the 'cheapies' turn out far, far better that their suppliers instructions. All you are doing is a toucan brew halved.

If you are into Coopers, do their Lager, Bitter, Dark ale and Stout. I've done these and can assure you they turn out brilliant. The only additive used was 200gms corn syrup in the stout.

SWMBO is a bit tough, a mate of mine hovers at the 600 bottle mark with 1500 washed bottles and I can't get past a stock of 100! Then again my average consumption is 6/day..... 2 for smoko, 2 for lunch, 2 with dinner and then as required. I'd rather not drink water, because fish do funny things in it, like sh*tting, p*ssing & ph*cking. Needs alcohol sterilization. :lol:

 

[simpletotoro]

Hi,

I'm interested in Cans that can be used as a one shot. Malt Shovel is an example of a single can that brews to 11 litres. Are there any others out there?

hi...maybe not what your after ...but couldn't you just use a 1 kg liquid malt extract for what your after....
the following site as an example only..
http://www.2basnob.com/homebrew-recipes.html

just find a extract recipe you like...divide it to suit your litres ...boil her up, hop her up, add sugars...bingo 11 litre brew... or what litreage you want...

THIS SITE WILL DO CRAP LOADS OF CALCULATIONS FOR YOU
(use this link to find desired bittness...)
http://www.grumpys.com.au/calculators.php3


ALSO this may help...look for the vital stats bits in each catergory ...ibu range will give you som idea of what to plug into the grumpys calculator site...
View attachment 2006AABC_StyleGuidelines_LARGE.pdf
if i don't make sense ...just post me okay...
MAYBE WILL HELP..MAYBE NOT
CHEERS SIMPLETOTORO

 

[Murcluf]

I extract brew and when I'm trying a style for the first time I do a half size batch (11 to 13 litres depending on the specs). so if the recipe calls for 3kg (2 cans) of malt extract I'd use 1.5kg (1 can) 500g DME I'd use 250g DME, so on and so forth, same with hops but I don't change boil times. it has worked really well for me. I just hate it when I brew sometihing I really like and it runs out too quickly.

 

[discoloop]

Having just done my first all extract brew I can defnitely vouch for it. It's dead easy with good results!

 

[BOG]

The generic Homebrand lager kits i remember don't have much bitterness to them and could probably be used in that way. Not sure exactly though. You could also just get unhopped malt extract and use that along with a quick boil of some bittering/aroma hop pellets, would only take you half an hour or so over a standard batch, plus you get to boil some malt which is always nice.

You could always just pour out half a standard kit, add 500g of sugar and make up to 11.5L, put some gladwrap over the top of the kit with a rubber band and leave the rest in the fridge for later, give it a quick boil to make sure there aren't and nasties for the 2nd batch. That would be a bit quicker than using the coffee jar.

I was thinking that the cheaper kits have little else but malt so a double strength brew would be ok, but for the finer styles with better quality you would be making really strong beer with say twice the hops etc, so would taste like crap.

Re: the coffee jar, Macona jars are really thick so I just pour boiling water over it to kill off any bugs, then pour the 1/2 litre of the left over can straight in. As the jar and the contents are hot when you put the lid on and put it in the fridge it forces a really tight seal as it cools. Now is safe to take back out of the fridge if required and can be sored at room temp.

BOG

 

[haro]

I am in the same boat and yes it really sucks... I personally think doing smaller brews actually helps your brewing because you are able to put down many more brews and experiment alot more.

Definitely give an all extract brew a go and if you have 2 big enough pots you could even do an all-grain.

HaRo

 

[Barramundi]

my first all grainer was a half batch as will be the second one...

(havent read up on BIAB and how it works but i did a mash and batch sparge style brew)

 

[haro]

sorry forgot to mention that doing a BIAB (brew in a bag) is always a good option to try get into the AG scene. Presently this is a pretty hot topic in the homebrewing scene

 

[KingPython]

So I'm planning to get a Coopers micro-brew kit and do a half-size brew up first (I want to try and do stout as fast as I can).

Considering I'll have a bag of Brewing Sugar at my disposale would it be unwise to add 200g to the mix?
Or would that make it too thin/sweet?

Thanks

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I'm not addressing your question, and yet I am offering an alternative.

I tried the half-size thing and it doesn't work for me.

I hold a party occassionally to reduce stocks. When your drinks bill comes as cheap as homebrew, parties are not too expensive. If your friends insist on bringing something, they can contribute the wine, nibbles, etc. If that doesn't deplete the stocks enough, take note of what people seem to like and give them a traveller.

 

[KingPython]

I ask because I'm not entirely sure how everything will go. So I won'te feel as bad throwing down 20 lires as opposed to 11.

Anyway I don't think most of my friends would trust me with my first brew for this reason.

Also the thought of trying to get away with as much ABV as I can allures me.