Small batches to speed up learning?

[Waratah67]

Hi guys, I have done a couple of brews and done a few good hours of reading books, magazines and this forum. I was thinking of starting to do more smaller batches (5L-11L) so I could experiment with different beer styles, hop additions and techniques.

I was intending to use a lot of the recipes off AHB and just scale them down using Ian's spreadsheet.

Is this an approach others have taken to progress faster along the learning curve? Anything I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

 

[davedoran]

Depends on how are you intending to brew.

Kit
Extract
Partial
Or all grain

 

[Not For Horses]

I do 10L batches 99% of the time.
Hadn't really thought about it in term of a learning curve, I just like having lots of different beers.
I think I have about 8 or 10 different beers in the fridge at the moment plus another 4 in primary, 1 being dry hopped and 3 others carbonating.

 

[Waratah67]

I'm keen to try a number of different techniques, but most likely kit & extract and BIAB to begin with.

I really like the idea of a variety of beers to choose from and learn about different styles.

 

[professional_drunk]

I used to do 10L batches into a 9 litre keg. Too much trouble. By the time you spend hours researching your recipe, brewing it, watching it for a few weeks fermenting, the keg will kick over so fast you'll be left wondering where it went. Unless your timing is spot on in terms of when to start drinking it, you also may notice that the beer starts to taste really good just as the keg blows. Then if you use liquid yeasts, it's a waste of time making a starter for such a small batch. I really think a 19L keg should be your minimum size regardless of what you're experimenting on. A 9L batch would be ok if your a small drinker, but home brewing inevitably results in an increase in consumption from yourself, friends and family. You'll outgrow 9L in no time.

 

[Not For Horses]

I've been fermenting anything that will hold still long enough for well over a decade and I still do 10L batches. I also still bottle. Each to their own in that respect.

I started with BIAB with a sparge of sorts from the kettle (the tea kettle not the brew kettle)

15L pot from Kmart:$16
Swiss Voile from Spotlight:$7

The beauty of the small pot is that you can heat your oven to 70 degrees then turn it off and put your whole pot in to maintain temperature.

Even when you do outgrow small batches you've only dropped the massive sum of $23 on a 10L rig.

 

[Bribie G]

You can get 20L white poly drums that are perfect for 10-15 L batches from BCF. Not cheap but very sturdy and easily cleaned. I use one for cider to do keg sized brews (no krausen so I can ferment it fairly full).

If you go onto kegging, it's a good size to ferment a keg sized brew done overgravity as a 15L batch then cut with deoxygenated water at kegging time (done that).

Nearly ever beer sold over the bar in Australia is made that way as it happens.

 

[Foxfire]

We have done four 5L batches and I'm not a massive fan. The stuff that comes out good gets drunk so fast, yet it takes the same time to brew. I am going to use them for secondary flavour experiments and things however.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I drink too much for it

 

[kevo]

If you want to experiment and see what different yeasts, dry hops etc do....make 15 - 20L wort (from a kit/extract/whatever method) and then split into your 5L/10L containers, treat each differently, each with different US/UK/Belg yeasts - see what they produce - or a single yeast then split for different dry hop varieties/amounts etc...

Small batches are useful, but have a shelf life - once you are brewing what you like, it's time to move onto larger batch sizes.

Kev

 

[seehuusen]

I do 14l batches, for the learning experience, but already find myself planning something bigger...
Having said that, I've enjoyed my batches very much, and the greater numbers have added some much needed experience!

The time to brew is still just about the same whether its 5, 10 or 100 litres, the only thing that differs is the outlay per brewed-batch I guess...

 

[kevo]

The time to brew is still just about the same whether its 5, 10 or 100 litres, the only thing that differs is the outlay per brewed-batch I guess...

As well as the time taken to package your beer - set up to bottle takes about the same time to bottle 5L or 100L(in theory)

 

[superstock]

I do 11 & 7 litre batches (1/2 & 1/3 batch brews) by brewing a full size base, splitting it in to the smaller batches and adding the different additions. Once you find the brew you like you keep that recipe and move on to a different style. Also if you are not a big drinker you end up with a variety in the fridge.

 

[Eagleburger]

I did three 10L batches to get a feel for it, see what system I wanted to go with long term. One thing I learnt was I didnt have the time or opportunity to do a batch every week. So now on I will do 20L and 40L soon as the rest of my gear is made. It surprising how quick 10L can disappear.

 

[Not For Horses]

Man who brews 20L: "I don't see the point of doing 10L batches"

Man who brews 40L: "I don't see the point of doing 20L batches"

Man who brews 60L: "I don't see the point of doing 40L batches"

Do what works for you rather than what works for someone else.

 

[Coldspace]

Just get more mates over to drink more, or turn the missus into an alcoholic .

 

[djdjustin]

Hi Waratah,
I used to brew kits and bits (23L) then extract (10L) but now 1 brew BIAB (4L) with a 15L stock pot. I'm not a big drinker and get a lot of enjoyment out of brewing different styles of beer so the 4-5L mark is best for me. I have found that 4-5L is also the easiest to manage in my tiny kitchen with heating and cooling and also bottling. My advice would be to skip the extract step altogether and go straight for BIAB. It will give you a big step up in the quality of your beer at the cost of a longer brew day.

Cheers,
Justin

 

[Nizmoose]

I brew batches of varying size and think its great, I'm only a few brews in but am glad I've done a few smaller batches. Larger batches (23L) I've done have been things like reliable pale ales I know will be good and a lagery shitty batch for the non good beer drinking mates. I really dont drink much beer to be honest (if not going out mayybe three a week or so) and a slab would on average last me about a mont maybe just under, therefore doing 23L batches everytime I want to brew just doesn't make any sense economically or for storage. I think it comes down to how much you drink. I happen to really love the process of brewing almost more than drinking the beer and have found that 10L batches lets me get creative, try new things and brew way more often than if I had to do big batches all the time. In just 60L of beer I've made a few light beers, a pale ale, a pacific ale clone and an amber ale and I think I've learned wayyyy more by doing that than I would if I had thrown together two 23L batches by now. Bottles is another thing, I don't have enough to store hundreds of litres of beer so I make smaller batches. It also means you can have a few slabs of heaps of different beers and not have to have three slabs of one or an entire warehouse to store many just my two cents though

 

[peekaboo_jones]

I've done one 23L batch thought the same thing so I bought an extra 30L fermenter.
Bought a lager kit and split the ingredients in half (apart from yeast) and used the lager for the true recipe and I experimented with the other half by adding 500g dark malt extract and used an ale yeast.
Ale finished pretty quick but lager is still fermenting, although pretty much done now hopefully. Samples tasted nice, quite different though obviously. Good fun!

 

[pajs]

I got into small batch brewing (all grain, BIAB) in May this year, after only big batches. I've made 18 different beers since then. I've learnt more about brewing in those 5 months, I reckon, than in the years preceeding.

The volumes are in the 7-12 litre range, averaging 9 litres in the fermenter. The experimentation has been excellent, compared to what I would have managed doing 27 litres at a time. Easy enough in the cool months here in Canberra to have a few different fermenters going at once, then line up lagers & ales to come together at bottling time. Tonight, for example, I'm bottling an Aromatic malt SMaSH lager & another SMaSH of Vienna and Amarillo on an ale yeast. Minimising bottling preparation & cleaning appeals.

For me, small-volume, stovetop BIAB brews are something I can knock out on a weeknight & still cook dinner. If something turns out really well (or I find I've really got the taste for a style like Altbier) then they get a nudge back up in the to-brew list. I'd gotten a bit bored with brewing, but these small batches have been great. Discovering German ales has been a revelation, and probably something I wouldn't have gotten to if I'd stuck with big batches.

 

[Eagleburger]

I have only ever done small batches. 10, 23 and now 45L.