I’m getting to the point where I’d like to start experimenting with my own recipes, but I have a 10.5 Gallon Foundry and not sure it’s really designed for it. I ran across a posting on another forum where it was discussed. Sounds possible, with caveats. How are y’all doing small experiment batches?
In a pot on the stove.
You can go down to as small a size batch as you desire, if you mash your grain in a Brew in a Bag (BIAB); you might want to use the Brew in a Bag also as a hop bag, if you are concerned about containing hops to maximize wort recovery. But, really, a pot on a stove for a gallon or so is pretty convenient, as Denny says. Putting a colander in the pot/Foundry can help keep the bag off the bottom of the container, or simply clip it to the side of the pot to suspend it.
For the older style Anvil 10.5 you will need to get their small batch adapter ring but even then the optimum small batch is about 2.5 gallons.
As always, thanks all. The collander is a neat idea. I do have the older foundry but yeah, 2.5 gallons is a bit more than what I wanted to mess with. I’ll dig out my 3 gallon pot and give it a go. From what I recall, the biggest annoyance going that route was chilling the wort but I think my Foundry chiller will fit in the pot.
With a one gallon batch, an ice bath in the kitchen sink should chill it pretty quickly, I should think.
That’s a good point. I need to keep reminding myself I’m not dealing with 6+ gallons of wort.
Interesting. Are you doing this to get better utilization out of the ice?
I do something very similar: I use my HERMS vessel to cool my wort by draining the hot water I used to maintain mash temp and replace it with cool tap water. I stir the water as the wort circulates thru the coil. I again replace the water jacket with cool water and stir. By then I am ~100°F (within 30°-40°F of pitch temp). I then drain the warm water jacket and add ice. I stir the ice, and ultimately cold water, until I hit pitch temp. All in all, ~5.5 gal from boiling temp to pitching temp in ~20-30 minutes. Stirring makes a HUGE difference in how fast I chill.
I got one of those countertop ice makers for the ice. I semi like it because it does make all the ice I need (3 gal ≈ 24 lbs), but I have to stay on it because it is a small unit. By that I mean I have to keep the water topped up and keep the ice tray emptied. It’s definitely not set it and forget it, one day you add water and the next you have 24 lbs of ice.
Or do no chill
It depends on what you mean by published and reviewed. Many of us who have done it have written about it and that writing has been confirmed by others who have done it. Ultimately the only review and research that matters is your own. Give it a try.