Smaller All Grain Batches

[system]

@hopfenundmalz

I don’t bottle much anymore, but I do spend a fair amount of time doing maintenance on all of the old kegs I have. You know, leaking poppets, leaking PRVs, leaking lids/O-rings.

I used to feel like a keg maintenance man.  I switched to using all new AEB kegs.

[system]

@alestateyall

I normally do 6 gallon batches. I did a 3 gallon on my equipment recently. Two major differences. First, my efficiency went from 79-80% normally to 71%. Not sure why, actually. I did use a base malt I have never used before. Second, the mash lost heat faster than I am used to. It dropped 5F over an hour. I think this was because there was so much empty space in my 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler during the mash. My FG was 1005 which was dryer than I expected. I think that was from the quick dropping temp. The mash started at 150F.

But, I want to move to 3 gallon (or less). I can’t keep up with 6 gallon batches with out constantly finding ways to give away beer.

I built a 3-gallon brewery when I switched to 3 gallons as my packaged batch size.  From my kettles (24 and 27 quarts) to my mash tun (5-gallon Igloo) and hot liquor back (5-gallon Igloo) to my kegs (3-gallon AEB), everything is sized for producing 3 packaged gallons of beer.

I struggled to keep my yeast bank healthy via normal strain rotation when I was brewing five packaged gallons at a time because five packaged gallons was too much beer.  I wound up having to subculture strains just to keep them alive.  Reducing my batch size to 3 gallons allows me to subculture a new slant from an old slant and propagate a starter at the same time, ensuring that all of my strains get subcultured at least once a year through normal use.  I am brewing a 3 packaged gallon (3.3 to 3.5 primary volume) batch every four to six weeks.

[theoman]

@beersk

And “cleaning and/or scrubbing bottles” is totally unnecessary, especially if you rinse them well after pouring and store them upside down.

Word. The hardest part of bottling for me is making sure the dishwasher is empty on bottling day so I can use it to sanitize the bottles. After that, it’s the one step my wife helps me with. I get everything set up and the beer transferred to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar. She fills the bottles and I cap them. Smooth and fast.

[beersk]

@alestateyall

I normally do 6 gallon batches. I did a 3 gallon on my equipment recently. Two major differences. First, my efficiency went from 79-80% normally to 71%. Not sure why, actually. I did use a base malt I have never used before. Second, the mash lost heat faster than I am used to. It dropped 5F over an hour. I think this was because there was so much empty space in my 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler during the mash. My FG was 1005 which was dryer than I expected. I think that was from the quick dropping temp. The mash started at 150F.

But, I want to move to 3 gallon (or less). I can’t keep up with 6 gallon batches with out constantly finding ways to give away beer.

I built a 3-gallon brewery when I switched to 3-gallons as my packaged batch size.  From my kettles (24 and 27 quarts) to my mash tun (5-gallon Igloo) and hot liquor back (5-gallon Igloo) to my kegs (3-gallon AEB), everything is sized for producing 3 packaged gallons of beer.

I struggled to keep my yeast bank healthy via normal strain rotation when I was brewing five packaged gallons at a time because five packaged gallons was too much beer.  I wound up having to subculture strains just to keep them alive.  Reducing my batch size to 3 gallons allows me to subculture a new slant from an old slant and propagate a starter at the same time, ensuring that all of my strains get subcultured at least once a year through normal use.  I am brewing a 3 packaged gallon (3.3 to 3.5 primary volume) batch every four to six weeks.

AEB kegs are the sh*t! Have 3 of them and really want more. I brew 4 to 4.5 gallon batches nearly every week this year…I must drink more than you do. Try to stick to 2 pints a day and a few more on weekends. Five gallons of beer is generally too much, as I start getting tired of a beer about half way through the keg and want something new. But there were also times where I wanted more of a given beer, but that was pretty rare. My issue with smaller batches is putting less beer in a 5 gallon keg and having all the head space…it’s not a problem, just something about it irks me. The smaller kegs are probably the way to go, but I just can’t justify spending the money.

[mtnrockhopper (Jimmy K)]

@erockrph

@flbrewer

Are there any significant issues with doing smaller batches on larger equipment? By large I mean a 10 gallon BK and 10 gallon MT.

I can’t speak personally to the mash tun, but the bigger kettle will likely have a faster boiloff rate.

And any deadspace in your equipment will hold a larger percentage of fermentables.

[flbrewer]

@erockrph

@flbrewer

Are there any significant issues with doing smaller batches on larger equipment? By large I mean a 10 gallon BK and 10 gallon MT.

I can’t speak personally to the mash tun, but the bigger kettle will likely have a faster boiloff rate.

And any deadspace in your equipment will hold a larger percentage of fermentables.

What do you mean?

[mtnrockhopper (Jimmy K)]

If your equipment is designed so it always leaves a liquid in the mash tun or kettle (lets say a quart). That quart is 1/20th of 5 gallons so it will contain 1/20th of the fermentables from the wort. If you switched to a 2.5 gallon batch, that quart could be 1/10th of the fermentables. You can make up for this by increasing the grain bill.

It mostly applies to kettles with a ball valve where you can’t drain all the liquid. Less so to batch sparging in a mash tun, not really at all to fly sparging.