Moving to smaller batches

2 I would make a starter just so you can keep some of the yeast starter if it turns out well. I like to do this instead of washing the cake as the cake is so "dirty".

3. If you can go to a bakery and see if they have any icing buckets. They are 4 gallons and are food grade plastic. I have a friend that works for a caterer and I supply our brew club.

 

Pretty much. But your water volumes will not scale linearly, because some of your loss volumes (e.g. dead spaces and boil off) don't change.

Just like with bigger batches, it depends. Use a good yeast calculator. And regardless of whether you need to make a starter, you can smack the pack or not. It won't matter. And you don't have to wait after smacking it, unless you want to make sure it swells (to prove there are viable yeast). This should happen within a couple hours. But again, it's not necessary.

A 5 gallon carboy would be fine for 2.5-3 gallon batches.

 

“1. It is my understanding that ingredients scale linearly at small batch sizes. So to make a 2.5 gallon batch from a 5 gallon recipe, I can just cut everything in half, right?” Pretty much (as has already been discussed).

“2. I want to try using some liquid yeast strains for the first time this year. If I'm doing 2.5 or 3 gallon batches, do I need to make a starter, or can I just smack the pack and toss it in? If so, how long do I need to wait between smacking and pitching?” 1 yeast packet should work just fine. Whether you want to smack or not is your decision. I personally smack for two reasons:

· Demonstrates that the yeast pack is viable

· Gets the yeast ‘going’ a bit prior to pitching; basically it ‘wakes; the yeast up.

“3. What vessel do you use to ferment batches of this size? My brew bucket is about 7 gallons, which seems like way too much head space. I have a 5 gallon carboy, would that be OK? Or do I really need to invest in a 3 gallon carboy if I want to get good results? I know the CO2 will purge most of the air, but how much head space is too much?” Your 7 gallon bucket will work just fine; the headspace will quickly fill up with CO2. I personally use a 7.9 gallon bucket for my primary and I have done a number of 3 gallon batches in that bucket and they all turned out great. I did not purge the bucket.

Welcome to the world of small batch brewing!

Cheers!

 

I have heard this said many times by many people, but have not heard any evidence that it makes better beer. In fact, an argument could be made that it's less than ideal, because you are "waking up" the yeast in an environment very much different than the one they will subsequently be pitched into. I very much doubt that the impact is significant though.

 

An activated yeast pack will reduce lag time. Whether this makes 'better' beer?

 

My standard batch-size is 2.5G

That's all there is to it.

Need to make a starter?
No.

Is it a good idea to make a starter?
Yes ... if for no other reason that to ensure you're pitching the freshest yeast possible.

I make starters even with smack-packs.
Start Monday evening ... pitch Friday evening after decanting.
I don't pitch at Hi-K b/c I don't want a QT of starter beer mixed with the fresh wort.

Can't say how large is too large for the primary.
5G and up would be way too large for a 2ndary.

I've long brewed 2.5G batch-sizes all-grain recipes with Mr. Beer fermentors.
Inexpensive and easy to clean.

 

I too am going smaller, just sold my 1 BBL system, plans didn't pan out, going back to 5-10 G's

 

2. for most average gravity 2.5 Gallon batches, smacking will be enough. but pitch your yeast 3-4 hours after smacking the pack.

 

I recently downgraded from 2.5-gallon batches to 1.67 gallons (i.e., 1/3 size of a "normal" 5-gallon recipe) to allow for even more experimentation. I guess you could say that I love to brew even more than I love to drink. But I did make 2.5 gallons for many years, and 3 gallons before that.

1) Everything scales easily except for the ~1 gallon/hour boiloff rate. By the way... due to constant boiloff rate, as a little side "benefit" (for those who care about efficiency), if you are an all-grain brewer, you might find that your efficiency improves a bit with smaller batches since you need to collect more volume of wort = more sugars = better efficiency.

2) For 2.5 gallons, I always made a starter with White Labs but sometimes would skip it with a swollen Wyeast smackpack. With dry yeast I would just use a half pack and save the rest in the fridge for later.

3) For 2.5 gallons I would use a 5-gallon carboy to avoid blowoff mess. You could probably use a 3-gallon carboy with blowoff tube if you want to limit airspace. I don't think it makes much difference though. For my current smaller 1.67-gallon batches I use a 3-gallon carboy.

Enjoy the many advantages of smaller batch brewing.

 

I would recommend using a 5 gal carboy or bucket for 2.5 gal batches. A 3 gal carboy won't give you enough headspace. I had quite a mess the first time I used a 3 gal carboy on a small batch. It was a hefeweizen and the blowoff was crazy. Despite a blowoff tube, the vessel the blowoff tube was in had to be changed every several hours because of all the krausen overflowing out of it.

 

My first couple of batches, and clean beers going forward, were/will be 3 gallons. I ferment in a 5 gal better bottle with a normal airlock and its worked wonderfully so far. It fits perfectly in my modified Sanyo mini-fridge, whereas a larger BB or glass carbon would be a bit too big. I personally haven't made starters for my first two batches, a stout with OG 1.072 and an IPA OG 1.070 using WL 005 and 001, respectively. I wish I had made starters though, as although I pitched the whole vial I got low attenuation on both batches. Some of that may be due to the use of extract as a large component of the fermentables, but I'm guessing that state of the yeast had more to do with it, so I'm going with starters from here on out and I think most everybody would recommend doing the same.

 

I think the OP has the answers he needs, but let me add:

You can calculate the amount of yeast needed for smaller batches using the Mr Malty calculator: note that it has a window for adjusting batch size.

I don't think headspace is important during primary fermentation. The yeast will be producing more than enough C02 to displace the oxygen in the carboy or bucket many times over.

 

Those things are system/process specific. How much water boiled off with your bigger batches? And what was your kettle dead space? (Do you even have a kettle dead space?) These things shouldn't change just because you're making a smaller batch.

 

Until you adjust for age. Most yeast packets are a month or two old by brew day . . . sometimes you see three months. When you apply the loss rate based on date it can make a big impact. My rule of thumb is always makes a starter . . . confirms the yeast are "up for the game" and usually pour off any extra to save for next brew day.

I prefer something smaller but use what is available. Nothing at all wrong using a 5 gallon'er for a reduced quantity.

 

One other thing you will want to notice about that particular calculator, if you haven't already: it also allows you to adjust for the age of the yeast (by using the date on the packet or vial). A single vial may or may not be enough, depending on the age of the vial. Although most of the time, you should be fine.

 

Some discussion of late on the Mr. Malty calculator and its ‘feature’ of dealing with ‘old’ yeast packages. The Mr. Malty yeast calculator assumes that 21 billion yeast cells die every month (30 days) for the first 4 months. This assumed value is a very conservative estimate. Needless to say this sort of estimating will quickly lead to an ‘answer’ that a starter will be needed for an ‘old’ package (e.g., 3 months old package) but this ‘answer’ is predicated on a very conservative assumption.

Cheers!

 

Please provide a better estimate.

 

I'll bite...

In my experience, the liquid yeast packs from White Labs and Wyeast are effectively dead after about 8-9 months in cold storage. Figuring a straight-line decline (not true), after 4 months the yeast is approximately half dead.

Dry yeast, on the other hand, lasts friggin forever. I have used dry yeast 2 or 3 years old that takes off running within 18 hours, without rehydration.