Since we downsized, I lost my designated area in my old basement to store all my brewing supplies.
I decided to grab the old LBK out of storage and do a quick 20 min boil on the kitchen stove yesterday. I must say, the ease of moving around 2 VS 5 gallons of water and wort really appealed to me. Brewing was quick and clean up was a snap.
I just spent the last 1/2 hour on the Brew Demon site looking at recipes. I may do a few of these to get a little pipe line going. I have a few LBKs and one BD conical. I still have a couple 2.5 gal kegs and four 5 gal kegs in storage.
I'm not ready to give up on 5 gal batches just yet but the ease of the smaller batch was really appealing.
I'm right with you there. I've made my share of 5 gal. batches in the past,but moving that big, full, fermenter down 2 flights of stairs got to be way too much for me.Plus,brewing 2-2 1/2 gal. batches allows for a great many different styles. I have like 6 LBKs and 2 Lil Demons. It's winter here now so I use the Demons b/c they are easier to clean and I can't use the outside hose for their cleaning. I use Mr. Beer, BrewDemon and other extracts to brew with. I always doctor them up with some speciality grains,xtra hops,and better yeast. I like to brew SMASHes alot also.Just grab a 3.3 Briess,some hops,Saf-05 and throw it into the fermenter. And in 49 days I'm enjoying the fruits of my labors. Cheers.
I like to brew half batches of specialty beer, or experiments. Also when I brew big, I can split a batch and use different yeasts.
It has been a pleasant reminder to me that small batches and extract batches are orders easier than five gallons AG.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
I only use 2.5 or 3 gallon fermenters. I make lots of small batches. If I make a 5 gallon batch I just split it between 2. So much easier to manage for me.
Every two out of three batches for me are 2.5 gallon batches. I like a lot of variety in my pipeline, and I like to experiment and develop new recipes, so the smaller batches work well for all of those. I even have a smaller keg (dubbed the "keglet"), so I can have some of these batches on tap.
Whether I'm doing an extract batch, or an AG/BIAB batch, the smaller batches are always a good brew day. And it's easy to double a recipe for 5 gallons, or halve a 5g recipe for the smaller size.
I used to brew a lot of 3 gal batches. I had a bit more time on my hands when my kids where babies/toddlers, there was a lot more time at home. I would work afternoons or nights and the wife worked days, it made it really easy for me to be home and brew a lot during the week. Like everyone talked about already, the small batches made it very easy to do a lot of experimenting and have a nice variety and do so on the cheap.
I like the smaller batches also. 1 gallon recipes are fun to make whether it's extract or all grain and watch them ferment in the 1G glass jugs. I've made many 2G batches in the past in my Mr. Beer LBK's and recently split a 5G recipe into my two Brew Demon LBC's. I haven't split a 5G batch into the Mr. Beer LBK's before but it looks like it'd work, just a little less headspace. I like the ease of moving and cleanup on the smaller batches too.
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Last edited by TonyKZ1 on Sun Jan 29, 2017 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
One big advantage of the 2.5G batch size in my brew closet; all-season ... all-weather ... climate-controlled indoor brewing.
Don't shortchange yourself.
The LBK has plenty-o-room to ferment a 9 liter batch-size.
LBK FTW!
Homebrew will get you through times of no money
Better than money will get you through times of no homebrew
- apologies to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
Here is my current setup of my Brewdemon. I extended the base with some 1" PVC... I designed some adapters to work with the PVC. Looks awesome and works great!
Due to space limitations, I still brew exclusively in 2 gal batches. And since i drink most of the beer I make, it's a good volume for me as well. Plus if you end up making a stinker batch, you don't have to choke through 5 gallons (not that I have ever made a stinker batch).
What is best in life?" "To crush your enemies -- See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"
FedoraDave wrote:Nice job, Oesh! Looks like those stilts would make bottling a little easier.
Thanks FedoraDave! I ended up kegging into a 2-1/2 gallon keg. I like the 2 gallon batches because it allows me to have a couple of brews to choose from in my kegerator.
I'm glad to see so many others doing small batches too. Now I don't feel so small. I also have space problems as well as back lifting problems, but really, just being able to churn out more varieties in smaller batches is a great thing. I don't feel like such an oddball now after reading this thread. Made my day.
Since I used to have tons of space in my old house, 5 gal batches seemed to make sense. I had a few large bucket fermentors, 5 gallon kegs and 5 gal kits / recipes are so common.
Fast forward 8 months and that space is gone. It will be interesting for me moving forward with the smaller batches. Maybe I'll grow as a homebrewer and try brewing different things.
But at the end of the day we all should ....... brew what we like and like what we brew.
I actually like that phrase above - I hope I did not steal it from anyone because I think it would be a cool t shirt or hoodie
