small batch brewing

Howard

Recently I have been experimenting with smaller batch brewing, I am now doing 5 litre brewing I have so far done 4 brews and have 6 more on the go..... (3 Ciders)

Out of the four I have bottled three are really nice and the chocolate chilli brew was not so good.....
But I feel a lot easier ditching four and a half litres of beer than 23 litres of beer I have been breaking down LME from kits I had in my store and think now I am starting to see some good results in my current batches on the go I am using Briess Extracts at the moment and really think they are a very good product, I currently have a Cherry Beer on the go and its started out with a very high OG along with a very active airlock also a dark ale which again was very active and is now settling down I added a Ancho Chilli to this beer and its beginning to take on a gentle flavour to the beer so in another week I will aim at bottling this one.....

I have to say this method of brewing has renewed my excitement in brewing and its a lot easier for me to brew at this level and also to drink the beers I brew......
If your limited on space you can deffo brew 5 litres of beer without needing lots of room.

Will give an update when I have finished this current batch of brews.....

HBO_Staff

Hi Howard, this sounds like a great set up you have here, making smaller batches is a great way to experiment especially if you may have to discard the occasional one which doesn't turn out as you expected! Because they usually take around the same time to ferment many people do make larger batches, but these smaller batches will definitely keep it interesting and you can make them to your preference, and Briess products are always highly spoken of. Keep us posted on your progress....

MikeH

Howard,

That sounds very interesting, it's something I've thought about doing before but never done it. I've got a couple of questions if you don't mind?

You said "I have been breaking down LME from kits I had in my store" - what is "LME"?

For a 5 litre brew what sort of quantities of malt extract and sugar are you using?

Cheers, Mike...

Howard

sorry for slow reply, LME Liquid Malt Extract, It will depend on the brew your doing but 300ml of a Pale Malt Extract and 250 grams of say a Moscavado Sugar with 15 grams of goldings hops will make a nice malty ale..... for 5 litres

MikeH

Thanks Howard, that's exactly what I needed to know. I've got a can of Coopers light malt extract so I think I'm going to give this a go. Need to buy a few bits and pieces (hops and yeast for starters) then I can get going.

I normally steer clear of "seasonal ales" as they're usually terrible, but a few years ago I remember I had a bottle of Christmas ale which, if memory serves, was from Shepherd Neame. It was really good, was like drinking marzipan beer! Which gave me an idea... I'm thinking to do a small batch and chuck a lump of marzipan in it to see if I can make something similar.

Thanks again for the info.

Cheers, Mike....

HBO_Staff

You must let us know how that turns out Mike, and how much Marzipan you add and the flavours it produces

MikeH

Absolutely, will do. Was going to start it off yesterday but realised I didn't have the spare sachet of yeast I thought I had so will need to order one first.

One other question, should I hop for bitterness at the start of the fermentation process and then hop again, for aroma, at the end of primary fermentation? If so should I use two different varieteys of hops or the same one twice?

Cheers, Mike...

HBO_Staff

Hi Mike, often people will boil the brew up with some hops, maybe 100g, and this will add the bitterness, then add some more hops for the last say 15 minutes of the boil to add aroma, but this does require something to boil it in. You can add hops at the start of fermentation but it will vary how much flavour it imparts, you can then use a hop teabag for the last few days in the primary vessel to add hop flavour. Often people experiment by adding different hops and for different amounts of time to get the flavour they are wanting, one shortcut is to find a recipe online that other brewers have tried and liked so you end up with a good brew from a tried and tested recipe, or even use that recipe/guide as a base or substitute the hops they used for other types which you prefer

MikeH

Thanks for the info. I'll figure something out and see how it goes.