Small Batches

[t_tronson]

So I am pretty new to the hobby, but I am curious if anyone has any experience in brewing smaller batches of beer (test batches, etc.). I understand the question...why the heck would you want to brew less?

Right now, I am an extract brewer (which probably isn't something I'll do in small batches anyway), but I am not far from making the leap to all-grain. I plan to use recipes until I find my groove with that method, but I can see why, when I start to formulate my own recipes, that I might not want to do a full 5 gallons.

Any tips (other than having to get different equipment) on how to best attack this? I am going to get BeerTools (since I have a Mac) and I can't tell if I would be able to adjust the volume down to 1 or 2 gallons. But are there any other sources that anyone can recommend?

[fratermus]

Small batches can make a lot of sense, particularly if you're working on a stovetop.

You can make it easier on yourself by making a somewhat larger batch like 3gal then splitting that up into 1gal or even smaller containers for primary. That way you can pitch different yeasts, or use different temps, or dry hops, or fruit/spice additions etc. I did a 3gal batch of mead that I broke up into plain, 5% cranberry, 10% cranberry, and 33% cranberry. Also did a blonde that I broke up into plain and blackberry.

You can buy 0.5gal and 1gal jugs at HBHQ, or you could last time I looked. Or use any other easy-to-sanitize and airlock container.