So what do you feel is the best way to manage batch sizes? Personally make oversize batches and try to fit it in the largest carboy I have. For subsequent rackings, I will size the carboy down a size and catch any extra into the most closely sized small carboy I have that will be filled. Anything that doesn't fit into that becomes a taste test. I prefer doing this to topping off with water at each racking. I would …

I made a batch of ginger beer and brewing it hard at 5 and a half gallons. The fault came when I accidentally added a half-gallon of water with One Step in it to the batch before fermenting. It was originally a 1 gallon before I cleaned all my stuff, I totally forgot I had it in it. Should I be concerned? It doesn't seem to be stopping the fermentation and it is going very well. To add, before I …

I would like to double the size of my batches from 5 gallons to 10 gallons without changing equipment. For example, let's say I have a 5 gallon recipe for an IPA. I know my mash cooler is big enough to mash at least double the grain bill for my 5 gallon recipe (I have brewed 5 gallon batches of strong ales which easily have more than twice the grain of my 5 gallon IPA recipe). If I mash twice …

I am flavoring my first beer in a new, 5 gallon oak barrel. This batch is a full 5 gallon batch, but is it ok to put smaller sizes in it? For example, can I put 2.5 gallons in without any harmful effects? I'm thinking the oak flavors will flavor the beer fairly quickly (i.e., 2 to 5 days), so having more surface exposed to oxygen will not be a huge problem.

I've started a brew with an OG of 1.065 in a 23L batch. I pitched a rehydrated 11g pack of US-05 and after 5 days I took a FG reading when I observed no bubbles after some time; it came out at 1.028 - quite a bit higher than expected (target FG is 1.012). So, I upped the temperature of my fermenter having realised I only set it at 17degC (oops, I meant to do 19degC but I'm hoping it …

I just ordered a Bayou brew kettle. I meant to order the 10 gallon, but accidentally ordered the 16 gallon (Only a $15 USD difference). I only have a couple all-grain/partial mash brew under my belt, so I am sticking to the 5 gallon batches for now. So should I send this one back and get a 10 gal, or would I be fine with the 16? The false bottom will sit at the 2.5 gallon mark. This might hold …

I'm planning an upgrade to my 5 gallon setup to do 10 gallon batches. In BeerSmith, I've created an equipment profile to estimate my pre-boil volume. Assuming 1 gallon evaporation per hour (I know this is high, but I'm being conservative), and 1 gallon lost to trub, BeerSmith tells me I will have a pre-boil volume of 13.46 gallons. I live in Canada, so my buying options are limited. This kettle is a good deal, but has a capacity of …

Apologies if this seems like a rather basic question, but I've been researching various sites and can't seem to get a decent answer. I've been homebrewing for about 2 years (infrequently), and I want to start doing all-grain recipes with full wort boils. Eventually, I'd like to move to 10 or possibly 15 gallon batches. Do I want to get brew pots (HLT, mash tun, boil pot) and a fermenter that can handle a 15 gallon batch and use them …

I'm thinking about investing in a keg, etc. done some reading but still have a lot of questions. I currently bottle from brew cans which fill the fermenter to 23L and comes out to about 30x 750ml bottles (22.5L). I have seen many different size kegs. Does it matter the size? Do you need to leave space in the keg for gas/air or is this bad? For example I saw a 30L keg for sale 2nd hand. Could I brew …

Rather than buying buckets or carboys, I would like to use 5 gallon PET water bottles that I can get free from work (I verified they are PET with the "1" on the bottom). However all my extract recipes are for 5 gallon batches, which would not leave any room for fermentation. Is there any harm in reducing the volume to about 4 gallons for fermentation in these containers? I like higher gravity beers, for what it's worth, but I …

I've seen the term 'batch size' applied to three different things: Volume of wort put into the fermenter Volume of finished beer that comes out of the fermenter Post-boil wort volume Is there an agreed-upon definition of 'batch size'? Update Well, there's one answer that says #2 and another that says #1. I personally believe the answer is #3, since its post-boil volume that sets the OG. It seems like there's no agreed-upon definition of this term, so I'm going …