Upsizing from 2.5g to 5g

[El Nino]

I'm deciding to uspsize to 5g batches. 2.5g batches seem perfect if you're just drinking them yourselves, but if you plan to share a lot of your drinks, one case of beer can go bye bye real quick. I feel myself needing to brew 3-4x a month (only possible because my gf is out of town right now haha) just to keep the pipepline from running out at busy times lol.

Question though, how heavy is a 6.5 gallon carboy? I admit that makes me a little nervous carrying that much liquid at once. Do milk crates work well enough to not worry much at all? Or should I split batch the 5g's into the existing 3 gal carboys I already have? I do want to purchase a 6.5 if it's not going to be too much of a hassle, since I have room in my chest freezer for a big carboy and a 3gal one on the hump.

Not that I plan to have a 5g and a 2.5 batch going constantly at the same time, but it'd be nice to have that option if I'm planning a party / bringing beers to someone's party

 

[brewbama]

I hope you mean a PLASTIC carboy. If you mean glass please do yourself a favor and look at a fermenter made with a different material. I recommend Stainless Steel.

Crates help. Straps help.

Beer weighs roughly 8 lb/gal. Add to the 40 lbs of liquid the weight of the fermenter and you have your rough total for planning purposes.

5 gal = 640 oz = 32 pints (20 oz). If you drink just two beers a day your at 16 days. Drink more or invite one friend and you’re still brewing every week. Invite a bunch of friends and you’re gonna run outta beer. You need to brew more or share less. I recommend 10 gal batches.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I recommend a ported Fermonster (PET), not glass. And carrying straps.

 

[moreb33rplz]

I hope you mean a PLASTIC carboy. If you mean glass please do yourself a favor and look at a fermenter made with a different material. I recommend Stainless Steel.

Crates help. Straps help.

Beer weighs roughly 8 lb/gal. Add to the 40 lbs of liquid the weight of the fermenter and you have your rough total for planning purposes.

5 gal = 640 oz = 32 pints (20 oz). If you drink just two beers a day your at 16 days. Drink more or invite one friend and you’re still brewing every week. Invite a bunch of friends and you’re gonna run outta beer. You need to brew more or share less. I recommend 10 gal batches.

Just to be that guy but where in the world does '1 beer' mean '20 oz'? A beer is 12 oz, a pint is 16, and 20 is what beer drinkers like us use to make it seem like we drink less

 

[brewbama]

The imperial pint (≈ 568 ml) is used in the United Kingdom and Ireland and to a limited extent in Commonwealth nations. A US pint is 16 oz but an Imperial pint is 20 oz (actually 19 and some change). if you want a 12 oz beer go for it. I prefer my beer from a keg in Imperial pint glasses.

For someone with the name ‘more beer please’ you might want to get in on this.

 

[RPh_Guy]

In the UK that’s where. A US pint is 16 oz but an Imperial pint is 20 oz. if you want a 12 oz beer go for it. I prefer my beer from a keg in Imperial pint glasses.

"But officer ... I just had one beer!"

 

[brewbama]

There’s a great story Jamil tells in Brewing Classic Styles:

“I vividly remember one of my first times in a proper British pub. I stepped up to the bar and ordered a pint of bitter. The bartender pulled the pint and set it on the counter. Being the get-it-quick American that I am, I immediately reached over and picked it up. I then heard a loud voice behind me, “Eh, don’t let her screw you like that!” The two chaps standing behind me then began to lambaste the poor lady, “You can’t get away with that. How dare you try to cheat him!” They were upset because they saw that the pint I was holding was about 97 percent beer and 3 percent foam. I could barely keep it from spilling on my shoes as I held it, but they felt the glass was not full. This is a great issue in most British pubs. Many feel that when you pay for a pint of beer, it should be a full pint, with liquid beer all the way to the top of the glass. Getting any foam is considered thievery by the pub. There is even a campaign to fight these “short measures.” Well, it turns out the fault was all mine. The bartender explained to the two men that she had placed the pint on the bar as she was waiting for the head to settle. I just reached over and grabbed it before she was done. Now, so you won’t think me a completely uncouth ape, in this case the difference in position between the pint belonging to the bartender and the pint belonging to the patron is a little more than a hand’s breadth. The two guys admitted that what she said was probably the case and let it drop. However, throughout the evening as we chatted and bought each other pints, I could see they still kept a watchful eye for any short measures.”

 

[Pkrd]

I usually do half batches as I have 2.5G kegs, but I do a few 5G batches of pales and IPA's that I know I'll get through quickly. It's a big step up in weight and it's put my back out hauling the fermenter out to the shed where my ferment chamber lives, so now I half fill the fermenter from the grainfather, and carry the rest out in a bucket.

***

"Do you think you could squeeze a wee dram of whisky into that beer you just poured me?"
Bartender "Certainly sir"
"Then fill it up with beer!"

 

[El Nino]

Thanks for the suggestion, yeah I think I'll go with stainless steel. I'll miss the ability to look at what's going on with the glass carboys though, but one mistake and it's a huge mess you'll have to clean up.

10g batches would be awesome, but I don't have an outdoor area or garage to work in (i live in a 2 bedroom apartment and have to work in the kitchen). I'm limited to 5g's. Wish list is when I finally buy a home I'll build a backyard brewery. Till then...

I do think 5g's could last me a while. I typically only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, and have 1-3 and I'm done. What usually cleans me out is when friends or family come over wanting to sample my stash haha.

 

[bonecitybrewco]

Thanks for the suggestion, yeah I think I'll go with stainless steel. I'll miss the ability to look at what's going on with the glass carboys though, but one mistake and it's a huge mess you'll have to clean up.

10g batches would be awesome, but I don't have an outdoor area or garage to work in (i live in a 2 bedroom apartment and have to work in the kitchen). I'm limited to 5g's. Wish list is when I finally buy a home I'll build a backyard brewery. Till then...

I do think 5g's could last me a while. I typically only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, and have 1-3 and I'm done. What usually cleans me out is when friends or family come over wanting to sample my stash haha.

Milk crates work fantastically well for transporting glass car boys, full or empty. Just wanted to put that out there in case you already have glass carboys.

 

[madscientist451]

Question though, how heavy is a 6.5 gallon carboy? I admit that makes me a little nervous carrying that much liquid at once. Do milk crates work well enough to not worry much at all? Or should I split batch the 5g's into the existing 3 gal carboys I already have?

I have the 6.5 gallon 5 gallon and 3 gallon carboys in both plastic and glass.
The glass is usually only used for aging wine and cider. I ferment wine in my cool basement in the fall and I used to carry the 6.5 gallon glass carboy with 6 gallons of wine juice in it down the steps and worry about dropping it.
There's nothing wrong with dividing the batch and fermenting in two (or more) carboys.
I like the smaller carboys because they are easier to handle and clean.
4 gallon batches are another option, especially if you are stove top brewing in your kitchen. If you have a small chest freezer you can put 2 corny kegs side by side with 4 gallons each and ferment in those. All you have to do is cut off the dip tube and rig up a blow off hose.

 

[brewbama]

Thanks for the suggestion, yeah I think I'll go with stainless steel. I'll miss the ability to look at what's going on with the glass carboys though, but one mistake and it's a huge mess you'll have to clean up.

10g batches would be awesome, but I don't have an outdoor area or garage to work in (i live in a 2 bedroom apartment and have to work in the kitchen). I'm limited to 5g's. Wish list is when I finally buy a home I'll build a backyard brewery. Till then... [emoji6]

I do think 5g's could last me a while. I typically only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, and have 1-3 and I'm done. What usually cleans me out is when friends or family come over wanting to sample my stash haha.

Since you only drink ~ 6 a week I can see than 5 gal would be better for you. I know what you mean about seeing the magic happen. However, there is a manufacturer who makes a small stainless fermenter with a clear inspection port so you can still watch what’s going on.

I lived in apartments as a youngster so I understand the space constraints. ...but brewing can be as compact as you wanna make it. I see so many all spread out in a huge space but my brewery is in a 61” x 31” portion of my laundry room. I use one kettle for a HLT/BK and a blue cooler as a MLT. I have a pump mounted on a 4x4 stand and a RIMS tube for step mashes. The only pieces of brewing equipment not stored in that space is my mill and a couple grain bins which is stored in a closet beside the brewery, and my fermentation and serving fridge.

But this doesn’t have to be dedicated space. Store stuff inside the kettle and MLT, and stack everything up in a pantry or closet beside the kitchen and pull it out on brewday. BIAB would even be a better choice for an apartment dweller in my opinion. One vessel.

A small fridge or two for fermentation/cold crashing/conditioning/lagering stacked in a corner beside a kegerator and you’re in business.

I guess my point is everything is doable when you set your mind to it. Check out Josh Weikert’s brewery. He’s a BJCP Grand Master beer judge, a Certified Cicerone, a paid consultant to award-winning breweries, medaled in every BJCP category and you’ll find his work in several brewing publications. ...and I’ll bet his brewery is smaller than mine:

 

[Soulshine2]

I recommend a ported Fermonster (PET), not glass. And carrying straps.

probably my next brew purchase.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Just to be that guy but where in the world does '1 beer' mean '20 oz'? A beer is 12 oz, a pint is 16, and 20 is what beer drinkers like us use to make it seem like we drink less

Nah - as above, in the UK if you just ask for "a [Beer X]" then an imperial pint is what you get. Partly because British beers are historically around 4%. It's so engrained that the more crafty places get a bit frustrated with people asking for an [imperial] pint of barleywine, and have to suggest that Sir might like a smaller measure - the likes of Cloudwater have even taken to having just one measure for each beer, so you can only get their table beer in pints, the IPA in schooners and a DIPA in halves.

+1 to the idea that there's nothing special about fermenting 5g - it depends what you like to do but splitting batches gives you more ability to experiment with different yeasts, additions, wood treatments etc.

 

[kevin58]

I'm not sure where you are carrying your fermenter to but you don't have to fill it all at once.

I brew in my unattached garage and ferment in my basement. Physical limitations prevent me from lifting much and carrying heavy loads up and down stairs is nearly impossible. So I split the wort coming out of my boil kettle into manageable loads in a clean/sanitized bucket.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I brewed for many years with a glass 6.5 gal carboy as my primary fermenter. It worked well. I only had to move it a few feet from where I filled it to ferment, then lift it once to a stand when I transferred out. I did not use straps (honestly, I see lots of stories about broken straps) but I did use some grip pads when I lifted it (small pads made for gripping jar lids to open).

As would happen, this year I picked up a pair of 3 gal Fermonster fermenters to support 2.5 gal batches and 5 gal batches split into 2 fermenters. I also picked up a small freezer as a fermentation chamber. So happens that I can fit two of the 3 gal fermenters in the freezer, but I cannot fit my 6.5 gal carboy. So I moved to using the two 3 gal fermenters for fermenting my 5 gal batches. It actually works well and it is much easier to lift 2.5 gals of beer at a time vs 5 gals of beer.

 

[carlk47]

I recently started brewing 3gal batches due to wanting to brew more often and more variety but I also will brew a 6 gal batch and split it between 2 fermenters and put it into 2 3gal kegs. One big benefit was having to not lift heavy carboys or kegs anymore lol. Downside is having to clean 2 fermenters and kegs vs one fermenter one keg

 

[Dog House Brew]

I get sick of running out. High gravity specialties are 5g. IPA beers are 11.5g. My favorites are 20g batches. Friends start popping in and 10g batches wouldn’t cut it.
I have no issue with buckets for my small stuff. I use 15g plastic screw tops that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I have 8 of those and they seal for low pressure transfer. I would like to have a couple half barrel kegs for future fermenter builds. Don’t think you can’t produce amazing beer in plastic. Stainless is no doubt where I’d go if I started over.
I guess I drink too much. Last week I went weekends only for a bit. That will save 20 pints. [emoji41]

 

[El Nino]

I recently started brewing 3gal batches due to wanting to brew more often and more variety but I also will brew a 6 gal batch and split it between 2 fermenters and put it into 2 3gal kegs. One big benefit was having to not lift heavy carboys or kegs anymore lol. Downside is having to clean 2 fermenters and kegs vs one fermenter one keg

Yeah I may just start off doing that for now. I already have two 3 gallon carboys and those I've never felt unsafe / nervous carrying those around. Only downside is my fermentor can hold a 6.5 and a 3, OR two 3's (the lower level can't fit both 3 gallon carboys). We'll see Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[El Nino]

I get sick of running out. High gravity specialties are 5g. IPA beers are 11.5g. My favorites are 20g batches. Friends start popping in and 10g batches wouldn’t cut it.
I have no issue with buckets for my small stuff. I use 15g plastic screw tops that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I have 8 of those and they seal for low pressure transfer. I would like to have a couple half barrel kegs for future fermenter builds. Don’t think you can’t produce amazing beer in plastic. Stainless is no doubt where I’d go if I started over.
I guess I drink too much. Last week I went weekends only for a bit. That will save 20 pints. [emoji41]

LOL I hear you man. For some reason with friends / family, when they know I have a stash of homebrew going, this seems to give them the green light to show up with no drinks and drink all of yours. I'm flattered that they like my product but damn, it's not unlimited haha.

Unfortunately I don't have any friends interested in brewing to trade some bottles, just friends who like to drink my stash I did a sneaky batch last time around though, a near 8% IPA, everyone pretty much had 2-3 and was tapping out hahahaha (lot of em are BMC drinkers so higher ABV beers tend to mess them up fast, others are friends I surf with, we tend to not drink too much or it means no surfing the day after)..

 

[moreb33rplz]

View attachment 633189
The imperial pint (≈ 568 ml) is used in the United Kingdom and Ireland and to a limited extent in Commonwealth nations. A US pint is 16 oz but an Imperial pint is 20 oz (actually 19 and some change). if you want a 12 oz beer go for it. I prefer my beer from a keg in Imperial pint glasses.

For someone with the name ‘more beer please’ you might want to get in on this.

Yeah and if you go to an Oktoberfest tent and order a beer you get a liter. And do you not live in Alabama, not the UK?

It doesn't really matter, and fwiw I often drink my beer out of my quart mason jar so no judgement. But for the majority of people if you say a beer it's a can/bottle, and if you're talking about what doctors use to gauge consumption it's a can/bottle of 5% beer.

But I digress with this wet blanket tangent. Drink on! My jar needs a refill.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Yeah and if you go to an Oktoberfest tent and order a beer you get a liter. And do you not live in Alabama, not the UK?

It doesn't really matter, and fwiw I often drink my beer out of my quart mason jar so no judgement. But for the majority of people if you say a beer it's a can/bottle, and if you're talking about what doctors use to gauge consumption it's a can/bottle of 5% beer.

But your question was "where in the world does '1 beer' mean '20 oz'?" and you were given a direct answer to that question.

Also you have to be aware how culturally specific this kind of stuff is, and how narrow one's own experience is. For instance you talk about what "the majority of people" use. Worldwide, the vast majority of beer is sold in countries that use the metric system, so "the majority of people" will buy beer in 500ml containers. And most doctors worldwide will use 10ml units of alcohol, which in the UK they will equate to half an imperial pint of "standard" 4%-ish bitter or Eurolager because that's what people drink here.

You don't state your location in your profile, but just be aware that there's a big difference between "most people" and "most people in my small and probably-atypical-on-a-global-scale community".

 

[brewbama]

Yeah and if you go to an Oktoberfest tent and order a beer you get a liter. And do you not live in Alabama, not the UK?

It doesn't really matter, and fwiw I often drink my beer out of my quart mason jar so no judgement. But for the majority of people if you say a beer it's a can/bottle, and if you're talking about what doctors use to gauge consumption it's a can/bottle of 5% beer.

But I digress with this wet blanket tangent. Drink on! My jar needs a refill.

I do currently live in Huntsville AL. However, I’ve lived in and visited countries all over the globe and have adopted many customs and courtesies from my experiences.

Interesting you mention Oktoberfest. I’ve been three times, along with many other fests during my six years in Europe. But I enjoyed meeting the locals in the many pubs, gasthauses, and hausbrauerie I have visited much more than the crowds, noise, and drunk revelers.

As a reference; the nine brewery pubs here in HSV all offer beer by the pint (16 oz) and half pint (8 oz). I think stronger examples are served at 4 oz but I am unsure because I rarely order them. However, none offer a 12 oz glass of beer at their pubs. We must all be bucking your standard here in the backwaters.

Cheers!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Be aware there could be some state-specific aspects to this. Certainly in the UK the standard national licence conditions (which do allow some local flexibility) used to insist that draught beer was only sold in multiples of 10oz (ie half Imperial pint), although they were amended a few years ago to allow multiples of a third of a pint as well.

Technically it would be a breach of licence to eg do a festival of 4oz pours, although in reality the few festivals that work like that seem to have no problems getting that past their local licensing people.

 

[Pkrd]

We are metric here in NZ. As a pint has no legal standing bars serve them in a variety of smaller sizes.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10633198

 

[El Nino]

Did my first 5g batch and I think I'll stick with splitting the 3g carboys.

Working in the kitchen with limited space, I realied how heavy a 10g kettle + 7 gallons of liquid in it was, when having to place it on the floor to get the bag out of it was lol. I'd hate to lift a glass vessel that was that heavy. However, lifting a full 3 gallon carboy is a cinch.

 

[carlk47]

Did my first 5g batch and I think I'll stick with splitting the 3g carboys.

Working in the kitchen with limited space, I realied how heavy a 10g kettle + 7 gallons of liquid in it was, when having to place it on the floor to get the bag out of it was lol. I'd hate to lift a glass vessel that was that heavy. However, lifting a full 3 gallon carboy is a cinch.

Agreed! I just brewed a 7 gal batch and split into 2 5gal kegs, 3.5 gal per keg to ferment. SO much easier to move than 6 gals in a carboy!