Fermentation question

I’m transitioning to all grain from extract and was thinking of doing some smaller 1 or 2 gallon brews to start. Can I ferment in my 5 gallon equipment or should I buy smaller carboys for these smaller batches? Will the extra air in the 5 gallon container have an impact?

Thanks in advance.

Probably not if you aren’t planning on aging your beer for more than a couple of weeks. I’ve fermented small batches in large containers with no noted adverse effects.

If you’re going to stick to this batch size and or plan to age beer longer I would definitely invest in some smaller containers (clear 1 gal jugs are like 5$ a piece)

You can definitely do a primary in a bigger vessel. As JulienHuxley said, just transfer it once fermentation is complete. With all-grain, you may find that 1gal is too small for the amount of effort involved. I would usually go at least 3gal. Unless you are doing Brew-in-a-bag, you may have issues doing 1gal mashes in a larger vessel.

Originally posted by skinnyguy
You can definitely do a primary in a bigger vessel. As JulienHuxley said, just transfer it once fermentation is complete. With all-grain, you may find that 1gal is too small for the amount of effort involved. I would usually go at least 3gal. Unless you are doing Brew-in-a-bag, you may have issues doing 1gal mashes in a larger vessel.

Thanks for the comments. The thoughts on smaller batches was for recipe experimentation. My last 5 gallon batch was horrible and I wouldn’t feel as bad dumping a smaller batch until I get the recipe down.