Batch Management - How do you manage your batches for container volume?

Question

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 rather have a litte extra to hold off to the side for sampling and for topping off at a later date if needed.

I have a few or several of each 7, 6.5, 6, 5, 3 and 1 gallons, and for my "make up" or extra, I have 1 gallons, 3 liters, half gallons and quart jars (kambucha jars)

My 5 gallon carboys are the target finishing size of most of my batches, the larger carboys are for primary and secondary active fermentations. and the 3 gallons and 1 gallons either being for split batches or experimental batches.

Answer 1

A couple years ago, I was experimenting with a melomel recipe and got two small 3-gallon plastic fermenters. After the initial fermentation was done, I racked those into 1-gallon glass jugs that I'd kept from store-bought (unfermented) cider.

Otherwise, I generally start my mead batches at around 5-6 gallons in the fermenter. I use plastic big-bucket style fermenters, as they're easier to get into for cleaning purposes, and the initial fermenting can be much messier than later stages. Then I rack into 5-gallon glass carboys. If I have too much mead, the extra becomes what I sample and taste. If there's not enough to fill the carboy, I don't backfill with water. Never have, never occurred to me to do so, and I've never yet had a batch go funny on me. But then again this is mead, and my ABVs have been 13%-16%. Other brews might require that there be less headspace in the carboy.

I was recently gifted two larger 6-gallon carboys, so I might make slightly larger batches to go in those two.