I have been brewing many more small (2.5 to 3 gallon) batches lately. It’s a great way to test out new styles–if I don’t like it I’m not stuck with 5 gallons. This has long been my favored format with high gravity beer, too; I don’t necessarily want 5 gallons of a 10% abv brew. I can manage well in my Anvil Foundry 10.5, but it’s a bit of a pain to navigate at smaller batches. The volumetric markings don’t go low enough to measure quickly, and a small mash can end up pretty thick within the brew basket. So, I decided that it was time to splurge a bit and add the Foundry 6.5 to my brewing setup. It is designed for smaller volumes, while also carrying over features like 220v brewing.

The form factor on the Foundry 6.5 is best described as “adorable.” It’s super compact and really easy to handle and clean compared to the Foundry 10.5. It was nice that I could reach so easily to the bottom on this one, which made the already easy cleanup on the Foundry a breeze.

Running at 220v, heating speeds were zippy, and the boil was vigorous. I had to turn it down to around 72% power to avoid too much loss to evaporation. My pump, which I also use with the 10.5 also, works great with the 6.5. The one change is that I had to use tubing of slightly different lengths; a mild annoyance, but at least I didn’t have to buy new tubes. I really like that I didn’t have to buy another recirculation kit.

With smaller batch volumes, I’ve noted that my brew days are definitely shorter; perhaps around 4 hours start to finish versus 5 hours with the 10.5. I could make it a bit shorter if I had colder water for the chiller, but it definitely feels like a more compact brew day overall.

In short, I’ve been having fun with this. The Foundry 10.5 does a great job for 5 gallon batches, but the 6.5 can’t be beat for 2.5 or 3 gallon batches! If you are planning to do only small gallon brews, or you want to extend your brew capabilities, the Anvil Foundry 6.5 has my enthusiastic endorsement.