Choosing a batch size

Decided by vessels, by cold storage and, for a fermented product, by a clock you do not control.

What sets the ceiling

Vessel capacity, and whether you can move it. Water is a kilogram a liter and a 100 liter batch is not liftable.

Chilling capacity, if the product has to come down in temperature quickly, which is frequently the real constraint.

Filling speed, because a carbonated or live product should not stand warm while you work through it.

And cold storage for the finished goods, which for a refrigerated product is the constraint that decides the whole business.

Fermentation sets its own pace

A fermented batch is ready when it is ready, not when you are, and the time varies with temperature and with the culture.

Which makes scheduling different from every other property here: you cannot make more by working longer, only by running more vessels.

So capacity is vessel count times turnaround, and both are worth measuring before promising anybody a volume.

A practical number

Twenty to fifty liters for a hand operation: enough to fill a meaningful number of bottles and small enough to chill, move and fill promptly.

Scale by running more vessels in parallel rather than one larger one, at least until the filling method changes.

Batch size and testing

Every batch needs pH and Brix at minimum, and a fermented one needs them through the ferment rather than at the end.

Retain bottles from every batch: some refrigerated, and some deliberately held warm, because the warm ones are the only evidence about the two thresholds and about pressure.

Three bottles a batch is a real cost in a small run and it is the cheapest insurance in this property.

References