brewing small batches

Hey All-

So, I have an idea for a radical brew, and I don't necessarily want to brew a 5 gallon batch of experimental brew that may not be good. I would like to make one gallon batches.

How should I go about doing this? Should I just formulate a 5 gallon batch in Beer Smith and scale it down to 1 gal?

Thanks for any and all help!

Yes, that would work. You could still use a whole package of yeast, though.

Hops cannot be scaled in the same linear fashion as grain and water. There are lots of complicated reasons why this is so, primarily related to boil dynamics. Also note that you'll have to watch boil-off really, really carefully.

I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with Yooper, tho - you should always pitch the appropriate amount of yeast. That might not mean a full package of yeast. Check the pitching calculator on Mr Malty to determine the proper pitching rate.

Cheers,

Bob

Llama said:

Should I just formulate a 5 gallon batch in Beer Smith and scale it down to 1 gal?

Click to expand...

Why not just formulate it as a 1 gallon batch to begin with. BeerSmith will handle any amount and do the math for you. I do 2 1/2 to 3 gallon batches and use a full pack of yeast, but (depending on the gravity) that may be a bit much for only one gallon.