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DilvishTheDamned

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Does anybody do small, all grain batches, in the 1 gallon range, to try out various recipes? I'm wondering if there's anything special about doing this sort of thing, or any equipment requirements, beyond a ton of small glass jugs. I hate to brew a big 5 gallon batch, along with all the other large beer keggle calisthenics, only to have the recipe turn out bad. Seems like a small batch could easily be done on a stove, with normal cookware.
 
It's being done. Still a similar amount of work but doable.

Most just figure if a mash is 60 minutes (doesn;t have to be) and a boil is 60 minutes (some debate there too) then why not make 5 or 10 gallons in the same amount of time and effort.

I always do the simple recipes in 1 gallons. Meads and ciders specifically.
 
yup every tuesday...
If i like it i scale up if i dont i tweak and brew it again average cost is 6-8 bucks for a bomber and a 12 pack of finished product.
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It's being done. Still a similar amount of work but doable.

Most just figure if a mash is 60 minutes (doesn;t have to be) and a boil is 60 minutes (some debate there too) then why not make 5 or 10 gallons in the same amount of time and effort.

I always do the simple recipes in 1 gallons. Meads and ciders specifically.

Well in my case I've got 4 burners on my stove, and only two turkey frier type burners. So it seems I can a least double the amount produced for the same amount of effort. I also have a nice set of lights in the kitchen, it's harder to brew in my yard after dark. Then there's the difference in cost, ie $25-35 per batch vs $5-10.

Part of the reason I ask is I keep hearing about some really out there beers, like peanut butter and the like where you sorta have to wing it to get the right combos. It's one thing when you're tweaking an established style, something else when you're out in the middle of nowhere stylistically.....
 
I do small 2 gal. batches all the time. I've moved on to a H-M cooler mash tun recently, but I used to do it all stovetop (method I got from this forum by contributor Death). I'd usually get around 60% eff. though, hence the change to the mashtun(closer to 80% eff).

I like brewing in small quantities. Lets me try out a wider range of styles. For a 2 gal. batch, I end up with around 14-16 500mL bottles. Perfect to try out and give a few away.
 
My first attempt at brewing was a 1 gallon all grain. I basically, without having read it first, did the easy stove top all grain method mentioned on this site. Lots of mistakes since it was my first time and it still turned out fantastic. I have made a temporary switch to extracts though until I can refine my methods and get more appropriate equipment.

I'm with you though, scares the crap out of my making 5 gallons and not knowing what it's gonna be like. However as more batches come of the line tasting great I'm getting less and less scared.
 
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