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gwdraper4 said:
I can usually bottle my small batches from start to finish in about 20-25 minutes. It helps to have a small batch bottling bucket with a spigot on it. Read this and see if it helps: http://www.smallbatchhomebrew.com/assets/images/HowToBottle.pdf
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Yep that's how I do it, except I use a siphon and spring loaded bottle filler. Guess I'm just lazy...haha

I just realized I have 5 batches bottled. I was going to make a few batches this weekend, but just realized I might run out of bottles! How many regular homebrewers have thus kind of selection?
 
gwdraper4 said:
About 1 teaspoon will do the trick, which comes out to about 3-4 grams. That's what I use every time unless I making something over 7% ABV, then I'll use a little more.
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Since I mainly use dry yeast and I always use dry yeast on small batches, i have a real accurate scale and use about 2 grams for a 1 gal normal gravity beer and bout 3 Grams for a 1.75 gallon.
 
gwdraper4 said:
About 1 teaspoon will do the trick, which comes out to about 3-4 grams. That's what I use every time unless I making something over 7% ABV, then I'll use a little more.
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x2 I've got a precision food scale, and my dried yeast came out to almost exactly 4 grams per level measuring teaspoon. Since it's kind of a pain, I don't usually bother weighing yeast anymore. I just use the volume conversion of 1 tsp=4 grams.

I did the weight measurement by placing a piece of paper on my food scale, and hitting the "tare" button to zero it. Then added 3 level teaspoons to the scale. The weight read 12 grams. On that extreme end of the scale my food scale is accurate to within 1 gram. So, my sample was between 11 and 13 grams. That makes it between 3.66 and 4.33 grams per tsp.

The paper makes a nice flexible funnel to pour the yeast into a starter, or your primary. This also works well for most other low volume dry ingredients. Measure everything out onto the paper, and then use that to pour it into the jug.


For bottling, I stick sanitized 750ml glass screw top bottles under the tap on the beverage dispenser. Then hit the spigot and fill the bottle. The spigot is to far from the bottom of the dispenser, but it's easy enough to tilt it when you get it mostly empty. I usually use the beverage dispenser as a secondary/bottling bucket instead of a primary. I also bottle pasteurize most of the time.
 
rawkstar320 said:
Has anyone come up with clever ways to bottle you small batches? One gallon isn't allot, but my process takes forever.

Wash bottling bucket, spring filler, tubing, bottles, caps, auto siphon

Rack beer into bucket, add primer

Fill and cap beer

Wash everything again.

I spend more time washing than bottling. Seems like there should be a better way....
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You might try looking into the Tap-A-Draft system. They're perfect for small batches.
 
JeffoC6 said:
I'm tired of hearing all you big boy 5-Gallon brewers telling us 1-Gallon brewers to step up. :D A lot of us brew 1-Gallon batches because that's all we have room for right now, not because we're afraid of stepping up our game. Trust me, if I could, I would, but in the meantime I'm actually really feeling the 1-Gallon game. Here's why:

Brew Day takes me about 3-4 hours, which includes cleanup.

I know one of the main points from 5-Gallon brewers is that "if you brew something amazing, you only have 10 bottles of it." My response- "Yea? So?" If I brew something amazing, chances are I'll brew something else amazing, and then perhaps I'll go back and brew that amazing beer again. And again.

5-Gallon brewers are always so quick to tell me- "Why put all that work in for just 10 beers." I'm not sure about you guys, but I don't consider my brew days as "work." I'm an insurance underwriter by day, but thoroughly enjoy cooking and now, brewing. I love the processes, and feel that it actually calms me. So work? I think not...

And lastly, I love the fact that I always have new things coming out of my pipeline. Yea, I just finished up drinking a really great IPA kit, but as sad as I may be to see it go, I can't wait to crack open my Weinstephaner Dunkel clone next! I'd rather have a few of LOTS of things than 50 of the same thing for 3 weeks.

So to all you big boy 5-Gallon + brewers out there, don't be so quick to hate on us 1-Gallon brewers. While eventually we'll graduate to your status, in the meantime, we're totally feeling what we've got going right now, and it's just as enjoyable for us, as it is for you. :rockin:

*Disclaimer*
This thread is not meant to pick a fight or evoke negativity. It is simply in jest, although, steeped in believed truths
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Cool story bro.
 
Here's how I bottle. I bought a six liter container at Walmart, it's rectangular, thin, like a book sideways, has a handle, and is super easy to fit in the fridge for cold crashing or lagering. I rack into it, and use the spout/faucet on the front to fill each bottle. I worry about oxidation so I pour the beer down the side of the wall. And then I cap it. Maybe fifteen seconds a bottle.
 
jwalk4 said:
Just want to double check with you guys, I can't seem to find a definitive answer. How much yeast do you usually pitch for one gallon?

3-4 grams?
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I like using liquid yeast as it expands the style range. The White Lab vials are great. 1/4 of the vial to a 1 gallon batch is fermenting quite well in 12 hours or less. You can recap and store the remainder, just be careful to fully resuspend the yeast pellet before pouring off or you won't be adding the amount you think you are adding. As for shelf life, the tubes have a "best before" date that should be about 2 months away if your LHBS has decent turn-over. I've used them right up to that date without problems.
 
Hi all, I want to start to brew 1 gallons (imperial = 4L) for my test batches. I have so many recipe ideas that if I make 5 gallons each time I would need 3 rooms to put all those carboy. I wonder what I need to get started and make my 4L batches each week. (I bottle in 500ml bottles). So I started to convert most of my recipe from 20L to 4L. Thanks for your help!
 
ReverseApacheMaster said:
I do tons of one gallon batches and a few 2-3 gallon batches. I have a lot of recipes that need the kinks worked out of them so there's no point in having more than 10 mediocre beers sitting around. When I have a good recipe or clone to brew I normally do 3 or 5 gallons and let it add to my reserve. Honestly if I brewed five gallon batches all the time there would be too much beer in the house and I would either have to stop brewing for a long time or drink the same handful of beers for a year or so. I like variety but I don't hang out with enough beer geeks to give away that much beer.
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Amen! I have the same reasoning + the fact I can't drink more than 2-3 beers a week due to doctor's advise (A previous physician told me I could not drink anymore, so I switched to a new beer loving one).

I'm gearing up toward 2.5 gal so I can use half cornies and bottle as needed.
 
For those who have White lab vials leftover. They are great to keep your slurry in and use on your next 1 gallon recipe. Mr. Malty usually says 17ml of slurry, up to a month old, for normal OG 1 gallon beers. The white labs vial is 35ml. I use a whole vial of slurry for my 1 gallon brews. If I feel the vial may be to old, I just make a small starter to bring bag the yeast count. Take off the wort before pitching.

Using slurry will make your beers taste even better.
 
SimonPascal said:
I wonder what I need to get started and make my 4L batches each week.
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If you are already brewing on a larger scale, the list is probably only the following:

1) the smaller fermentation vessel. I use:

http://www.naturalwanderings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Empty-apple-juice-jug.jpg

from a local grocery store. If you don't like apple juice, then that might not be as win-win as it was for me.

2) Smaller sized rubber stoppers. #7 fits 5 gallon glass carboys. #6 fits my 1-gallon jugs. If you can bring the jug with you to size them right, that will be best.

3) a kitchen scale that can weigh out the much smaller masses of hops. You may find yourself trying to accurately measure out only 3 or 4 grams of hops sometimes, so it needs to be sensitive and accurate.

I have been using this one, which is okay, but its accuracy is probably +/- 1 gram, so I'm not completely happy with it:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N0D7GA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anyone make yeast starters for 1 gallon batches? Do you scale your water? DME? etc? for the smaller amount of yeast or smaller fermenter?
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here that might be helpful is the use of a foam control agent (aka Fermcap) in the fermenter. It helps keep the krausen in check and may eliminate the need for a blow off tube.
 
jwalk4 said:
Anyone make yeast starters for 1 gallon batches? Do you scale your water? DME? etc? for the smaller amount of yeast or smaller fermenter?
Click to expand...

It's really not needed. The only time I have made a starter for 1 gallon batch is when my washed yeast was over 4 months old.
 
SimonPascal said:
I'm starting to brew 1 gallons this week. Just need to make my recipe.
Click to expand...

I took all of my recipes in my brewing software and scaled them to 1.5 gal( the size I brew) and then if I want to brew a larger amount of something I can just multiply it by what whatever whole number gets me there. So I can brew from my recipes 1.5 gal 3,4.5,6 ect. Without scaling.
 
mb82 said:
I took all of my recipes in my brewing software and scaled them to 1.5 gal( the size I brew) and then if I want to brew a larger amount of something I can just multiply it by what whatever whole number gets me there. So I can brew from my recipes 1.5 gal 3,4.5,6 ect. Without scaling.
Click to expand...

I have 2 recipes that I like and want to make a few more than that. So I am building a "test" recipe, just don't know what style yet.
 
mb82 said:
I took all of my recipes in my brewing software and scaled them to 1.5 gal( the size I brew) and then if I want to brew a larger amount of something I can just multiply it by what whatever whole number gets me there. So I can brew from my recipes 1.5 gal 3,4.5,6 ect. Without scaling.
Click to expand...

Great idea!
 
mb82 said:
I took all of my recipes in my brewing software and scaled them to 1.5 gal( the size I brew) and then if I want to brew a larger amount of something I can just multiply it by what whatever whole number gets me there. So I can brew from my recipes 1.5 gal 3,4.5,6 ect. Without scaling.
Click to expand...

I use brewmate.
 
I brewed NB's Dead Ringer IPA earlier today. The recipe called to boil 1.25 gallons of water. I wasn't sure how my electric stove would do since this was the first time I was using it to brew, so I just went with a 1 gallon boil. Luckily for me, I remember to mark off my bucket and noticed I was a bit short of the 1 gallon mark......a quart shy, so I had to top off. LOL!.
 
mb82 said:
I took all of my recipes in my brewing software and scaled them to 1.5 gal( the size I brew) and then if I want to brew a larger amount of something I can just multiply it by what whatever whole number gets me there. So I can brew from my recipes 1.5 gal 3,4.5,6 ect. Without scaling.
Click to expand...

Exactly! That's how I did it.
 
rawkstar320 said:
Yep that's how I do it, except I use a siphon and spring loaded bottle filler. Guess I'm just lazy...haha

I just realized I have 5 batches bottled. I was going to make a few batches this weekend, but just realized I might run out of bottles! How many regular homebrewers have thus kind of selection?
Click to expand...

+1 to 5 batches bottled. I love having the variety small batch brewing provides, plus I get my fix every week with a new creation!
 
gwdraper4 said:
+1 to 5 batches bottled. I love having the variety small batch brewing provides, plus I get my fix every week with a new creation!
Click to expand...

Me too! Here's a mini stout batch waiting to be bottled. LINK

image-2886623942.jpg
 
LabRatBrewer said:
What type of bottle is that? It looks cool
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Picked up at tap plastics. They are food grade and inexpensive. Full volume is 2.6 gallons LINK
 
I currently have 6 batches bottled, if you count the applejack. Plus 2 leftover partials from older batches.

Woot, for variety.
 
The second ingredient in Nutella is Palm Oil..... which is a lipid and will more than likely completely kill any chance of head retention! It may be tasty but aesthetically awful! If you want to get the flavors from Nutella. I would suggest taking the Nutella and cooking it down first and then putting it in the chill chest. Once it is chilled, skim the fat that solidifies off the top. Then go abouts your brew day and use the modified lipid free Nutella!

ForumRunner_20121007_114110.jpg


ForumRunner_20121007_114147.jpg
 
2ned-up said:
The second ingredient in Nutella is Palm Oil..... which is a lipid and will more than likely completely kill any chance of head retention! It may be tasty but aesthetically awful! If you want to get the flavors from Nutella. I would suggest taking the Nutella and cooking it down first and then putting it in the chill chest. Once it is chilled, skim the fat that solidifies off the top. Then go abouts your brew day and use the modified lipid free Nutella!
Click to expand...

Cocoa powder! I can only tell you that.
 
Perhaps you might want to consider that James Spencer, probably is doing it "correctly" whatever way he's doing it? I've found a lot of times the "theory" that doing "x" is going to affect head retention tends not to actually occur, like so many folks are so sure it will. I've used tortilla chips, and chocolate, in the mash tun and have had perfect head in those beers.

If you're really curious, then why don't you actually check on the basic brewing site, and see if he posted a video, or email him, or write to him on facebook.

Folks on here have managed to make peanut butter beers, with really peanut butter, and have had fine head.
 
I tried nutella for the first time today. Yummy yum. I'm going to have to do something with it...
 
Revvy said:
Perhaps you might want to consider that James Spencer, probably is doing it "correctly" whatever way he's doing it? I've found a lot of times the "theory" that doing "x" is going to affect head retention tends not to actually occur, like so many folks are so sure it will. I've used tortilla chips, and chocolate, in the mash tun and have had perfect head in those beers.

If you're really curious, then why don't you actually check on the basic brewing site, and see if he posted a video, or email him, or write to him on facebook.

Folks on here have managed to make peanut butter beers, with really peanut butter, and have had fine head.
Click to expand...

Very true, plus in a one gallon batch - what do you have to lose? :)
 
rawkstar320 said:
Very true, plus in a one gallon batch - what do you have to lose? :)
Click to expand...

One gallon is nearly a lab test size. I brewed a common bitter, with fuggle in first wort hopping. East Kent golding in my boil. One thing is: I lost nearly 50% of my water in my 60 min boil. What did I do wrong?
 
SimonPascal said:
One gallon is nearly a lab test size. I brewed a common bitter, with fuggle in first wort hopping. East Kent golding in my boil. One thing is: I lost nearly 50% of my water in my 60 min boil. What did I do wrong?
Click to expand...

This is common...I boil from 2.2 gallons down to 1.05 gallons. Though it takes me anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours to do that. I'm guessing its your pot size or the intensity of the boil
 

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