1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

BigRock947 said:

I won't disagree that the thickness of the pot can contribute but the amount of water and pounds of grains of 5 gallons vs 1 gallons is probably a huge factor too.

EDIT: My first 1 gallon batch I had a brain fart moment. I tried to brew exactly like do 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon batches. I was having trouble figuring out why my temps weren't holding. Duh. Not the same amount of mass.

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That's a good point too.... Lol I never thought about the amount of water I just had a duh moment!

Another good thing just happened as a result of my small batches lately. Brewed a new CDA recipe and found it was a little too harsh so I'm going to change it up. Only had a few bottles to worry about. Also did a test SMASH of HBC342 and I really can't see this hop in any of my beers yet. So, again I don't have to worry too much. I did a farmhouse ale small batch and it was frigging fantastic! it was grapefruit deliciousness citrusy, just enough bitter man it was great so I gotta get going on a bigger batch of that!

Okay gang, I'm looking for some opinions on what to do about bottling my IPA tomorrow.

Its been 3 1/2 weeks in the primary and pretty clear. Lately, my bottles haven't been carbing up like I've wanted. Mostly because the hottest point in the house right now is 67F (a little low, I know), so they are just taking a little longer than 4 weeks.

With this batch, along with the priming sugar, I was thinking about throwing in some fresh yeast (like a gram or so) just to make sure I get a healthy carb and let it sit for 4 weeks or more. Or, should I just be patient?

I vote for patience.

Also, to top of the fridge is usually the warmest place in the house.

Im all for waiting....I find my bathroom is the warmest place if i want some thing to be carbed faster i put a 6 pack in the vanity for a couple weeks

Okay, thanks for the input!

I brewed an Irish red yesterday with the wife's help since I can't lift right now. The airlock had a few bubbles last night before bedtime. Wake up this morning and I see my first blowout! Had to quickly set up my extra airlock as a blow off. I can hear the bucket glurging along nicely now.

Brewed a one gallon batch of blonde ale that I rally liked a few months back, so since I have this empty Mr Beer keg just sitting there I'm brewing a 2 gallon batch! This will be a change of pace cause I hasn't brewed anything bigger than one gallon yet. (Mr beer recipes don't count). I should have pics up on my blog soon.

Can anyone tell me if Centennial and Willamette work well together? Doing a 1 gallon batch and want to use some open hops. I also have Styrian G and Northern Brewer and Columbus open as well if those work better? Thanks.

2.4 lbsAmerican 2-row
0.35 lbs2-Row Caramel Malt 40L
0.2 lbsVienna Malt
0.2 ozCentennial - boiled 60 min
0.1 ozCentennial - boiled 30 min
0.2 oz Willamette -boiled 15 min
0.1 oz Willamette -boiled 5 mins

S-04 yeast

I would switch the hops up. use the Willamette earlier and the centennial later.

Thats personal preference i love centennial

Two more questions for the brain-trust:

First - how important is mash-out for our one-gallon brews? I have an electric stove, and hitting specific temperature ranges can be tricky. I've read a few things here and there that suggest that holding the original mash temp for the duration is enough, especially for smaller batches but I wanted to get some fresh opinions on the matter.

Also in regards to temperature - the coolest spot in my house that I can find to ferment is right around 72F. Knowing that fermentation can often raise the wort temp up to 5-10 degrees, I'm considering constructing a small swamp cooler. I'm curious to know though approximately how much of a drop in temp I can expect from one, and how long I would need to keep it running. From what I've seen on other threads, higher fermentation temps are only really an issue during the first 3-4 days of fermentation.

And that's it (for now, lol). Thanks again folks!

Battlegoat

I dont know if you can get a straight answer on mash out. since i biab i do a mash out because i keep grains in to 170 then take bag out. doesnt add any extra work.

You dont need a big swamp cooler since the volume is only 1 gallon.

The best thing you can do is by a used dorm fridge for ferm chamber.
I can ferment three batches at one time in dorm fridge. i live by two colleges and at the end of a semester you can pick them up cheap.

@flipfloptan: Yeah, I'll be BIAB'ing too. I'm not so much worried about there being an extra step as I am potentially overshooting the mash-out temp and getting into temperatures that can start to pull out undesireable compounds, you know?

As far as swamp cooling vs. dom fridge - unfortunately, I'm brewing in a day or two, and the budget (both money and space) doesn't allow me to pick one up. However, I do have a plastic bin, water, and a fan, which is why I'm curious about the swamp cooler technique. A dorm fridge *may* be in the cards eventually, but for now I'm thinking as small as possible. Thanks for the ideas though. :rockin:

BattleGoat said:

@flipfloptan: Yeah, I'll be BIAB'ing too. I'm not so much worried about there being an extra step as I am potentially overshooting the mash-out temp and getting into temperatures that can start to pull out undesireable compounds, you know?

As far as swamp cooling vs. dom fridge - unfortunately, I'm brewing in a day or two, and the budget (both money and space) doesn't allow me to pick one up. However, I do have a plastic bin, water, and a fan, which is why I'm curious about the swamp cooler technique. A dorm fridge *may* be in the cards eventually, but for now I'm thinking as small as possible. Thanks for the ideas though. :rockin:

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You'll be ok with mashing out. Just watch the temp. Don't leave to get another beer. (Not that I would know anything about that.) I set my thermometer alarm for 165. Once is rings I set the stove to low for 10 minutes. That is my mash out. NO problems since I learned from the above mistake.

Letting the grains hit 170 does help extract more liquid when I squeeze the bag. IMHO.

You would be surprised how cheap you can get a dorm fridge. I paid $15 for my last one. The kid wanted $50 but I said no. After he tried to get the fridge in his car for 25 minutes to no avail he took my $15.

cheesecake said:

I would switch the hops up. use the Willamette earlier and the centennial later.

Thats personal preference i love centennial

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+1 on the switch.

Good tips on the mashing out. I suppose I'll give it a go and see what happens.

Re: swamp cooling vs. dorm fridging - like I said, I have neither the money nor the space for a dom fridge at the moment, which is why I'm so curious about the swamp cooler idea. I don't doubt that a small fridge would be great, but it simply isn't in the cards right now.

I think I have a problem......I spent too much money on specialty grains today. I bought every grain needed to brew everything in my 1 gallon batch section in beersmith.




I did some transfering and bottling today transferred galaxy SMaSH. Bottled northern brewer black ipa kit. I will be bottling my citra smash tomorrow.

BattleGoat said:

Good tips on the mashing out. I suppose I'll give it a go and see what happens.

Re: swamp cooling vs. dorm fridging - like I said, I have neither the money nor the space for a dom fridge at the moment, which is why I'm so curious about the swamp cooler idea. I don't doubt that a small fridge would be great, but it simply isn't in the cards right now.

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I've set my fermentor in a tub of water with a towel or t shirt over it and the temperature drops 5 degrees or so. Add a fan blowing and it'll drop 10 degrees lower than room temperature.

Hope this makes sense i'm on my 3rd home brew

cheesecake said:

I think I have a problem......I spent too much money on specialty grains today. I bought every grain needed to brew everything in my 1 gallon batch section in beersmith.

View attachment 84433


I did some transfering and bottling today transferred galaxy SMaSH. Bottled northern brewer black ipa kit. I will be bottling my citra smash tomorrow.

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That's a Good problem. I need to go to the LHBS and get some grains for some brews.

cheesecake said:

I think I have a problem......I spent too much money on specialty grains today. I bought every grain needed to brew everything in my 1 gallon batch section in beersmith.

View attachment 84433


I did some transfering and bottling today transferred galaxy SMaSH. Bottled northern brewer black ipa kit. I will be bottling my citra smash tomorrow.

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Your right, you do have a problem.....










Your shelf is bending in the middle.

Roasting pumpkin for a pumpkin porter!!!

bmwmunk said:

Roasting pumpkin for a pumpkin porter!!!

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I'm totally jealous... I need to brew a pumpkin ale

cheesecake said:

I think I have a problem......I spent too much money on specialty grains today. I bought every grain needed to brew everything in my 1 gallon batch section in beersmith.

I did some transfering and bottling today transferred galaxy SMaSH. Bottled northern brewer black ipa kit. I will be bottling my citra smash tomorrow.

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That's what my freezer looks like with hops!! Lol I went out and bought a little of almost every hop so I could try them. Dang this hobby is addictive! I think I'll have a homebrew.

BTW, cheesecake, I think you may have to reinforce your shelf soon... I don't think it's made to carry that much grains! Lol

The shelf was bent when I moved in....its just not installed properly its not level. It's a shame the maintenance guy has the uneven shelf in his apartment. The 2 buckets below one is 25 lbs of 2 row and the other is 10 or pilsner and 10 of marris otter

Pumpkin in the mash with vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, cloves and mulling spices.

Im brewing tomorrow after noon probably about 1 cst if anyone is interested i could do a little brew cast.

I still have to build some sort of mount for my grain mill so it may be a bit later. Hopefully brewing 2 batches if the mill setup doesnt take to long. also going to use my new mash tun for the first time...

cheesecake said:

Im brewing tomorrow after noon probably about 1 cst if anyone is interested i could do a little brew cast.

I still have to build some sort of mount for my grain mill so it may be a bit later. Hopefully brewing 2 batches if the mill setup doesnt take to long. also going to use my new mash tun for the first time...

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Sure, how does that work? I'll be bottling around that time but I can easily multitask... Let me know how it works.

We'll see how many come into work and the list of chores I'm given to do, haha.

it's brew day at my house... started at 10 am. making a pretty standard pale ale, but the house smells amazing.

so, i will be watching the nfl, keeping an eye on FFL, and brewing beer.

perhaps (just perhaps) i may consume a home brew, or two, also.

is this living, or what?

dadshomebrewing said:

it's brew day at my house... started at 10 am. making a pretty standard pale ale, but the house smells amazing.

so, i will be watching the nfl, keeping an eye on FFL, and brewing beer.

perhaps (just perhaps) i may consume a home brew, or two, also.

is this living, or what?

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So if you're a Bears fan, who would you rather see win, Lions? Or, Packers?

And a tie doesn't count, that's already my answer.

jwalk4 said:

So if you're a Bears fan, who would you rather see win, Lions? Or, Packers?

And a tie doesn't count, that's already my answer.

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I think that would depend on who's on your fantasy team.

Rodgers is my QB... i'm hoping he has a good week, and the packers lose big time.

I'm a Bear's fan. It's against "the code" for me EVER to root for the Pack

btw... brew box came out at 10:06... dishes done, and sitting down for lunch at 1:06... hit my target OG right on the number

small batches, and extract brewing, certainly make this much more convenient and "planable".

mama should be home in about 30 minutes, and I can go do whatever she wants, and i've got a carboy going in the corner.

Wake up im brewing


http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cheescake

brewday sucked today. i started brewcasting no one came in but other then that i had spilled some wort from the mash tun causing my gravity to come in a bit low because i had to make up for it with more water. I have a crap ton of cold break in my fermenter i forgot i used whirlfloc and now it looks funny but im annoyed with all the trub. I Think im going to start aiming for 1.25 gallons of finished beer and transfer off the top of the kettle so i can leave the trub behind.

Sorry to hear it man. I tried to check in on ya but that UStream site hates my computer. I'll raise (another) pint to your efforts, though.

I scaled everything up so now ill just transfer the clear wort in. I have a list of brews so ill be brewing any chance i can. hopefully my temp controller stuff arives soon so i can get those built and actually be able to lager

cheesecake said:

I scaled everything up so now ill just transfer the clear wort in. I have a list of brews so ill be brewing any chance i can. hopefully my temp controller stuff arives soon so i can get those built and actually be able to lager

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I was doing cellar inventory and cleaning a mountain of dirty fermenters out else I would have been there. You were off by the time I saw the post. I just bumped everything to 1.1 gal batches, but maybe 1.25 would be better.

i got off when i spilled my precious wort =( if this thread had some action i would have signed back in

Yeah work kept me busy.