pros and cons of 1 gallon cider batches...

As I was sitting and finishing off the last of my first 1 gallon batch I thought "damn, wish I had more of that". But tonight trying out my second 1 gallon batch I thought "glad I'm only pouring 1 gallon of this down the drain... "

I'm not sure if it was the spices I added before the fermentation or an infection of some sort but that was the worst tasting thing I've ever come in contact with... The best description I can give is burning styrofoam and bleach...

On a brighter note, my cran-apple cider looks to be done and the test sample was very very tasty.

I feel the same way. I put together 1 gallon of Hansen's, 1 cup maple syrup and 1 cup light brown sugar with Vinter's Harvest yeast. It's delicious. I'm getting ready to do 3 gallons soon.

Con: "damn, wish I had more of that"

Get the saniation problem fixed! Proper sanitation is easy. When you're confident in your sanitation practices, you won't be afraid of pouring anything down the drain.

after thinking about it I think it may have been the cloves in the bad batch... it had a rancid clove taste to it... if you've ever just chewed on a couple whole cloves you know what i'm talking about... except worse..

Pro: I'm glad I'm only dumping 1 gallon.
Con: I wish I had more.

If I were you I'd use 1 gallon batches to play around with ideas. Once you know it's ok then make a bigger batch. If you have faith that the batch is going to be good, then make a bigger batch from the start. If you're playing with different ideas, make a 1 gallon batch.

Also, try aging stuff for a while. Sometimes bad or off flavors will subside with some aging. If if still isn't good, then dump it. Or see if it is ok to blend with something that is good. Sometimes spices can be overbearing. If you age it out and then blend with something that isn't spiced, it might be better.

Just a few things to try. Hopefully this helps.

I use 1 gallon batches for an experiment or a really whacky brew. If it's good then I immediately scale up to 5 gal or if it's a bit dodgy I only have to suffer through drinking a few long necks of it I've only ever dumped one batch and that was a chocolate cider. I used stressed out yeast from my mead so it turned out really, really, horribly, disgusting.

I always have the same dilemma..with beer too...though are there differences between the quality of 1 gallon or 5 gallon batches or bigger ? There must be some differences less surface area and more difficulty to shock or stress the yeast on a scale up for example.

@Gordand: I think it really depends on a lot of factors. I think if you're going to bottle, bulk aging the 5 gallons are going to give you a more consistant product then a bulk aged 1 gallon. Not 100% sure though. May have to do a side by side comparison and see if I notice any differences. Aging sur lee (on the yeast cake) might add more notes faster to the 1 gallon batch. Less volume to flavor and all.

I might do some more 1 gallon batches in the future if I ever get some crazy whims. Or if I just want to make certain flavors for people for gifts. I'm sure I'll wind up doing to crazy concoctions first. That's the great part about all this. Having the freedom to brew any flavor combo you want.

If you're making cider from apple juice, you are putting together one of the easiest home brews around, it's just simple as anything compared to even partial mash beers, so there's no excuse for not taking the time to properly sanitize, even if it quite boring.

I work in 1 gallon batches, but I've always got another on before the last one is ready

RobWalker said:

I work in 1 gallon batches, but I've always got another on before the last one is ready

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Right on! . . . I neeeeeed more bottles and Grolsch is horrible - so I will do the same, but gottta have a place to put it I've been checking at our recycling, but I think we have a lot of folks doing that.

We're getting off topic but weejub whats this fascination with swing tops then ?

I imagine it's because they are easy to fill and cap. I've thought about going that route too. No need to worry about picking up caps and a capper. No need to sit there capping every bottle. Just swing the top on top, secure it down and done.

As for the getting a bunch of 1 gallon jugs to ferment in... I'm not sure how that would go over with SWMBO. The look on her face when she came home the other day. I had just finished up 5 gal apfelwien, 5 gal skeeter pee, 5 gal graff, and 3 gal mead, plus I had 3 gal of a double apple cider aging on oak in another carboy. All were in/around the kitchen. Needless to say a couple fermenting buckets and a few carboys aren't her idea of house decorations. I guess if I did just stock up on airlocks and bungs I could clear out the linen closet and put a bunch of 1 gal batches in there...

1 GAL is annoying if you have a lot of lees and stuff on the bottom - you end up losing a deal of liquid which is a lot for something small like a 1gallon.

bpm2000 said:

1 GAL is annoying if you have a lot of lees and stuff on the bottom - you end up losing a deal of liquid which is a lot for something small like a 1gallon.

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i usually filter just after fermentation is complete and put it back in the same vessel - gets all the rubbish out and saves muchos liquid

Gordond said:

We're getting off topic but weejub whats this fascination with swing tops then ?

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just easy capping, change the seal every few thousand years and they keep at it, 750 ml belgian beer bottles are great, good old belgium- the 'french' fry, great beer and..... um...

Ok swing tops look great, are resealable if you don't finish them (reading through here though don't think you guys have much of that problem with that)....but their intial costs put me off a bit and I've got some worries looking at the pasteurization sticky that there are some problems there too.

Anyway each to his own and I'll stick to my crown tops for the moment..I have enough problems getting the cider right !