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AZCoolerBrewer said:
Sounds good Dean. It has been a little warm here eh? If you toss in a small lunch box ice pack about twice a day it will bring down the temp about 10 degrees, which is good for right now. When it was still warm and we had our AC at 80 I would put in a chunkier ice pack to bring the temp down to 63-67 at the most active part of fermentation. After things slow down I try to keep temps around 70.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I bought some of those ice packs, so I think I will put a couple in the styrofoam cooler, around the jug....cool it down a little from 74.
 
I brewed the chocolate stout out of Beer Craft 11 days ago and I was curious to see how it was going and to use my new refractometer.

So I think I got a stuck fermentation. Or maybe I don't know how to use my new refractometer. I made sure it was calibrated using distilled water.

Then I used the calculator on Northern Brewer. I used a hydrometer to get my OG which was 1.065 (before I had a refractometer), so the caluculator told me it was 16 Brix. Tested a sample last night and it was down to 14 Brix. Which gives me a current gravity of 1.05. Plugging that in, my ABV is only 0.833 and my OG is at 1.059. Wasn't sure what to do, and I had had a few, so I just pictched another tsp of yeast. Hoping this helps.

I know I tested it a little early, but I figured that it would have been lower by now. Did I screw up my pitching more yeast?

Yeast was Safale S-04 and its been close around 64-68 the whole time.
 
Griffin495 said:
I brewed the chocolate stout out of Beer Craft 11 days ago and I was curious to see how it was going and to use my new refractometer.

So I think I got a stuck fermentation. Or maybe I don't know how to use my new refractometer. I made sure it was calibrated using distilled water.

Then I used the calculator on Northern Brewer. I used a hydrometer to get my OG which was 1.065 (before I had a refractometer), so the caluculator told me it was 16 Brix. Tested a sample last night and it was down to 14 Brix. Which gives me a current gravity of 1.05. Plugging that in, my ABV is only 0.833 and my OG is at 1.059. Wasn't sure what to do, and I had had a few, so I just pictched another tsp of yeast. Hoping this helps.

I know I tested it a little early, but I figured that it would have been lower by now. Did I screw up my pitching more yeast?

Yeast was Safale S-04 and its been close around 64-68 the whole time.
Click to expand...

If you had visual signs of active fermentation like krausen and a very active airlock your 14Brix is probably wrong. Did you taste the sample, does it still seem real sweet?

When I first got my refractometer I took some wort and diluted it to a couple gravities and played around with it until I could get reading that matched my hydrometer. I started with a few drops but got too much variations. I found if I flooded the sample area with wort I got more consistent reading which matched my hydrometer. I tend to take/believe the lowest readings I get on my refractometer.

I like this calculator http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/
 
Honestly, I never check my beers until they are at least 3 weeks old. I was checking a 2 gallon Hefe I did to see if it was ready to bottle (and it is) so I figured why not check the stout to see where it's at.

I've got 2 hydrometers. Not sure which one I initially used, but both checked out fine tonight.

Also checked the stout again. 13 Brix on the refract and 1.044 with a hydrometer, so it's moving again. I'll probably just leave it alone till at least next weekend which will put it at 3 weeks. Or maybe wait 4. I'm not in a rush.
 
I saw krausen but never saw much activity on the airlock because I wasn't checking it much. Figured I just missed it and it was over quickly. Brix dropped another point since last night. Not sure if I didn't have enough wort like you mentioned or what. Or if the extra yeast I pitched for it going.
 
For those using buckets, do you use the stick on thermometer strips on them? Does it work through the plastic? I have them on my glass fermenters, but got to wondering if they work on plastic buckets. If not, how do you keep track of your fermenting temps?
 
Griffin495 said:
For those using buckets, do you use the stick on thermometer strips on them? Does it work through the plastic? I have them on my glass fermenters, but got to wondering if they work on plastic buckets. If not, how do you keep track of your fermenting temps?
Click to expand...

They work decent enough for my 3gal frosting buckets
 
I have had this in my bar fridge (in my shop) for awhile. I took it out because I wasn't really getting water from it and had an idea. It is 1.25 gallon, has a large cap on top and a tap at one end on the bottom, far enough off to avoid much sediment. It his long, tall and narrow. The large cap could be drilled to accept an airlock. It seems to me that there would be no need to "thief" any out as you could put the hydrometer in right at the large cap. I'm looking for some feedback on whether this might work before I do a batch. I am a newbie and am not thinking of all the things that might prevent its use.

New Fermenter.JPG
 
ChocolateMaltyBalls said:
As long as you clean it immediately after its empty, with something like oxyclean free. Lots of nooks and crannies for crud to hide in.
Click to expand...

I scrub my 1 gallon carboys after bottling and it can be just a little bit of work to get all the residue off. Like Maltyballs says, it could be hard to get it clean clean clean after use, but otherwise it would probably work great so long as you are willing to put in the time to clean it after each batch.
 
Going to brew a 1 gallon brown ale. I want to add cinnamon and clove. How much should I add? Can I add it to the boil?
 
Had a pretty busy weekend. The wife took the kid out of town and I had to work two half shifts, but I was able to brew 5 gallons of nut brown Saturday, and after work Sunday I bottled my 2 gallons of Bavarian Heffe (double one gallon batch divided into two 1-gallon jugs) while I was mashing a 1 gallon Citra Pale Ale.

First time using the oven trick. I've tried using my 5 gallon mash tun for one gallon batches and even pre-heated, I couldn't keep temp. It fell too much. But the oven trick worked like a charm. Started my boil outside (wife hates the smell of wort and hops), started raining so moved to the garage. Got it all finished and cleaned up before she got back in town. Pretty nice brew day and it was bubbling away this morning before I left for work. Already want to brew another gallon batch, but I've got a 5 gallon cream ale I need to knock out first.

Oh, and I got 20 bottles out of that Heffe. 10 12oz bottles and 10 11.2 bottles that are swing top. I think they were Flensburgers.

:mug:
 
This might be a stupid question...or a beginner question...but how do you determine efficiency? I keep reading about it, but have no idea. I've never calculated it in any of my batches.
 
My target OG was supposed to be 1.055 and I hit 1.066. I just figured it would be higher ABV than I was shooting for but have never bothered to check.
 
Just cracked my first 1 gallon batch bottle! FANTASTIC.

Northern Brewers rum runner stout kit, but during fermentation I added a combination of .5 oz hickory wood chips soaked in evan williams bourbon and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract.

Did I say FANTASTIC yet?
 
Griffin495 said:
This might be a stupid question...or a beginner question...but how do you determine efficiency? I keep reading about it, but have no idea. I've never calculated it in any of my batches.
Click to expand...


Look up what the max possible gravity is from your grain (generally around 36 points per gallon per pound). Then measure your actual gravity. Divide the actual by the possible and that is your percent.

Example:

1 pound of 2-row is 36 possible.

You get 25 when you brew.

25 divided by 36 = 69%.
 
crevis79 said:
Going to brew a 1 gallon brown ale. I want to add cinnamon and clove. How much should I add? Can I add it to the boil?
Click to expand...


Definitely add it at the end. 5 minutes or less.

I would start with 1 or 2 whole cloves and about 2 inches of cinnamon stick. Clove is strong. Maybe a little more.

I don't think ground spices would work well, but crushed cinnamon stick might be a good idea.
 
ericbw said:
Look up what the max possible gravity is from your grain (generally around 36 points per gallon per pound). Then measure your actual gravity. Divide the actual by the possible and that is your percent.

Example:

1 pound of 2-row is 36 possible.

You get 25 when you brew.

25 divided by 36 = 69%.
Click to expand...

Need volume at room temp as well.
 
Woke up in the middle of the night last night and got a crazy thought. I just recently got BBS book and the Blackberry Irish Red caught my attention. I've never used a fruit in a brew before, but I like reds. Why not double the batch, split the wort and only pour half over blackberries? That way I get a red and a blackberry red. E-mailed them this morning and they say the recipe makes a great red without the berries and that it was a good idea. I also asked them and the OG should be 1.052 and the FG should be 1.013 if anybody is curious. No idea why they didn't include that in their book. Maybe because its more info than newbies need and it might confuse them? Still, it should have been in there.

So, I think that will be my next brew after I knock this 5 gallon cream ale I got sitting around waiting for me to brew.
 
Split batches are a great way to experiment for sure. I'm a big advocate of the practice, especially in regards to trying different hops, yeast, and flavor additions in secondary.
 
Griffin495 said:
I brewed the chocolate stout out of Beer Craft 11 days ago and I was curious to see how it was going and to use my new refractometer.

So I think I got a stuck fermentation. Or maybe I don't know how to use my new refractometer. I made sure it was calibrated using distilled water.

Then I used the calculator on Northern Brewer. I used a hydrometer to get my OG which was 1.065 (before I had a refractometer), so the caluculator told me it was 16 Brix. Tested a sample last night and it was down to 14 Brix. Which gives me a current gravity of 1.05. Plugging that in, my ABV is only 0.833 and my OG is at 1.059. Wasn't sure what to do, and I had had a few, so I just pictched another tsp of yeast. Hoping this helps.

I know I tested it a little early, but I figured that it would have been lower by now. Did I screw up my pitching more yeast?

Yeast was Safale S-04 and its been close around 64-68 the whole time.
Click to expand...

Checked on the stout again last night. Its now been 18 days since I brewed it and six days since I last checked it (was 13 Brix on the refract and 1.046 hydrom) and its still at 13 Brix and 1.046. Took the last of that yeast which had been vac sealed in the freezer, hydrated it to make sure it was good and dumped it in. I have no idea why its stalled out and not moving. I'll let it sit another week or two and see what happens, but this might be my first batch of beer that I might have to dump. :confused:
 
phug said:
That 13 Bronx reading is a refracto meter reading, right? That's probably stuck
Click to expand...

I'm still new to the refracto, so I took a reading with it and the hydrometer to make sure they agreed and they did.

So, initially is used 1.5 tsp of S-04 yeast,
10 days later added another tsp
thenn 7 days later ended up dumping the rest of the yeast from the packet in after I rehydrated it.

Maybe that will get it moving. I'll check it again in a week. If not, I'm open to ideas on what to do next.
 
1st post. So for you one gallon brewers, how many gallons do you usually have fermenting at a time? I'm planning on bumping up from 1 to 2 or 3.
 
I usually have 4 bers going plus 1-2 ciders. 1 long term aging brew of some sort (RIS, barleywine, wheat wine, mead. 1 belgian (trippel, dubbel, saison), 1 dark english ale of some sort (brown, porter, stout), 1 hoppy brew.

Whenever my pipeline isn't going smooth, I'll do 1x 3-4 gallon batch and split it using different yeasts to increase the diversity. What's the difference between a pale ale, a blonde, and a trippel? Not much.
 
HBWarke said:
1st post. So for you one gallon brewers, how many gallons do you usually have fermenting at a time? I'm planning on bumping up from 1 to 2 or 3.
Click to expand...

Depends on my space and fermenters. Generally speaking, I have a session ipa as a pipeline filler, an experiment/New recipe, something long term like a Belgian, and my house porter gets brewed as soon as it gets bottled. Then I have a 5 gallon of cider going for swmbo, who is gluten free (celiac). This keeps me with enough to drink, share, and age. And, it means I have 20 batches of experience after only brewing for about 3-4 months.
 
Brewed two beers yesterday, a Kolsch and an Alt.

Kolsch
1.25lb 2-row
12oz Belgian Pilsner
.5oz Automatic
45 minute boil
.15oz Challenger @45
.5tsp Irish moss @15
.15oz Hallartau @5
Alt
1.25oz 2-row
13oz Munich light 8L
2oz Special B
.4oz Aromatic
60 minute boil
.15oz Challenger @60
.2oz Hallartau @30
.5tsp Irish moss @15
.2oz Hallartau @5

Both came out about 1.040-1.050

Pitched half a vial of Wlp-036 in each gallon and sat them on top of the basement stairs where they fermented at about 68° overnight.
Now sitting on the basement floor about 10° colder.

Small batches are great, I get to play around with different flavors
and all the ingredients only cost me like 10 bucks!
 
I'm looking to get into 1 gallon batches and was wondering if you guys are doing no sparge biab or are fly sparging or perhaps some other technique. Is there a database somewhere of recipes designed for 1 gallon batches or does software like Beersmith do a decent job of scaling recipes? Do you have any pale ale or ipa recipes you'd recommend me?

Thanks!
 
guitarguy6 said:
I'm looking to get into 1 gallon batches and was wondering if you guys are doing no sparge biab or are fly sparging or perhaps some other technique. Is there a database somewhere of recipes designed for 1 gallon batches or does software like Beersmith do a decent job of scaling recipes? Do you have any pale ale or ipa recipes you'd recommend me?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

My favorite so far is to move the bag to a separate vessel (usually my fermenter) and sparge in there. Then just dump the runnings into your kettle. As far as scaling, the software does a decent job universally, but some (see: brewersfriend) can be WAY off on predicted color. I brewed what was supposed to be an Irish red... It's deep brown. Scotch ale came out nearly black, even though it *should have been* dark amber.
 
I've always brewed from a kit that makes 5 gallons. I want to try brewing without using a kit but don't want to make 5 gallons in case it doesn't turn out. Is the best thread for tips of brewing a small batch, i.e., 1 or maybe 2.5 gallons? (If so, I've got a lot of reading to do!)

Question 2: I am assuming the ingredients for a 5 gallon recipe can be scaled down to a smaller batch size. Do the home brewing supply companies sell the individual ingredients in smaller quantities or does one just have to get out the measuring cups & spoons and scales and reduce the quantities manually?

Thanks.
 

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