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Well I don't have time to read them all and I'm sure this was said already but here you go. I brew 5+ gal batches but now I'm into brewing 1 gal batches also. I don't have all the space for two big batches and I can brew something made up or a new kit. So if I don't like it I dump 10bottles not 50. I like to brew and I can brew a 1gal batch more often.
 
zeg said:
I'm not sure there'd be much of an oxidation risk---wouldn't the yeast kick back into their aerobic metabolism mode and remove the oxygen like they do with the intentionally oxygenated wort at the start of a standard process?
Click to expand...

I'm really not sure about the oxidation risks either. I know most nano breweries do this during fermentation. Say they do 1bbl batches, a lot of them use 2bbl fermenters. Brewing 1 and pitching yeast, next day brew and add the second bbl.

I'm not sure what member(s) did the Sam Adams Utopias clones, but they used to brew so much, aerate, pitch yeast. Brew, add to fermenter, aerate. Brew, add to fermenter, aerate, over and over again to not over stress the yeast which huge quantities of high gravity wort.


Leadgolem said:
Hmm, this seems likely. If it was my project I'd probably just keep the batches separate if I had the fermentors for it. That way you could make variations with each batch.
Click to expand...

I don't have the fermenters for this. Even if I did, the 10-12lb grain bills for each batch are in a large bag. So theres no way of splitting the different types of grain. Basically I take the complete grain bill for a 5g batch, have it crushed and vacuum sealed in a large bag, so on brew day just cut a corner off the bag and dough in.
 
Revvy said:
Honestly Jeff, I haven't seen many brewers turn their noses up and small batch brewing, and if they do, we hit them with a rolled up newspaper. Over the last few years small batch brewing has been looked at as being OK....Even one gallon batches thanks to the Brooklyn Brew Kits.

The basic brewing folks I think went a long way into given 1 gallon batches cache.

Plus it's never been sneered at for wine/mead and cider makers. I gallon batches are quite common on that front.

I prefer 2.5 gallon batches for small batch beer brewing, because 2.5 gallons = 1 case of beer.

But there's nothing wrong with 1 gallon batches if folks want to brew them. In fact I'm looking for some 1 gallon wine jugs as we speak.
Click to expand...

I have seen one gallon wine jugs filled with sangria for about $10. Thought I would buy one and them I would have two 1gallon batches brewing at the same time.
 
I'm not sure this sounds like such a good idea. You'll probably end up with a pretty significant overpitch after the first addition or two.

Science experiment aside, I think Leadgolem's suggestion to try to get your wort processed and added as fast as possible is the best bet. It shouldn't take a heroic effort to do this in a weekend. Using both 2-gallon pots together, you should be able to mash and boil 2-3 gallons in about 3 hours, depending on your boil off rate. With the reduced volumes, the process is going to seem really easy. Start early on Saturday, do 2 gallons by lunchtime, cool and add to the fermentor. Later that afternoon, do it again. Sunday morning, do one more batch and you've got 6 gallons ready to go. As long as you're careful about sanitation, waiting 24 hours to pitch is not a big deal. (Hopefully you have an immersion chiller that fits in your smaller pots, that will be key to keeping your throughput up!)

If that process won't work, I think the next best thing would be to separately ferment each gallon and then blend the beers. This won't take advantage of your big rig, though.

Or you could just try the science experiment.

*edit* Just saw your post. Doing a next-day addition should be fine, I'd think. My worry was that you were (for some reason) thinking of letting each addition ferment farther along before the next addition. Not sure where I got that idea.... I think my preference would still be to amass all the wort pre-pitching, just to keep the process more like the usual practice.
 
Antler said:
I'm really not sure about the oxidation risks either. I know most nano breweries do this during fermentation. Say they do 1bbl batches, a lot of them use 2bbl fermenters. Brewing 1 and pitching yeast, next day brew and add the second bbl.

I'm not sure what member(s) did the Sam Adams Utopias clones, but they used to brew so much, aerate, pitch yeast. Brew, add to fermenter, aerate. Brew, add to fermenter, aerate, over and over again to not over stress the yeast which huge quantities of high gravity wort.
Click to expand...
Good to know.

Antler said:
I don't have the fermenters for this. Even if I did, the 10-12lb grain bills for each batch are in a large bag. So theres no way of splitting the different types of grain. Basically I take the complete grain bill for a 5g batch, have it crushed and vacuum sealed in a large bag, so on brew day just cut a corner off the bag and dough in.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean splitting the different types of grain. I meant mixing all the grain very thoroughly, then splitting the mixed grain into 5 parts by weight. Then you could vary the hop additions and/or timing with each small batch.

You would end up with 5 different batches with the same base grain mix. That would give you a good chance to see what the difference is with changing the timing of the hop additions, and/or what exactly a specific type of hop addition did since you would have a good baseline with the same grain mix.

Alternately, you could use the 5 batches to refine your small batch brewing process. IE: Pick up some efficiency with each batch. You can actually still do that using 1 final fermentor anyway.

If you don't have the space though, you don't have the space. Let us know what you decide to do, and how it comes out please. I'm always interested in different techniques, and I've not heard of somebody doing multiple wort additions like you are talking about.
 
Antler said:
I been doing 5 gallon BIAB on a propane burner since this spring. Lately it's been really cold and windy so holding mash temps outside will be a nightmare. I already have 2, 2 gallon pots. Been thinking about just doing 1 gallon batches in the kitchen until I can afford an electric setup to put in my 5g system.

I already have 3 batches worth of grain here, mixed and crushed, in large vacuum sealed bags. How can I brew these in 1 gallon batches and combine in fermenter?

I was thinkin to start it all in my 7.5g fermenter. 1g at a time and each couple days brew up another 1g batch and add to the fermenter.
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Are you able to do multiple batches in a day and then combine them?
 
Worst part about experimental beers is waiting for them. My Simcoe/Amarillo IPA is currently fermenting and I have over 2 weeks to wait, just to dry hop, lame. This one I open fermented for the first 3 days. I wanted to see what would happen. Hoping to get an estery IPA but we'll see. I figured this batch was more or less a throw away anyway since I didn't test it to see if I was hitting my target efficiencies. I think I created too sweet of a wort with not enough fermentable sugars just gauging by my temps. Going to do it differently next time to see if it works easier.
 
divrguy said:
Are you able to do multiple batches in a day and then combine them?
Click to expand...

Yes I can do that. I can do one batch after another, or maybe try doing them side by side. Maybe I can attempt to end up with 1.25g post boil. Do two side by side sessions, ending up with 5g into the fermenter in a single day?
 
Antler said:
Do two side by side sessions, ending up with 5g into the fermenter in a single day?
Click to expand...

That sounds like a plan! If you have an immersion chiller, just stagger the parallel tracks by half an hour to give you time to chill and then swap the IC over.
 
zeg said:
That sounds like a plan! If you have an immersion chiller, just stagger the parallel tracks by half an hour to give you time to chill and then swap the IC over.
Click to expand...

This route seems like the best to take. I do have an immersion chiller, but not sure it'll fit into these 2g pots, it's made for a 10g Blichmann.
I'll probably use a no-chill method. Let it sit airtight in the fermenter until next morning then pitch the yeast.
 
Ah. My IC fits both my 5-gal and 2-gal pots, and it's absurdly fast in the 2-gal.

Are you using a bucket? This is probably obvious, but it's a serious safety issue so I'll point it out anyway, do be cautious pouring hot wort into a fermentor. It can bust glass carboys, shrinky-dink Better Bottles, and [something something] buckets. (I have no idea what, if anything, it might do in a bucket, but it'd be worth checking out the temperature tolerance of the plastic).
 
zeg said:
Ah. My IC fits both my 5-gal and 2-gal pots, and it's absurdly fast in the 2-gal.

Are you using a bucket? This is probably obvious, but it's a serious safety issue so I'll point it out anyway, do be cautious pouring hot wort into a fermentor. It can bust glass carboys, shrinky-dink Better Bottles, and [something something] buckets. (I have no idea what, if anything, it might do in a bucket, but it'd be worth checking out the temperature tolerance of the plastic).
Click to expand...

Thanks I didn't know that. I usually don't have more than one batch fermenting at once. I use a 7.5 gallon sanke keg, but I do have a bucket and 3-4 carboys I secondary in.
 
So what do you typically use as a primary for one gallon batches? I ask because im considering some smaller runs on experiments. A one gallon glass jug wouldnt leave enough room for a krausen would it (or do people usually run blow tubes in one gallon jugs)?
 
1-gallon jugs do work, but there is some danger of blowout especially if your yeast are extra-happy or overpitched. Just run a blowout tube for the first few days and then put the airlock on (or leave the blowout tube, it's all good).

Remember, a blow-out means your yeast are really in on the effort to make beer for you. They love you and want you to be happy. Rejoice as you mop the suds off the ceiling.

My first batch in a 1-gallon glass jug was great, the second was a blowout mess. It keeps life interesting :mug:
 
Thanks, i kinda figured that was the case. At any rate im going to buy some jugs and try it out. Ill just buy a few extra jugs in case things get crazy.
 
I am thinking about adding the priming sugar to the batch next time instead of using the NB "fizz drops." Do I add 1 oz of corn sugar to water, stir, bring to boil, cool to room temp, pour to bottling bucket then rack wort to bottling bucket?
 
muleskinner90 said:
I am thinking about adding the priming sugar to the batch next time instead of using the NB "fizz drops." Do I add 1 oz of corn sugar to water, stir, bring to boil, cool to room temp, pour to bottling bucket then rack wort to bottling bucket?
Click to expand...

Pretty close... You may want to adjust your amount up or down a tick depending on the style.

Also... You can also use table sugar, or dry malt extract, as priming sugar. Works real well if you don't have corn sugar around.
 
dadshomebrewing said:
I wouldn't do that.

We're I doing multiple batches I would make different, but similar, beers using similar ingredients.

Like a brown, a porter, and a stout.

Something like that.
Click to expand...

Ah I can't really do that because I have a 5g recipe already mixed and crushed in a big vacuum sealed bag.
 
paul_111 said:
Hi All...

I finished reading through all 200+ pages earlier in the week.... I have wanted to get into brewing for over a year, but between the cost of the equipment and not knowing what to do with 5 gallons of beer, I kept putting it off. I thought about smaller batches, but this thread helped solidify some things! So I want to thank everyone -- HomeBrewTalk rocks!!!! :rockin:

Tonight I brewed my first beer!!! :ban: 1.5 gal of EdWort's Haus Pale Ale (all grain). I really wanted to brew a Boddingtons clone, but my LHBS didn't have the 'proper' yeast.

If you're on the fence, JUMP! DO IT! Start brewing, go all grain and don't look back -- it was easy using BIAB!

It took 4 hrs from start to end of clean up, and I think I could speed some steps up once I get the process down.

I think I'm going to have to prime the pipeline over the next few weeks, as this was fun.

My set up is middle of the road:
12 qt Cuisinart kettle w/pasta basket and steamer (didn't use the basket, but the steamer was invaluable when squeezing the grain post mash out).
3 gal Better Bottles w/3 piece airlocks
Dual scale refractometer
A nice stirring spoon that I notched for volume measurements
Portable scale to weight the hops to 0.01g
Table top bottle capper
Mini auto siphon
Auto shutoff/spring loaded bottle filler
I think that's it...

Here are some picts. Sorry about the crappy quality -- I'll use a real camera next time.

Boil; nothing special, but I did use a small paint strainer to contain the hops.

I took advantage of the midwest winter and chilled the beer in snow while it was 6F outside...

I am fermenting in a Better Bottle. For temp control, I'm using... wait for it.... a Cool Brewing fermentation cooler -- that I won from HBT this summer!!! I haven't seen any posts (not to say there aren't any) where someone was employing something they won from this site. Thanks again to HBT and Cool Brewing!
Click to expand...


Dude!!!

Nice.

Btw... Welcome from the southwest side of the city.
 
Antler said:
Ah I can't really do that because I have a 5g recipe already mixed and crushed in a big vacuum sealed bag.
Click to expand...

Why not try different hop treatments, with the same grain bill?

I do that kind of stuff often so I can learn what different things do, or how they taste.

I like to tinker with things a lot. Doing the exact same thing five times would make my head explode.
 
Adrenaline-Junkie said:
So what do you typically use as a primary for one gallon batches? I ask because im considering some smaller runs on experiments. A one gallon glass jug wouldnt leave enough room for a krausen would it (or do people usually run blow tubes in one gallon jugs)?
Click to expand...

One gallon carboys... And ALWAYS a blowoff tube.

Only need to learn that lesson once.
 
Thunder_Chicken said:
1-gallon jugs do work, but there is some danger of blowout especially if your yeast are extra-happy or overpitched. Just run a blowout tube for the first few days and then put the airlock on (or leave the blowout tube, it's all good).

Remember, a blow-out means your yeast are really in on the effort to make beer for you. They love you and want you to be happy. Rejoice as you mop the suds off the ceiling.

My first batch in a 1-gallon glass jug was great, the second was a blowout mess. It keeps life interesting :mug:
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised...I just did an 8%+ IIPA at 60 with s-05. Krausen never came within an inch of the top. Notty can be brutal to a 1 gallon but its all about temp control. Wine jugs are great, many sizes from 1-3 gallons if you know where to look but 1 gallon jugs work fine for me with proper temp control
 
I would like to do up a small batch of Caribou Slobber; but Northern doesn't ship to Canada. I have found a recipe for a Moose Slobber clone 5gal batch. My question is when scaling a recipe is everything scaled evenly? It seems like the hops and grain amounts would be pretty small.
Thanks
 
I have a question for the ones that keg. Have you ever kegged a one gallon batch in a 5 gallon corny? If so does it affect the beer in any way?
 
lumpy5oh said:
My question is when scaling a recipe is everything scaled evenly? It seems like the hops and grain amounts would be pretty small.
Thanks
Click to expand...

I always start by converting to grams and scaling evenly, then tinker with the next batch if it needs it.
 
biggdaddymatt said:
I have a question for the ones that keg. Have you ever kegged a one gallon batch in a 5 gallon corny? If so does it affect the beer in any way?
Click to expand...

You may want to ask this in the bottling/kegging section because those guys know a lot about kegging.

If i were to guess, I don't think it would do anything to the beer. You would have to use a lot of co2 to bleed off the o2 and to carb the beer. But I'll admit I'm not an expert by any means.
 
lumpy5oh said:
I would like to do up a small batch of Caribou Slobber; but Northern doesn't ship to Canada. I have found a recipe for a Moose Slobber clone 5gal batch. My question is when scaling a recipe is everything scaled evenly? It seems like the hops and grain amounts would be pretty small.
Thanks
Click to expand...

bleme said:
I always start by converting to grams and scaling evenly, then tinker with the next batch if it needs it.
Click to expand...

With 1 gallon batches, you'll have to play with the ingredients for sure. I brewed a Blue Moon clone which I tried the other day. Not bad but a little too much orange zest than I would like...so back to the drawing broad.

The beer is drinkable and at only 9 bottles I not drinking a lot of it :mug:
 
Leadgolem said:
I would suggest using a priming sugar calculator.
Click to expand...

The Tastybrew calculator rounds up to the nearest 0.1 oz of sugar when trying to determine the sugar amounts for small batches. You probably want to enter 100 gallons into the calculator, then divide the amount of sugar by 100 to get sugar per gallon.

EDIT: The Tastybrew calculator also gives some wonky numbers sometimes. There are some good calculators on the Knights of the Mashing Fork website:

http://kotmf.com/
 
Would it be okay to boil the sugar water a day before bottling day, cover it with aluminum foil and let it sit at room temperature? I was thinking of making the sugar water in a measuring cup then just boiling that in the microwave.
 
First post here in the 1 gallon realm but I have been reading and following this thread for a few months now. You guys got me stoked on the variety that can be made with this style and like alot of you have said, if it screws up there are only nine or ten bottles to consume. So far I have made an English brown, belguim blonde, IIPa, and this last one was a three gallon smash that was then split up into gallon jugs with different yeasts
98987d1360049824-new-albion-ale-clone-20130204_230344.jpg
Here is the youtube link for the New Albion smash that I made, interesting history lesson and I think will be a darn fine beer!
New Albion Video
 
muleskinner90 said:
Would it be okay to boil the sugar water a day before bottling day, cover it with aluminum foil and let it sit at room temperature? I was thinking of making the sugar water in a measuring cup then just boiling that in the microwave.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't do it the day before. I make up my priming sugar the same way on bottling day. 1 cup of hot water isn't going affect 1 gallon of beer so go ahead and put the hot sugar water into your bottling bucket and rack the beer onto the priming sugar.
 
BigRock947 said:
I wouldn't do it the day before. I make up my priming sugar the same way on bottling day. 1 cup of hot water isn't going affect 1 gallon of beer so go ahead and put the hot sugar water into your bottling bucket and rack the beer onto the priming sugar.
Click to expand...

Ah, very good. Thanks. Is it okay to use another 1 gallon glass jug as my bottling bucket?
 

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