I ended up grabbing this with my discount and gift card as well as a hydrometer (just been brewing blind) but skipped the refractometer for now(Though just looked on ebay and they are pretty cheap, maybe should go that route). The class itself was very helpful and made me more confident to do an all grain or biab type thing.
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I ended up grabbing this with my discount and gift card as well as a hydrometer (just been brewing blind) but skipped the refractometer for now(Though just looked on ebay and they are pretty cheap, maybe should go that route). The class itself was very helpful and made me more confident to do an all grain or biab type thing.
Griffin495
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I brewed a 2 gallon batch of Red Ale Saturday. Just doubled the amounts of the one gallon recipe I found. I haven't found much of a time difference between 1 and 2 gallon batches and for the same amount of work you end with 16-20 beers instead of 8-10. The batch I did before that was a 1.5 gallon batch because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but I'm hoping for a 12 pack from that. My next batch is a 3 gallon batch that I've brewed as a one gallon batch before and really liked it so I knew I wanted more of it, but not the 2 cases you'd get from a 5 gallon batch. I like to have variety in what I've got in my beer fridge.
VagueSkunk
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So, this is probably a dumb question that has been answered somewhere in the last 624 pages but I'm gonna throw it out there again.
I've converted a 5 gallon AG recipe to extract and then divided it by 5 to get my amounts for a 1 gallon batch. This particular recipe has a couple grains (flaked oats and acidulated malt totaling 4 oz.) that apparently need to be mashed and not steeped. How do I go about mashing 4 oz. of grains? Do I even need to? Can I just steep them instead?
Apologies if the answers are obvious, but I've never mashed anything before and I want to get it right. Thanks in advance.
I've converted a 5 gallon AG recipe to extract and then divided it by 5 to get my amounts for a 1 gallon batch. This particular recipe has a couple grains (flaked oats and acidulated malt totaling 4 oz.) that apparently need to be mashed and not steeped. How do I go about mashing 4 oz. of grains? Do I even need to? Can I just steep them instead?
Apologies if the answers are obvious, but I've never mashed anything before and I want to get it right. Thanks in advance.
The aciduated malt if I understand correctly is to lower the PH of your water for the mash. The flaked oats are prbably for mouth feel and head retention so steeping would be fine and if I'm correct about the aciduated malt, I woukd just use more DME, because the mash has been done for you with the extract.
FranklinNewhart
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Well I am going to tackle this one as I mash four ounces of grain all the time because I use it to farm my yeast. 4 ounces of malt and 8 ounces of water in a small pot on low heat on the stove. Put a thermometer in it to know what you are doing. First Grind your grain in a blender and heat the water to 120 F. Put in your malt and steep it at 120 F which means turning off the heat and letting it rest. Now raise the heat to 135 and let it rest again. Then raise the heat to 145 and let it rest again. Then to 155 and rest. Lastly to 165 F and let it rest. Do an Iodine test to make sure all the starch is converted and then add it to the main boil pot. Because the amount is so little, five minute rests are about all you need.
fuzzy2133
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Yes oats need to be mashed with a base malt (like 2-row pale malt) so in reality a LHBS would sell you 1 lb of base malt. So your mash with the oats would be 1lb ~4oz (IMO leave the acidulated malt out). Next reduce the amount of extract down once you know the gravity from the mash (pre-boil gravity).
EDIT: in larger batches (5 gallons) of all grain brewing I have never used more than 3oz of acidulated malt. For a 1 gallon it does not make sense to buy it in my mind.
Latest update:
Brew #1 - American Stout
Brew #2 - Not Very Cherry
Brew #3 - IPA is Dead:Chinook
Brew #1 - American Stout
After two weeks of bottle conditioning it has a bit more carbonation than it did last week. However, I rather think that i might not have used enough priming sugar.
Brew #2 - Not Very Cherry
I bottled this yesterday. It was based on a recipe from the Brooklyn Brew Shop which called for the addition of cherries at flameout. The sample I tasted yesterday didn't seem to have a lot of cherry flavour. I wonder if it would have been better to add the cherries to the fermenter later. I wonder what other people do about adding fruit.
Brew #3 - IPA is Dead:Chinook
I brewed this one yesterday. It is a SMaSH from the BrewDog recipe book DIYDog with extra pale Maris Otter and Chinook hops. This was my most successful mash so far. Target OG was 1064 and I hit 1062.
Just wondering if any 1 gallon brewers save yeast from one brew to use in the next? I am wondering about whether it is worthwhile and also how best to go about it. What I have read so far is leaving me undecided, partly because it is written from a 5 gallon (or larger) perspective and I'm not sure exactly how I would go about it.
ericbw
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Yes. After bottling, swirl the dregs up. Pour it into a mason jar. Cap it and refrigerate.
To be more complex, pour into a mason jar and let it settle 20-30 minutes. Pour the top liquid into a clean mason jar (leaving behind some of the sludge). The yeast will settle out but keep it in the jar in the fridge.
Sanitation is key. I would boil the mason jars and lids for 10 minutes or run through your dishwasher. You could probably split it into 4-5 small jars.
It's worth it because a pack of yeast costs $4-5, but if you save and reuse it, it's almost free.
DrunkenCanuck
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I just did two 1 gallon brews this weekend. A traditional scotch ale and a dark scotch ale. I think I am going to keep at it with them even though I have 5 gallon equipment, I can experiment with mixing ingredients and a pack of yeast covers two batches pretty well. My traditional scotch ale I did on Saturday and it's already fermenting like a champ.
Yup that's why I really like small batch brew. Variety and experimentation is way more important to me than volume. There's also a simplicity to it. I can just do it indoors using regular kitchen equipment.
DrunkenCanuck
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And it's easier to tell if your beer is going to ferment correctly and not turn out like crap. Case in point, I know that both of my beers are fermenting correctly as they both are letting off a lot more gas than my previous brews did. The Scotch Ale in particular is going at it like a champ.
Well, I have recently caught up with this thread right from the beginning!
Brew number 3, an IPA, had gone from 1064 down to 1010 in a week before I racked it into a glass demijohn for secondary fermentation. I didn't expect much more out of it and thought I might be bottling it this weekend. Instead it is still actively fermenting so I guess it will be another week before it will get into the bottles.
When I racked it last week I saved some yeast in the beer at the bottom of the bucket. I haven't washed it; just put it into a sanitised jar and kept in in the fridge. I am planning on brewing a standard bitter this weekend and I am wondering whether to use the yeast that I saved or to use the other half of the packet of dried yeast which as also been kept in the fridge. If I used the saved yeast then do I just need let it get back up to room temperature on brew day or do I need to do anything else with it before pitching?
Brew number 3, an IPA, had gone from 1064 down to 1010 in a week before I racked it into a glass demijohn for secondary fermentation. I didn't expect much more out of it and thought I might be bottling it this weekend. Instead it is still actively fermenting so I guess it will be another week before it will get into the bottles.
When I racked it last week I saved some yeast in the beer at the bottom of the bucket. I haven't washed it; just put it into a sanitised jar and kept in in the fridge. I am planning on brewing a standard bitter this weekend and I am wondering whether to use the yeast that I saved or to use the other half of the packet of dried yeast which as also been kept in the fridge. If I used the saved yeast then do I just need let it get back up to room temperature on brew day or do I need to do anything else with it before pitching?
jpoppinmoneyunit
Active Member
Hey Guys. Made this mini mash tun conversion video a while back and forgot to post it. Works really good if your interested.
https://youtu.be/o8aP0wSKRXs
https://youtu.be/o8aP0wSKRXs
Today was brew day number four. A standard English bitter with a target of of 1035. I only managed 1030. Better than my first two brews but not as good as number 3. I wonder if the smaller grain bill and less mash water were to blame as there was more headspace in my stock pot. Can't think of anything that I did differently to last time.
NSMikeD
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if you remove the word "only" from your post, it reads a lot differently. By my 4th brew I was still adjusting my numbers for evaporation rate, trub loss etc. that would affect my gravity.
If it's off by .005, I'd consider that a rounding/reading error as enjoy the brew.
You are doing small batches so small variations will show up more than say a 5 gallon brew.
Here is food for thought. If you adjusted your mash efficiency rate, the software would change the grain bill size and you would hit the numbers right on the head and you'd celebrate.
For this batch, it could have been something like your water chemistry to explain why this beer had a lower conversion, but I were you I wouldn't chase that for now. Keep brewing and keeping notes so you build up a reliable statistical sampling to know what variables to use for your own equipment.
After reading that I decided to have another look at all my numbers. My first two brews gave me an efficiency of 52% and then 55%. Brew number three I had thought was my best. According to the recipe (from DIG Dog) the target OG was 1064 and I hit 1062. But when I put it into Biermacht that have me a target OG of 1071. If that it's right then my efficiency was 61%, better than the previous two but not quite as good as I had thought. Then I put the recipe for my latest brew into Biermacht. The recipe stated an OG of 1035 but Biermacht only gave it 1031, in which case my efficiency was 68%.
So now I am wondering if those two recipes were wrong with their stated OG. Once i have done another few brews i will hopefully be getting a more consistent efficiency and i can factor that into my grain bills.
At the weekend I racked brew number 4 into a demijohn. The gravity was 1008 which is about where I expected it to end up so I'm not too surprised that it doesn't seem to be doing anything. However brew number 3 is still bubbling away after 16 days in the demijohn and that had a gravity of 1010 when it was racked. I can't imagine what that yeast is eating now; surely there can't be any sugar left?!
Brew number 2 (Not Very Cherry) has had some good reviews. My son kindly told me that it "wasn't total ####" but then asked for a second bottle, even though there are commercial beers in the house. I also took a bottle with me to the pub where my drinking buddy told me that he would happily have paid £4 for it over the bar and the landlord also said that it was very good.
Brew number 2 (Not Very Cherry) has had some good reviews. My son kindly told me that it "wasn't total ####" but then asked for a second bottle, even though there are commercial beers in the house. I also took a bottle with me to the pub where my drinking buddy told me that he would happily have paid £4 for it over the bar and the landlord also said that it was very good.
StateRoad84
Active Member
In business the owner or clerk should never criticize what the customer wants. I would let my local supplier know I brew 1 gallon batches. If he were to subtly insult me for brewing such a small batch he would lose a customer, and I would let him know in not so subtle a way
SlitheryDee
General Manager
Huh. Derision based on batch size seems like a waste of time to me. I've got a 5 gallon kit, but if I want to try AG without buying more equipment I'm definitely going to have to do something in the 1-2 gallon range. Didn't seem like a potential point of contention at all to me. I guess everything can be an argument if you want it to be though.
I've participated in a half-dozen brewing forums over the years, and I wish I had a nickel for every time I was told, "Why don'tcha just brew 5 gallons?"... I'd be well over a dollar by now! It seems to be a little better now than it used to be (not a lot... just a little!)
TonyKZ1
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Yeah, I like doing the all grain and extract 1G recipes, I have done several extract w/steeping grains 2.5 and 5G too. I just bottled a 5G Brown Ale recipe today and was thinking how much quicker this would have been if it was only 1G. But it still is annoying I guess, when I hear that I shouldn't be wasting my time only brewing 1G. Ah well, it's still beer and I made it.
NSMikeD
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I bumped up to 2.5 gallon batches when I went the kegging route at the beginning of this year, but I will continue with 1 gallon batches to supplement what I have on tap (single tap) - for fun and for guests. I just ordered Mary Izetts Speed Brewing:Techniques for Fast-Fermineting Beers, Ciders, Meads and More.
I can't wait to put my 1 gallon equipment back to work to experiment and make fermentables for guests that aren't into the stuff I like and keep on tap, like a big smoked stouts or Cascadian Ales. If a female guest is over, I can see them far more intrigued by a Strawberry-Peppercorn Short Mead. To tell the truth so am I.
Small batch brewing is, IMO, far more interesting and enjoyable.
I can't wait to put my 1 gallon equipment back to work to experiment and make fermentables for guests that aren't into the stuff I like and keep on tap, like a big smoked stouts or Cascadian Ales. If a female guest is over, I can see them far more intrigued by a Strawberry-Peppercorn Short Mead. To tell the truth so am I.
Small batch brewing is, IMO, far more interesting and enjoyable.
I just ordered a Sous Vide cooker, and I'm going to try small batch BIAB with that controlling the mash temp and circulating...
I think one gallon is a bit sparse for my tastes - but 2.5 gallon, full-volume boil, no sparging, BIAB, seems to work perfectly for my consumption levels, desire to experiment with recipes, maintainable brewing schedule (once every 1-3 weeks), and stovetop equipment.
noslenwerd
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I'm curious how everyone goes about using yeast for small batches? I have been doing 2.5g batches, but still using an entire smack pack.
Are there any adverse effects from doing this?
Are there any adverse effects from doing this?
I generally use a calculator to figure out the #rough number of cells needed and then shade a little over to ensure good fermentation. Occasionally I'll get one gallon kits that have an appropriate amount of yeast, approx half a dry pack. Not sure about using the whole smack pack. I guess concerns that immediately come to mind would be increased trub... And possibly increase in yeast flavors whatever flavors are associated with that particular yeast.
I would wonder if it would create any issues with "stressed" yeast? I.e. too much yeast competing for the same food supply, but I would think that is minimal if it even exists.
Maybe the most obvious "downside" is your using half your yeast pack that could be saved and used in another brew ?
Interested to see what others say.
If you do some searching around the forums for the threads on "over-pitching", you'll see that opinions are strong, but divided.
What I've taken away from the discussions:
- You might get more trub. As a percentage increase for a 1-gallon batch, this probably isn't an issue.
- It can lead to reduced esters and yeast flavors due to the yeast not needing to reproduce, so they don't; this may or may not be a problem for your recipe (probably not an issue for SMaSH "how does this hop taste" experiment; probably a big deal for a Saison).
- Over-pitching isn't usually a problem for most home brewers.
- Many home brewers usually under-pitch, so you might not be over-pitching at all.
Does anyone have 1 gallon NE IPA recipes, either all grain or extract? I'm not sure how to go about converting down from 5 gallon batches for this, and haven't been able to find any info elsewhere in the forum.
Thnaks!
Thnaks!
VagueSkunk
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To convert, just multiply by .40 (for a 2 gallon batch, 3 gallons would be .60 etc. ). So if a 5 gallon recipe calls for 10 pounds of two-row, a 2 gallon batch will use 4 pounds. A 3 gallon batch would use 6, and a 4 gallon batch would use 8 pounds.
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I don't know how much you pay for yeast but where I live that approach would increase my costs by 400% which doesn't work. Instead I save slurry in the fridge and pitch that according to the calculators.
NSMikeD
Well-Known Member
I've become a fan of dry yeast. The quality is no longer inferior (they survive shipping and store better). Once you hydrate dry yeast, you have liquid yeast in 20 minutes- plus they come with their own nutrient reserves. I like that I don't need to attend to the yeast until I actually start brewing.
For 99% of my brewing, there is a quality dry yeast available and for when I want a special stain that isn't available in dry, I'll use a smack pack.
I used to use a half pack for my 2.5 gallon batches but now I use the whole packet. When I was splitting the packs, since they were dry - the unused portion stored away in the fridge until the next batch with no issues.
on another note, you can calculate how much yeast to pitch. a 2.5 gallon beer with 1.048 gravity will need about 90 billion cells. A typical liquid yeast contains 80-120 billion cells averaging 100 billion, so without using a starter, a full smack pack is probably spot on. Note adjust liquid yeast by 20%/month loss
So my first brew was bottled seven weeks ago. I drank the last but one bottle last night and it is certainly not as good as it was a couple of weeks ago. So that has got me thinking about a brew that I am planning on doing for a special event in August and wondering when I should brew it to make sure that it is in good condition at the right time.
The beer that I was drinking yesterday was quite a hoppy amber ale, 3.7%, and bottled in PET bottles.
The beer that I am planning on brewing will be an oatmeal stout at 7% and will be bottled in glass.
I suppose that the other thing to think about is how long it will take to ferment out. My smaller beer have been ready to bottle in three weeks but I've got one that still doesn't seem to have finished after five weeks.
The beer that I was drinking yesterday was quite a hoppy amber ale, 3.7%, and bottled in PET bottles.
The beer that I am planning on brewing will be an oatmeal stout at 7% and will be bottled in glass.
I suppose that the other thing to think about is how long it will take to ferment out. My smaller beer have been ready to bottle in three weeks but I've got one that still doesn't seem to have finished after five weeks.
CrixusOfCapua
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Divide by 5 🖒
I have been a one gallon all grain brewer for a few months now and I have had 8 brew days. The first couple were a steep learning curve as my mash temperatures were all over the place. Then I got on top of that and started hitting 70% efficiency. But I was getting an awful lot of true in my primary. I mash in a stock pot in the oven and I was just using a colander to strain the wort from the grain and then for my sparge. A lot of flour was getting through into my hop boil and then the primary. I thought that I should try to reduce that so I started to strain the wort through muslin. That has eliminated the flour and reduced the trub but it makes the so argue extremely slow and my efficiency has dropped down to the low 60s. Wondering whether to go back to just using the colander or maybe straining the wort through muslin after the sparge. Any thoughts?
Many years ago, I did partial mash brewing. I used an aluminum pasta cooker to sparge, and it could handle up to about 5 pounds of grain. The secret for getting rid of flour is called 'Vorlauf' -- when you sparge, you pour the cloudy first running back into the grain bed until it runs clear and then you sparge with hot water.
Now I'm doing BIAB 4 gallon batches, and I'm getting a lot of flour again because my bag is too loose a weave and I don't vorlauf, but in the larger batch it doesn't really hurt much. Someday I'll sew a new bag out of muslin or voile fabric to reduce that.
I have always done that. Be for using the muslin it didn't seem to be help in much. I assumed that was because the hole sin the colander were so big. Maybe I should have run the wort through a few more times.
StateRoad84
Active Member
My batches are 1.25 gallons. I use a 10 inch double mesh strainer that sits in a colander which sits on a cookie cooling rack on top of my boil kettle. My last batch yesterday I used a permanent golden coffee strainer that has been sitting in my cupboard to get the flour out while pouring into my primary. Yes, I pour through a strainer into my primary, aerates the wort real well for the pitch.
BykerBrewer
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I tend to think a 10% decrease in efficiency is the result of something other than using a colander or a muslin bag to strain. Look at other variables. That said, you can try this if you want... The method I use removes the flour you speak of, holds the mash temp well, and results in good efficiency for me.
I mash in a paint strainer in a 2 gal cooler. When the mash is done, I pull out the whole bag with all the grain in it and set it on a colander resting over my brew pot. Then pour the wort left in the mash tun through the grain bed that is suspended over my boil pot. The wort is strained through the grain bed & then the paint strainer (and then colander technically, however, it is well strained by this point). This removes the flour your talking about. The wort falls into the boil pot, then I simply pour my sparge water over the grain bed & start the boil. Very easy.
Good luck
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