1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

I bought a 5 gallon round cooler for 15 bucks and just put my grains in a bag and put it in the cooler no need for a braid. Just make sure you get all the grains wet. The first time I didn't and found huge dough balls. I got horrible efficiency

I tried, guys. I tried...

15 pages in and I thought, "There is no way in HELL I'm going to get through 313 pages of this..."

I was hoping to get some better advice on the mash process with a 1-gallon brew. I started with 5 gallons like most, and stepped down to 2.5 gallons last year. I built a 10G mash-tun that works fine with 2.5 gallons - I "taught" Beersmith all my calculations for deadspace and such. However I don't want to use it for 1G batches as the deadspace alone is probably 12-13% of the final batch volume, and plus, why go through all the hassle of dirtying up the giant mash-tun for a single gallon of beer?

BUT, I can't filter through 313 pages... So I'll just describe my process here...

I use a 1.5 gallon soup pot to heat my grains in. I was using a paint-strainer bag, but as I don't boil in this pot, I quit using it because I felt it made the mash too tight. I heat the pot first to 130 degrees or so and then just lid it for 30 minutes. I don't worry much about temperature drop. I then heat the pot - stirring like a mofo - to my mash temp (depending on desired body of course) I then kill the heat and take the pot OFF the burner and again just let it sit for another 30 minutes. I really don't worry about insulating it - it's a pretty heavy-duty pot and I've only lost about 5 degrees over that half-hour.

I usually steep my sparge water in a separate pot - it might be a bit overkill on dishes, but it only ever sees water, so I just let it dry, cool, and toss it back into the cupboard.

When the mash is done, I take a large strainer, insert it into a large paint strainer bag, and put it over my boil pot (it's the same 5G pot I started extract brewing with and I need to get a smaller one.) I pour the mash contents through the strainer, which gets rather well filtered since the bag is both above and below the strainer itself. I pour over the sparge water, and let everything drip for a bit, even kinda stirring the grains.

The first time I did this, I dumped the finished wort into a 2-gallon bucket and took measurements for both volume, temp and gravity. I've gotten nerdy about determining my efficiency BEFORE the boil, so that I can compensate if needed.

After taking my measurements, I run the wort through the bagged strainer again - after first dumping out the grains and rinsing the bag. Then the boil begins. So far I've been at a consistent 70% efficiency.

I cool the wort by simply tossing the pot into a sink filled with ice-water. It's a bit slower than using my wort chiller, but again, why dirty up more equipment...?

I just opened the first of my 1-gallon brews. I fermented it in a 2-gallon bucket, "secondaried" in a 1-gallon carboy, and then transfered to another 1-gallon carboy with priming sugar - basically I "bottled" it in a single "bottle." I realize it won't last long like this, though in theory I could toss in a pinch of sugar to keep it carbonated, but I'd have NO idea how much to add... Still, I'm not really concerned.

Thing is, the beer is incredible. It's an English IPA I called "I Fuggled Your Mom" - almost a SMaSH beer but it has some toasted and crystal malts in it as well. I even grabbed my neighbor to try it last night because it was just that good. I was suddenly considering a slightly larger batch to enter some competitions with.

Anyways, any ideas on how to further simplify my process OR improve my efficiency? I did read on another thread somewhere about someone dunking their grains into the sparge water - this seems like it might be a pretty good idea... Could almost treat it like a second mash...

Oh - I also bought my own crusher just recently (haven't actually used it yet) so I'm hoping that might get me another few points as well.

Keep it up, my One Gallon Brewing Brethren!!

sounds like you already have a pretty solid system if your beer is turning out that good!

I'm currently using a 2 gallon cooler with a bag, mashing and spargin in that and then moving it over to a 5 gallon pot to boil. my first two batches I hit 67% efficiency. I'm hopping if I let the grains sit in the sparge water for 15 or so minutes that will bump it up some more. (I more or less dunk sparged last time).... but I'm still a complete noob with only 5 batches under my belt

so its about time to bottle my last two batches. The first one was supposed to be a bass clone. However it started life with 1.090 og and is now at 1.012... soo about 11%? It does not taste like it at all. However it is not near as bitter as I thought it was going to be... Cant wait till it carbs up and ages.




The second one was supposed to be the "cream of three crops", I hit all my numbers on it however I think it fermented a little bit warmer then the yeast wanted to. I can taste a lot more twang in it. Hopefully it will mellow out with age. It ended up being about 6%. Also hoping it clears up a little bit... Looks way watery atm




btw sorry for the fuzzy pics... my phone does not like to take photos in that room.

ViperMan said:

I tried, guys. I tried...

So far I've been at a consistent 70% efficiency.

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If you condition your grains, you can do a finer crush and get the same clarity, but better efficiency.

Squeezing the bejeebers out of you grain will get you a couple of points too. I squeeze after the mash AND after the sparge.

ViperMan said:

I tried, guys. I tried...

Anyways, any ideas on how to further simplify my process OR improve my efficiency? I did read on another thread somewhere about someone dunking their grains into the sparge water - this seems like it might be a pretty good idea... Could almost treat it like a second mash...

Click to expand...

I've been able to get efficiencies in the 80s by doing a couple things. I'm doing BIAB in a 16 qt pot.

1) After the mash, I pull the bag out and squeeze it. I do this by putting an oven rack on top of the pot, spinning the bag until it is tight, then squeezing the bag over the oven rack using the pot lid.

2) Put the bag of grain in the 2 gal bucket/fermenter and pour the sparge water in. I then open the bag and stir the grains inside. Pull the bag out, dump the 1st sparge into the brew pot, and repeat the squeeze process.

3) Repeat step 2 as needed to reach pre-boil volume. I usually just do this twice, but did three sparges on my barleywine.

I've read that it is bad to squeeze the grain. Does that only apply if your not using a bag?

MedBrewer said:

I've read that it is bad to squeeze the grain. Does that only apply if your not using a bag?

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It's a myth. Only heat releases tannins.
Unless you are squeezing hard enough to make diamonds, you'll be fine.

bleme said:

It's a myth. Only heat releases tannins.
Unless you are squeezing hard enough to make diamonds, you'll be fine.

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That's great to know,thanks! Now another question,any one set up a one gallon profile in the new mobile version of beersmith?

sumone said:

sounds like you already have a pretty solid system if your beer is turning out that good!

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Thanks - I was kinda thinking that too, but I'm always open to suggestions.

bleme said:

It's a myth. Only heat releases tannins.
Unless you are squeezing hard enough to make diamonds, you'll be fine.

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HAHA! The only thing I'll add is FILTER what you squeeze out. Squeezing the grains kinda negates the whole "grain bed as a filter" strategy, so you need to run it through a pretty fine strainer (like a clean grain/paint strainer bag) just to catch what gets out. As you squeeze the bag it'll stretch and let the dust and "flour" escape. That's why I put my strainer inside a bag and pour everything through it even twice to get as much as that stuff out as I can, because what DOES get into the boil can release tannins, and you want to minimize that.

Seriously - I bought 2 large and 2 small paint strainer bags from Home Depot. Cost less than $7 total if I recall. Go get 'em!

MedBrewer said:

That's great to know,thanks! Now another question,any one set up a one gallon profile in the new mobile version of beersmith?

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As a matter of fact, yes.

"VBD Pot (2.5 Gal) BIAB" (That's ViperDen Brewery)

Mash Tun Volume 2.5 (I'll make this three when I get a larger pot this weekend)
Weight (Anyone know what use this is?!) 2.2 lb
Specific Heat .12 (Stainless - be sure to adjust if you use an aluminum or other pot. Obviously we're not using plastic.)
Deadspace is zero because we're mashing in the boil pot.
Top up is zero, boil time adjusts of course, boil off I'm still tweaking but I think I'm in the vicinity of .3 to .35 gallons an hour. Loss to Trub and Chiller is .2, top up is 0, batch volume adjusts of course, but I use 1.2, and fermenter loss is .2. You should always consider adjusting the fermenter loss if you're dry-hopping or adding things like cocoa powder, fruit, etc - anything that will soak up beer or simply be impossible to suck out around (leaf hops REALLY burn up some volume...) I've also read that coconut is very absorbant.

Hope this helps. And if it doesn't, here's a screen shot 'cause I'm just that nice...


And of course if anyone has some adjustments to recommend, I'm all ears (er... eyes...)

ViperMan said:

HAHA! The only thing I'll add is FILTER what you squeeze out. Squeezing the grains kinda negates the whole "grain bed as a filter" strategy, so you need to run it through a pretty fine strainer (like a clean grain/paint strainer bag) just to catch what gets out. As you squeeze the bag it'll stretch and let the dust and "flour" escape. That's why I put my strainer inside a bag and pour everything through it even twice to get as much as that stuff out as I can, because what DOES get into the boil can release tannins, and you want to minimize that.

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Nothing wrong with filtering your wort before boiling but not necessary....tannins caused by the dust and flour is most likely caused by the pH than boiling and heat.

BigRock947 said:

Nothing wrong with filtering your wort before boiling but not necessary....tannins caused by the dust and flour is most likely caused by the pH than boiling and heat.

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And since I condition my grain before the crush, my husks (where the tannins are) are usually too big to get through to the wort.

If your strainer/bag is very effective, I might use it when I do 10 gallon batches with a friend though. He uses a stainless braid and vorlauf takes FOREVER!

bleme said:

And since I condition my grain before the crush, my husks (where the tannins are) are usually too big to get through to the wort.

If your strainer/bag is very effective, I might use it when I do 10 gallon batches with a friend though. He uses a stainless braid and vorlauf takes FOREVER!

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By "conditioning grain" do you mean wetting it? What's the advantage? And what's your process? I've been getting very trubby wort these days...

Hold the phone! Some of you mash your entire volume of water needed for the boil!? No mashing with some and sparging with the rest? Ok. I'm interested.... Does it work well?

jongrill said:

Hold the phone! Some of you mash your entire volume of water needed for the boil!? No mashing with some and sparging with the rest? Ok. I'm interested.... Does it work well?

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Not exactly sure what you mean but a lot of us use all of the water for the brew (mash and sparge water combined) for the mash which is called a true BIAB. it works well and as long as you have a big enough pot, it rocks. For a huge beer and a huge volume it becomes difficult if not impossible due to weight and SG of the grist.

TCGoose said:

By "conditioning grain" do you mean wetting it? What's the advantage? And what's your process? I've been getting very trubby wort these days...

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I put .3 oz of water per pound of grain in a spray bottle.
Put the grain in a bucket and thoroughly mist the top.
Stir and repeat until I run out of water.
Crush the grain 20 minutes later.

It leaves the hulls intact and I can do a finer crush without getting all the flour.

divrguy said:

Not exactly sure what you mean but a lot of us use all of the water for the brew (mash and sparge water combined) for the mash which is called a true BIAB. it works well and as long as you have a big enough pot, it rocks. For a huge beer and a huge volume it becomes difficult if not impossible due to weight and SG of the grist.

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That's exactly what in talking about! So what about temperatures? Stays the same the whole time? Raised at the end?

jongrill said:

That's exactly what in talking about! So what about temperatures? Stays the same the whole time? Raised at the end?

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Typically they mash at 154F or whatever, turn on the burner and raise it to 170F or whatever, then pull out the grain and squeeze it or whatever.

Would love to know how much mango to add for a 1 gallon pale ale? any one have an idea? these are fresh Kent Mangos from my yard, very tasty and sweet. Better to add to boil? or secondary? or both? Ill either add the mango to a pale ale or to a SMASH of Vienna and northern brewer. Better to puree or just mince it?
Thanks in advance for tips!

MedBrewer said:

Would love to know how much mango to add for a 1 gallon pale ale?

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Most fruit does best in secondary, 1 pound per gallon, for subtle fruit flavor. If you want a lot of mango flavor, go with 2 pounds.

Personally, I would freeze, thaw and purée but there isn't really a wrong way.

Big fan of smaller batches! Love this thread.

Just wanted to share this sexy little conical fermenter.
Brewdemon 2 Gallon Conical Fermenter

It is actually 3.125 total volume so you could do up to 2.5g batches. Would work well for 1g batches that are too active for smaller fermenters. It is just too cute so I am ordering one.

Thanks Sammy, I checked it out. Looks very nice so I ordered one too, looking forward to seeing how well it works.

That is really nice!

bleme said:

Typically they mash at 154F or whatever, turn on the burner and raise it to 170F or whatever, then pull out the grain and squeeze it or whatever.

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What if I'm using a cooler to mash? How would you raise the temp?

jongrill said:

What if I'm using a cooler to mash? How would you raise the temp?

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You can do 2 things 1. add more hot water if you have room or 2. remove some of the water and grains and heat it up and add it back to your cooler. I never worried amount the amount of water and grain...I just guessed.

The second one seems harder but its really easy...might be a tad messy or at least it was for me.

I have my first 1 gallon all grain porter getting busy in my fermenter. I'm planning on racking it to secondary on top of bourbon soaked toasted oak chips.

Does anybody have a suggestion of the amount of chips I should use and how long I should let the beer sit on the chips?

Hiya all,so I tried one of my Brooklyn brew shop recipes today, the WGD light after only 12 days in the bottle and it was really good! Has any one else made that recipe? Id like to make another batch to that recipe and add mangos. What ya think?

Any one made 1 gallon apfelwine? I used a gallon of apple juice with no preserves,and about 1 lbs brown sugar with 1/2 pack American ale yeast s04 it's been fermenting one month. Could I bottle today?

You should be good, but to be sure you could always take a hydrometer reading. I did one a couple years ago but i used a champagne yeast.

You should be good. I've done some experimental ciders and they are usually done around day 10-12. The sugar types available in apple juice are no trick at all for the yeast to break down. That also usually means they finish really dry.

sammy33 said:

Big fan of smaller batches! Love this thread.

Just wanted to share this sexy little conical fermenter.
Brewdemon 2 Gallon Conical Fermenter

It is actually 3.125 total volume so you could do up to 2.5g batches. Would work well for 1g batches that are too active for smaller fermenters. It is just too cute so I am ordering one.

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They delivered mine yesterday afternoon, going to brew this weekend and give it a try.

Has anybody added oak chips to a fermenting bucket? The product listing for the chips specify stainless or glass, so I'm thinking the tannic acid is liable to linger in the plastic.

Leadgolem said:

Has anybody added oak chips to a fermenting bucket? The product listing for the chips specify stainless or glass, so I'm thinking the tannic acid is liable to linger in the plastic.

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I hope not Im oaking my 2 gallon Old Guardian clone

Hey guys, its been a while since Ive been here. Just wrote this up on my blog and thought you guys would like the read. I'll make it back here more often from now on too, life just gets in the way of internet forums sometimes.

http://www.onegallonbrewing.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-i-one-gallon-brew-unsolicited.html

JollyIsTheRoger said:

Hey guys, its been a while since Ive been here. Just wrote this up on my blog and thought you guys would like the read. I'll make it back here more often from now on too, life just gets in the way of internet forums sometimes.

http://www.onegallonbrewing.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-i-one-gallon-brew-unsolicited.html

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+1 nice

JollyIsTheRoger said:

Hey guys, its been a while since Ive been here. Just wrote this up on my blog and thought you guys would like the read. I'll make it back here more often from now on too, life just gets in the way of internet forums sometimes.

http://www.onegallonbrewing.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-i-one-gallon-brew-unsolicited.html

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I agree with you 100%. Great post.

+1 . . . Excellent response to the "my way or the highway" big-batch argument.

Personally, if it wasn't for small-batch brewing I would not be a homebrewer. It's as simple as that.

unkyjack said:

+1 . . . Excellent response to the "my way or the highway" big-batch argument.

Personally, if it wasn't for small-batch brewing I would not be a homebrewer. It's as simple as that.

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Me too. The first few batches I did were pretty much jailhouse brew. Pretty horrible stuff, but I learned a lot doing it.

So, who has some fun stuff going? Should be bottling one of the berliner wiess's I did a few months back soon (should be tonight, but I may be lazy).

So, I'm a new brewer. A couple batches under my belt. The more I read this forum and think about it, the more I think about how much I really want to do 1 -2.5 gallon batches. The reason why is because i'd love to play around with some brews and have other beers to be able to pick up on their flavor notes so that I can develop a good enough palate for the complexities of beer. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some websites that cater to 1 to 2.5 gallon brewers?

Thank you all very much.