1 gallon batches to test recipes

[Brochubrew]

Hello,

I'm just getting into All Grain brewing, though I've done quite a few batches of Extract. I'm looking for ways to test out new recipes without having to go through the process of a full All Grain brew day. The goal would be to get something I like in a small batch, and then scale it up to 5-10 gallons All Grain.

I saw on Northern Brewer they have 1 gallon kits, which I think might be a good way to test out recipes as described above. However, I would need to either scale down a 5 gallon batch to 1 gallon to test it out, or start with 1 gallon and scale up. Also - I see that these 1 gallon batches are all Extract, so I'd have to convert to All Grain.

Has anyone ever gone about doing something like this - going from 1 gallon and scaling up? Scaling a larger quantity recipe down to 1 gallon? And converting Extract to All Grain? Any info on this would be appreciated. Or recommendations for accomplishing this same goal.

 

[jrgtr42]

I've scaled a couple recipes. Both ways.
Generally speaking, at this scale - 1 - 5 gallons or the other way, it's pretty much a straight conversion - that is, if your 5 gallon recipe is 10 pounds of grain and 2 oz hops, the one gallon is 2 lbs grain and 2/5 oz hops.
You may want to adjust a bit here and there, the scaling may not be perfect, especially with hops, but it's a good place to start.
I know there are other threads about converting from extract to grain, but I don't remember offhand what they are - there is a ratio for DME to grain and a slightly different one from LME to grain.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

www.brooklynbrewshop.com ... all-grain, 1-gallon.

Or, if you have an LHBS nearby, just buy the small amount of necessary 1-gallon equipment there, and then you can start experimenting. If you go that route, I suggest getting BBS's two books, BEER MAKING BOOK and MAKE SOME BEER. They contain some very good, very inspiring recipes, written for 1 gallon, each with a converted recipe for 5-gallon brewing.

 

[PitRow]

I haven't actually brewed any yet, but I have a few 5 gallon recipes that I've scaled down to 1 gallon that I want to try soon. I built an excel sheet that does a straight conversion, then I plug those amounts into brewer's friend and adjust for my efficiency and to get the gravity, ibu, srm, etc. close to what the original recipe called for.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I haven't actually brewed any yet, but I have a few 5 gallon recipes that I've scaled down to 1 gallon that I want to try soon. I built an excel sheet that does a straight conversion, then I plug those amounts into brewer's friend and adjust for my efficiency and to get the gravity, ibu, srm, etc. close to what the original recipe called for.

Mke, that's pretty much what I did for the Blauer Mond, except I used a calculator instead of Excel. Results were good ~

 

[kh54s10]

I do my experimental brews in 5 gallons. I don't usually do anything extreme and like all styles of beer so there is little risk. I would hate to have a really good recipe and end up with only 11 -12 bottles. Out of 93 brews,I have only made 2 batches that I didn't drink. One looked like a green milkshake - I dumped it. The other was a really high ABV attempt that was way too sweet. I used it in cooking.

When I started making my own recipes I would take a proven recipe and make a small alteration, like taking a pale ale and adding some Rye, or smoked malt etc.

I now have a fairly good idea of malt and hop combinations that I like, so I don't risk much making a 5 gallon batch.

I have never tried it, but Beersmith has a scaling tool. Figuring out how to convert the extract is a guess though since you are not totally sure what went into it.

 

[Brochubrew]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[chickypad]

You might have to tinker a bit with your numbers as not everything scales exactly - for example boil off, losses, etc. Sometimes you have to tinker a bit with IBU adjustments for a given boil volume. With all grain you pretty much need to adjust all recipes for your own equipment and efficiency anyway though, it's not that difficult once you do it a few times. You may want to look into a program like Beersmith where you can customize and save different batch sizes/profiles to fit your equipment and process. That's what I do, so it makes it pretty easy to scale recipes between my typical batch sizes of 2, 3, 5, or 10 gals.

 

[MaryB]

I occasionally do a 1 gallon on a recipe I am not sure I will like. I used a small grain bag and do BIAB, sparge in a large strainer... only need my stainless stock pot instead of the heavy duty equipment.

 

[Sadu]

I do this all the time. Working through 5 gallons of average beer sucks so I usually do a test batch (5 litres) unless I'm super confident.
My advice is to get Beersmith. I think I have only brewed 1 test batch where I didn't adjust something when scaling up. Just makes it easier to tweak your recipe based on your tasting notes. Not roasty enough, not enough bitterness, OG too high, too much caramel sweetness, etc. If you are going to the trouble of making a test batch then take the time to tweak it second time around.

 

[NSMikeD]

www.brooklynbrewshop.com ... all-grain, 1-gallon.

Or, if you have an LHBS nearby, just buy the small amount of necessary 1-gallon equipment there, and then you can start experimenting. If you go that route, I suggest getting BBS's two books, BEER MAKING BOOK and MAKE SOME BEER. They contain some very good, very inspiring recipes, written for 1 gallon, with a converted recipe for 5-gallon brewing.

^^^ this

I do 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon brews. My first batch I simply divided a 5gallon recipe of the internet and brewed. Then I found BIABacus and used that and some of their proven recipes. I've since upgraded to BeerSmith to do the scaling math as well as a lot of other things.

I use my LHBS. I have them double crush my grains (common technique for BIAB) since I have yet to invest in my own grain mill. The base malt is done to order so I give them the amount I need. The specialty grains come in 1 lb bags so I have the crush the whole bag and I use the food saver to vacuum seal the left over with the label for future use. Hops go into the freezer and yeast into the fridge. Dry yeast is the way to start for small batch. 1/2 or 1/3 packet is perfect for 1 gallon.

I do research the beer style and compare recipes before committing to a recipe. This is helpful in learning about the different ingredients and what they bring to the beer. There are a lot of recipes on the internet that drift far away for the beer style or are heavy handed in the use of specialty grains and hops.

You can't go wrong with a simple pale ale using 90% 2 row and 10% crystal and some hops to begin.

 

[Opiate42]

Hello,

Has anyone ever gone about doing something like this - going from 1 gallon and scaling up? Scaling a larger quantity recipe down to 1 gallon? And converting Extract to All Grain? Any info on this would be appreciated. Or recommendations for accomplishing this same goal.

Hi!

Welcome to the club.

Yep, Yep, Nope.

Started off on 1 gallons and still do them to trial a recipe, 5 gallons of crap is a shame.

The x5 or \5 rule works fine for me, and I basically round down or up to the ounce when dealing with hops if scaling up the grams means 0.972 ounces or some decimal madness I just say bugger it and throw the whole bag in.

Have taken 5 gallon recipes and scaled them down to trial plenty of times, turns out just fine.

I enjoy the imprecise nature of brewing.

So yah, go with your gut.

My wife just started brewing her own too, starting with 1 gallon all grain. She already came up with a tasty IPA we'll definitely be scaling up!:rockin:

 

[applescrap]

Hello,

I'm just getting into All Grain brewing, though I've done quite a few batches of Extract. I'm looking for ways to test out new recipes without having to go through the process of a full All Grain brew day. The goal would be to get something I like in a small batch, and then scale it up to 5-10 gallons All Grain.

I saw on Northern Brewer they have 1 gallon kits, which I think might be a good way to test out recipes as described above. However, I would need to either scale down a 5 gallon batch to 1 gallon to test it out, or start with 1 gallon and scale up. Also - I see that these 1 gallon batches are all Extract, so I'd have to convert to All Grain.

Has anyone ever gone about doing something like this - going from 1 gallon and scaling up? Scaling a larger quantity recipe down to 1 gallon? And converting Extract to All Grain? Any info on this would be appreciated. Or recommendations for accomplishing this same goal.

Sounds great, scale away and if you get some killler recipes please share with me. In some instances brewing a 5 gallon base and then splitting into 1 gallon secondaries might be a good idea. And in others Brewing 1-gallon at a time might be a better idea. Depends on what you are up too. For hop combinations i dont see why sticking with dme would be a problem. Then the only variable you would be testing are hop combos. Hope you do this and share the results. And then you could keep hops same and then test different yeasts on combos you like. And then secondary them with different flavors. The possibilities are endless and if that is your thing i support it fully. I like 2.5 gallon batches because that is simple math to split 5 gallon recipes and i have 3 mr beer kegs and if its good you might want 2.5 gallons. Brooklyn beer has 1 g kits as mentioned. Btw i scale up and down all the time. Other brewers brew on stove in three different scaled pots. This is the joy and madness of brewing.

 

[Lefou]

Want to know a trick I use? Online calculators. I can play with those endlessly.
Some of the brew shops selling kits will also list their grain recipes in the product description.

If they have a really popular style comparable to what I've built with an online calculator, I substitute grains, hops, or yeasts and scale it that way. LME and DME conversion and substitutions are pretty easy if you find a reliable calculator you like. It gives you a numbers idea of what you'd like to put in the pot before you buy it.