1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[HardyFool]

Your homebrew shop should be able to sell you a slotted rubber grommet that converts the lid of any bucket to accept an airlock. You just drill a small hole in the lid and slip the rubber grommet into the hole. Then an airlock fits perfectly inside the grommet.

I do this too, and it's a solid move, especially if you want to be able to monitor the gravity of your beer throughout (via refractometer). I've found that the lids don't create a perfect seal, though, so you may want to cut out a gasket if that bothers you

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

For those who are occasional listeners of Basic Brewing Radio/Video, in the April 2, 2020 ("Brown Ale or Brown Fail") Basic Brewing Radio episode, at minutes 27 to 34, there is a discussion on water chemistry when brewing using partial mash.

 

[HardyFool]

I'm going to make a full post soon, with brew day footage and pictures of each piece of gear and their magnificent Valhalla of a cabinet, but for now, here's a video I made of what I claim to be the most advanced one gallon brewery (shots fired!)

Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see or know, for instance the like 20 different mash heating options I've considered and how to build them all

Cheers!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

what I claim to be the most advanced one gallon brewery

I will give you that! Looking forward to the brewday video.

I am kinda surprised with all the money and effort that you put into the brewday equipment, that you ferment in that plastic pail thing.

 

[HardyFool]

I will give you that! Looking forward to the brewday video.

I am kinda surprised with all the money and effort that you put into the brewday equipment, that you ferment in that plastic pail thing.

An astute observation, and I do have a glass one gallon fermenter with thermowell, but because it's a firm one gallon (no spare kräusen room), and becuase I can't add a sampling/racking port, I don't love it

There's a big mouth ~1.3 gallon glass fermenter with a sampling port, which I may buy soon

And I have drafted up a rough design for a ~1.5 gallon stainless conical, but that'd be comically expensive - a few hundred for the welds alone, and even if I know someone to do it for free, the stainless would set me back quite a bit. I'm not there yet!

(And the brew demon is a touch big for my taste)

 

[bwible]

What do you guys do about yeast? I have shyed away from using liquid yeast because it doesn't seem to lend itself to one gallon batches. An entire tube is massively overpitching or I am left with two thirds or so of a tube of yeast that I don't have much of a use for. As such I try to use dry yeast as much as I can. But there are several yeasts that just aren't available dry.

Yeast is the bane of 1 gallon brewing. Liquid yeast (White Labs or Wyeast) cost about $8 where I am. So just from a cost perspective, its not conducive to brewing 1 gallon at a time. I brew 3 gallons at a time, and I always try to use my yeast at least 3 times due to cost.

Something that gets overlooked - if you bottle (and bottle condition, as I’m assuming just about everyone here does. I don’t think anybody is filtering yeast and counter pressure bottling) then every one of your bottled beers contains yeast! After you open the beer and decant it into your glass, there will be a small amount of yeast in the bottom of each bottle - which you could feed with a little sterile wort and re-culture. A gallon should produce 10 bottles. Thats 10 potential yeast starters.

Sometimes if you buy commercial beer that is bottle conditioned, like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - that also contains some yeast you can culture up.

Good cost savings if you do it.

Even better - if you ask nicely at your local microbrewery, they will most likely give you some yeast. They throw it away, literally, all the time. Our local gave me a 12oz water bottle full to the top of fresh yeast. I made 8 beers out of that. Take in your own sanitized container and work around their schedule when they have time.

 

[T-Boy]

Does anybody use a yeast starter or some other alternative to make sure the yeast gets going good? I usually brew between 1 -2.5 gallon batches.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Does anybody use a yeast starter or some other alternative to make sure the yeast gets going good? I usually brew between 1 -2.5 gallon batches.

I don't really brew many smaller batches (1.25 gallons when I do), so I just typically use dry yeast, 1/2 pkg of either us-05 or Nottingham depending on what I'm brewing. The three beers I currently have fermenting are with us-05 that I bought off amazon - 3pkgs for $10.50 or $1.75 per batch. Never had an issue doing this.

 

[HardyFool]

Does anybody use a yeast starter or some other alternative to make sure the yeast gets going good? I usually brew between 1 -2.5 gallon batches.

I just pony up for a full yeast pack and pour in a fraction corresponding to what a yeast calc tells me, using a 100mL graduated cylinder. Easy, if by a few bucks the most expensive option

Starters are tight, but I've yet to make one where I'm not pouring in at least like .05-.1 gal (200-400 mL) of oxidized starter wort, which I don't love. I figure, if you have to cold crash the thing into a paste, how much better is that than a yeast packet? Probably somewhat - this is likely the best answer, though again, how in tarnation do you quantify how much to pitch? Yeast starter calcs can give you a % of the total amount of yeast to pitch, but again, this requires cold crashing and decanting the yeast into a fairly concentrated slurry to avoid oxidation off-flavors. Plus, they're a pain! I absolutely hate waiting for wort to cool, they introduce a risk, the cans of premade wort eviscerate the price advantage, they require more cleaning, and how much money are you saving? If you're a 15 gallon brewer making a lager, tons of money - if you're a one gallon brewer, negative money

Finally, there's dry yeast. In theory, if you're willing to roll the dice, you can use a packet for a few brews and at lower cost than liquid. My personal problem is very simple: the lack of variety. I make a good amount of Kölsches and British beers, in which I want very particular yeasts - but for the IPA brewer, this is a super smart and simple way to go

My strong suspicion is that the best move is to simply brew every two weeks, say, and use the same yeast cake for a few beers in a row. Pale ale -> dark mild -> Porter, say, or Kölsch -> "Schwarzbier" -> California Common, perhaps; though I'd be careful to get pretty clear wort if you're doing this, or you risk, I don't know, whatever off flavors result from hop and trub particles from a few batches back - if the beers are similar enough, this probably isn't a big deal, though this implies you should brew from light to dark or malty to hoppy

 

[T-Boy]

I have no problem hitting my target OG with my two 2 gallon HLT/ mash tun set up. My problem is with hitting my FG and getting it low enough. Right now for a 2 gallon batch I will simply pitch half of the packet of yeast. Don't get me wrong the beer is good and nobody complains but I know the ABV should be higher. I realize that it could be many factors, however, the reason I believe it has to do with the yeast is that the issue is even more pronounced when I make wine, country or with grapes. Friend of mine suggested I try Go Ferm to rehydrate the yeast and wake them up. Unless someone tells me otherwise that may be what I try first.

 

[HardyFool]

I have no problem hitting my target OG with my two 2 gallon HLT/ mash tun set up. My problem is with hitting my FG and getting it low enough. Right now for a 2 gallon batch I will simply pitch half of the packet of yeast. Don't get me wrong the beer is good and nobody complains but I know the ABV should be higher. I realize that it could be many factors, however, the reason I believe it has to do with the yeast is that the issue is even more pronounced when I make wine, country or with grapes. Friend of mine suggested I try Go Ferm to rehydrate the yeast and wake them up. Unless someone tells me otherwise that may be what I try first.

This may not be the whole story, but yeast packets are surprisingly big underpitches for 5 gallons - plugging in 1.060, 2 gal, and 5.5 g of dry yeast into this calculator shows that you're pitching half what's required, meaning possibly a stuck fermentation and likely some off flavors (maybe as little as heightened ester production)

So maybe pitch the whole packet, and when in doubt, use the calc

Also, the only other big obvious thing I could think of is a super high mash temp, like I dunno...155˚+. I take it you measure your mash temps and that isn't the case? (I'd be surprised)

 

[bwible]

My strong suspicion is that the best move is to simply brew every two weeks, say, and use the same yeast cake for a few beers in a row. Pale ale -> dark mild -> Porter, say, or Kölsch -> "Schwarzbier" -> California Common, perhaps; though I'd be careful to get pretty clear wort if you're doing this, or you risk, I don't know, whatever off flavors result from hop and trub particles from a few batches back - if the beers are similar enough, this probably isn't a big deal, though this implies you should brew from light to dark or malty to hoppy

This is exactly what I do. With American Ale yeast, lets say. I will start with a blonde ale, use that yeast cake for a pale ale, then use that yeast cake for a brown ale or an amber ale, then finally I will use that yeast cake for a barleywine. After that, I won’t use it again due to stress on the yeast.

Light to dark, weak to strong. Its the order that beer judges use to taste and judge beer also.

Breweries usually have one house strain they use for everything. Yeast is a significant cost to even a microbrewery too - when you are talking about having enough yeast for 250 gallons of beer - which is a standard 7 barrel system. So none of them are making 10 different beers with 5 different yeasts.

 

[T-Boy]

Also, the only other big obvious thing I could think of is a super high mash temp, like I dunno...155˚+. I take it you measure your mash temps and that isn't the case? (I'd be surprised)

Yes, I very much monitor that. I'll try using that calculator and if it give me the whole pack that is what I will pitch. I am brewing a stout next going to supplement the fermentable with Steen's Pure Cane syrup https://www.steenssyrup.com Thanks to all for the helpful advice!

 

[Leezer]

Does anybody use a yeast starter or some other alternative to make sure the yeast gets going good? I usually brew between 1 -2.5 gallon batches.

For my 2.5G batches I always make a starter (liquid yeast only), use about 2/3 of it and discard the rest. For a recent 1G batch, I used a lesser amount of the starter and saved the rest in a sanitized mason jar, with a plan to use that as a starter for a future batch.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Yeast is the bane of 1 gallon brewing. ... I brew 3 gallons at a time

I brew six-pack and 12-pack batches (roughly a gallon) and don't find yeast to be "the bane of 1 gallon brewing". Maybe "YMMV" applies here?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

For a recent 1G batch, I used a lesser amount of the starter and saved the rest in a sanitized mason jar, with a plan to use that as a starter for a future batch.

Earlier, I was going to say that someone was doing this, but no one was talking about it. Looks like I was half right. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Leezer]

This will be a new experience for me, but trying new things is part of the fun!

 

[bwible]

I brew six-pack and 12-pack batches (roughly a gallon) and don't find yeast to be "the bane of 1 gallon brewing". Maybe "YMMV" applies here?

If you’re getting it free someplace, thats great. But like I said, liquid yeasts cost $8. I can BUY a 6 pack of very good beer for $10. So why is it worth anybody’s time, energy or money to BREW a 6 pack for more than that?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Yeast is the bane of 1 gallon brewing. ... I brew 3 gallons at a time

I brew six-pack and 12-pack batches (roughly a gallon) and don't find yeast to be "the bane of 1 gallon brewing". Maybe "YMMV" applies here?

If you’re getting it free someplace, thats great. But like I said, liquid yeasts cost $8. I can BUY a 6 pack of very good beer for $10. So why is it worth anybody’s time, energy or money to BREW a 6 pack for more than that?

FWIW, the title for this topic is "1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!"

Dry yeast costs $3 to $5 for a five gallon pitch. For dry yeast and my gallon-ish batches I pitch 1/4 of a package (and don't measure cost per bottle).

When I start using liquid yeast, I'll figure out how to do the same (pitch 1/4 of a package and don't measure cost per bottle).

So why is it worth anybody’s time, energy or money to BREW a 6 pack for more than that?

Typically, a 12-pack is all that I want (6-packs are typically "experimental"). When I want more beer (per batch), I brew a larger batch size.

 

[OnePlate]

Brewing very small batches can be fun! It's all about what your time is worth and having fun. You can take any hobby to the extreme from spending 1000s of dollars on automated systems to spending the time to brew exactly two bottles of all-grain experimental beer in your InstantPot.

 

[jimdkc]

I've had good luck pitching a half-pack of dry yeast per 1 to 1.3 gallon batch. I then fold over the pack, clip it closed and save it in the fridge for the next batch (this is against all advice... but I've not had any issues doing it!)

If I'm going to be brewing the week after bottling, I'll save the yeast after racking the beer off for bottling or kegging. I pour a cup of distilled water into the fermenter, swirl and save it in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week. At brew time, I let it come to room temp, pour off most of the clear liquid, give it another swirl and pitch.

I haven't gone beyond 3rd generation (yet!), but that means I get up to 6 batches from 1 pack of yeast.

I plan on starting to brew some lagers, and I'll probably use a full pack of dry yeast per batch.

 

[bwible]

I was just pointing out that yeast drives up cost more (relative) when brewing smaller batches.

What does a grain bill for a one gallon batch look like? 2.25 pounds of grain and one ounce of hops? Average grain price is about 1.80 a pound so 2.25 x 1.80 is 4.05. 2 for hops. Dry yeast is $5, liquid yeast is $8. So 11.05 with dry yeast, 14.05 with liquid yeast. A gallon should give you (10) 12 oz bottles. So thats 1.10 or 1.40 a bottle. That actually is better than you can buy it for or real close.

I use liquid yeast because I brew English beers. I like to brew what I can’t buy easily. When I brew 3 gallons, its 6.5 pounds times 1.80 is 11.70. And I need 2 oz of hops that I won’t use all of but I need 2 different varieties. So thats another 4 for 15.70. If I use dry yeast it goes to 20.70. Liquid yeast goes to 23.70. 3 gallons is 30 bottles, so for me its .69 a bottle with dry yeast or .79 a bottle with liquid yeast. I can’t buy it for that.

I’m not telling anyone to step up or anything - but this is why I settled on 3 gallon batches years ago. 30 bottles is a case and a six pack.

At a one gallon level, the yeast cost difference is .30 a bottle. At a 3 gallon level the yeast cost difference is .10 a bottle. So I don’t care and I use what I want. Both kinds of yeast can be re-used to lower the cost of the next batch.

I think the math gets better with 5 gallon batches, but I won’t go through it - as I think many here say.

Costs can be further reduced by buying grains by the sack (which I do) or hops by the pound (which I don’t do).

 

[OnePlate]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

 

[Immocles]

I've had good luck pitching a half-pack of dry yeast per 1 to 1.3 gallon batch. I then fold over the pack, clip it closed and save it in the fridge for the next batch (this is against all advice... but I've not had any issues doing it!)

If I'm going to be brewing the week after bottling, I'll save the yeast after racking the beer off for bottling or kegging. I pour a cup of distilled water into the fermenter, swirl and save it in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week. At brew time, I let it come to room temp, pour off most of the clear liquid, give it another swirl and pitch.

I haven't gone beyond 3rd generation (yet!), but that means I get up to 6 batches from 1 pack of yeast.

I plan on starting to brew some lagers, and I'll probably use a full pack of dry yeast per batch.

I do very similar. 1/3 of a pack when using fresh yeast and save at least two small mason jars from most brews. I don't put any distilled water into the fermenter though, just leave the yeast on the beer. I've had luck directly pitching these jars into future batches a couple months later with no starter, as well. I think the furthest out I went was ~3 months. In a few weeks I will be brewing a dunkelweizen with 3068 yeast from last August. I'm a bit leery about that, but I have a backup plan as well.

I also haven't gone beyond the 3rd generation. I get skittish at that point about it haha. But I do think it would be perfectly fine.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

Thanks! This matches a lot of what I have read wrt five gallon batches and from what I read, it looked like the techniques would scale down without problems.

 

[mashpaddled]

I was just pointing out that yeast drives up cost more (relative) when brewing smaller batches.

What does a grain bill for a one gallon batch look like? 2.25 pounds of grain and one ounce of hops? Average grain price is about 1.80 a pound so 2.25 x 1.80 is 4.05. 2 for hops. Dry yeast is $5, liquid yeast is $8. So 11.05 with dry yeast, 14.05 with liquid yeast. A gallon should give you (10) 12 oz bottles. So thats 1.10 or 1.40 a bottle. That actually is better than you can buy it for or real close.

I use liquid yeast because I brew English beers. I like to brew what I can’t buy easily. When I brew 3 gallons, its 6.5 pounds times 1.80 is 11.70. And I need 2 oz of hops that I won’t use all of but I need 2 different varieties. So thats another 4 for 15.70. If I use dry yeast it goes to 20.70. Liquid yeast goes to 23.70. 3 gallons is 30 bottles, so for me its .69 a bottle with dry yeast or .79 a bottle with liquid yeast. I can’t buy it for that.

I’m not telling anyone to step up or anything - but this is why I settled on 3 gallon batches years ago. 30 bottles is a case and a six pack.

At a one gallon level, the yeast cost difference is .30 a bottle. At a 3 gallon level the yeast cost difference is .10 a bottle. So I don’t care and I use what I want. Both kinds of yeast can be re-used to lower the cost of the next batch.

I think the math gets better with 5 gallon batches, but I won’t go through it - as I think many here say.

Costs can be further reduced by buying grains by the sack (which I do) or hops by the pound (which I don’t do).

An easy work around here is when you buy a liquid strain put a small amount in a starter to build up to what you need for the current beer and put the rest in a mason jar with wort. Once the mason jar ferments out keep it in the fridge. Next time you need yeast pour off some of the beer, transfer out some of the yeast from the jar to a starter and refill the mason jar with fresh wort. That will keep a clean culture available to you at all times for the cost of six ounces of wort per batch which, accounting for wort in the mason jar and your starter is what, fifty cents for the entire batch?

 

[jimdkc]

I do very similar. 1/3 of a pack when using fresh yeast and save at least two small mason jars from most brews. I don't put any distilled water into the fermenter though, just leave the yeast on the beer.

The water just allows me to swirl the yeast from the bottom the fermenter and pour it more easily. Kinda works like a mini-wash...

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

Looks like this topic (started yesterday, a couple of days after your reply) also may be helpful to anyone brewing < 5 gal batches: Can I salvage an opened package of liquid yeast?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[BongoYodeler]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

Was wondering the same thing.

 

[OnePlate]

I doubt there would be enough headspace, especially if you use a yeast strain that produces large amounts of krausen.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I doubt there would be enough headspace, especially if you use a yeast strain that produces large amounts of krausen.

FWIW, the TILT FAQ states that "... 95% of the device is submerged in the beer."

Still looking for people who have actually done this:

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[HardyFool]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

I've thought a lot about doing this since I'm lazy and don't want to manually take refractometer samples every day, and my current problem with it is its purported loose accuracy - if I'm gonna drop $100+ on a gizmo, I'd hope it'd be within +/- .002 vis a vis gravity, with minimal calibration

That said, if it works on larger systems, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on a smaller scale. The kräusen height, in my experience, is a bit smaller on my 1 gallon batches than 5 or 10 gallon batches, so if that doesn't mess up the readings on larger systems, it should work just as well for us, and obviously there's enough room for it to float around in even a quart-sized batch

And the tilt looks like ~100mL-200mL, but that's conjecture; you can reverse engineer it from the specs since it's a cylinder if need be

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

That said, if it works on larger systems, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on a smaller scale.

Problem is that not everything "scales down" from 5 gal to 1-ish gal batches (for example, floating hydrometers in a carboy).

You observations are reasonable and are worthy of further thought. That being said, still looking for people who have actually done this:

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[RevA]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

 

[HardyFool]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

Sadly I can't directly comment on the core of the question, which is - can you brew two (identical in recipe) batches back to back and have them taste the same? Because I haven't done so (yet)

But I can say that my efficiencies have been within, surprisingly, 1% since my most recent set of upgrades many months back (with one exception at 5% - it was a low gravity mild, so...maybe that's a factor?), which is to say: I think wort production is reasonably repeatable if you, as I do, keep your process simple (I suspect batch sparging with a single sparge dose helps with consistency), and are flexible with your boil times (most beers I like call for, or allow, a single ~60 minute addition, so I can give or take 10 minutes to hit the numbers should my boil rate be a touch high or low)

However, god only knows re: fermentation. Pitch rates remain tricky for me, to the point where I just calculate what fraction of a smack pack or White Labs vial to pitch, and eat the cost each time (no US ales generally, or I'd use US-05 like all the time), oxygenation is somewhat imprecise (I have yet to install an inline flow rate meter, though tossing in an aquarium pump til equilibrium is reached would be great for consistency - though if memory serves I've read that that takes about an hour), and you'd need a thermowell to really have stable, consistent fermentations, all of which is doable but, as the kids would say, extra af

Then, there's packaging. Again, I don't trust priming sugar enough to call it batch-to-batch consistent, so you're stuck cold crashing and/or fining, racking to keg, carbonating (highly consistent if your keg temps are), and bottling or serving draft

Should you do all that, I think you'd be good. Again, I think wort production wouldn't be the issue, but fermentation and packaging would be where I suspect you'd quite simply have to drop some cash on gear (if you don't have those things) to get consistency. But hey, if your basement is +/- 1 degree, and you prime with the exact same amount of sugar, maybe you'd have nearly as good consistency!

And should I brew two identical beers back to back (I'm workshopping a Kölsch, so it's a distinct possibility if I'm ever happy with it), I'll give 'em a taste side by side (maybe even triangle), and toss it on here

 

[HardyFool]

Oh, and if you're concerned at all about hops, no it probably doesn't matter (except quite possibly in a sour with a, if memory serves, ~5 IBU rule-of-thumb limit), but I have a .01g scale, which you definitely need if you want to treat ~1-2 gal of distilled or RO water anyway, which is overkill even for the amount of hops in a gallon batch

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Someone mentioned that it is not really possible [for them] to brew consistent batches on a small scale.

It's a third party claim, so I'll accept their claim that they can't do it.

Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

In terms of measuring ingredients, scales exist for measuring small amounts of dry ingredients accurately. Water volumes can also be measured accurately in various containers.

Measure hops in grams, rather than ounces, to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

I find that I am able to consistently brew gallon-ish batches of beer that I enjoy. And when I brew the same recipe again, I consistently get an enjoyable batch of beer.

 

[RevA]

It's a third party claim, so I'll accept their claim that they can't do it.



In terms of measuring ingredients, scales exist for measuring small amounts of dry ingredients accurately. Water volumes can also be measured accurately in various containers.

Measure hops in grams, rather than ounces, to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

I find that I am able to consistently brew gallon-ish batches of beer that I enjoy. And when I brew the same recipe again, I consistently get an enjoyable batch of beer.

Thanks, I use my reloading scale that measures in 10ths of a gram so I'm fairly sure I could put the same amount of hops into a batch. Kinda figured it is one of those cases of if you don't do it the way I do, it can't be consistent.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

I brew my 1 gal batches for experimental purposes, so I am not generally striving for consistency or great beers, but I can see the challenges...

If you want to make great and consistent 1 gal batches, you have to focus on quality just like a large batch brewer, with less room for error. Measuring ingredients is a start. Getting water volumes near exact is another. Then you need to apply the same principles to make great small batches: temp control, controlling oxidation, water chemistry/pH, fresh ingredients, etc.

When I am looking to brew quality small batches, I turn to my 2.5 gal batch size. I am willing to devote my fermentation chamber to one or two 3 gal fermenters. The biggest reason is that I have a pair of 2.6 gal kegs and I can do closed transfers into the keg. I have always struggled to get quality bottled beer. Oxidation is often a problem and consistent carbonation the other.

This thread has given me some ideas to improve the quality of my bottled beers, so it might push me to move some of my hoppy beer experiments to 1 gal or less batches: Limiting oxidation: effect of purging headspace O2 in a bottle conditioned IPA