1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

Well I for one am sick of all you 10-gallon brewers telling us small-time 5-gallon brewers that we need to step it up already.

And I'm sure the 10 gallon brewers will say the same for the 1 BBL brewers.

And so on.

 

This demands a recipe.

On topic, although I only brew 5 gallon batches currently, the appeal of brewing in the kitchen such that I'm not absenting myself from the family as much is appealing. It might allow me to brew more frequently, such that it offsets the downside ( for me - I recognize this is exactly why some folks do it ) of smaller batches.

 

Nothing wrong with doing 1gal batches. Its not very efficient though...economies of scale and all

 

As a 5 gallon brewer, I have to say there's something to be said for being able to brew more often.

Sometimes brewing 5 full gallons means you're stuck finishing off a bunch of beer you're not crazy about, just to be able to brew again.

 

I have been brewing a few years and find I like the idea of brewing and experimenting with smaller batches idea awesome. I have been working at scaling down. I recently picked up some 3 gallon buckets and I'm actively looking for a 2 gallon fermenter for a 1 to 1- 1/2 gallon brew size. Any ideas where to pick up 2 gallon fermenters? I just purchase Beersmith and love the scaling down feature, it works excellent. I just don't drink enough to want to keep doing 5 gallon batches but I love many styles of ales and 5 gallons of one style is way too much for me.

Jeff, I have one question about Yeast. I mostly use dry yeast for its convenience. Once opened, how long could I keep the leftover if I quickly vacuum packed it sealed it back up again? Sometimes when I brew 5 gallon batches with a liquid yeast, I collect some and reuse it on the next batch. That could also work. Any thoughts?

 

A friend and I always brew together and then split the 5 gallon batch. Sometimes we split it even further, like adding vanilla after we have bottled half or bottling 2 gallons and racking the rest on blueberries. So for each brew we are basically getting 2.5 gallons each and for our flavoring experiments we have a baseline to compare it to.

 

You can get buckets and lids from us plastics. You can also use tap a draft bottles if you have them.

I've used yeast that has been opened and left in the fridge for a week or two and it seemed to work fine. Since you vacuum pack them, i would think even longer!

 

Of the small batch sizes: I'm finding that 2 to 2.5 gal. batches are best for my kitchen with a 4 gal. pot and using the BIAB method. 2.5 is nice because I can just split a normal 5 gal stock recipe.

1 gal. batches are still great for experiments.

For 1 and 2 gal fermenters: I found some clear 1.25 gal and 2.5 gal water containers from Walmart. They have spout which is great for bottling or for attaching a blowoff. When the spout is removed, my air lock fits nicely.

 

How do you split a Wyeast bag of yeast to use in a 2.5 and a 1 gal batch? Then, how would I keep the balance of the yeast?

 

For the 2.5 gallon batches, I just pitch a whole smack pack or vial. The pitch rate is usually right on.

 

Stone wild, are the 2.5 containers filled with water or the ones that you buy to use for the glacier (filtered water by the gallon) dispensers? I always thought if they had a 2-3 gallon disposable of water that I could use as well for a fermenter it would be perfect.

 

I'm all for 1 gallon batches, especially from those who live nearby, so I can use their batches as starters. If they drink somewhere near 10 beers a week, then they'd have starters every time I need one.

Seriously, I like the idea of variety too and have considered doing some 2-2.5 gallon batches in my 3 gallon carboy--or 5 gallon carboy if I expect a really high krausen. I do like to brew.

 

This thread makes me a very saaad panda.



For one, I don't see this snobbery about batch sizes. Do what you want and who cares what anyone else thinks. I personally will never do such small batch sizes but my simple reasoning is the time difference really isn't all that much and I drink a LOT so I want a lot of beer at my disposal. Many do small batches to test ideas and that is awesome and also saves money! Whatever works for the person is what's most important, I just see this as a non-issue.


Rev.

 

The containers I'm using are empty clear thin rectangles made to fit and serve water from the fridge. They have a large water tight cap on top and a spout on bottom. I turn them up, putting the spout on top.

BTW: these are great for washing yeast, the junk settles nicely below the spout, the alcohol above the spout and the milky white yeast right at the spout for easy despensing. I dont have the makers name with me at the moment.

 

I actually stepped down to 1 gallon batches for my SMaSH educational brews

 

One gallon:

 

Hey Labrat can you explain your blow off tube set up? I like the simplicity of it and could be an easy fix to what I am doing. Thanks.

 

I'm curious as to what that thing wrapped around the carboy is?

 

And the 10gal guys make fun of me for making 4 to 5gal batches...
I started with batches of 1 to 2 gal because I didn't have any real equipment. It works, but I've found it only takes about 20% more time to make 500% more beer. I suspect the same is true for stepping up to 10gal.
Keep up the brewing, and keep good logs. Your gaining about 500% more experience per gal than I am.
I do miss oven mashing, that was fun....

 

I would suggest you ignore those negative comments, there seems to be plenty of support for small batches. In the future, try to pose the question without any refrence to it being for a 1-gallon batch.

 

I brew in 1 gallon batches for several reasons. I live in a spider hole of an apartment, so I don't have room for 5 gallon carboys and large burners, etc. Second, my wife doesn't really drink beer, so what I brew I have to drink on my own, or share it. Third, I'm fairly new to brewing and don't want to be known as that guy who gives out crappy beer. And fourth, it's really nice to have several different beers in different stages of production. This way I don't have to wait around when one runs out, there's always something fresh coming up.

 

I've been doing one gallon AG batches for about 6 months now (after a year of extract stuff with friends), and it's great for a number of reasons:
1. Variety
2. Educational (series of smash brews)
3. Honing a method that I can--when I have the dough--scale up to larger batches with bigger and better equipment. Even then, though, I'll probably only do 3 gallons, just to keep a variety of beer around.

The only thing is that it isn't cost effective. I don't have a decent LHBS around here (the one we've got sells grains by the pound, and just a few at that), so I have to order everything online. Unless you're planning on brewing every week and order all the ingredients at once, the cost per bottle is less than decent. If you do order stuff for four brews at the beginning of each month, then you'll have crushed grains sitting around for weeks. The yeast alone accounts for almost 40% of the cost even though I'm only using half a pack. This is why I'll be going to 3 gallons in the near future.

 

I'm a recent convert to the one gallon batches. I've got two small ones under my belt so far, each experimental batches I wrote the recipes to and am greatly anticipating the results.

 

Just curious approximately what size boil do you start with? I like the ideea of using 1G batches to mess around with things.

 

This is why I wash my yeast. It is incredibly easy and if you plan your brews lightest to darkest, weakest to strongest, one pack of dry yeast will be good for 20 brews.

 

Its just a three piece airlock base with a short blow off tube shoved onto the center post. It blows off into the cup of sanitizer bungee corded to the jug.l

 

I've been using my 1 gallon carboy for experiments and "wife beers". She doesn't drink much, so she doesn't care that I only get 10 or so from the batch.

 

Today I bottled one gallon of a black ipa called You Never Go Back. If it turn out then I'll make 8 gallons. I love the 1 gallon test batches.

 

1.2 gallon boil approx.

 

I use the BIAB method, so I start with just shy of 2 gallons. After removing the grains, I'd estimate that I have 1.2 to 1.5 gallons for the boil, and I end up very close to one gallon (give or take a few oz's).

 

I was thinking of doing a couple of small 2.5 gallon batches using the BIAB all grain method. can I put them each in a 6.5 gallon ale pail or do I need something with less headroom like a 3 gallon bottle etc.??

also can you split one package of yeast across 2 batches since it's a smaller 2.5 gallon batch vs. a 5 gallon?

 

Yes, you can primary in a larger vessel no problem. If you use a secondary, then it should be a smaller vessel though.

For the yeast, it depends on what kind you're using. If you're using White Labs or Wyeast, then 1 package is typically not enough for a 5 gallon batch but is just about the right amount for ~3 gallons or so. Check out the pitching rate calculator: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

I never much got the "not enough space" argument. I live in a 580sqft condo, grabbed a turkey burner that I use on my patio, and BIAB all-grain. At the moment I've got 10 gallons in 3 kegs serving, and 25 gallons fermenting in my living room, out of the way. My brew day is 4-4.5 hours, from strike to end of cleanup.

If I didn't want to buy the turkey burner, my only investment would be the pot (MLT and boil kettle in one) and I can get that to a boil nicely as it sits over two of my apartment-size stove burners. I could potentially still be doing what I'm doing.

That said, my first batch was a 1 gallon and I still have that jug. Definitely cool for experimental batches. I guess if you're absolutely intent on not buying anything other than ingredients, 1 gallon batches make sense, but if you have a 7 or 8 gallon pot already, that's all you need to do bigger batches. I like the portability of 1 gallon, though. I can't exactly pick up my buckets and just drop them in another room if we're having company. That's a bit of an endeavor, and bottling 12 bottles instead of 52 certainly has its appeal.

 

one package of the liquid Wyeast isn't enough??? strange they only give you one packet of yeast in the ingredient sets at both my LHBS places and the kits that come from NORTHERN Brewers for the 5-5.5 gallon kits

 

Yeah, using liquid yeast you need to make a starter to up the cell count. Dry yeast only needs about 1 package for normal gravity beers.

 

ah, gotcha, I always assumed making a starter was pretty mandatory for liquid yeasts. in that case if I'm doing two 2.5 gallon batches can I just make a starter and for the yeast and split the result between the 2 smaller fermenters?

 

Check out the pitching rate calculator I posted. That will tell you how much of a starter you need.

 

thanks, 1.25 liters of starter should be enough to split between two batches. although I may end up making my 2.5 gallon batches with simpler beers so nottingham yeast may be enough and with that I can just split the pack

 

I started with a Brooklyn Brew Shop kit and have two other 1g recipes planned for the next few weeks. I'm a big fan of the small batches because my house is very small and I just don't have room for 5g stuff.

 

People doing 5 gallon batches may not brew as frequently and as many styles/experiments as small batch brewers. I found 1 gallon was not quite enough beer to have save and keep so i do about almost 2 -well using 2 gallon fermenters.Plus not many people i know are too interested in beer or craft beer so i dont give much out.But the family/friends i have given them too give me very good feedback-and i tend to give them my "better" beers so at least i know a consensus is they are ok at least.One of my buddies and i had some local beer on tap then back to my house and he tried "homebrew" for the first time and he said he liked it "alot"better than the local ones he had at the bar.Everybody finishes my beer which makes me know im doing something right at least.

All grain is a breeze with small batch all grain biab stovetop also. Which made it a very simple step from partial/extract batches.Plus you can experiment at low cost and not be stuck with too many of just ok beer(nothing wrong with that-though).There would not be good beer if there wasnt anything lesser,right?Which leads to great beer to excellent,to holy **** i made that-beer?