One Gallon Batch BIAB

I love beer, I love my homebrew, but I'm starting to love the brewing process a bit more than both. I want to get better and for that I need more practice. I also want to experiment a LOT and try to brew weekly. I also want to experiment with some big beers yet with the limitations of only have 2 taps in my kegerator, I can bottle the smaller batches and not have so much of a chore or $ into the batch if things go bad lol.

My current setup includes a 15 gallon spike brew kettle with a brew bag. I can handle mash temps on a 5 gallon batch no problem. I'll also be adding reflectix shortly to make it even easier and have to apply less heat.

How much different will be brewing 1 gallon batches compared to 5? Harder to maintain mash temp? I've rigged together a bottom for my pot using a canning rack and some stainless steel bolts to raise it 2" or so. I also constantly stir every couple minutes.

Anyone brewing 1 gallon batches? Comments? A good place to read on the forum? As I have not came across any specific forums so far.

 

I would suggest using a smaller brew pot..you could probably use your standard "pasta pot"...2-3 gallons is all you will need for full volume batches, save for any big beers you might brew. Then either insulate or keep a sharp eye on the temps and reheat as needed. Just my $0.02.

 

By his own admission, Mark Schoppe, winner of the NHC Ninkasi award on more than one ocassion, does 1-2 gallon batches on his stovetop. That allows him to have a whole lot of beers to enter into competition and not have a whole lot to drink.

I'll echo thE above recommendation. Get a smaller pot, 3 gallons should do. Use your oven to maintain mash temps. I believe there's a mini BIAB forum over on biabrewer.info.

 

Ah yes! Smart man! What temperature is recommended to maintain the mash temp? I'd expect it is higher than what you are mashing at (heat capacity), but how much?

Does anyone sell any affordable (small) pots for with welds?

Or I guess something as simple as this... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Stainless-Steel-12-Quart-Stockpot/43160426

 

Thinking about this brings up another question... Scaling recipes down from 5 gallon? grains should be the same but does hop utilization?

 

You can turn the oven on the lowest setting (if digital select the temp you want) if not digital you can use an oven safe probe to determine what setting you need to maintain the mash temp you need.

 

I would be cautious when doing this. Every time I have brewed on the stove (only a handful of times), a couple of those times I tried to leave the burner on the lowest setting to maintain temp and I ended up overshooting because it would continue to heat, which isn't always picked up by your thermometer because the heat is trapped by the grain bed and I only figured it out because I am paranoid and I stir every 10-15 minutes.

Also, to the OP, I wouldn't be concerned with buying a pot with a spigot...just dump everything into the fermentor, what little is left will settle out. You probably already have a pot in your kitchen that will be sufficient for 1 Gallon BIAB. For obvious reasons, scale your batch to slighty (10%) over 1 gallon to make up for the volume loss for trub.

As for the hops, they generally scale with the recipe as well.

 

I think dstockwell was referring to the actual oven, not the burners on top of the stove.

All the Best,
D. White