1 Gal brews

[hilljack13]

At some point I am going to be able to brew again and been planning a bit of a setup too big to start. One of the main things I want to do is try as many recipes as possible. So I started looking at 1 Gal batches and how much easier it could be. I still want to go all grain with BIAB. I remembered I already have three cases of German flip-tops (60 bottles) so that would essentially get me about 8 different brews that could be finished and swapped with something else relatively quick. I also have a 8 quart kettle I use for my tea, which I do one gallon at a time. I know I would need a brew bag, fermenter, maybe a siphon, chiller. I thought about doing some extract testing as well.

I'm probably forgetting something, but wanted to hear from some of you that started this way.

 

[DBhomebrew]

That small, you can chill in the sink in a 'water bath'. Your fermenter can be a 2gal food-grade bucket from the local blue or orange home goods store. Get a second to use as a bottling bucket. Add a spigot to them both and the siphon (get the mini version) is only needed to transfer from kettle to fermenter. These can also serve as buckets for a dunk sparge. That'll open you up to handling higher gravity beers. Add a ~$25 Corona style mill and you're set to make some fine beverages.

 

[BongoYodeler]

At some point I am going to be able to brew again and been planning a bit of a setup too big to start. One of the main things I want to do is try as many recipes as possible. So I started looking at 1 Gal batches and how much easier it could be. I still want to go all grain with BIAB. I remembered I already have three cases of German flip-tops (60 bottles) so that would essentially get me about 8 different brews that could be finished and swapped with something else relatively quick. I also have a 8 quart kettle I use for my tea, which I do one gallon at a time. I know I would need a brew bag, fermenter, maybe a siphon, chiller. I thought about doing some extract testing as well.

I'm probably forgetting something, but wanted to hear from some of you that started this way.

You'll probably want to follow this thread for useful information and to post your results.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/1-gallon-brewers-unite.311884/

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Give it a try and see how that batch size works for you.

For me, I found 1 gallon all-grain batches to be a bit too much time and effort for maybe 9 beers. (Though "1 gallon" might mean fermenting 0.8 gal in a 1 gallon jug, starting with 1 gallon of wort, or getting 1 gallon of packaged beer). For me, the 2 gal to 2.5 gal batch size is a sweet spot.

One thing that limits my brewing of small batches is fermentation temp control. Since I moved to using a chest freezer for temperature control and controlling temps on a per batch basis, I try to avoid fermenting at room temps. I am fine dedicating my chamber to a 2.5 gal batch for 2 weeks. Only being able to brew 1 gallon of beer every 2 to 3 weeks would not meet my needs.

So my 1 gallon batches tend to be more like extract based single hop samplers. The brew day for extract is so easy, I don't mind making 2 or 3 batches. Some times of the year, I don't mind fermenting at ambient temps in my lower level (and small batches will not generate the heat of a 5 gallon batch).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

You'll probably want to follow this thread [1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!] for useful information and to post your results.

I'll suggest that @hilljack13 skip ahead to around 2018 (about page 159). Or start by reading the 2023 posts, then the 2022 posts, ...

I'm probably forgetting something, but wanted to hear from some of you that started this way.

• The book Speed Brewing (Mary Izett, June 2015) has a couple of chapters on BIAB targeting 1.75 gal kegs. The book includes an equipment list and a good description of the brew day process. Note that it's not perfect (skip the 5.2 stabilizer). When I read it in 2021, I was left with the impression that this book will age very well.
• I started with "1 gallon" batches in carboys. Currently I brew a mix of 9-pack, 12-pack, 18-pack, and 24-pack recipes.
• 2 gal pails work well for brewing 12-packs.
• My 9-pack batches tend to be extract. With the 18-pack and 24-pack batches, the amount of malt being mashed helps stabilize the mash temperature with little additional effort (other than insulating the kettle). 12-pack batches of barley wine (5# malt) also tend to hold mash temperature due to the amount of malt used. (yes, a 3 or 4 degree drop doesn't matter much).

 

[hotbeer]

I started with one gallon all grain kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop. They actually made decent beer. I started BIAB right at the start and put the malts from the kit into a hop sock. Also got a hydrometer right away so I'd know what my SG's were. Especially OG and FG. Also after a 3 or 4 brews I found a 5 liter jar to use as a FV so I could get a full gallon fermented and bottle 11 - 12 bottles instead of 8 -10 bottles.

Also a homemade chiller made from a coil of 3/8th's copper tube works well to cool after the boil.

My only regret is that they don't tell you what the yeast is that comes with the kits. Just a non-descript sachet labeled "YEAST". So for all the weird stuff that yeast did, I'll never know what yeast I might get again and expect to perform that way. US-05, S-04, S-33 and the few other yeasts I've used haven't done any of the weird stuff their yeast did. But again, it still made decent beer.

I've been doing 2½ gallon batches lately. Clone recipes I've found and just buy all the ingredients myself. No special things required and I can still do them on a stove top in the kitchen.

 

[hilljack13]

That small, you can chill in the sink in a 'water bath'. Your fermenter can be a 2gal food-grade bucket from the local blue or orange home goods store. Get a second to use as a bottling bucket. Add a spigot to them both and the siphon (get the mini version) is only needed to transfer from kettle to fermenter. These can also serve as buckets for a dunk sparge. That'll open you up to handling higher gravity beers. Add a ~$25 Corona style mill and you're set to make some fine beverages.

Plus on the mill. I had not thought of this. Def a must have.

 

[hilljack13]

Some great discussions! Going to snag a copy of the book. I may look at 1-2 gal depending on how some of my testing goes. Thanks for the insight and ideas. About this time next year I hope to keep updates on my progress.

 

[Jetpack_Maniac]

I've been messing around with smaller batches and will be doing some more of it after doing a bunch of 5 gallons. I just don't drink enough to really get the most out of it and having too much beer means less experimentation.

I've done sous vide mashes with either jars or pots in a large sous vide. Mine is an older unit where the bath is heated and not an immersion stick. Others have done the immersion stick and reported good results. I'll be grabbing a 2 gallon cooler and attempting that since the temperature variation in the mash is the biggest hurdle I struggle with doing mini-AG.

I have done fermentation in 2 gallon buckets with gamma seal lids. I recently got myself a 3 gallon Fermonster and will be doing my next batch in that. Temp control will be a mini-fridge with inkbird, which the 3 gal fits nicely in. I did modify my lid with carb caps and will do a blow off that way (and low pressure transfers for that sweet low O2 life). I'm targeting about 2 gallons of finished product to go into Kegland 8L oxebar kegs or just bottle carb. There's really a ton of great stuff for small brewers with ingenuity.

 

[Protos]

I'm probably forgetting something, but wanted to hear from some of you that started this way.

Hi, I'm Protos and I have a severe case of Beer Overproduction Disoder. And I am a prolific 5.5L/1.5G brewer.
You're really forgetting three important points to consider

1) Given the easiness of the process and of the subsequent clean-up, you're risking to end up with regularly brewing 2 times per week (which I have ended up with).

2) Because of the frequence of your wonderfully easy brewing sessions, you're risking to end up with not just 8 but 35 sorts of beer in your cellar which you have no hope to drink up before their best-before dates (which I have ended up with too).

3) Because of the 1) and 2) you'll rapidly amass an enormous experience in brewing techniques, including the most elaborated, and an immense knowledge of ingredients, which will quickly make you behave like a guru on any brewing forum: you could walk into any thread uttering: "Yeah gents, once I've done that too..." or "Listen man, you must do it like this..." (which I try not to do, but who knows).

1G batches is a slippery path, believe me and my disorder. If you're ready to take the burden, you're welcome to the club

 

[Protos]

Add a spigot to them both and the siphon (get the mini version) is only needed to transfer from kettle to fermenter.

Even simpler than this. You disinfect the edge of the chilled kettle and a funnel and just pour the chilled wort into the fermenter, which is the first step of the aeration. You don't need to go to such great lengths as syphons or spigots to separate the trub. Your kettle may be as simple as a common soup kettle, preferrably with a glass lid. If you use Irish Moss, you'll manage to leave the trub behind just by an accurate and thorough pouring. Then you aerate the wort by vigorously shaking your whole tiny fermenter.

Simple 5L multicooker is all you need for even the most complex mashing schedules, and a second multicooker makes you the King of single, double, triple, and if you feel artsy, even the quadruple decoctions. Having mastered two multicookers you'll be laughing when seeing how much decoctions are dreaded (and not without a reason!) by so many 5 Gal folks.

For chilling this volume, you don't need any copper chillers. If you have a backyard, just put your hot kettle (lid shut) into a some bigger vessel, wrap a garden hose around the kettle and run the water. In 45 mins it's ready. If you don't have a backyard, kitchen sink is your friend.

There's also a little hack for fermenting smaller batches in non-temp-controlled environment. Since the small volume is prone to ambient temp fluctuations, which is not good, it's a bright idea to immerse your fermenter into some large water-filled bucket, cap and hydrolock above the water, some kind of stand (made of bent wire, f.ex) under the bottom. That's not for maintaining a certain temperature but for avoiding temp fluctuations by increasing the thermal mass.

1G batches is a full new world of brewing, you see
The equipment may be so simple, no wonder you may wish to brew twice a week

Corona style mill

Absolutely indispencible.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

BTW, below is a video I put out a while back on 1-gallon all-grain BIAB (sorta...MIAB?). For 2.5 gal batches, I find that just wrapping up the kettle in a blanket keeps it stable enough during the mash. While I am not a stickler for precise mash temp control, I feel like the small mass of a 1-gallon batch needs a little more help. I have used a 2 gallon beverage cooler. It works good enough. The lid is a weak spot as it has no insulation. Tossing a few towels over the top seem to help.

I did use my stove one time for a batch, and it worked well. I did not like how imprecise it was. My stove's lowest setting is 170F and it swings at least 10F. I basically pre-heated it to 170F then turned off the stove before adding my kettle. I figured opening the door dropped the temp down to a decent range. A temperature probe would be handy to monitor the stove and/or mash temps.

I believe all of my 1-gallon all-grain batches have been single malt beers to evaluated different base grains. I made one 2.5 gallon single grain beer, and realized I did not want that much mediocre beer. Switching to 1 gallon batches that I bottled also meant I could have more available at the same time for side by side comparisons. 1 gallon extract batches are a very easy way to learn about hops and yeast.

I really like the 1.5 gallon PET Little Big Mouth Bubbler fermenters with spigots from Northern Brewer. The video uses some glass ones, which I don't like as much as the PET ones. Fermonster also sells some small PET fermenters that top out at around 1.2 gals. Spigots make 1-person bottling a much easier task.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

it's a bright idea to immerse your fermenter into some large water-filled ...

... chest cooler.

For me, so far (yes, this may be "too short and too shoddy") the lack of an air lock has not been a problem. Along the "north coast", fruit flies are not a concern.

So closing the lid on the chest cooler may have the same effect as an air lock (preventing entry of "bad things").

Is this a "short and shoddy" open fermentation?

 

[Protos]

For 2.5 gal batches, I find that just wrapping up the kettle in a blanket keeps it stable enough during the mash.

For 1-1.5G that doesn't work well: too little a thermal mass. Chest coller is a better option and multicooker is the ultimate solution.

 

[hilljack13]

Hi, I'm Protos and I have a severe case of Beer Overproduction Disoder. And I am a prolific 5.5L/1.5G brewer.
You're really forgetting three important points to consider

1) Given the easiness of the process and of the subsequent clean-up, you're risking to end up with regularly brewing 2 times per week (which I have ended up with).

2) Because of the frequence of your wonderfully easy brewing sessions, you're risking to end up with not just 8 but 35 sorts of beer in your cellar which you have no hope to drink up before their best-before dates (which I have ended up with too).

3) Because of the 1) and 2) you'll rapidly amass an enormous experience in brewing techniques, including the most elaborated, and an immense knowledge of ingredients, which will quickly make you behave like a guru on any brewing forum: you could walk into any thread uttering: "Yeah gents, once I've done that too..." or "Listen man, you must do it like this..." (which I try not to do, but who knows).

1G batches is a slippery path, believe me and my disorder. If you're ready to take the burden, you're welcome to the club

Excellent!

1) I'm retiring next year and I can only do so many puzzles.

2) Challenge accepted!!

3) Words from the wise, I should start practicing now.

 

[hilljack13]

There's also a little hack for fermenting smaller batches in non-temp-controlled environment. Since the small volume is prone to ambient temp fluctuations, which is not good, it's a bright idea to immerse your fermenter into some large water-filled bucket, cap and hydrolock above the water, some kind of stand (made of bent wire, f.ex) under the bottom. That's not for maintaining a certain temperature but for avoiding temp fluctuations by increasing the thermal mass.

Very interesting. I have a small igloo cooler I might be able to experiment with.

 

[AlexKay]

++ on the little big mouth bubbler (PET with spigot.). It’s a great little fermenter, and cheap enough that there’s no reason to futz with 2-gallon buckets.

I’d target a 2.5-3 gallon pot, though you can make either a bit smaller or a bit larger work if you have something around already. (Note that if you’re on the Northern Brewer website for your fermenter already, you could check out the 2–gallon MegaPot. They regularly have it on sale for ~$50, and I’ve seen it dip as low as ~$30.)

I would splurge on an immersion chiller. It’s not absolutely necessary at this size, but it is just easier and better than the alternatives. Make sure it will fit in your pot. (I would NOT try to make your own. Tubing is expensive enough that you won’t save that much anyway, and it’s just too easy to crimp the tubing when you’re bending it.)

Just dump the kettle into the fermenter to transfer. Aeration is good, and trub in the fermenter doesn’t hurt anything.

I use a chest freezer for fermentation temperature control, and even a small one can hold a few fermenters at a time. A little bit of planning as to what you brew when and you’re fine. (Right now I’m fermenting two batches with Koln and another with Nottingham; both yeasts are happy at 60 F.)

Get a good, small scale (0.01-g resolution) and weigh boats for hops and dry yeast (and if you want to go there, salts.)

 

[beren]

siphon (get the mini version) is only needed to transfer from kettle to fermenter.

Hot side you can just dump into the fermenter. It’ll help aerate it too.

Also you can find a 2gal pot pretty easy with a little thrift store shopping.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

weight of Gypsum has some discussion on 50g/0.01g vs 50g/0.001g accuracy in small scales.

 

[hilljack13]

++ on the little big mouth bubbler (PET with spigot.). It’s a great little fermenter, and cheap enough that there’s no reason to futz with 2-gallon buckets.

I’d target a 2.5-3 gallon pot, though you can make either a bit smaller or a bit larger work if you have something around already. (Note that if you’re on the Northern Brewer website for your fermenter already, you could check out the 2–gallon MegaPot. They regularly have it on sale for ~$50, and I’ve seen it dip as low as ~$30.)

I would splurge on an immersion chiller. It’s not absolutely necessary at this size, but it is just easier and better than the alternatives. Make sure it will fit in your pot. (I would NOT try to make your own. Tubing is expensive enough that you won’t save that much anyway, and it’s just too easy to crimp the tubing when you’re bending it.)

Just dump the kettle into the fermenter to transfer. Aeration is good, and trub in the fermenter doesn’t hurt anything.

I use a chest freezer for fermentation temperature control, and even a small one can hold a few fermenters at a time. A little bit of planning as to what you brew when and you’re fine. (Right now I’m fermenting two batches with Koln and another with Nottingham; both yeasts are happy at 60 F.)

Get a good, small scale (0.01-g resolution) and weigh boats for hops and dry yeast (and if you want to go there, salts.)

If I can catch some of those LBMB on sale I might have to grab more than a few. Imagine my fridge with 5-6 brews fermenting. I know someone out there has done this.

 

[hilljack13]

Hot side you can just dump into the fermenter. It’ll help aerate it too.

Also you can find a 2gal pot pretty easy with a little thrift store shopping.

I have the pot. I checked NB and they are having a sale for $5. Shipping and tax make it...meh.

 

[AlexKay]

If I can catch some of those LBMB on sale I might have to grab more than a few. Imagine my fridge with 5-6 brews fermenting. I know someone out there has done this.

I will not get started on the joys of half-gallon batches…

 

[BongoYodeler]

Hot side you can just dump into the fermenter. It’ll help aerate it too.

Also you can find a 2gal pot pretty easy with a little thrift store shopping.

Good point. Also check the discount department stores near you, (like Big Lots). We have one chain out here called Ross, mostly clothing but also some home goods. I picked up a heavy 4 gallon ss pot for $29. I has a small dent in it that in no way affects usage. Nice to have a slightly larger pot for those higher gravity 1 gallon test batches.

 

[bernardsmith]

You might also want to check out the book Beer Craft by Wm Bostwick and Jessi Rymill, published by Rodale Press, 2011. The entire book is about making 1 gallon batches. It was my "go to" book when I was brewing single gallon batches of beer.

 

[IslandLizard]

Very interesting. I have a small igloo cooler I might be able to experiment with.

Not too small, you want thermal mass.
Bigger ones work well for 2-4 fermenters, alas, all at the same temp.

You can "dope" the water jacket with frozen water bottles to keep temps where you want them.
Cover the whole setup with a sleeping bag, moving blanket, or such to isolate it from higher ambient temps, keeping the cold in.

 

[IrondaleBrewing]

++ on the little big mouth bubbler (PET with spigot.). It’s a great little fermenter, and cheap enough that there’s no reason to futz with 2-gallon buckets.

I’d target a 2.5-3 gallon pot, though you can make either a bit smaller or a bit larger work if you have something around already. (Note that if you’re on the Northern Brewer website for your fermenter already, you could check out the 2–gallon MegaPot. They regularly have it on sale for ~$50, and I’ve seen it dip as low as ~$30.)

I would splurge on an immersion chiller. It’s not absolutely necessary at this size, but it is just easier and better than the alternatives. Make sure it will fit in your pot. (I would NOT try to make your own. Tubing is expensive enough that you won’t save that much anyway, and it’s just too easy to crimp the tubing when you’re bending it.)

Just dump the kettle into the fermenter to transfer. Aeration is good, and trub in the fermenter doesn’t hurt anything.

I use a chest freezer for fermentation temperature control, and even a small one can hold a few fermenters at a time. A little bit of planning as to what you brew when and you’re fine. (Right now I’m fermenting two batches with Koln and another with Nottingham; both yeasts are happy at 60 F.)

Get a good, small scale (0.01-g resolution) and weigh boats for hops and dry yeast (and if you want to go there, salts.)

Just to amplify what others are saying and throw out what I'm using for "comparing notes" purposes, I just got back into brewing after building out a dedicated brewing space and am doing 1 gallon batches to get going again, doing all grain BIAB using an induction burner and a sous vide. (I also have a Gigawort but haven't tried it yet.)

Another +1 for the little big mouth bubbler, great little fermenter.

I have a 2 gallon megapot (super nice, heavy little pot) and if you're trying to do full volume no sparge BIAB it's a bit too small. My 3 gallon pot works great. The 2 gallon megapot would work if you sparge (traditional or dunk) since it'd handle the boil volume of ~1.5 gal just fine.

An ice bath in the sink chills things down pretty darn quickly (maybe 15 mins?). I have a small wort chiller (Northern Brewer Cold Crank) I'm going to try on my next batch, mostly just to compare the times and also to avoid worrying about having ice on hand.

Lastly, to avoid bottling, I got two Northern Brewer mini kegs (1 gal) and a Nutrichef 1 gallon keg. Haven't tried them yet since I've only just done my first batch with all the new toys, but I'm looking forward to not bottling.

Main reason for doing 1 gal batches for me is A) I'm the only one who drinks beer in my house and B) I like trying new recipes and this lets me do that at a rapid clip since there's less to consume. Also less to cry over if something goes horribly awry.

Happy brewing!

 

[hilljack13]

Good point. Also check the discount department stores near you, (like Big Lots). We have one chain out here called Ross, mostly clothing but also some home goods. I picked up a heavy 4 gallon ss pot for $29. I has a small dent in it that in no way affects usage. Nice to have a slightly larger pot for those higher gravity 1 gallon test batches.

Got a Big Lots beside Wally World. Haven't thought of going there. I forget about the bargain stores.

 

[hilljack13]

Main reason for doing 1 gal batches for me is A) I'm the only one who drinks beer in my house and B) I like trying new recipes and this lets me do that at a rapid clip since there's less to consume. Also less to cry over if something goes horribly awry.

Second everything you just stated. Plus the rest of the post.

 

[hilljack13]

BTW, below is a video I put out a while back on 1-gallon all-grain BIAB (sorta...MIAB?). For 2.5 gal batches, I find that just wrapping up the kettle in a blanket keeps it stable enough during the mash. While I am not a stickler for precise mash temp control, I feel like the small mass of a 1-gallon batch needs a little more help. I have used a 2 gallon beverage cooler. It works good enough. The lid is a weak spot as it has no insulation. Tossing a few towels over the top seem to help.

I did use my stove one time for a batch, and it worked well. I did not like how imprecise it was. My stove's lowest setting is 170F and it swings at least 10F. I basically pre-heated it to 170F then turned off the stove before adding my kettle. I figured opening the door dropped the temp down to a decent range. A temperature probe would be handy to monitor the stove and/or mash temps.

I believe all of my 1-gallon all-grain batches have been single malt beers to evaluated different base grains. I made one 2.5 gallon single grain beer, and realized I did not want that much mediocre beer. Switching to 1 gallon batches that I bottled also meant I could have more available at the same time for side by side comparisons. 1 gallon extract batches are a very easy way to learn about hops and yeast.

I really like the 1.5 gallon PET Little Big Mouth Bubbler fermenters with spigots from Northern Brewer. The video uses some glass ones, which I don't like as much as the PET ones. Fermonster also sells some small PET fermenters that top out at around 1.2 gals. Spigots make 1-person bottling a much easier task.

Video was really informative. I especially like the smaller igloo cooler you were able to find. Had to do a quick search and nothing yet, but I am going to keep my eye out. I do like that with the smaller batches you were able to brew two days in a row without much added effort.

 

[Protos]

I will not get started on the joys of half-gallon batches…

Once, smoking a pipe in my cellar and contemplating the overstock of more than 300 bottles in it, I was giving a serious thought to brewing 1.5 Liter batches.
3 bottles per batch.
Hundred of beer varieties in the cellar. Brewing every other day. God Level of brewing experience.
Mmmmm.

Decided to postpone the final decision till when the overstock reaches 500 bottles.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Video was really informative. I especially like the smaller igloo cooler you were able to find. Had to do a quick search and nothing yet, but I am going to keep my eye out. I do like that with the smaller batches you were able to brew two days in a row without much added effort.

I got it from Home Depot for cheap. They don't list it in stock now: Rubbermaid Victory 2 Gal. Red Cooler FG153004MODRD - The Home Depot

There might be a good way to just insulate your kettle. Maybe with some layers of Reflectix or other insulation?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Reflectix was a 'sub-topic' over in Induction Brewing with 120V (June 2023)

@Protos 's observations on thermal mass as equally important.

When I was doing "1 gal" BIAB, my barley wines (5 lb) held mash temp for 60 min with kettle wrapped. My normal strength beers would loose 3 or 4 degrees over the same time period.

For my 2.5 gal batches, my kettle is double-wrapped (no air gap) and mash temperature is stable for 45 to 60 minutes. My "best guess" is that it's a combination of thermal mass and insulation

 

[beren]

.

 

[beren]

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/forum/reflectix-r-value-claims-reasonable
Reflectix is designed to have a sealed air barrier behind it

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

http://fermware.com/mash-tun-insulation-comparisons/

http://fermware.com/mash-tun-insulation-comparisons-part-ii/

http://fermware.com/reflectix-insulation-jacket-for-your-mash-tun/

 

[hilljack13]

http://fermware.com/mash-tun-insulation-comparisons/

http://fermware.com/mash-tun-insulation-comparisons-part-ii/

http://fermware.com/reflectix-insulation-jacket-for-your-mash-tun/

Me thinks some reflectix is in the future!

I have a sleeping bag, but might use it more for the intended purpose.

 

[beren]

could also get some 1-2” thick foam panel and cut into an octagon

 

[BongoYodeler]

Don't over-think it. I just set my oven at the lowest setting for a few minutes, and then turn it off 5 minutes before I mash in. Stick the kettle in and the residual heat will hold the mash temperature for the hour.

 

[hilljack13]

I snagged a 2 gal igloo. Not a Prime deal but they seem to go pretty quick. 2 Gal Igloo

Also picked up the InkBird, which was like $25 on Prime deal.

 

[Jetpack_Maniac]

Cheers. I just bought a 2 gal igloo as well a few days ago. It should help, I've done mini-mashes before and they cool off really quickly. I found doing decoctions and hot water infusions is simple enough but this should help a ton with temp loss.