1 gallon batches

[slatorian]

hey HBT,
I am still a relatively new brewer (ive only gotten 2 batches under my belt thus far, not too long ago though) and I want to continue, however i do not have the space to do 5 gallon fermentations. I do however want to play around with 1 gallon batches. what other equipment would I have to pick up assuming i have the standard extract brewing kit already? how can I adapt 5 gallon recipes to 1 gallon? any help on these small batches is greatly appreciated. thanks, brew on! :rockin:

 

[Germelli1]

1 Gallon batches are very commonly brewed by brewers who want to play around with recipes, can't humanly consume 5 gallon batches and a variety of other reasons. I can guarantee you someone will come on this thread and say "Why brew 1 gallon batches, they take the same amount of time for less beer!" Stick you your guns! For one thing, controlling fermentation is much simpler with 1 gallon batches!

For scaling recipes from 5 gal to 1 gal, I HIGHLY recommend you pick up some brewing software. You can do the calculations on your own, but it will make life infinitely simpler!

For fermenters, find some Carlos Rossi wine jugs, or similar glass jugs that hold fruit juice. They are perfect for 1 gallon batches with headspace. That is really the only extra equipment you should need!

 

[Revvy]

I've put together a bit of a primer on small batch brewing here.

There's a lot of threads on small batch brewing, including using gallon jugs for "6 pack batches." Here's one.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Yes, the same effort for brewing 5 gallons is about the same as for brewing 1 gallon, but if you don't have the space, you don't have the space. My local homebrew store sells one gallon glass jugs that work nicely for 1 gallon fermentors. Pick up some appropriately sized bungs and airlocks and you're in business.

Since you're working with 5 gallon kits you're probably going to have to store grains and hops for a period of time, so for grains you might want to invest in some airtight plastic containers and for the hops they have ziplock mylar bags. Store the grains in a cool dry place and the hops in a freezer. You'll probably want to buy some more grain bags since your kit only comes with one and you'll need 5 per kit (if your kit has specialty grains that need to be steeped).

 

[slatorian]

thanks for the info and the links guys, really appreciate it. yea it's a space issue, otherwise id stick to 5 gallon batches. Thanks again, brew on :rockin: