1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[max384]

What kind other equipment are you talking about? If you use a smaller kettle and fermenters, I think you have eliminated the two main concerns. Like someone said, it might be harder to maintain temp in a cooler MLT but only a little harder.

I just mash in a pot with a bag for 1 gallons. I use a cooler for 2+.

If you're used to mashing in a cooler, you could make a smaller MLT with a 2 gallon cooler if you wanted. I have thought about that. You wouldn't even have to add a spout, just do it in a bag in the cooler.

I hadn't thought about maintaining temps as a problem. I don't plan to make 1 gallon batches a normal thing, so I probably won't make a 2 gallon MLT.

I know the one thing I had to do with my 5gal cooler was to put a piece of tinfoil over the mash to keep the heat in. Not real sure how that'd go with the 10gal - that and the ratio of the grain bed would be a little off (if following the example from "How to Brew").

A 2gal cooler is pretty cheap, I'd probably grab one if you see yourself doing more 1gal batches.

In other news - rye is on hold, decided to brew an ESB. Grains ordered for pickup tonight, hope to brew this weekend!

(and bottle for that matter... why is brewing more fun?)

Thanks for the tip!

 

[sumbrewindude]

Small batches people...toss it in the oven. Got a nice wide 2.5 gallon pot, hit the mash temp. Throw it in a warmed oven. Holds perfectly. You could probably fit a 2 gallon cooler in there as well...nothing will melt as long as you preheat to warm (170) then turn it off as you put the cooler in the oven.

If your pot fits and your oven is steady (I found I had to turn mine on after 30min, it started to cool down), this really is the way to go for true 1gal batches, and really starts to shine if you're doing any kind of BIAB. Everything's contained and it's sort of set/forget.

That said, I'm really glad I got the 5gal cooler - and wish I'd gotten it sooner.

 

[BikerBrewer]

i was thinking about using it was a "bottling bucket" because of the spigot for some brews and also a primary or secondary depending on size of batch for others. its just hard getting items over in italy.

I use my old one for a bottling bucket all the time, works great.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Can't drink today (call), so brewing is the next best thing. There's still room on the shelf, but I'm going to be busy bottling in 4 weeks. Made the SWMBO another variation of Apfelwien, now with more carmel and just a hint of allspice (like two corns - lol). Those Indian Summer bottles are so easy to work with, and fit a #9 stopper perfectly.

Playing around with Hop Tea, gonna do something stupid during bottling I think....

 

[Weezy]

Does two, 1-gallons count?

 

[divrguy]

I use a 10 gallon converted cylindrical cooler for a mash/lauter tun with a copper manifold bottom. I use a 15 gallon brew kettle, but I have a 5 gallon kettle that I will use for these smaller batches. In actuality, my only concern is in the mash/lauter tun. I worry that I will have too much dead space and that my efficiency will suffer as a result.

10 gallon cooler will be too big but I can hold temps with just blankets or towels.

Does two, 1-gallons count?

Sweet! Love the little oak barrel!

 

[sumbrewindude]

Nice barrel!

*yet another thing to add onto the already large list of wants*

 

[Oaney]

I figured posting in this thread would be more appropriate than starting a brand new thread. I have some left over specialty grains, a few older bags of hops, and a 5 gallon batch almost ready for the keg. Over the past few days I have become fixated on doing a SMaSH with the yeast cake and my 'left-overs'. The problem is that I only have 9.5oz of crushed specialty malt left .

After playing around in BeerSmith a bit I have determined that I should be able to do a 0.25 gallon (2 pint) batch size with a 20-30 minute boil. I will just increase the hops to up the bitterness since such a small boil will require next to no hops, we are talking tenths of an ounce here.

The specialty grains I have left are Weyermann Abbey Malt. You can do up to 50% of a grain bill with these, but since the diastatic power is so low they really should be with a powerful base malt to convert well. The site says they do convert on their own, just not very well. For my mash I think I am going to try and get max efficiency with the 3 rests method I have read about a few times to try and convert as much starches as possible.

I want to split this batch into 2 fermenters, and use different hops in each one to compare the two. I will be using 1 liter bottles as fermenters, 1 pint of wort per bottle which will bring the liquid about halfway up the bottle. The only problem is that I can't figure out how to have 2 different bittering hops without splitting the already tiny 0.25 gallon boil into 2 pots .

I want to pitch something like 1tsp of the yeast cake from my 5 gal batch into each 1 liter fermenter, and wash the rest. Since the grains are getting old and basically just left overs, and my hops haven't been stored exactly right and are about 1 year old I figured I would attempt to brew with these rather than have to throw them out. This is going to be a fun little experiment! I don't really expect anything even mediocre out of it, but what the hell right? I'd rather try to use my older stuff than trash them.


There was one comment towards the beginning of this thread that really got me fixated on following through with this. Someone within the first 20 pages said something like "you think 1 gal batches are extreme, you should try the 1 pint challenge!". Ill probably keep a log and only make a new thread if it turns out. Wish me luck on my first SMaSH, hell wish me luck on my first all grain brew!


*Edit to Add Quote*

Is mocking 1 gallon brewers actually a thing? In 15 years, I've never seen someone upbraided simply for brewing smaller. Weird.

A Homebrew club I was in actually had a really fun competition - to brew one pint of beer, all grain. I have to tell you, it is a ton of fun devising a way to mash and boil in tiny quantities. I made a miniature 3 tier pyrex system, and scaled down a recipe that I had made many times. Turned out nearly identical to the 10 gallon version.

 

[JohnSand]

Good luck! Let us know how it works out.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Good Luck Oaney! Who knows, maybe it'll be a diamond in the rough!

 

[sumbrewindude]

Well, bottling night is in the books.

De-labeling, cleaning, and sanitizing wasn't so bad, only took an hour or two (mostly because I did two boxes(12 each) of 1L bottles at the same time as the 12pack).

Priming sugar thing was okay. Hop tea experiment was a near disaster, and now I know where all the trub in the pot comes from - pellets are a mess! I'll get a pack of leaf hops next time I think for the tea experiment.

Cleared a LOT more beer than I thought I would, I had it figured for a 12 pack, and actually cleared about 155oz even after a SNAFU with the siphon hose. That leads me to another gripe - vinyl tubing sucks &@*! Curled all over, broke siphon twice, minor spillage and general cursing everywhere. SWMBO even commented that I wasn't allowed to be mad at my chosen hobby, so I had an ice tea, regrouped, and finished.

Yeast cake was tiny compared to what I've seen on here - maybe a quarter inch tall across the bottom of the bucket. I was expecting a lot more. I did cold crash for 4 days, beer was translucent - no haze at all.

Bottling itself wasn't bad at all - used Revvy's guide and it went slick - SWMBO even handed me bottles and we were done in no time.

Things to get before next weekend (and the next session) - another 12 bottles, a dang autosiphon instead of my stupid home-job, and some tubing that doesn't act like a slinky just because the house is 70deg.

Anyone know if the silicon hi-temp tubing behaves itself? I'll spend the money - I was that mad.

 

[harrke]

OK, here's what I did with my messed up stout grain bill. 2 lb 2-row .4 lb flaked barley .4 lb roast barley .2 lb chocolate malt .25 lb sugar (to hit OG) 1.1 oz Willamette pellets (4%) Mashed in 1 gallon at 152-53 for 60 minutes (that's 1.33qt per pound) Sparged with 2 gallons at 174 Boiled almost 3 gallons for 60 I had to top up with about a quart total. Then I split the wort into two 1 gallon jugs. A: 3g S-04 - aerated by splashing and shaking B: 2g WB-06 - no aeration I deliberately pitched the WB-06 low and didn't aerate in an attempt to coax more banana and bubblegum esters out of it. Not sure if it will work, but I want to avoid the clove and spiciness. Trying to keep it warm, too, since I read that can help. Fermenting the S-04 at 60 degrees. This still tasted very roasty, but maybe it will be interesting anyway.

This sounds like a fun experiment. Keep us posted please!

 

[sumbrewindude]

Bottling day two approaches.

This time I've got a new autosiphon, plenty of silicon hose (expense, but it's bendy and not a slinky - so I'm a happy camper so far), and a better handle on what's going on.

Was trying to decide what to do for a SMaSH next, and stumbled on a Vienna/NB smash that sounded tasty, so that'll be on deck for the fermenter when it opens up.

Still planning out the rye, I keep making small changes to the grain bill trying to keep it simple and still fit within the confines of standard amounts. May need to look at going to a mill so I can control exactly how much grain I need. That'll let me start buying in bulk also (cutting down on buying stuff every other week), and hopefully help with cost for a bit.

Anyone else brewing?

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Racked a gallon onto guava paste I made today from my tree.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[FatsSchindee]

Racked a gallon onto guava paste I made today from my tree. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

What kind of beer? Sounds interesting with the guava!

As far as fruit goes... I have a dry stout fermenting, and when it's done I'm going to rack one gal of it onto some cherries (Oregon purée) and cacao nibs. Anyone have a good idea of how much of each I should use for one gal? Thanks...

 

[LabRatBrewer]

What kind of beer? Sounds interesting with the guava!

As far as fruit goes... I have a dry stout fermenting, and when it's done I'm going to rack one gal of it onto some cherries (Oregon purée) and cacao nibs. Anyone have a good idea of how much of each I should use for one gal? Thanks...

I racked onto a small ipa (apa?) that I had not dry hooped yet. This wasn't planned. My tree got itself purned and I had to use the fruit.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[NTexBrewer]

I did a one gallon IPA over Thanksgiving. 1 week fermentation 1 week carbonating. Pretty good beer for such a short turn around. Will probably do more 1 gallon batches to test and try recipes.

 

[sumbrewindude]

WOW! One week to bottle carb? That's quick! I sat on my first batch 3 weeks, and it'll be another week yet before I drink it (I'm already three recipies in). Is it "green"?

Love variety.

 

[bleme]

WOW! One week to bottle carb? That's quick! I sat on my first batch 3 weeks, and it'll be another week yet before I drink it (I'm already three recipies in). Is it "green"?

Love variety.

IPA's are the only style I like before 3 weeks. The hops cover up the greenness.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Huh. Maybe I'll try that with the next Smash I've got planned.

Bottling night 2 in the books. Autosiphon was a huge hit, silicon tubing was worth every penny. Was done in half the time, getting a system down to make things go faster.

Yield was just as good as batch 1 - just over a 12pack. This one was very grainy - now I know what happens with that much corn/rice in a brew. Lot of alcohol flavor, it might need to sit in the bottles for a while. Wish I had taken an OG reading, I'm curious to know what the effeciency of this one was. Seems a lot hotter than what the computer calculated it at 70%.

Now to start planning for the next one.

 

[MrBrown]

Not sure why i didn't share this on this thread. Made a trailer video from one of my brew days.

http://youtu.be/-LWBitYfh7s

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Not sure why i didn't share this on this thread. Made a trailer video from one of my brew days.

http://youtu.be/-LWBitYfh7s

That's awesome!

 

[NTexBrewer]

WOW! One week to bottle carb? That's quick! I sat on my first batch 3 weeks, and it'll be another week yet before I drink it (I'm already three recipies in). Is it "green"?

Love variety.

The beer tasted great. I have had my share of batches that needed to wait. For some reason this one did not. I think it carbonated so fast because I used a whole pack of 05 to ferment. I'm guessing I had plenty of yeast around and they were not sluggish. I also carbonated at around 76 degrees.

 

[Bytowner]

Hey folks,
I'm one of many (I assume) fellas who got a BBS kit for Christmas. Long time beer drinker, but never made the jump to actually brewing. Guess I have no excuse now.

Excited at the prospect of 1-gallon brewing, been surfing around and looking at ingredients all morning. Sure I'll be drawing on the experience of you fine folks quite a bit.

Now need to head out tomorrow to grab a stock pot. Am I correct in saying that 2 to 3 gallons is what I'm looking for?

Merry Christmas!

 

[user 83772]

Welcome to brewing! And yes, a 2-3 gallon pot will be fine. I personally suggest going for a 3-gallon - I started with one-gallon brews, and almost immediately stepped up to 2.5 gallon brewdays. Having the 3-gallon gives me the capability to do full boils for my 2.5 gallon batches with no problem.

 

[GeorgiaMead]

Most people will say to get a big pot, but I say get a 3 gallon pot that isn't too expensive just to make sure you enjoy the hobby... After you are sure you want to keep brewing ten buy a big pot, I'm about to buy a 10 gallon kettle my self

 

[bleme]

Most people will say to get a big pot, but I say get a 3 gallon pot that isn't too expensive just to make sure you enjoy the hobby... After you are sure you want to keep brewing ten buy a big pot, I'm about to buy a 10 gallon kettle my self

I have a 2-gal, 5-gal and 8-gal. I wish I had gotten a 10 instead of the 8. I went with the 8 because it was short enough to fit in my oven but I just saw a 10-gal tamale pot ($25) that is wider instead of taller.

 

[user 83772]

Also, consider what your stovetop (if you're doing stovetop brewing) can handle. The large burners on my range will get a full three gallons up to a decent rolling boil, but anything more than that and I'd have to split the batch up into more than one pot to get a proper boil going.

 

[sumbrewindude]

I vote 3gal also - if you're doing a true 1gal brew that calls for a 90min boil, you might need the extra room for more wort. Also leaves a lot of slop room encase a boil/hot break gets away from you.

Finally got my new 5gal pot. Boy is she ugly. Family member spied it at a thrift shop and picked it up for me for a few bucks. Nice heavy gauge aluminum with lid - looks like an old tamale pot because it's got the basket ring around it about an inch and a half up. Lid's beat, pots beat, but it's boiled in strong and clean as a whistle. Too much character to NOT brew with in my book...

SWMBO called it "Bent Kettle Brewing", I like that name!

 

[T29]

I did my first 2, 1 gallon batches ever. I think after making quite a few 5 and 3 gallon brews I needed to learn how to tweak and adjust some of them before brewing a bigger batch. So I used beersmith and tweaked 2 of my fab beers to get that ultimate umf I'm looking for as a hop head. Here is a west coast IPA and a hop bursted pale ale. Both 1 gallon.

The one on the right I used muslin bag for all hops and the one on the left I did not for the first addition to see the difference.


I've been doing a lot of playin around and testing different hops etc etc. this is by far the most fun I've had brewing lol