1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[huntingohio]

I think, the biggest tip for going to 1 or 2 gallons is convert everything to grams. My little $5 kitchen scale has a gram function, its making setting aside and sealing up grain bills a breeze.

Now I have my next 5 irish red brews ready to open and drop in on there brew days.
I think one im going to do straight just to get a contol on the recipie.
1 im going to bump up th og with dme
1 might get some lactose
1 honey
1 blue berry or strawberry
My new fermenters are 2 gallon buckets [not like the ones from northern brewer or small batch home brew, these mave stout metal bails and feel alot more durable than my northern brewer ones]. It should leave me plenty of room for playing with fuits or juice or whatever tickles my fancy at that moment.
I also found out from a buddy of mine today that the A&W root beer bottles are made from the same plastic and even in the same factory as alot of the comercail 16oz pet bottles. He is bringing me a case of em at thanks giving that was dropped and damaged. Might add more if they are on sale at the store.
I to am looking for a 3 gallon cooler maybe I'll luck out and can pick on up from one of the fam over the holidays. I have seen mesh strainers that go up in ich increments, so maybe one will fit inside, would be a cheap solution to a false bottom. If I have to build a braid I already have a BNIB 14in piece of braid, would just need the valve and various other fittings.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Hi everyone!

What is an average turn-around time on a one gallon brew? Because of the smaller volume, does it mature faster in secondary ferment? For those who've done both, do you find 1 gallon batches quicker than big ones?

I'm not necessarily interested in grain-to-glass speed, I'm wondering for the sake of variety and equipment availability.

Any thoughts?

 

[dadshomebrewing]

I think, the biggest tip for going to 1 or 2 gallons is convert everything to grams. My little $5 kitchen scale has a gram function, its making setting aside and sealing up grain bills a breeze.

Now I have my next 5 irish red brews ready to open and drop in on there brew days.
I think one im going to do straight just to get a contol on the recipie.
1 im going to bump up th og with dme
1 might get some lactose
1 honey
1 blue berry or strawberry
My new fermenters are 2 gallon buckets [not like the ones from northern brewer or small batch home brew, these mave stout metal bails and feel alot more durable than my northern brewer ones]. It should leave me plenty of room for playing with fuits or juice or whatever tickles my fancy at that moment.
I also found out from a buddy of mine today that the A&W root beer bottles are made from the same plastic and even in the same factory as alot of the comercail 16oz pet bottles. He is bringing me a case of em at thanks giving that was dropped and damaged. Might add more if they are on sale at the store.
I to am looking for a 3 gallon cooler maybe I'll luck out and can pick on up from one of the fam over the holidays. I have seen mesh strainers that go up in ich increments, so maybe one will fit inside, would be a cheap solution to a false bottom. If I have to build a braid I already have a BNIB 14in piece of braid, would just need the valve and various other fittings.

i like the "convert to grams" suggestion. I did that on about my third batch, and it's worked out infinitely better when dealing with the "fractions"

good suggestion

 

[huntingohio]

For my money I think it dose turn around faster, seems to clear a little quicker and make brew day a breeze [and all the cleaning can be done easily in a standard sink].


I dont drink to much maybe a half a case a month. But 5 fermenters keeps me in booze constantly.
I do it more for the variety.
I'm brewing 2.5 gallons [two 1.25gallon batches] of beer tomarrow, bottling a sparkling cyser,have 2 different melomels bulk aging in the pantry. I might even throw togather some graff tomarrow time permitting. Its more alcohol than I can drink.

I could spend 10 more bucks and get 2 more gallon jugs and have a completely full pipeline. I may do that when I get a mashtun made as beer will be cheaper after going 100% all grain and buying bulk hops.

Oh and for those interested I got my buckets at the grape and granary [they have a websire pme me if you want it, I think labelpeelers carries the same model

 

[BorealBrewer]

Thanks, HuntingOhio!

I'm in the same boat. I love a good beer, but schedule/health/driving etc. mean I a half case a month.

I'm not going to get rid of my five-gallon stuff...just use it for brews I know family and friends will drink, and do the small-batch stuff to keep me happy with new, exotic, and experimental stuff.

Do you ever do a 2-2 1/2 gallon batch and divide it between two 1 gallon secondaries?

Measuring stuff in grams just makes sense to me - what with growing up metricized here in the Great White North. Actually, I think 341ml of beer sounds good about now...

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i'm finally at the stage where i can drink my own home brew while i make the next batch.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

i'm finally at the stage where i can drink my own home brew while i make the next batch.

Beautiful, isn't it?

 

[cheesecake]

I can't switch over to grams...I tried and it drives me nuts. If.I'm copying a recipe its in oz so I have to keep changing settings in beersmith

 

[BorealBrewer]

Reading this thread over this morning inspired me...I was going to wait a couple weeks, do some more research/procrastination, and then, perhaps, attempt my first all-grain one-gallon brew. Instead, I have mash converting right now!!!

This'll be my first ever all-grain without a more experienced brewer looking over my shoulder. I'm also pretty proud that all the grain in this mash was malted in my kitchen, and the hops grown in the backyard.

Thanks everyone!

 

[cheesecake]

Good luck and that's pretty amazing about the grain and hops wish I could do something like that

 

[dadshomebrewing]

Reading this thread over this morning inspired me...I was going to wait a couple weeks, do some more research/procrastination, and then, perhaps, attempt my first all-grain one-gallon brew. Instead, I have mash converting right now!!!

This'll be my first ever all-grain without a more experienced brewer looking over my shoulder. I'm also pretty proud that all the grain in this mash was malted in my kitchen, and the hops grown in the backyard.

Thanks everyone!

another one bites the dust

 

[BorealBrewer]

Thanks Cheesecake. I owe most of my malting success to guys on this forum who've given advice and technical help!!!

I have a tiny yard, but manage to eke out space for goldings hops, and a family heirloom that tastes kinda cascade-ish. Part of my interest in small batches was to stretch the hops I grow and grain I'm malting.

Gotta go check my mash!

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

Thanks Cheesecake. I owe most of my malting success to guys on this forum who've given advice and technical help!!!

I have a tiny yard, but manage to eke out space for goldings hops, and a family heirloom that tastes kinda cascade-ish. Part of my interest in small batches was to stretch the hops I grow and grain I'm malting.

Gotta go check my mash!

At the risk of ruining it, I would almost say you should let it sit outside overnight uncovered and spontaneously ferment. Hops from your backyard, grain from your backyard, yeast from your backyard.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Yeah, I thought about that too - only thing is, the reason I'm brewing tonight is the blizzard that's currently dumping 3 feet of snow on Manitoba!

Hops growing - check.
Wheat and barley cultivation - check.
Malting - everything's pointing to good.
Yeast - next project!!!

 

[huntingohio]

Thanks, HuntingOhio!
I'm not going to get rid of my five-gallon stuff...just use it for brews I know family and friends will drink, and do the small-batch stuff to keep me happy with new, exotic, and experimental stuff.
Do you ever do a 2-2 1/2 gallon batch and divide it between two 1 gallon secondaries?
QUOTE]

The only thing that limitss my drinking is my kids lol I get a weekend or 2 a month that I can really drink.
But yeah I have split a 2.5gallon all grain in different frermenters, I tried us04 in one and us05 in another... I like us-05.
I second keeping the 5 gallon gear as you could use it to make wine or something to give as part of a gift, or make a big batch for a party.

I can't switch over to grams...I tried and it drives me nuts. If.I'm copying a recipe its in oz so I have to keep changing settings in beersmith

I dont convert to grams until brewday. because my lhbs sells in sae units. Its a bit of a pain but it saves me from adding to much hops, which from experence I can tell you in these small batches makes a HUGE difference.


I have to say that today I finally got to a real homebrew store [not just a place that sells homebrew gear]. It's called the grape and granery. I am glad I went there instead of ordering online again.I gave them my grain bill, the picked out and milled the grains while I shopped around. Picked up a bunch of goodies hops yeast and even gear. Theses guys get an A+ in my book. They even had hop flavored candy [cascade], it was damn tasty.
Today was truly amazing.

 

[bmwmunk]

While my IPA is bubbling in the Carboy from last nights first ever brew I started a stout from a non kit. Getting adventuresome in my second batch. Hahaha It smells AMAZING!!!

 

[MTate37]

I tried my BBS Cranberry Wheat tonight after a week in the bottle. I know...I just haven't developed a lot of patience when it comes to sampling. I haven't made a wheat yet, and it's not a style I usually drink, but I would say this is the best of my the brewing attempts so far. BUT, the cranberry doesn't come through at all. I'm thinking it would have been a good idea to either mash the fruit up a little more than I did, or secondary with some fruit.

Will be brewing the BBS Apple Crisp tomorrow and bottling the New Year Beer next weekend. If time allows I might even do a gallon SMaSH tomorrow with one of the odd amounts of hops I have left from these BBS recipes.

 

[BigRock947]

I tried my BBS Cranberry Wheat tonight after a week in the bottle. I know...I just haven't developed a lot of patience when it comes to sampling. I haven't made a wheat yet, and it's not a style I usually drink, but I would say this is the best of my the brewing attempts so far. BUT, the cranberry doesn't come through at all. I'm thinking it would have been a good idea to either mash the fruit up a little more than I did, or secondary with some fruit.

Will be brewing the BBS Apple Crisp tomorrow and bottling the New Year Beer next weekend. If time allows I might even do a gallon SMaSH tomorrow with one of the odd amounts of hops I have left from these BBS recipes.

One the first craft brews I ever tried was a raspberry wheat when I visited Park City, UT. I really like it so I tried to copy it but was never happy with the results. I pretty much given up brewing with fruit, I can never get enough of the fruit flavor to come through. I think for my last try i'm going to try extract bottling time.

I wonder what the flavor would be like if you used puree of cranberries?

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

One the first craft brews I ever tried was a raspberry wheat when I visited Park City, UT. I really like it so I tried to copy it but was never happy with the results. I pretty much given up brewing with fruit, I can never get enough of the fruit flavor to come through. I think for my last try i'm going to try extract bottling time.

I wonder what the flavor would be like if you used puree of cranberries?

You will get more flavor from a puree than from fresh fruit. You will get a lot more flavor from the extracts, but they can taste kind of funny. More like a fruit flavored candy than the real flavor of the fruit. So its all up to your taste.

 

[Theshorey]

Didn't read all 71 pages, so if this has already be mentioned please forgive me, but 1 gallon jugs are great for getting started with home brew and you can get them for .15 to .25 cents at the redemption center! I used a free 5 gallon food grade bucket (thank you wal-mart bakery) as my primary and then rack into however many 1 gallon jugs I need.

I have a batch of hard lemonade right now that I split, 1 gallon plain, 1 gallon on blueberries and 1 gallon on raspberries...

 

[MTate37]

You will get more flavor from a puree than from fresh fruit. You will get a lot more flavor from the extracts, but they can taste kind of funny. More like a fruit flavored candy than the real flavor of the fruit. So its all up to your taste.

I'll definitely try the recipe again, as I imagine it would be really great if done well. Next time I'll mash the hell out of the fruit before adding to the boil.

 

[huntingohio]

You will get more flavor from a puree than from fresh fruit. You will get a lot more flavor from the extracts, but they can taste kind of funny. More like a fruit flavored candy than the real flavor of the fruit. So its all up to your taste.

I second that I like to puree, then put it in the secondary or primary add water to cover, ad campden 2 days before brewing, then pectic enzyme 1 days before brewing

 

[Leadgolem]

Pectin enzyme is a good thing to add. Breaking down the pectin helps the flavors release, in addition to getting rid of the pectin haze.

I haven't played with cranberries yet, I'm thinking of doing a brew with pureed dehydrated cranberries. The dehydrated fruit should have a more intense flavor, and running them through a blender to break them down and letting them hydrate in the brew in secondary should get me the most bang for the buck. Without using an extract that is.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I've used raspberries, blackberries and plums. I just took one of the old school potato smashers and beat them till they were a pulp.

 

[huntingohio]

OH CRAP!. Either the store owner gavce me the wrong crystal, or the recipie i got was crap [most likely]

My irish red is now a very dark irish brown. Oh well it will make beer so who cares btw guys the aroma of brambling cross hops is nothing short of absolutely amazing!!! So citrusy and not much bittering lime lemon and pine.... smells kind of like my bedroom after high school if ya get what I'm jabbing at.

Possibly going to use amber dme, torrified wheat, crystal 40 and 60, cascade and brambling cross in braggot tomarrow am. I'm not sure what will come of it but I'm sure i'll drink it.

 

[rawkstar320]

So I have a pretty large selection of grains and hops now and was curious if anyone knew of a site where I can enter my inventory and it gives me some recipe suggestions. Searching on my own is fine, but I don't always have all the but I don't always have ask the ingredients - requiring more purchases and an ever increasing inventory.

 

[huntingohio]

I dont but it might help to let the guys here know what you have to help, or you could make a crapton of SmaSH beers, Im finding I like them the best.
I had a marris otter and EKG beer that I loved and almost cried when I was down to one bottle

 

[huntingohio]

I dont but it might help to let the guys here know what you have to help, or you could make a crapton of SmaSH beers, Im finding I like them the best.
I had a 2row and EKG beer that I loved and almost cried when I was down to one bottle

 

[user 83772]

So, I'm almost ready to start my first batch (thanks for the opinions on my conversion math!) but I had one more quick question for y'all. What would everyone say their typical grain bill/ingredient cost is for these micro batches? I've got a list of everything else I need equipment-wise, but I'm really trying to be super careful with cash right now so I want to get an idea of what I'll be getting into for the consumables, especially when I start really getting the hang of things and brewing on the regular.

Once again, you folks are great! So happy to have found this thread, and the forum in general.

 

[huntingohio]

including hops maybe 4 bucks a gallon, buying in small amounts, even less if I find a beer style or beers with simmilar styles and buy hops and grain in bulk [10lb bags of malt and pounds of hops.

I think at income tax time im finally gonna spring for a grinder, 50lb bag of 2 row, 10 lbs bags of my favorite crystal, and a good bit of hops and other malts. Should come to just under 200 bucks after shipping but should keep my pipeline full for a year +
Compared to 20+ bucks a moth for crap beer, im making prolly a 60-80 savings a year double that if I buy the comercail beer I actually like