1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[BigRock947]

Just curious. Everybody is talking about what they are brewing in 1 gallon batches which is all and good. Has anybody started tasting their 1 gallon batch experiments.

Interested in learning from others. I just tasted my MO/Styrian Goldings SMaSH. Will not be doing that again. Glad it wasn't 5 gallons. Styrian Goldings has promise as a blending hop but not a stand alone hop. IMO

I've only tasted one of them that I transferred to a secondary. It was pretty good...can't wait until its ready.:rockin:

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

Bottling my third batch tonight, first batch was awesome, second may have a couple recipe issues, but I will see next week when its carbed up if its any better. My pipeline is finally set up and full. It's a good feeling

 

[MTate37]

Cracked open a Belgian blonde and a chocolate maple porter (based on BBS recipe) and I think I've finally crossed that line that defines "Meh" first homebrews and "yum" homebrews. Exciting.

I think I've also crossed that line with the BBS recipes I've made. I don't get any cranberry from the Cranberry Wheat recipe, but for a wheat beer I'm really happy with the flavor. I'll be bottling the New Year Beer this weekend and the last sample was the best flat beer I've ever had. Now if I can just develop a little patience so that by the time the beer is really ready I'll have more than three bottles left.

 

[cheesecake]

Patience is a killer. I want to try a 1 gallon batch so bad but I know there not ready.

 

[rawkstar320]

I think I've also crossed that line with the BBS recipes I've made. I don't get any cranberry from the Cranberry Wheat recipe, but for a wheat beer I'm really happy with the flavor. I'll be bottling the New Year Beer this weekend and the last sample was the best flat beer I've ever had. Now if I can just develop a little patience so that by the time the beer is really ready I'll have more than three bottles left.

I have the bbs book, but have pretty much just made up my own recipes....so it probably took longer to criss the line otherwise.

For a little while, I had a batch going every week. But that's just too hard to keep up on, so in trying for a batch every other week. To catch up, I'm brewing a brown ale for my dad and a Belgian tripel this weekend. Yay beer!

 

[cheesecake]

Yay for cleaning carpets instead of brewing. I am using my brew pot though to heat the water for rhe cleaner. I love setting the temp and letting it hold that temp while I do what I need to do. If I finish early ill probably brew something

 

[BigRock947]

Bottling my third batch tonight, first batch was awesome, second may have a couple recipe issues, but I will see next week when its carbed up if its any better. My pipeline is finally set up and full. It's a good feeling

I'm bottling tonight as well...also making a bottling bucket out of an extra 2-gallon bucket.

 

[divrguy]

....My pipeline is finally set up and full. It's a good feeling

Yes it is! I have finally got a variety as well since I have been small batching. Now I have some chilling, some conditioning and 2 in primary!

 

[BigRock947]

Yes it is! I have finally got a variety as well since I have been small batching. Now I have some chilling, some conditioning and 2 in primary!

The last picture...is that a plastic cookie jar used as a fermenter?

 

[fuzzy2133]

Definitely looks like it; I want to know what the capacity is.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

OK, I've read a few pages of this and don't want to read over 100 pages to see if the info is here or not.
What do you guys use for 1 gallon batch fermenters?
You would need to have at least five quarts of space so that you have some headspace if you don't want to loose a pint or so to blowoff.

I've never brewed less than 5 gallons and would like to step it up to 10 gallons, but for experimenting it could be nice to do a small batch.
I've even got a few one gallon jug coolers that I've thought would be a good tun for quite a few one gallon recipe versions.

I've also thought about doing a five gallon batch, splitting it into five one gallon batches and change up the yeast, hops or whatever. Maybe do a second mash and add another grain to one of them to see what it does to the flavor. You get the idea.

Five one gallon jugs doesn't seem like a great way to go due to the waste from the blowoff that I mentioned.

one gallon glass carboys with a blow-off tube, until after christmas when (hopefully) i will have acquired a couple of 2 gallon plastic fermentation buckets.

 

[carlk47]

Hey gang, so I brewed my first 5 gal batch this past weekend and am looking to get a couple of 1 gal batches going as well(need the gear to do it). It seems 2 gal buckets are preferred over the 1 gal glass growlers, but one question I have is should I get an additional 2 gal bucket to use for bottling? Or is siphoning directly from the fermenting bucket still the recommended method?

thank all!

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i would get the extra bucket. the only reason i haven't gone out and acquired a FEW is that i need to wait to see what the big guy in the red suit brings, or SWMBO will be ticked.

i currently use carboys for everything. i guarantee that will change as soon as i can change it.

use a bottling bucket, and a fermenting bucket, and any other kind of bucket you can think of, just like the big batch boys.

 

[divrguy]

The last picture...is that a plastic cookie jar used as a fermenter?

Definitely looks like it; I want to know what the capacity is.

It's from tap plastics and its 2.6 gallons. Awfully cheap and food grade! . It's very easy to squeeze in between stuff. 2 gallon Home Depot bucket on left.

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/plastic_hexagon_container/575

 

[bleme]

Just to the one-gallon mark. I had roughly 1/2 gallon or so left in the kettle which ended up down the drain for lack of a way to contain it.

I read this and all I could think of were all the poor little kids in China who don't even have beer :-(

 

[BigRock947]

Hey gang, so I brewed my first 5 gal batch this past weekend and am looking to get a couple of 1 gal batches going as well(need the gear to do it). It seems 2 gal buckets are preferred over the 1 gal glass growlers, but one question I have is should I get an additional 2 gal bucket to use for bottling? Or is siphoning directly from the fermenting bucket still the recommended method?

thank all!

I rack to my big batch bottling bucket and bottle like I usually do. Not perfect but works...

Side note...I tried to drill a hole into a 2-gallon frosting bucket for my bottling spigot. Tried is the key word...my 1" bore chewed up the plastic...thank goodness I got for free.

 

[divrguy]

Okay so there's only 1 downside to a small batch... I nailed my Stout this time... It's friggin fantastic!! I gotta brew this again and I just opened the first of 12 brews! Lol

 

[cheesecake]

Thats not a downside. More reason to brew it again

 

[cheesecake]

I bottle with my autosiphin and bottle adapter. I transfer to a clean carboy and bottle from there.

 

[JollyIsTheRoger]

I bottle with my autosiphin and bottle adapter. I transfer to a clean carboy and bottle from there.

That's how I do it, but I usually just bottle straight from secondary.

And here is my pipeline as of tonight

Left to right: Bochet Mead, Rye Weizenbock, English Barleywine, Black IIPA, Blackberry Cider. Just bottled up the Black IIPA.

 

[cheesecake]

Going to be trying my first beer from a 1 gallon batch. Hopefully its carbed enough

 

[cheesecake]

Well here it is.....northern brewer black ipa

 

[divrguy]

Thats not a downside. More reason to brew it again

I know huh! I just got my mini auto siphon from Midwest today. Can't wait to give it a try. The normal batch size auto siphon was killing me in my small batches. I bet this will be a good investment.

 

[divrguy]

That's how I do it, but I usually just bottle straight from secondary.

And here is my pipeline as of tonight

Left to right: Bochet Mead, Rye Weizenbock, English Barleywine, Black IIPA, Blackberry Cider. Just bottled up the Black IIPA.

Jolly... Good looking pipeline going there!

 

[divrguy]

Well here it is.....northern brewer black ipa

Wow that looks sweet... Nice head.. How's it taste?

 

[cheesecake]

And citra SMaSH

 

[cheesecake]

Wow that looks sweet... Nice head.. How's it taste?

Its amazing. Roasty malty and hoppy

 

[user 83772]

Hate to keep harping on the same thing, but - is anyone able to advise on what (if any) adjustments I need to make to the amount of priming sugar necessary when it comes time to bottle my stout?

On another note: Jolly, that's a hell of a lineup! Count me as jealous as well. I've totally been bitten by the bug, and as soon as the semester is over, I'll be brewing again as well.

@cheesecake: That, my good man, looks deelishus. Nice job! :rockin:

 

[cheesecake]

sorry i thought i responded....my bad

no changes needed as long as your finished volume is 1 gallon

 

[cheesecake]

sorry about the sideways photos....getting used to the new phone. and the citra smash was over carbed.....