1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[dadshomebrewing]

hi guys... just a drive by, while i have a half-day off.

what's cookin'

 

[dadshomebrewing]

Woohoo! Finally brewing today! Amarillo Pale Ale, I'm pretty excited about using amarillo.

I'm also planning on using RO water because all of my beers seem to pick up this...plastic...taste. It could be phenolic, but 7 bad batches seems unreasonable. Had anyone else had this problem with city water?

how does the city water taste when you drink it?

or, for that matter, DO you drink it?

 

[dadshomebrewing]

Thanks for the info! Ended up buying spring water, ro water doesn't have enough minerals for beer without adding stuff.

nothing wrong with buying spring water for one gallon batches, but i have to say that would aggravate the snot out of me if i were boiling 6 gallon batches.

and, the "plastic" taste is one of the classic symptoms of a particular problem, but i need to look up which one, and that's going to take a while. will get back to you when i find it.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Just make sure your'e actually getting spring water. Some water companies (cough Coke and Pepsi) get their water from local taps so you may be in a similar issue.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

hey rawkstar... i'm going to assume your sanitation is good, right?

 

[rawkstar320]

My sanitation is super good, pretty much brew/bottle under a later of starsan. The flavor I'm coming up with is mostly prevalent as an aroma.
Tap water is good to drink, they only as chlorine, fluoride and something to get rid of red something? I figure of this batch turns out better, than spring water worked. If not, then I have an infection for some reason.

These amarillo hops smell amazing. I'll be buying a ton of them next year....

 

[bellmtbbq]

Really was planning on brewing this weekend, but I've been so busy. Maybe tonight, or next week.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

My sanitation is super good, pretty much brew/bottle under a later of starsan. The flavor I'm coming up with is mostly prevalent as an aroma.
Tap water is good to drink, they only as chlorine, fluoride and something to get rid of red something? I figure of this batch turns out better, than spring water worked. If not, then I have an infection for some reason.

These amarillo hops smell amazing. I'll be buying a ton of them next year....

how long were you in fermentation, and then in the bottles, before drinking?

sorry if you've already answered, and i missed it

 

[cheesecake]

Good news is new replacement pump is on its way. ....bad news is now im behind schedule.

 

[rawkstar320]

how long were you in fermentation, and then in the bottles, before drinking?

sorry if you've already answered, and i missed it

Depends on the batch, but 2-3 weeks fermenting (sometimes I secondary, but not always) 2-? In the bottle. It seems to get a little worse with time, but levels off somewhere in the "still drinkable"stage.

 

[SchloeBrew]

Anyone finding it more challenging to pull clean beer out of these 1 gallon batches? I keep getting trub and hop leaves. Always prided myself on supper clean beer when siphoning off my 5 gallon carboys. Any ideas/thoughts would be great.

 

[solbes]

Brewed my first 1 gallon batch yesterday as I had to split a starter of Jolly Pumpkin sour dregs. Took 3 hours to brew it all grain BIAB vs 4.5 for a regular 5 gallon batch. A lot of labor for less than a 12 pack of finished brew, but it was fun too. I'm mainly interested in how the JP only batch tastes vs the 5 gallon batch with dregs from 3 different brewers.

 

[rawkstar320]

I need to order some stainless steel washers for my mlt, but McMaster-Carr sells them in packs of 25, @ $10 plus shipping. Does anyone want to split an order? I really don't need 25. I'll be buying 316 ss, 1/2 id, 1-1/4 od. If interested, pm me!

 

[divrguy]

Brewed my first 1 gallon batch yesterday as I had to split a starter of Jolly Pumpkin sour dregs. Took 3 hours to brew it all grain BIAB vs 4.5 for a regular 5 gallon batch. A lot of labor for less than a 12 pack of finished brew, but it was fun too. I'm mainly interested in how the JP only batch tastes vs the 5 gallon batch with dregs from 3 different brewers.

Yes it is a lot of work. You'll find a lot of us are brewing small batches (less than 5 gallons) as well as 1 gallon brews. It is tough sometimes when you nail a 1 gallon batch and then realize you don't have enough of it to drink because the batch is so small. I typically brew 1.5 gallon SMASH recipes but slightly bigger everyday recipes.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Does anyone else notice better conversion efficiency in small batches? I don't know if I'm doing something wrong when I go big, or if my mash set-up for small batches is inherently 5-7% more efficient.

Big scale I mash in a cooler. Small scale, I BIAB in a steel pot, heated externally either in a hot water bath or by an element underneath (stovetop).

Thoughts?

 

[mb82]

Does anyone else notice better conversion efficiency in small batches? I don't know if I'm doing something wrong when I go big, or if my mash set-up for small batches is inherently 5-7% more efficient.

Big scale I mash in a cooler. Small scale, I BIAB in a steel pot, heated externally either in a hot water bath or by an element underneath (stovetop).

Thoughts?

Using the same equipment 1.5 gal or 3 gal I get better efficiency from the 3 gal by a long shot.

 

[jwalk4]

^^^
Better efficiency in big batches for me too.
Bigger batches = more mass. Therefore easier to hold temperatures, longer.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Maybe that's it. I don't like the cooler I mash in - I think it leaks heat badly, and probably pay a lot closer attention to my small mashes.

Thanks everyone, much to think about!!!

 

[solbes]

With brew in a bag, you get better efficiencies with a more dilute grist ratio. I had 90% efficiency with my 1 gallon batch on Sunday . Typical for me with a 5 gallon batch: 70% for a max grain bill (around 13.5 lbs), 80% for a 11 lb grain bill, and 87% for a small 8 lb grain bill.

So opposite of what seems to be observed above.

 

[mb82]

^^^
Better efficiency in big batches for me too.
Bigger batches = more mass. Therefore easier to hold temperatures, longer.

That was my theory also. Well either that or the LHBS was giving me extra grain when get stuff for 3 gal batches.

 

[BorealBrewer]

Solbes - thank-you, it sounds like you're seeing the same thing I'm seeing. I had 2lbs 2oz in 1.1 gallons, which hits right around where you say you see 80-87% efficiency.

When my brew buddies and I do a big AG brew, we get about 75% efficiency...so when on my first two one-gallon AG batches I've seen 80-85%, I thought I must be doing something wrong.

I'm not complaining about coaxing extra sugar out of the starch, I just want to understand what's going on!

 

[Leadgolem]

I found these mini kegs at a second hand store for 5$ a piece today.

 

[BorealBrewer]

LeadGolem, I'm a wee bit jealous. Ok, more than a wee bit. Nice find!!!

 

[Leadgolem]

It was a pretty nice score. They are brand spanking new too. I didn't see any of the tap stuff that comes with some of the kits, but still very nice.

 

[divrguy]

It was a pretty nice score. They are brand spanking new too. I didn't see any of the tap stuff that comes with some of the kits, but still very nice.

Very cool find! I have myself found a few things at thrift stores that were great deals.

 

[rawkstar320]

I found these mini kegs at a second hand store for 5$ a piece today.

Those are killer! Pretty shiny, are they stainless? I know most mini kegs are tin...so they don't last very long

 

[rawkstar320]

How cool would a one gallon conical fermentor be? I bet one could be made from an upside down plastic jug and some fittings. Hmmmmmmm

 

[Leadgolem]

Those are killer! Pretty shiny, are they stainless? I know most mini kegs are tin...so they don't last very long

They are probably tin. They don't fee quite like stainless.

 

[muleskinner90]

I am brewing NB Red Irish Ale. 15 days out. On brew day, I had a lot of evaporation due to large surface area of pot and aggressive boil. Ended up with about 1/2 a gallon. Fermentation was going well and on the third day I added boiled/cooled water to bring it up to 1 gallon. Pretty sure I slowed the fermentation. Up to adding the water, my airlock was bubbling. Hasn't bubbled since. I have little yeast particles floating in it. They do appear to be moving. Is this normal and will they transfer into my bottles when I bottle next Monday?

 

[cheesecake]

I would let it ferment for another week and then cold crash it for 24 hours and then bottle it. Cold crashing will help everything fall out. Just put the fermenter in the fridge to cold crash