1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[hehawbrew]

I just a very cheap and tasty cider. Low ABV , but very woodchuck ish....

Gallon of store brand juice.
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup raw cane sugar
Teaspoon yeast nutrient
1/4 pack ale yeast

It fermented two weeks or so.... I haven't drank out of,bottle yet, but- when I was bottling, I could have chugged the whole thing!

It is 5%ish.

Cheap, fast, and tasty!

 

[Antler]

Not sure if this is of any help to you guys but I'll post anyway. Around here you can get 2l brew kits for around $5, this was my first homebrewing attempt. They come in a 2l soda bottle and have a small yeast tablet and airlock cap included, you just unscrew the normal soda bottle cap, drop in the yeast tablet and put the airlock cap on. Let it ferment then refrigerate for a week, and serve.

The beer isn't great, but of you saved the caps, they would be great for carbonating in 500ml soda bottles. They hold in enough pressure to carb the beer, and release the excess.

 

[ericbw]

I just a very cheap and tasty cider. Low ABV , but very woodchuck ish....

Gallon of store brand juice.
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup raw cane sugar
Teaspoon yeast nutrient
1/4 pack ale yeast

It fermented two weeks or so.... I haven't drank out of,bottle yet, but- when I was bottling, I could have chugged the whole thing!

It is 5%ish.

Cheap, fast, and tasty!

I don't see how it would stop at 5% instead of fermenting out dry at a high ABV. What size pack of yeast?

 

[hehawbrew]

Salf-04(or whatever it's called). It was was for a five gallon recipe. I may have calculated wrong, but my hydrometer said 5%. All I know is that it's sweet!

 

[bleme]

Salf-04(or whatever it's called). It was was for a five gallon recipe. I may have calculated wrong, but my hydrometer said 5%. All I know is that it's sweet!

Sounds like you got "lucky" and had a stalled fermentation.

 

[hehawbrew]

Take it where I can get it these days!

 

[oldenewguy]

Hi guys. Sorry if this has been asked before but this thread is super long.

I wanted to measure % alcohol and I am going to use a hydrometer. ( I may just end up getting a refractometer but I was going to try it this way first). My plan is to take my OG reading from my pot of wort after it has cooled in the ice bath and then before I rack to bottling bucket I can take a sample and measure my FG. Since I will sanitize like crazy I was planning on just dumping the final sample back into the bottling bucket or drinking it. Does this sound okay. I really just want to see how my alcohol content is comparing to the projected percentage. I let my fermentations go at least three weeks so I'm not too worried about them not being finished.

Thanks!

 

[Jsslack]

I've been doing 5 gal extract plus specialty grain batches for about two years now. Just did my first all grain one gallon SMASH, BIAB style. Everything went well and she is off to a great fermentation. I really enjoy doing the smaller batch, i feel like i could brew one up while the kids are napping. Anywho, just thought i would post up that i joined the one gallon brewers.

 

[psymonkey]

Not sure if this is of any help to you guys but I'll post anyway. Around here you can get 2l brew kits for around $5, this was my first homebrewing attempt. They come in a 2l soda bottle and have a small yeast tablet and airlock cap included, you just unscrew the normal soda bottle cap, drop in the yeast tablet and put the airlock cap on. Let it ferment then refrigerate for a week, and serve.

The beer isn't great, but of you saved the caps, they would be great for carbonating in 500ml soda bottles. They hold in enough pressure to carb the beer, and release the excess.

I'm not terribly surprised by the mediocre end product, but what a cool concept...

 

[DeadheadBrew]

So I am a little bummed here. My batch of pale ale is supposed to end up with an ABV of 5% My OG was 1.040 and after 2 weeks fermenting I just checked the gravity and it is at 1.021 which is only 2.5% ABV. I am supposed to be bottling this weekend. HELP!

 

[Leadgolem]

Sounds like you got "lucky" and had a stalled fermentation.

I usually consider that to be bad luck. :fro:

So I am a little bummed here. My batch of pale ale is supposed to end up with an ABV of 5% My OG was 1.040 and after 2 weeks fermenting I just checked the gravity and it is at 1.021 which is only 2.5% ABV. I am supposed to be bottling this weekend. HELP!

More information please. What yeast, extract or grain, what temp is your fermentor sitting at? Anything else that might make a difference?

 

[bleme]

So I am a little bummed here. My batch of pale ale is supposed to end up with an ABV of 5% My OG was 1.040 and after 2 weeks fermenting I just checked the gravity and it is at 1.021 which is only 2.5% ABV. I am supposed to be bottling this weekend. HELP!

Do the easiest first: check your hydrometer in plain water and make sure it is 1.000.

If it is, take another sample of your beer. Put your thumb over the end of the tube and give it a gentle shake. Wait 10 minutes and repeat. You want to get as much CO2 out of there as you can. Finally, take another reading and spin you hydrometer to make sure it doesn't have a bunch of bubbles clinging to it.

If it still reads 1.021, there are a few things that could have gone wrong. If it is All-Grain, the mash could have been incomplete. Not much you can do with this one unless you want to brew a really dry beer and mix them together.

Your yeast could have gotten too cold and gone to sleep. If your temp is at the low end, slowly warm to the yeasts high end of its range and give it a gentle swirl.

Finally, you can just decide that you like non-alcoholic, sweet beer

 

[DeadheadBrew]

I usually consider that to be bad luck. :fro:

More information please. What yeast, extract or grain, what temp is your fermentor sitting at? Anything else that might make a difference?

Here is what Im brewing

1.6 pounds American 2-row
.1 pound Victory
.1 pound Caramel 10
.1 pound Caramel 20

.1 oz Chinook
.15 oz Cascade
Safale S-05 yeast

This is my first all grain batch first ever homebrew. I dont know what the temp of the fermentor is sitting at. Its just under the sink. Maybe I did not aerate it enough? Thats the only think of I did wrong. I am using a refractometer. The other batch of porter is doing great and is measuring right where it is supposed to.

 

[user 83772]

What was your mash temp, and were you able to keep it there for the designated time? I know that the one AG brew I did was a total nightmare when it came to hitting my mash temp and keeping it there for the prescribed length of time. If it's your first AG brewday, that may be the problem.

 

[DeadheadBrew]

What was your mash temp, and were you able to keep it there for the designated time? I know that the one AG brew I did was a total nightmare when it came to hitting my mash temp and keeping it there for the prescribed length of time. If it's your first AG brewday, that may be the problem.

I did notice that the mash temp kept dropping to like 140. It was supposed to be between 145-155.

 

[ericbw]

I did notice that the mash temp kept dropping to like 140. It was supposed to be between 145-155.

I did a brown ale (pretty similar recipe) and mashed too high- like 155-160+) and got similar FG. It's a sweet, malty brown, so it's ok, i guess. Probably 4%.

But I guess if your temp was too low, you also wouldn't get good conversion. But it's sweet, right?

I also mashed too short before and got a really low ABV pale. My timer was broken.

 

[user 83772]

I did notice that the mash temp kept dropping to like 140. It was supposed to be between 145-155.

Yeah, there's the problem. You didn't get enough conversion, and ended up with a (relatively) thin wort. Only so much alcohol to be made, you know?

 

[DeadheadBrew]

Yeah, there's the problem. You didn't get enough conversion, and ended up with a (relatively) thin wort. Only so much alcohol to be made, you know?

It is sweet. Oh well. It was a first try. I am excited for my porter though. OG 1.063 and is at 1.012 now.

 

[BGBC]

Are you correctly calculating your FG with the refractometer? I don't use on, but I know you need to use a conversion formula when using them to measure FG, to adjust for the alcohol.

Or just double-check it with a hydrometer

 

[DeadheadBrew]

Are you correctly calculating your FG with the refractometer? I don't use on, but I know you need to use a conversion formula when using them to measure FG, to adjust for the alcohol.

Or just double-check it with a hydrometer

My refractometer measures in BRIX and I used a BRIX calculator to convert.

 

[bleme]

Try putting your BRIX readings in here.
You can't use the same conversion formula before alcohol and after.
It's probably not the problem, since you seem to be getting a good reading off the porter though.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...joDoDg&usg=AFQjCNFMDUzDDNGG2FlsQZclxTZVflU0XA

 

[pulseyou]

Your FG is not 1.021. The presence of alc messes w the reading.

 

[jongrill]

Thanks leadgolem and everyone else!

 

[Leadgolem]

I did a brown ale (pretty similar recipe) and mashed too high- like 155-160+) and got similar FG. It's a sweet, malty brown, so it's ok, i guess. Probably 4%.

But I guess if your temp was too low, you also wouldn't get good conversion. But it's sweet, right?

I also mashed too short before and got a really low ABV pale. My timer was broken.

This is what I was thinking had happened. There are two kinds of amylase enzyme in your mash. This explains it a lot better then I was going to.

Try putting your BRIX readings in here.
You can't use the same conversion formula before alcohol and after.
It's probably not the problem, since you seem to be getting a good reading off the porter though.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...joDoDg&usg=AFQjCNFMDUzDDNGG2FlsQZclxTZVflU0XA

With a refractometer, this was something else I would consider likely.

Thanks leadgolem and everyone else!

Did you get it figured out then?

 

[MedBrewer]

Any one have a simple 1 gal lager recipe? I've got spare fridge room I can use for lagering a gallon fermenter.

 

[user 83772]

Any one have a simple 1 gal lager recipe? I've got spare fridge room I can use for lagering a gallon fermenter.

Just scale down a 5-gallon batch that looks good to you.

 

[jongrill]

This is what I was thinking had happened. There are two kinds of amylase enzyme in your mash. This explains it a lot better then I was going to.

With a refractometer, this was something else I would consider likely.

Did you get it figured out then?

Not yet. Ill make it soon!

 

[Leadgolem]

Not yet. Ill make it soon!

Hmm, you can try stirring or shaking the batch up. That will sometimes start things back off. Another thing that sometimes works is just adding like 1 tsp of table sugar.

 

[Jbird]

Are you correctly calculating your FG with the refractometer? I don't use on, but I know you need to use a conversion formula when using them to measure FG, to adjust for the alcohol.

Or just double-check it with a hydrometer

If you use a refractometer just download the conversion app. Helps a lot! I use it every time I brew.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

So I'm still tweaking with figuring out my efficiencies but came up with what should be a Barley Wine (if my calculations are right) or an IIPA if it doesn't

Basically I'm just going wild

3 lbs base
1 lb peated
.5 cara/rye
.5 caramel 40

Little high on the latter 2 I know down the road I'll go a little lighter but for now I'm dealing in cleaner numbers like full pounds and half pounds til I get my efficiency figured otu. If I'm right it will be a 1.115 so not out of range for a barley wine but if I'm still running low, it should come into the 1.080 range which is perfect for an IIPA. This time I'm gonna go for a little more accurate boil. I created a new beersmith profile and everything.