1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[harrke]

I'm a 5 & 10 gallon brewer but want to do more experimentation this winter - I can just do BIAB for these batches but what's the easiest setup to go from grain to glass?

Is there an all in one fermenter that has a bottling spigot? Would one of those glass ice tea jugs work?

I'm worried about the whole racking and bottling taking too long. Do you use carbonation drops?

I have only bottled two so far and haven't tried those, yet. I can say that using the 1-gal Carboy, there was about a half-inch layer of Trub on the bottom. Given that, it would seem that an ice tea dispenser would work. I used fizz drops in my bottles. I got 9-bottles from one and 10 from the second.

 

[ericbw]

I have only bottled two so far and haven't tried those, yet. I can say that using the 1-gal Carboy, there was about a half-inch layer of Trub on the bottom. Given that, it would seem that an ice tea dispenser would work. I used fizz drops in my bottles. I got 9-bottles from one and 10 from the second.

What's your secret for getting 10 bottles from a gallon? The most I have gotten is 9, and I usually have closer to an inch of trub at the bottom.

 

[Leadgolem]

I'm a 5 & 10 gallon brewer but want to do more experimentation this winter - I can just do BIAB for these batches but what's the easiest setup to go from grain to glass?

Is there an all in one fermenter that has a bottling spigot? Would one of those glass ice tea jugs work?

I'm worried about the whole racking and bottling taking too long. Do you use carbonation drops?

I don't have one, but I've heard good things about these.
http://www.brewdemon.com/conical-fermenting-system.html

For bottling, there are two approaches I've found useful. First is the iced tea dispenser you mentioned. Just make sure to get one with a removable spigot, otherwise you can't really clean it properly.

The second is to pour all of the brew through coffee filters. I use several pour spout bowl I got for cheap with colanders in them. It takes a while for the brew to get through the filters, and it's still cloudy, but you yield a very high percentage of the batch that way. With 1 gallon batches, trub loss can be a rather large percentage of your brew. As near as I can figure, I yielded 126 oz of 128 possible on my last low trub batch. Then I just use a funnel to bottle.

I just use a priming sugar calculator. Most of them will let you enter the batch volume.

Another good tip, if you haven't read it yet. Get yourself a scale that is accurate in grams, and convert all of your ingredients to grams. It's fairly easy to throw off your proportions when you are doing such a small batch.

Happy Brewing!

 

[shoreman]

This look cool - can you harvest yeast out of them?

 

[shoreman]

Anyone that had the brew demon - can you bottle straight from this after using it as primary for say 3 weeks? Just add priming sugar and bottle? Or use carb drops.

 

[JohnSand]

I don't have Brewdemon, but I have used MrBeer, which is similar. You just bottle straight from the fermenter, three weeks, no secondary. I use Dominoe Dots (sugar cubes) to bottle prime. I've read that there are two sizes, the smaller are about 1/2 teaspoon, which is fine.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

This look cool - can you harvest yeast out of them?

The spigot is designed to sit above the trub, so as is you could not harvest like a conical. But I don't see why you couldn't drill a hole lower on the cone and add another spigot.

(We're talking about about the brew demon right?)

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

I would say save your money on the brew demon. Looks cool but at that price you can go to Winco here or Wally world and get 5 gallon water jugs for $5-6. You can easily add a spigot if you are so inclined and treat it like a pin or firkin and set it at a mild tilt upon bottling. I know this is one gallon brewers but I am brewing test batches almost nightly and when I get to a batch that just needs small tweaks like yeast or dry hopping it is nice to be able to step up and do a 2 or 3 gal batch and split them. I keg everything because I have the kegs and I am not interested in bottle conditioning as I am looking for commercial turn around time and this scale affords me the ability to not be on the pilot system and be in the house with my family. I converted a 5gal igloo cooler from lowes for $50 using all SS parts and everything is 1/2" now so switching to a 10gal cooler is possible at any time. I can easily harvest my yeast from these jugs if I so choose and clean up with PBW takes no time at all. I have had zero off flavors and no infections to date. Also listen to the scale thing because if you don't have one that carries out at least 3 decimal places you will be spinning your wheels wondering why one hop addition looks so much different than the one you just did of the same weight. Look back a few pages on the one advised to me. I paid less than $20 on amazon and this things is great. I use it for my yeast and my hops to assure I am dead on for each. Sorry for the long post but IMO I would do anything to avoid products that cost so much for something of a novelty. Hell just go get a 3 gallon water jug ( I know I know , may lightning strike me for such a suggesting)! Trub at 1 gallon is hit and miss depending on cold crash capabilities, yeast used (04 packs great), how close you want to tow the line of haze before you say I got enough of my beers and so on. You could filter but why go through all that when you can just plan to brew a 1.5 gallon batch to adjust for loss and use a bigger fermenter. Biggest selling points: No blow off needed, plenty of room for a slightly bigger batch in case you didn't quite hit the boil off or just want bigger, easier to aerate your wort before you pitch, and so on and so on. Down side... slightly larger footprint. Just food for thought. Good luck man.

 

[shoreman]

Thanks for the info Ranch. I'm already a 5 and 10 gallon brewer so I already have a mash tun and all that. I'm looking to do 1-2.5 gallon batches so I can experiment more. I'd like to have as minimal amounts if gear as possible so I was looking for an all in one fermentation vessel.

I'm pretty sure I'm just going with the mr beer $10 fermenters with the new spigot - seems to be the best deal. The brew demon is cool but the $42 with shipping price kills it.

There's also some of those slimline water jugs at my grocery store for $11 that I may try.

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

Thanks for the info Ranch. I'm already a 5 and 10 gallon brewer so I already have a mash tun and all that. I'm looking to do 1-2.5 gallon batches so I can experiment more. I'd like to have as minimal amounts if gear as possible so I was looking for an all in one fermentation vessel.

I'm pretty sure I'm just going with the mr beer $10 fermenters with the new spigot - seems to be the best deal. The brew demon is cool but the $42 with shipping price kills it.

There's also some of those slimline water jugs at my grocery store for $11 that I may try.

Any vessel that is 3-5gal should fit your needs. I am cheap and rather not drop $42 either for a Mr Beer Conical. I have a 7.9 gal Spiedel from more beer and the spigot sucks. I end up using a auto siphon anyway. I would just do what works for you and you budget. I usually have 3-5 of those water jugs fermenting at a time in my chest freezer with anywhere from 1-4 gallons of wort but I don't mind them because I am either going to another jug for secondary or going to a keg. I bottle of the keg these days for ease. Good luck.

 

[Ivypunx]

Just brewe up about a gallon and a half of honey porter Ended up splitting it into two fermentors so I could keep the whole batch

 

[Leadgolem]

...You could filter but why go through all that when you can just plan to brew a 1.5 gallon batch to adjust for loss and use a bigger fermenter...

I suppose with beer it isn't such a big deal. Some of the small batches I make use fairly high priced ingredients. That's part of the reason for the small batch size. When I'm looking at around 6$ a 750ml for ingredients, I'm going to try to squeeze as much out of the batch as possible.

As to the rest, to each their own. My most common small batch vessel is a 2 gallon fermenting bucket, though I do add fruit to the brew frequently. That makes anything with a small mouth a PITA to clean.

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

I suppose with beer it isn't such a big deal. Some of the small batches I make use fairly high priced ingredients. That's part of the reason for the small batch size. When I'm looking at around 6$ a 750ml for ingredients, I'm going to try to squeeze as much out of the batch as possible.

As to the rest, to each their own. My most common small batch vessel is a 2 gallon fermenting bucket, though I do add fruit to the brew frequently. That makes anything with a small mouth a PITA to clean.

What on earth are you putting in your beer that is that expensive. Truffle Ale? I just don't see the point of going through the hassle of filtering that small of a batch. Not to mention that filtering tends to drive off hop aromas and others from what I have found and learned. I just kegged a 1 gallon peach wheat and a 1 gallon arctic nectarine wheat and I found the clean up a cinch. Not sure what the trouble is but 15 minutes of PBW and it was crystal clear and ready for my blonde that is bubbling away as we speak.

 

[Leadgolem]

What on earth are you putting in your beer that is that expensive. Truffle Ale? I just don't see the point of going through the hassle of filtering that small of a batch. Not to mention that filtering tends to drive off hop aromas and others from what I have found and learned. I just kegged a 1 gallon peach wheat and a 1 gallon arctic nectarine wheat and I found the clean up a cinch. Not sure what the trouble is but 15 minutes of PBW and it was crystal clear and ready for my blonde that is bubbling away as we speak.

I'm not making beer at all. The best black cherry wine uses undiluted black cherry juice and fresh cherries. The juice ranges from 4 to 6 dollars a quart. 6$ a pound for really good fresh cherries isn't unusual. It's excellent wine, but it's not cheap.

Something else that can get expensive fast is mead. 35$ for 5 lbs decent honey is pretty common. Really good honey can easily hit 50$ for 5 lbs. That will make 6-8 quarts of mead, depending on the sugar concentration and desired gravity.

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

I guess that would warrant a bit more filtration and less concern over the non existent hops. For those of us brewing beer though, filtration has some draw backs depending on the beer. As for mead I have dabbled but I am blessed with living in the country and all my neighbors keep bees. I can get some pretty awesome honey for next to or often nothing but a thank you.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Anyone here top crop from their one gallon batches?

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Kicked outside.... Used my hop screen from my 15 gallon pot, lots of room for the hops to roam...

 

[Leadgolem]

Kicked outside.... Used my hop screen from my 15 gallon pot, lots of room for the hops to roam...

Wait, where did you get Roman hops?

 

[BikerBrewer]

Anyone that had the brew demon - can you bottle straight from this after using it as primary for say 3 weeks? Just add priming sugar and bottle? Or use carb drops.

I bought one of these and might get a second. A little on the pricey side but it works good. I'm bottling my fourth batch today from it, I've been using the fizz drops and bottling right from the fermentor, works great. The valve tips up and is above the trub, I usually drain a sampler glass worth out first then hook up the hose and bottle filler and then go to town. very quick and convenient.

 

[shoreman]

I bought one of these and might get a second. A little on the pricey side but it works good. I'm bottling my fourth batch today from it, I've been using the fizz drops and bottling right from the fermentor, works great. The valve tips up and is above the trub, I usually drain a sampler glass worth out first then hook up the hose and bottle filler and then go to town. very quick and convenient.

Thanks I ended up buying one of these a while back and forgot about it. I got it at an off price store for $10 - the spigot sux but I got a new one off ebay - a Tomlinson valve, anyone ever use those for bottling?

http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/12/93/12939080.jpg

Should work for small batch it's 2.3 gallons and I'm hoping I can go straight to bottle.

 

[Leadgolem]

Hey, I've got something like that. It's 3 gallons though. I find that the spigot is really to high for direct bottling, for my stuff anyway. I really have to tilt it a lot to get a good yield on the smaller batches. So, I usually use it for rice wine instead.

 

[JohnSand]

Thanks I ended up buying one of these a while back and forgot about it. I got it at an off price store for $10 - the spigot sux but I got a new one off ebay - a Tomlinson valve, anyone ever use those for bottling?

http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/12/93/12939080.jpg

Should work for small batch it's 2.3 gallons and I'm hoping I can go straight to bottle.

I keep an eye open for such things at good prices, no luck yet. Be careful to keep it in the dark, because it is clear. When I look at clear potential fermenters, I think of putting it in a paper bag or something.
I did have my first foam over from a 12qt pot fermenter last night.

 

[stratslinger]

Got a question for you 1 gallon vets here and, sad to say, I really don't want to browse through 300+ pages of this thread to find the answer (which I'm sure has been addressed at least a couple times).

Anyway, I've been brewing 5 and 10 gallon batches for some time now, but just picked up some equipment to start doing a couple 1 gallon pilot batches - this has even gotten SWMBO interested in the process for the first time, which is pretty cool. So, I've got my first recipe pretty well lined up - not much of an experiment to be honest, but more of something to get her involved - a Hefe with Orange. And I've run into my first real question: how do you go about getting the proper amount of yeast for a 1 gallon ferment? I've played with YeastCalc a bit, and it looks like I'll need 37 billion cells or so - do I just go and try to find the oldest available vial of the appropriate yeast, and then use roughly the right proportion of that vial? Or do I not worry about overpitching?

 

[Leadgolem]

Got a question for you 1 gallon vets here and, sad to say, I really don't want to browse through 300+ pages of this thread to find the answer (which I'm sure has been addressed at least a couple times).

Anyway, I've been brewing 5 and 10 gallon batches for some time now, but just picked up some equipment to start doing a couple 1 gallon pilot batches - this has even gotten SWMBO interested in the process for the first time, which is pretty cool. So, I've got my first recipe pretty well lined up - not much of an experiment to be honest, but more of something to get her involved - a Hefe with Orange. And I've run into my first real question: how do you go about getting the proper amount of yeast for a 1 gallon ferment? I've played with YeastCalc a bit, and it looks like I'll need 37 billion cells or so - do I just go and try to find the oldest available vial of the appropriate yeast, and then use roughly the right proportion of that vial? Or do I not worry about overpitching?

Honestly, I think over pitching is less of a problem then most people think. I use mrmalty to do my calculations, then do a reasonable estimate with the volume of the yeast I'm pitching. Even when I've been way off, I still haven't noticed anything bad happening to my brew.

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

All the big boys over pitch. I am interested in running several batches so I just take a vial or smack pack and make a big starter. I either run back to back on a brew day or just fridge the left overs for the next few brews. The way I see it is a vial is good for 5 gallons of low to moderate og beer. We still do a starter so in theory, a 2L starter should be more than good enough for 5 different 1 gallon batches. If you don't care to save or stretch your yeast then just get the vial into suspension and poor off half or 1/3 for each gallon. If you are filthy rich then dump the whole vial and watch the fireworks. I accidentally pitched a whole packet of Lav1118 into a 1 gallon sweet mead years ago when I was just starting out and wasn't thinking about how much yeast I was really adding and I needed a blow off tube for quite a while. Mead tasted great and aside from a mess no harm no foul. That was essential 5-6 times the amount I should have pitched so that should give you an idea of how hard it is to over pitch. Under pitching on the other end can very easily cause problems or desired effects due to yeast stress or delayed start up. If you want that hefe to have some higher ester then under pitch. Hope that helps and have fun.

 

[Ivypunx]

Got a question for you 1 gallon vets here and, sad to say, I really don't want to browse through 300+ pages of this thread to find the answer (which I'm sure has been addressed at least a couple times).

Anyway, I've been brewing 5 and 10 gallon batches for some time now, but just picked up some equipment to start doing a couple 1 gallon pilot batches - this has even gotten SWMBO interested in the process for the first time, which is pretty cool. So, I've got my first recipe pretty well lined up - not much of an experiment to be honest, but more of something to get her involved - a Hefe with Orange. And I've run into my first real question: how do you go about getting the proper amount of yeast for a 1 gallon ferment? I've played with YeastCalc a bit, and it looks like I'll need 37 billion cells or so - do I just go and try to find the oldest available vial of the appropriate yeast, and then use roughly the right proportion of that vial? Or do I not worry about overpitching?

Very simple. I usually just tak a dry yeast pack and use half. As always with dry yeast I use a glass of water to get it started. It also comes in handy if you end up making enough to rack into two 1 gallon fermentors you can just split the yeast. Or I will some times just use the other half of the yeast to make a 1 gallon cider or something the same day

 

[JohnSand]

I generally use half a pack of dry yeast for 2-2.5 gallons. Sometimes I weigh it, or just fold it in half. After pouring out some, I tape the pack closed and refrigerate it.

 

[shoreman]

I've been reading about using a half vial of white labs and closing the tube for later use. I like this idea b/c you are looking at 3.75 or so for a small batch and tons of yeast styles to choose from.

On that note who has the best prices on white labs online?

 

[Ivypunx]

What size rubber stopper works for the 1 gallon glass jug

 

[RMPriest]

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