1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[Owly055]

Hi everyone. I mostly brew 5 gallon batches but have brewed a few 1 gallon kits from northern brewer. My question is how does everyone bottle? I made a pretty good mess with my last bottling attempt and ended up with about 6-7 bottles. Any tips or tricks?

I use a rather different method for bottling and have been very happy with the results. I cold crash in one gallon batches using a gallon ice tea jar with a spigot which I simply put in the fridge. I usually bottle in several batches as I brew either 2 or 2.5 gallons. I mix my bottling syrup....... the sugar with enough water to make it into a thin syrup, and pour it into the ice tea jug about a third of the way through the transfer, and slosh without aerating, as best I can. This ice tea jug full of beer sits in the fridge for about 3 days, and the trub settles out and the beer clarifies. I then bottle carefully right out of the spigot. The results have been very good so far. This combines the cold crashing and bottling into a single transfer and gives the sugar several days to distribute well. I bottle as much as I can, tilting the jug gently and carefully to bring the liquid / trub line close to the spigot. I DO NOT remove settlings / trub between crashings / bottlings of a batch. This keeps the recovery good. It carbs very well, and clears nicely.

H.W.

 

[Owly055]

As a result of a screwed up mash day, I ended up with only about 1.5 gallons capacity in the fermenter I wanted to try the RedX in........ if you allow for the krausen. I intended to use a 2.5 gallon fermenter (3 gal cap).

I wanted at least 2 gallons of RedX, so I'm brewing "beer concentrate". I simply left out half a gallon of water so I only had 2.5 gallons for the boil, and boiled it down to 1.5, but put the malt for a two gallon batch in. Actually the malt for a 2.5 gallon batch, so I'll have a bigger beer than I intended. When the krausen falls, I will add the remaining half gallon of sterile water. Can anybody think of a good reason NOT to do this?

I ended up having to "think on my feet" when I accidentally put 5 pounds of two row in my brew bag instead of 5 pounds of Red X, and I didn't realize that I had done until the end of the mash with all the strike water in the pot. I had only two row and carapils, so I boiled my wort with some crystal 60 (not much) for color and flavor, and hopped with Magnum and Fuggles instead of Nelson Sauvin. I then ended up brewing my Red X as a 2 gallon batch.... I didn't even wash the bag between brews.... just shook out the two row and put in the RedX. The "beer concentrate" strategy was the outcome............That and an order for a Demon Brew ($35) fermenter. They are just so cute you can't resist one......Mine is a clear one.

H.W.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Owly055 you can brew at a hight gravity (or concentrate) and dilute. When you do it all aspects of the brew will be reduced (IBU, color, abv...). Not a big deal if you planned the recipe out this way. IMO it might give you better results to taste this brew before adding any water. It would be a shame to add a 1/2 gallon to find it was too much water added.

 

[MedBrewer]

Any one have a good one gallon cream ale recipe?

 

[bford]

I just bought a set of 3, 2 gallon buckets from Home Depot. They are food grade 2 on the bottom.

I'm going to use them to ferment some of the bigger beers I brew.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Any one have a good one gallon cream ale recipe?

What's your usual effeciency? I've got a 1.5gal recipe I can scale down. AG or PM? If it's partial mash I could be in trouble, all my recipes are AG. I've never done a PM.

I just bought a set of 3, 2 gallon buckets from Home Depot. They are food grade 2 on the bottom.

I'm going to use them to ferment some of the bigger beers I brew.

I used those for a while too - the only thing I didn't like about them were the lids. I tried to be careful with them, but I still managed to mangle up a set for each bucket. Something about the way they're made to tear at the lip on the lids. Good thing the lids were cheap! They still worked, just don't expect a lot of airlock activity out of them.

 

[MedBrewer]

What's your usual effeciency? I've got a 1.5gal recipe I can scale down. AG or PM? If it's partial mash I could be in trouble, all my recipes are AG. I've never done a PM.





I used those for a while too - the only thing I didn't like about them were the lids. I tried to be careful with them, but I still managed to mangle up a set for each bucket. Something about the way they're made to tear at the lip on the lids. Good thing the lids were cheap! They still worked, just don't expect a lot of airlock activity out of them.

One gallon all grain, my efficiency varies bit usually close to 72% Thanks!

 

[sumbrewindude]

One gallon all grain, my efficiency varies bit usually close to 72% Thanks!

Figured for 70%EFF, everyone should make Biermuncher's Cream of 3 Crops at least once.

XP ACA - BM's CO3C - Cream Ale
========================
Batch Size: 1.000 gal
Boil Size: 1.800 gal
Boil Time: 60.000 min
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 11.8 P
FG: 2.3 P
ABV: 5.0%
Bitterness: 19.9 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 3 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
=========================
Name Type Amount
Briess - 2 Row Brewers Malt Grain 1.500 lb
Corn, Flaked Grain 6.000 oz
Rice, Flaked Grain 2.000 oz
Total grain: 2.000 lb

Hops
=========================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Ahtanum 5.0% 0.175 oz Boil 45.000 min Pellet 14.3
Ahtanum 5.0% 0.175 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 5.6

Yeast
=========================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Safale S-05 Ale Dry

You can use any hop that's in the near 5AA, in this case I used one that I like, Ahtanum, but I've also done it with Willamette, EKG, Cascade, etc. The hop amount is figured for near 20IBU, so you have an idea where to play with bittering if you want.

For rice you can use Minute Rice if you can't get rice by the oz from your LHBS. Doesn't have to be milled.

You'll want to mash this low - like 148F or so - for at least 60min, preferrably 75min. The idea is you want a nice, dry finish that a low, long mash will give you. If you want a little more "sweet", you can swap the US05 out for an english strain, like S04 that won't attenuate so far, and it's a slightly different experience. Still good.

If you want another, I've got others, but this is a good inexpensive one to try.

 

[bford]

What's your usual effeciency? I've got a 1.5gal recipe I can scale down. AG or PM? If it's partial mash I could be in trouble, all my recipes are AG. I've never done a PM.





I used those for a while too - the only thing I didn't like about them were the lids. I tried to be careful with them, but I still managed to mangle up a set for each bucket. Something about the way they're made to tear at the lip on the lids. Good thing the lids were cheap! They still worked, just don't expect a lot of airlock activity out of them.

Thanks... I'll watch out for that!

 

[matthewmurray]

I just bought a set of 3, 2 gallon buckets from Home Depot. They are food grade 2 on the bottom.



I'm going to use them to ferment some of the bigger beers I brew.

Although many food grade buckets are #2 (HDPE), not all #2 buckets are food grade. The two gallon buckets from Lowes are not good grade as they are made with a mould release agent. Be careful! Remember, if the food grade symbol isn't on the bucket, it probably isn't worth the risk.

 

[bford]

Although many food grade buckets are #2 (HDPE), not all #2 buckets are food grade. The two gallon buckets from Lowes are not good grade as they are made with a mould release agent. Be careful! Remember, if the food grade symbol isn't on the bucket, it probably isn't worth the risk.

I'll check again.. though the description from Home Depot said they were..

 

[HopSong]

I think all buckets are made with mold release.. which is why they should all be washed before use. That said.. Also, wonder where you got the idea that #2 is not necessarily food grade. Isn't that what grades are all about? Unless you can provide documentation, I'd consider that as passing on rumor as fact.. said enough times it becomes "fact". (urban legend).

As a general rule, the numbers that are safe for use with food are 1, 2, 4, and 5.
The best type of plastic for use in long-term food storage is high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is indicated by the "2" symbol. HDPE is one of the most stable and inert forms of plastic, and all plastic buckets sold specifically for food storage will be made from this material.
Other types of plastic acceptable for food storage include PETE, LDPE, and polypropylene (PP). These plastics are represented by the numbers 1, 4, and 5 respectively.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Although many food grade buckets are #2 (HDPE), not all #2 buckets are food grade. The two gallon buckets from Lowes are not good grade as they are made with a mould release agent. Be careful! Remember, if the food grade symbol isn't on the bucket, it probably isn't worth the risk.

IMO - Meh. HDPE is HDPE, mold release agents can easily be cleaned off in the dishwasher. If this was a long term storage or containing excessively caustic fluids, I'd be more cautious. Fact is, beer's really not that terrible on the pH scale, and you'll be keeping it in the bucket for 2-3 weeks tops. Cross referencing the manufacturer (Leaktite) with other buckets made for the food service industry places the model number the same. One has a glass stamp, the other doesn't. The lids are different, however. The standard onetime use Leaktite lid doesn't have a gasket for it. You can get a gasketed lid from US Plastics if you want, they also have the 2gal buckets with the glass on the bottom if you'd prefer those also.

I use a 2gal bucket like the ones listed for transfering hot wort from my MLT to my BK, no problems at all. No weird appendages, no weird off flavors in the beer.

In a perfect world, I'd be all stainless. Maybe someday I'll get there.

In the mean time, using a white HDPE bucket from HD won't hurt me.



Given the choice, though, I much prefer using PETE bottles, like I found at Menards so I've switched all my fermenters out to those. They're bigger than I need (for now) but they work just fine and don't stain as easily as the HDPE buckets did. They are NOT as easy to clean as the 2 gal buckets, though and absolutely won't tolerate hot fluids of any kind.

 

[matthewmurray]

Plenty of debate on the internet already about food grade plastics. You are correct, not a lot of fact besides some testimony of calling the manufacturer directly. I haven't seen any official studies or even guidelines from the FDA, and I'm not sure I would trust them if I had. When it comes to chemicals, I'm in the guilty until proven innocent camp, but it probably isn't even worth giving thought to. Brew on!

 

[Owly055]

Owly055 you can brew at a hight gravity (or concentrate) and dilute. When you do it all aspects of the brew will be reduced (IBU, color, abv...). Not a big deal if you planned the recipe out this way. IMO it might give you better results to taste this brew before adding any water. It would be a shame to add a 1/2 gallon to find it was too much water added.

BEER CONCENTRATE was the original idea............... We lose significant space in our fermenters for krausen. It's no big deal to the big boys, but when you are doing small batches, that half gallon........ 4, 1/2L bottles is a significant percentage of our total. My problem is that my fermenters are 2 gallon absolute capacity, and 3 gallon absolute capacity. While I could ferment in a 6 gallon brew bucket, it would mean scaling up my sparge and boil capacity to match............ or looking at an "empty" brew bucket.

I planned this batch specifically to be a 2 gallon batch........not a 1.5 gallon batch... It's fermenting away merrily, and already up to 5% abv according to my refractometer readings. And that is in 2 1/2 days!! It could go well over 8 according to my readings (as a 1.5 gallon batch), and my target was between 6 and 7 for a 2 gallon batch.

Howard

 

[d-usa]

Working out the final plans for brewing a Saison this week. I'm making a couple of teas right now out of sage and thyme (one leaf/sprig each by itself in a cup) to see how much flavor they give up to try to figure out how much I want to add to the gallon batch.

 

[IvanBrew]

Plenty of debate on the internet already about food grade plastics. You are correct, not a lot of fact besides some testimony of calling the manufacturer directly. I haven't seen any official studies or even guidelines from the FDA, and I'm not sure I would trust them if I had. When it comes to chemicals, I'm in the guilty until proven innocent camp, but it probably isn't even worth giving thought to. Brew on!

FWIW, Leaktite is the mfg of Home Depot's buckets. According to a phone call with them, they're not food safe.

 

[phug]

Depends on where you are. The homer buckets at my store in Toronto Canada come in two varieties, one of which is clearly marked food grade on the side of the bucket.


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[d-usa]

Working out the final plans for brewing a Saison this week. I'm making a couple of teas right now out of sage and thyme (one leaf/sprig each by itself in a cup) to see how much flavor they give up to try to figure out how much I want to add to the gallon batch.

Shameless self quote.

So in the end I brewed a tea of one leave of sage and one stick of thyme in 2 cups of water (tasty tea by the way). I took one ounce of that tea and added it to 8 oz of water. Unless I'm sucking at math I figured that should give me an approximate idea of what I would get taste wise if I added the same amount to a full gallon brew. It has a mild herbal taste, but I'm not sure if it would be too much. I can definitely pick it out of the plain water, but it would probably blend in very well into the finished beer at this concentration.

I'm guessing flavor additions are one of the potential drawbacks of brewing 1 gallon vs 5 gallons.

 

[fuzzy2133]

BEER CONCENTRATE was the original idea............... We lose significant space in our fermenters for krausen. It's no big deal to the big boys, but when you are doing small batches, that half gallon........ 4, 1/2L bottles is a significant percentage of our total. My problem is that my fermenters are 2 gallon absolute capacity, and 3 gallon absolute capacity. While I could ferment in a 6 gallon brew bucket, it would mean scaling up my sparge and boil capacity to match............ or looking at an "empty" brew bucket.

I planned this batch specifically to be a 2 gallon batch........not a 1.5 gallon batch... It's fermenting away merrily, and already up to 5% abv according to my refractometer readings. And that is in 2 1/2 days!! It could go well over 8 according to my readings (as a 1.5 gallon batch), and my target was between 6 and 7 for a 2 gallon batch.

Howard

I just wanted to caution you about diluting with out tasting a small sample (1-2oz) of where you are at first. I have made changes mid process and wished I had left things alone. I feel bad when I say nothing and see people make the same mistake.

You will have beer to enjoy either way.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Shameless self quote.

So in the end I brewed a tea of one leave of sage and one stick of thyme in 2 cups of water (tasty tea by the way). I took one ounce of that tea and added it to 8 oz of water. Unless I'm sucking at math I figured that should give me an approximate idea of what I would get taste wise if I added the same amount to a full gallon brew. It has a mild herbal taste, but I'm not sure if it would be too much. I can definitely pick it out of the plain water, but it would probably blend in very well into the finished beer at this concentration.

I'm guessing flavor additions are one of the potential drawbacks of brewing 1 gallon vs 5 gallons.

Sounds good! I'm interested to hear how it turns out, I haven't ventured into herbs in beer yet, but eventually I'll end up doing a gruit of some kind just to see how they were.

 

[Owly055]

I think all buckets are made with mold release.. which is why they should all be washed before use. That said.. Also, wonder where you got the idea that #2 is not necessarily food grade. Isn't that what grades are all about? Unless you can provide documentation, I'd consider that as passing on rumor as fact.. said enough times it becomes "fact". (urban legend).

As a general rule, the numbers that are safe for use with food are 1, 2, 4, and 5.
The best type of plastic for use in long-term food storage is high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is indicated by the "2" symbol. HDPE is one of the most stable and inert forms of plastic, and all plastic buckets sold specifically for food storage will be made from this material.
Other types of plastic acceptable for food storage include PETE, LDPE, and polypropylene (PP). These plastics are represented by the numbers 1, 4, and 5 respectively.

Acrylic, which is one of several #7 plastics is considered to be one of the most food safe plastics. The number codes are for recycling purposes, not to designate food safety by the way.......

Howard

 

[d-usa]

There is also always the possibility that while the material is food safe, the actual manufacture of the bucket could still include chemicals and processes that might not be.

 

[d-usa]

Brewed a Saison tonight and ended up with a screwed up final gravity. It was a stupid mistake, I know that I need to dial in my evaporation rate better but there is still no reason for the screw-up.

Did my mash, hit my temperature and only lost 1 degree after 75 minutes in the oven on warm. According to Beersmith my pre-boil gravity should have been 1.058 and I got 1.057. Nothing to complain about there.

Did my boil, cooled my wort, added my top-off water and realized that my thermometer looks like it is covered with more wort than before. Finished cooling it of, made sure it was mixed thoroughly and took my FG reading. Was supposed to be 1.057 and ended up with 1.046. A quick taste of the wort seemed decent, but I'm worried it might end up tasting thin.

I'm guessing that I still don't have a good handle on my boil-off rate, so when I topped it off I ended up diluting it too much. This is only my 4th beer, but what I have done on my other batches has been to take a FG reading before I add my top-off water and then add water until the FG is where it is supposed to be. But today I was just on auto-pilot and poured in all the water. I put the top-off water in the freezer to help cool the wort, which probably contributed to my "just pour it all in and help it get cool" mindset.

I'll remember not to do that next time. Oh well, yeast is pitched, had a home-brew, let's see how it turns out and learn from the mistake.

 

[doc8402]

D-USA
I did almost the same thing on my 4th beer too. FG was at 1.060 when I was supposed to be at 1.075.

Oh well brew and learn!


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[Owly055]

I ordered a Brew Demon (clear) this weekend, and it arrived today. I contacted the company by email requesting the clear tank (same price), when I realized it was available. They were very cooperative.

I have several small fermenters made from Ice Tea containers..... and they work well. One allows me a 1.5 gallon brew (2 gallon cap), and the other 2.5 gallon brew (3 gal cap). I wanted just a bit more, and the Brew Demon was irresistible.

I ordered the bubbler upgrade $6 additonal, that comes with a bubbler and a gasket for the screw on lid......... Otherwise the gasket is not included, but you can order them separately.

Quality can only be described as cheap........... but functional. The brew vessel is very thin plastic, no heavier than a plastic beer bottle, but I don't see this as a problem, in fact it is an asset. Buy an expensive plastic fermenter scratch it up, and you are going to want to replace it. Thin doesn't make it scratch any easier......but it does make it cheap to replace ($13). That makes thin plastic an asset. The support structure is adequate, the valve good enough.

Capacity is 3 gallons right to the top. The cone bottom contains about 12 oz (3 cups). It's perfectly capable of a 2.5 gallon brew is the krausen doesn't go wild. If 3 cups is more than you want to leave behind with the trub......... toss a hand full of marbles in.

I'm looking forward to making my first brew in this. It'll be my RedX(5lb) with carapils (1/2 lb) and Amarillo hops.. an ounce split in quarters... 60/30/5/dry

H.W.

 

[doc8402]

Owly I have had my eye on that thing post up some pics of it action the site pictures I don't think do it justice. I am also interested to hear what you think after brewing with it.


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[Owly055]

Owly I have had my eye on that thing post up some pics of it action the site pictures I don't think do it justice. I am also interested to hear what you think after brewing with it.


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It looks exactly like the photos..........except mine is clear instead of brown....... I do think the pics "do it justice"..... when I get it percolating , I'll shoot it in high krausen...

Howard

 

[Frankbo25]

Awesome to hear Frank!

What did you brew, and which kit are you going to try next?

I did the Northern Brewer: White House Honey Ale first and the next day I did Dead Ringer IPA.
Im thinking about doing a Hefeweizen next

 

[FatsSchindee]

Capacity is 3 gallons right to the top. The cone bottom contains about 12 oz (3 cups). It's perfectly capable of a 2.5 gallon brew is the krausen doesn't go wild. If 3 cups is more than you want to leave behind with the trub......... toss a hand full of marbles in.

Unless you're using different units that I'm used to, I think your conversion is wrong:
I cup = 8 oz, so
12 oz = 1.5 cups, and
3 cups = 24 oz



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