1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[Broham1]

I bought Brooklyn Brew shop chocolate maple porter and chestnut brown (didn't really think that one through as I've no idea where I'd find chestnuts at this time of year) largely because I wanted to be able to use the gear for some recipe testing and thought I might as well get some beer out of it as well rather than just getting the equipment.

Does anybody know what the recommended fermentation temps are for these particular kits? I can't see it on the instructions (says to pitch at 70F) and the yeast packets give no clues as to the strain.

According to the recipes in their book, the Porter uses Nottingham and the Brown uses Safale S-04. I'd try to keep both in the mid-60s.

 

[sportpak]

Hello all, this weekend I will be brewing my first beer. I got 1 gallon Cream Ale kit from Norther Brewer.
Everything seems pretty clear, I just have one question about bottle conditioning.
The kit uses the fizz drop things for priming. I understand the priming to kick off a little fermentation to create Co2.

My question is overall time @ room temperature. I know it could take 2 weeks to fully carb, after that, can I leave them unrefrigerated? I plan for it to turn out drinkable beer and may drink them all asap, but if I wanted to let them sit a month or two, must they be refrigerated? I don't have unlimited fridge space and if all goes good I will be doing many more brews and may have to rotate 6-8 bottles at a time through the fridge.

 

[shoreman]

Yes you can leave the at room temperature - they can mature a bit better this way depending on the style. If you have a place that has constant temps that would be best like a basement or closet.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Yep, someplace reasonably warm and dark. Mine usually end up in the furnace room for a couple weeks, then into the fridge!

Have fun!

 

[bleme]

My question is overall time @ room temperature. I know it could take 2 weeks to fully carb, after that, can I leave them unrefrigerated?

I've done the 5 gallon version of that kit and they were drinkable at 2 weeks, noticeably better at 3 weeks and peaked at 4 weeks. I also saw improvement in the ones that were in the fridge for at least 3 days.

That was before I started cold crashing all my beers and the amount of yeast sediment I had in my bottles showed it. If you can drop the temp below 40F for a couple days before you bottle, it really helps clear them up and there is still plenty of yeast left to carb.

At bottling, I added some bourbon vanilla extract to 2 gallons and those bottles took an extra month to mellow out.

 

[sportpak]

Yes you can leave the at room temperature - they can mature a bit better this way depending on the style. If you have a place that has constant temps that would be best like a basement or closet.

Yep, someplace reasonably warm and dark. Mine usually end up in the furnace room for a couple weeks, then into the fridge!

Have fun!

I've done the 5 gallon version of that kit and they were drinkable at 2 weeks, noticeably better at 3 weeks and peaked at 4 weeks. I also saw improvement in the ones that were in the fridge for at least 3 days.

That was before I started cold crashing all my beers and the amount of yeast sediment I had in my bottles showed it. If you can drop the temp below 40F for a couple days before you bottle, it really helps clear them up and there is still plenty of yeast left to carb.

At bottling, I added some bourbon vanilla extract to 2 gallons and those bottles took an extra month to mellow out.

Thanks guys, that's good news.

 

[kmind]

At bottling, I added some bourbon vanilla extract to 2 gallons and those bottles took an extra month to mellow out.

How'd that turn out? Sounds really good.

 

[bleme]

How'd that turn out? Sounds really good.

It turned out really good but I probably had 20 people try both versions side-by-side and a little less than half preferred the vanilla.

 

[PsyDanny]

I ran into a few probably minor problems while doing an Everyday IPA (Brooklyn Brewing) recipe. It was my first time expanding to two gallons so I could use my Brewdemon fermenter. As far as I know I essentially measured by, and went with doubling the 1-gallon recipe. This included following the hop schedule for a 60-minute boil (Columbus at boil, then Cascade at 45, 30, 15, 5 and what would be 0/off hear). However, as the time was expiring it seemed that I had in excess of two gallons, so I let it boil for 10 more minutes. As it is, I did have more than two gallons (maybe half to full quart more); although my OG was a bit higher than expected, so maybe no reason to complain in that regard.

My question has to do with the hop profile, as pertains to both that additional boil after last hop additions AND the fact that, due to circumstances, the ale has remained in the fermenter for about 4-5 weeks, and I will probably not get to bottle it until mid-July.

As far as I know, leaving it in the fermenter should not ruin the beer, but could affect the hop profile somewhat. With that in mind, I am considering taking advantage by doing a dry hop in the ferment for the next 10 days or so until I am able to bottle.

I hope that makes sense overall. Let me know if there are problems with this line of thought. My specific question would be quantity: I do have an unopened pack of Simcoe pellets in the freezer. How much should I be using, placed in a hop bag and placed in the fermenter?

 

[EJay]

Ejay, if you have android I really like the BrewR app... plugging in 65% efficiency 1gal batch with 1.5 boil... ive got 2.2# 2row... cascade
.1oz @ 60min
.4oz @ 5min

1.053 og
23.4 ibu
3.8 srm
1.013 fg est.
5.2% abv est

This should give a nice amount of hop aroma without as much of the bitterness from early hopping... hops are perceived as follows
60-30 min bittering
30-10 min taste
10- 0 min aroma

FYI I opened one of these up yesterday - it has been carbonating about 20 days and it was an awesome little lawnmower beer. I think my efficiency on this one calculated out to 62%. Bitterness balance was spot on and there was just enough late-hop aroma to tell is was Cascade and make it interesting, but not at all overpowering. I >think< I used organic 2 row in this one but I will need to check my notes.

The only real fault was it was cloudy. I hadn't used any fining agents. I'll put the rest in the fridge and see if it clears up over time. I was really pleasantly surprised at how good it was because an early hydrometer sample was quite harsh. I didn't love the color since it was so pale and even had a hint of green in the color.

I think I'll definitely do more SMASH brews. Not bad for three ingredients - one grain, one yeast, one hop. Remarkable flavorful.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Sometimes the simplest approach yields the best results.

 

[shoreman]

Sometimes the simplest approach yields the best results.

I've been homebrewing for 10 or so years and this statement becomes more and more important as the years go by. I'm rarely brewing with more that 2 malt and 2 hops - forget the weird stuff like fruit, seasonings, etc.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

hello, old friends

it's been a very long time, no brew.

how'z trix?

 

[ohiobeer29]

happy to see this.will read through it learning to brew my first gallon beer soon

 

[HomebrewCraig]

hello, old friends

it's been a very long time, no brew.

how'z trix?

hi there dads, fellow N.I. brewer! I read alot of posts of yours early on in the life of this thread. Glad that you made your way back!

 

[sumbrewindude]

Hey Dads/Craig!

I'm slacking so bad.

Hard to argue with over 12gal of beer in the basement, just need find some time/friends to drink it so I can brew!

Dang summer getting in the way...

 

[ohiobeer29]

great thread useful info. I'm a new brewer with a few questions check out my thread if you guys get a sec

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/first-time-brewer-do-i-have-enough-brew-481491/

 

[HomebrewCraig]

Hi again SBD!

So many empty fermentors you have...

I got back from my month-long trip to Miami a couple weeks ago and began the re-gearing.. I put in almost 100 hours of overtime in 4 weeks, the padded paycheck sure comes in handy. Just waiting for the mailman to deliver, and then I'm back in the game. Now I'm planning the first ten recipes so I can buy ingredients in bulk. Your LIVID is in the first ten

 

[riha]

This thread just keeps getting longer... Haven't been reading it for a while, but I have been brewing small batches. What I've been wondering is yeast re-use. At the moment I have a 4-jug system. My brewday is also my bottling day, so I can use yeast slurry from the previous beer. Works like a charm with ales and I can keep 3 different yeast strains active all the time. The question is, what to do with lagers? I can't be brewing a new lager every time the previous one goes into lagering, I'll drown in lager. And worse, run out of bottles. I haven't had good results with yeast washing (small batch problem, perhaps?) so would be nice if I wouldn't need to do that. How do you guys handle yeast re-use?

 

[sumbrewindude]

Craig - Man that's awesome to hear. I'm a little humbled to see you're including LIVID in the top 10; I think it's great and so do those that have had it. So much so I'm trying NOT to brew it again in a 3gal. Just so many ideas and recipes running around my BrewTarget database. Man you're going to have a great time when you get started.

Honestly, and this is just silly, but I've been stressing over my CO2/Temp Controller setup for my beer keezer project. Kegs are just hanging out filled and conditioned, they need to be chilled and hooked up to serve. I'm still enjoying the bottles if you can believe that!

Something nice about being able to pop the top on a new, cold brew. But that's offset by how damn convienient it is to rack to the keg/seal/pressure/and forget.

I've probably said it 20+ times by now, but if you don't care about your CO2 to style and are happy with the 2.3-2.5 of most commercial American beers, DO THE SUGAR CUBE TRICK. One for a 12oz, two for a bomber. Done. Happy. Moving on...

Riha -

I don't yeast wash, but I do collect the slurry and hold that. I've held slurry from batches for up to a month and have had successful pitches with no issues. From what I understand, yeast washing usually benefits most if you're looking at long term storage.

I tried to time/develope my recipes so that I'd use at least one of the slurries within a month. Brewing every weekend in the winter, it wasn't hard to have a home for US05/S04/Notty/S33/etc. Now in the summer, where I've been busier than I want, I've knocked it down two only two slurries both usually ales.

AFA lager yeast, you've got a few things going against you, but remember that the beer doesn't need to lager (or cold condition) on the yeast cake. You can lager off in a keg, in bottles, or even in secondary if you want/do it.

The problem with lager yeast is -
1) You already pitched usually a double batch right off the bat.
2) It's very fine, so you'll need to cold crash the crap out of it to get it out so you can save it.
3) Depending on the D-rest, you could have some tired yeast already at the point you want to try and save it. Stressed yeast still work, but they don't work as well as happy, healthy yeast.

IMO, it's easier and better to just pitch a new package of fresh yeast for the next round of lager. Keep in mind, though, I don't do a lot of lagers - maybe 1:10 brews I do would be a lager. I don't have cold storage enough to keep cranking them out, and the turnover rate on ales is so much faster.

I like Saflager W34/70. I'd really like to try the Swiss lager Fermentis has, but I'm not interested in 500g of lager yeast.

 

[HomebrewCraig]

Hi SBD,

I will do the sugar cube trick... I remember seeing that there are two sizes.. I want the smaller of the two, correct? I am using retired Grolsch bottles, which are 16 oz... Will one sugar cube carb the extra 4 ounces enough, or should I split up some cubes into quarters? Course, I can always experiment

My new kettle should be here this week.. I ended up picking up the 35 quart SS Tri-ply... The added cost was negligible compared to a non-tri-ply and I can probably do a full 5 gallon batch with it.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Hey Craig!

I think you'd be fine with the smaller cube in a 16oz bottle. You'd end up on the 2.3 side or slightly less, but still more than enough without being typical BMCish carb.

As a heads up - my pot is 6.75gal measured, and works awesome for a 4gal boil. Knowing that I have at least a gallon worth of evap on my 1hr boil, I'd be inclined to tell you to lean toward the 10gal pot size if you're considering a 5gal AG pot. You'll be real close with a 8.5gal, where with the 10 you could just crank and forget.

Up to you of course.

 

[HomebrewCraig]

SBD, how did that Keptinis turn out? I didn't see a taste report. Worth brewing again?

Today the mailman brought me the Victoria grain mill.. Got it from Discount Tommy at the recommendation of a few people from the board. In the next week I will be making my own ugly junk!

Far as pot size goes, I am not tied to any particular batch size, I can always tailor to fit my gear. I really like the scaling feature of Brewsmith!

 

[bleme]

I have 8, 5 and 2 gallon pots and no problem doing any size batch. So far my biggest was 5.25 gallons of an all-grain 8% black IPA.

 

[wolfej50]

I like the idea of have multiple fermenters and bottles with different recipes at different stages. I think the difficulty will come when different fermenters need to be kept at different temperatures. Nevertheless, I totally agree. If brewing were 'work' it wouldn't be a hobby.

 

[ohiobeer29]

brewed rum runner this morning happy I went with a blow off tube as there was blow off when I got up this morning. looks good so far will see how it goes

 

[sumbrewindude]

Craig - Keptinis was definitely a beer that got better with age. Just now it's really starting to really come together, where before it was really boozy. I'll likely make it again, maybe in the fall along with some Sahti. Both ought to be great for the icefishing season.

Wolfej50 - Yep, having a rolling pipeline is awesome for small batches, you'll always end up with something new before you even realise it!

Over the winter I brewed every weekend, and had 4 carboys going at once - man that was fun, first month and a half was a little boring but before I knew it I was bottling on Sat and saving the yeast to re-pitch for the batch made on Sunday. Made quite the stockpile in the basement, I'm still drinking beers from March. Let's me have some time in the summer, too, I find I'm not brewing as much with all the activities with the kids.

Ohiobeer - Look forward to hearing about how it tastes! That was one I was thinking about trying, and I'm due for a darker beer here soon...

 

[ohiobeer29]

thanks I'll report back with tasting notes

 

[ohiobeer29]

I read to help with good head and carb to add a little yeast when bottling and priming I read dry yeast us-05 is good to use for stouts any thoughts on this?

 

[sumbrewindude]

I read to help with good head and carb to add a little yeast when bottling and priming I read dry yeast us-05 is good to use for stouts any thoughts on this?

Unnecessary. There'll be a ton of little yeast rarin' to go when you get to bottling.

Use the proper amount of sugar, cap 'em tight, and store them someplace warm for a few weeks, and you'll have all the carb you need. Head retention and it's properties are more related to protiens in the brewing process than the yeast.