1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[30Bones]

Thanks! That's great to know.

I assume you mash out on the stovetop though

 

[kombat]

what would you do next?

I'd dump it down the drain. You fermented a lager yeast at 70-72° F? That's too hot even for an ale yeast! It's going to taste awful, in my opinion.

That said, I know that's not the answer you were looking for, and you did concede that this is just an experiment, so in the interest of seeing it through, I would do one of two things. Option one, go straight to bottles, bottle-condition for 3 weeks at 75° F, then lager in the bottles in a fridge for 4-6 weeks. Option 2, if you've got the fridge space, I'd move the entire batch into the fridge to cold-crash, then a day or two later hit it with some gelatin (properly prepared) and give it a week to do its job, then bottle it, store at 75° F for 3 weeks to carb up, then store them all in the fridge, trying a bottle a week to see how the flavour evolves.

 

[kombat]

Would it be crazy dumb to do a 1 gal batch in a 7.5 gal pot BIAB?

Not crazy, but not very practical either. I'd be concerned about heat loss, and getting a proper mixture of the mash. Just get a nice little 10 qt. stainless steel pot from Ikea, they're like $12.

 

[kombat]

My oven only goes down to 170*

So does mine, so what? I preheat my oven to 170° F while I'm doughing in and stirring the mash. Once I've hit my target mash temperature, I put the cover on my pot, turn off the oven, and put the pot in.

The oven loses a little heat when I open the door, so it's not fully at 170°. And since it's off, it's never going to get any hotter. If my mash, the pot, is 150°, and the rest of the oven is 160-165°, the mash is not going to warm up appreciably. Certainly not before the enzymes finish doing their work converting the short-chain sugars and giving me a highly fermentable wort.

 

[ericbw]

So does mine, so what? I preheat my oven to 170° F while I'm doughing in and stirring the mash. Once I've hit my target mash temperature, I put the cover on my pot, turn off the oven, and put the pot in.

The oven loses a little heat when I open the door, so it's not fully at 170°. And since it's off, it's never going to get any hotter. If my mash, the pot, is 150°, and the rest of the oven is 160-165°, the mash is not going to warm up appreciably. Certainly not before the enzymes finish doing their work converting the short-chain sugars and giving me a highly fermentable wort.

It takes time to get it up to the same temp as the oven. Think about roasting a piece of meat. I did a roast last night for 1.5 hours at 350, and the meat was at 165 when it finished. (I wish it had been a little lower, but I brined it, so it still stayed juicy!)

 

[kombat]

It takes time to get it up to the same temp as the oven. Think about roasting a piece of meat. I did a roast last night for 1.5 hours at 350, and the meat was at 165 when it finished. (I wish it had been a little lower, but I brined it, so it still stayed juicy!)

Exactly. And in the case of what we're talking about here (putting a pot of mash in the oven), we're actually turning the oven OFF before we even put the pot in, so the oven is cooling (albeit slowly) during the entire mash. It will impart very little heat into the mash itself, but on the other hand, will help the mash lose very little of its own heat over the course of an hour-long mash.

 

[raceon4]

I was curious about what size kettle you guys use for one gallon. I have a 6 gallon stainless steel but am wondering if something smaller might work a bit better.

 

[30Bones]

I was curious about what size kettle you guys use for one gallon. I have a 6 gallon stainless steel but am wondering if something smaller might work a bit better.

I am using a 4 gallon for a 1.75-2 gallon batch if that helps. Should be plenty big for a 3 gallon boil. I would think something 3 gallons or so would be ideal.

 

[kombat]

I use a 2.5 gallon stainless steel pot (10 quart) from Ikea.

 

[ericbw]

I use a 2 gallon stockpot (cheap) for 1 gallon batches.

 

[fuzzy2133]

I was curious about what size kettle you guys use for one gallon. I have a 6 gallon stainless steel but am wondering if something smaller might work a bit better.

I use a 3 gallon pot for 1 gallon batch in fermentor. I have about 1.75 gallons of pre-boil all grain wort.

YMMV

 

[MedBrewer]

Lol thanks for the advice kombat. I guess I'll see what it tastes like in a month or so. It is a steam beer yeast though.

 

[ohiobeer29]

I use a two gallon pot a lot easier to store away

 

[sumbrewindude]

I use a 3gal pot for 1ga, usually close to 2gal before boil off.

 

[30Bones]

Maris/fuggle SMaSH complete. Volumes were dead on but my OG was supposed to be 1.064 and it ended up 1.074. Yowzza

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[ericbw]

Maris/fuggle SMaSH complete. Volumes were dead on but my OG was supposed to be 1.064 and it ended up 1.074. Yowzza

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I had that happen recently with an Irish red. I diluted it to make a .25 gallon more, and then I realized that I forgot to add the honey. Which means that my efficiency was through the roof on that one. Not sure why.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Another brew day in the books -

Comedy of errors this time around; mashed in too cool, did a step and went a little too high, thought I had the chiller line hooked up to the cold spigot at the washer and it was on the "hot", Smack pack didn't behave, and my volumes were all off..

But, as a happy ending, thanks to crazy good EFF and some luck, I ended up with a half gal more than I bargained for with the correct OG as calculated.

Keg gets some love, and bottles get some love.

Now to clean up...

 

[30Bones]

I had that happen recently with an Irish red. I diluted it to make a .25 gallon more, and then I realized that I forgot to add the honey. Which means that my efficiency was through the roof on that one. Not sure why.

My Refractometer was off by 5 points. Still a bit above the recipe. Brewing a Fresh Squeezed IPA clone now and was a few point high on preboil. Yeah I'm loving brewing indoors when it's snowing out.


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[Synap6]

Im making an ipa with:
82% 2-row
7% crystal 20L
5% vienna
5% carapils
1% biscuit

And bittered with 0.15oz Chinook @ 60

Im considering adding Citra at 15-5-0 as i wanna see what this hops is about, but the chinook smells so nice im wondering if i should add some alongside the citra..

What do you guys think?

EDIT: I went along with simply Citra. I figured I'd try mixing up the two later on for flavor-aroma, once I know what to expect out of Citra. I'll be dryhopping this little guy in december

 

[Darth_Beer]

Question for those using a small(er) mash tun, what amounts are you mashing with, and how much are you sparging with?

I mashed 3.5pounds Vienna tonight with 1gallon in my 2gal cooler @140F (strike temp was 164F) and sparged with 2 gallons. Brewhouse eff claimed to be 60.4% (using the Brewer's Friend calculators). Does this sound about right to everyone? I siphoned a little over a gallon into the fermenter, trying to leave most of the break material behind.

Can somebody using the little sugar cubes give me a gram weight per cube please?

 

[sumbrewindude]

Hey Darth!

1) Mashing at 140 seems odd - with a strike temp of 164F, are you sure you're actually hitting that temp? How are you measuring the temp of the mash? I've found that if you're not preheating the tun, I need to strike with water that's usually 10F higher than my desired temp, this is assuming a 1.5qt/lb ratio of grain. You could be mashing at a higher temp than you realize, which will hurt the extraction of simple sugars and result in lower EFF levels. Make sure to stir the mash well and then take a temp.

2) You'll see all kinds of opinions on trub/break material in the fermenter - I'm in the camp that says put the whole works in it there. It'll drop out as it cools, I can aerate it a little more by pouring the whole thing in with a funnel, and there's been a few experiments done that suggest that it actually helps. Experiment yourself and see, that's the luxury of a 1gal batch!

3) You want the Domino Sugar Dots, small yellow box. One cube is 2.5g, and works great in a 12oz bottle.

 

[Darth_Beer]

Hey Darth!

1) Mashing at 140 seems odd - with a strike temp of 164F, are you sure you're actually hitting that temp? How are you measuring the temp of the mash? I've found that if you're not preheating the tun, I need to strike with water that's usually 10F higher than my desired temp, this is assuming a 1.5qt/lb ratio of grain. You could be mashing at a higher temp than you realize, which will hurt the extraction of simple sugars and result in lower EFF levels. Make sure to stir the mash well and then take a temp.
/QUOTE]

I left my thermometer in the mash to measure the temps. I did forget to pre-heat the tun before I added my grain. I did lose 2 degrees over the course of the mash (which sounds like just about everyone else is getting)

 

[ericbw]

I usually mash in at 165 to get 153 (12 degree drop). But 24 degrees is a lot.

How big is the mash tun? Was your grain colder than room temp (like refrigerated)?

I think with 3.5 pounds, you could have added a little boiling water to raise it some if you wanted.

 

[Darth_Beer]

@ericbw, I am using a Coleman 2gallon cooler. I would say it was probably about 65F, and my grain was about 72F before I started.

 

[ericbw]

I've been putting 1 tea kettle of boiling water in the mash tun, then closing it up while I set up the rest of the stuff. Probably 20-30 minutes. Then I dump it when I am ready to start. Not sure why you'd lose so much heat.

 

[30Bones]

On my 2 gallon buckets the lids must not be very air tight. I've have this issue on 6.5gal brew buckets also. Zero airlock activity so I popped the lid and there's a nice krausen layer. Seems all the 3 gallon better bottles are not sold by NB or midwest. My LHBS has them, but that are more than my 6.5 big mouth bubblers.


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[sumbrewindude]

On my 2 gallon buckets the lids must not be very air tight. I've have this issue on 6.5gal brew buckets also. Zero airlock activity so I popped the lid and there's a nice krausen layer. Seems all the 3 gallon better bottles are not sold by NB or midwest. My LHBS has them, but that are more than my 6.5 big mouth bubblers.


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Ritebrew's got some 3gal PET carboys in stock:
http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/841232.htm

I've got two of these, I like 'em. I used to use them exclusively for the 1.5+gal batches, now I use them for secondaries/holding sanitizer. The plastic's nice and thick on them, so they're not as flexable as some of the PET carboys out there. They're not as narrow as the BB's though, so you can't stack two next to each other in a small fridge.

 

[30Bones]

Thanks. That price is $10 cheaper than my LHBS. Should fit side by side in my 4 cf fridge.

There are what I am after and might grab a few before I brew another small batch, sadly shipping for 2-3 costs as much as a single unit. Maybe I will grab a couple on my stop at NB over thanksgiving if they have any http://www.brewinternational.com/pet-carboy-3-gallon-better-bottle/?gclid=CIOAzqenhMICFSqCMgod3U8AGg


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[Avocado_Power]

Hey guys, just tried out my first batch of saison after a several-month brewing hiatus (moving to the Philippines) - a 2.5 gallon BIAB batch. Recipe loosely based off of that 1-gallon book (Beer Craft)...

6 lbs Belgian Pilsner
12.5 oz Wheat
6.2 oz Vienna

0.25 oz magnum at 60 min
0.25 oz magnum at 15 min

Mashed for an hour anywhere from 149 - 152 F
Dunk sparge at 165
Took a freaking hour to cool off due to faulty connecter from wort chiller to sink (lots of improvising).
Threw in one vial of WLP565 (Saison ale yeast).

Fermented for 4 weeks in closet in both 2 gallon bucket and little brown keg. Temps ranged from low to mid 80s.

Bottled some bottles with sugar drops, and bottled others by tossing sugar in "bottling bucket" and stupidly forgetting to have created a simple sugar solution beforehand (this required me to stir the beer for proper dissolving, which pained me).

2 weeks of sitting in warm closet. Tossed a bottle in the fridge for 3 days. Popped it open, and here are the tasting notes (non-professional):

- Great color and carbonation (somehow).
- Visually very appealing, only cloudy when sediment was poured in.
- Refreshing initial taste, but then gives way to a strange, sour aftertaste.
- Boozier taste than expected (though it did not "feel" heavier) - no I did not measure anything.
- Almost no hint of bitterness (yes it's a saison, but still)
- Unfortunately, no interesting and pleasurable tastes present (like citrus or peppercorn) that I was hoping for.
- Someone who tried it said it tasted like a lager.

So guys, any tips? How do I improve this batch next time, particularly to get rid of the strange sour aftertaste? Also, should I add more hops at different boil points?

THANKS!

 

[Avocado_Power]

Actually, in a perfect example of RDWHAHB, I cracked open a second bottle (way colder this time) and made sure to get the yeast off the bottom and I must say its a pleasant saison, not nearly as sour as the first...something I'll be proud to serve to friends. Not sure what the third bottle will bring (consistency may be the issue here given the two different fermenters and bottling methods), so my original post still applies!