1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[Griffin495]

My target OG was supposed to be 1.055 and I hit 1.066. I just figured it would be higher ABV than I was shooting for but have never bothered to check.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Just cracked my first 1 gallon batch bottle! FANTASTIC.

Northern Brewers rum runner stout kit, but during fermentation I added a combination of .5 oz hickory wood chips soaked in evan williams bourbon and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract.

Did I say FANTASTIC yet?

 

[ericbw]

This might be a stupid question...or a beginner question...but how do you determine efficiency? I keep reading about it, but have no idea. I've never calculated it in any of my batches.

Look up what the max possible gravity is from your grain (generally around 36 points per gallon per pound). Then measure your actual gravity. Divide the actual by the possible and that is your percent.

Example:

1 pound of 2-row is 36 possible.

You get 25 when you brew.

25 divided by 36 = 69%.

 

[ericbw]

Going to brew a 1 gallon brown ale. I want to add cinnamon and clove. How much should I add? Can I add it to the boil?

Definitely add it at the end. 5 minutes or less.

I would start with 1 or 2 whole cloves and about 2 inches of cinnamon stick. Clove is strong. Maybe a little more.

I don't think ground spices would work well, but crushed cinnamon stick might be a good idea.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Look up what the max possible gravity is from your grain (generally around 36 points per gallon per pound). Then measure your actual gravity. Divide the actual by the possible and that is your percent.

Example:

1 pound of 2-row is 36 possible.

You get 25 when you brew.

25 divided by 36 = 69%.

Need volume at room temp as well.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

My target OG was supposed to be 1.055 and I hit 1.066. I just figured it would be higher ABV than I was shooting for but have never bothered to check.

See my post here

 

[Griffin495]

Woke up in the middle of the night last night and got a crazy thought. I just recently got BBS book and the Blackberry Irish Red caught my attention. I've never used a fruit in a brew before, but I like reds. Why not double the batch, split the wort and only pour half over blackberries? That way I get a red and a blackberry red. E-mailed them this morning and they say the recipe makes a great red without the berries and that it was a good idea. I also asked them and the OG should be 1.052 and the FG should be 1.013 if anybody is curious. No idea why they didn't include that in their book. Maybe because its more info than newbies need and it might confuse them? Still, it should have been in there.

So, I think that will be my next brew after I knock this 5 gallon cream ale I got sitting around waiting for me to brew.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Split batches are a great way to experiment for sure. I'm a big advocate of the practice, especially in regards to trying different hops, yeast, and flavor additions in secondary.

 

[Griffin495]

I brewed the chocolate stout out of Beer Craft 11 days ago and I was curious to see how it was going and to use my new refractometer.

So I think I got a stuck fermentation. Or maybe I don't know how to use my new refractometer. I made sure it was calibrated using distilled water.

Then I used the calculator on Northern Brewer. I used a hydrometer to get my OG which was 1.065 (before I had a refractometer), so the caluculator told me it was 16 Brix. Tested a sample last night and it was down to 14 Brix. Which gives me a current gravity of 1.05. Plugging that in, my ABV is only 0.833 and my OG is at 1.059. Wasn't sure what to do, and I had had a few, so I just pictched another tsp of yeast. Hoping this helps.

I know I tested it a little early, but I figured that it would have been lower by now. Did I screw up my pitching more yeast?

Yeast was Safale S-04 and its been close around 64-68 the whole time.

Checked on the stout again last night. Its now been 18 days since I brewed it and six days since I last checked it (was 13 Brix on the refract and 1.046 hydrom) and its still at 13 Brix and 1.046. Took the last of that yeast which had been vac sealed in the freezer, hydrated it to make sure it was good and dumped it in. I have no idea why its stalled out and not moving. I'll let it sit another week or two and see what happens, but this might be my first batch of beer that I might have to dump.

 

[phug]

That 13 Bronx reading is a refracto meter reading, right? That's probably stuck

 

[Griffin495]

That 13 Bronx reading is a refracto meter reading, right? That's probably stuck

I'm still new to the refracto, so I took a reading with it and the hydrometer to make sure they agreed and they did.

So, initially is used 1.5 tsp of S-04 yeast,
10 days later added another tsp
thenn 7 days later ended up dumping the rest of the yeast from the packet in after I rehydrated it.

Maybe that will get it moving. I'll check it again in a week. If not, I'm open to ideas on what to do next.

 

[HBWarke]

1st post. So for you one gallon brewers, how many gallons do you usually have fermenting at a time? I'm planning on bumping up from 1 to 2 or 3.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I usually have 4 bers going plus 1-2 ciders. 1 long term aging brew of some sort (RIS, barleywine, wheat wine, mead. 1 belgian (trippel, dubbel, saison), 1 dark english ale of some sort (brown, porter, stout), 1 hoppy brew.

Whenever my pipeline isn't going smooth, I'll do 1x 3-4 gallon batch and split it using different yeasts to increase the diversity. What's the difference between a pale ale, a blonde, and a trippel? Not much.

 

[bransona]

1st post. So for you one gallon brewers, how many gallons do you usually have fermenting at a time? I'm planning on bumping up from 1 to 2 or 3.

Depends on my space and fermenters. Generally speaking, I have a session ipa as a pipeline filler, an experiment/New recipe, something long term like a Belgian, and my house porter gets brewed as soon as it gets bottled. Then I have a 5 gallon of cider going for swmbo, who is gluten free (celiac). This keeps me with enough to drink, share, and age. And, it means I have 20 batches of experience after only brewing for about 3-4 months.

 

[MadHomebrewer]

Do you have a link where I can find that?

Here you go: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210253

 

[Griffin495]

Here you go: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210253

Thanks, just added it to my list of recipes to try.

On a side note, I just got done reading through this whole thread. That took a while, but now I feel caught up. Lots of great tips and techniques if you can get through all of it.

 

[brewsitorloseit]

Brewed two beers yesterday, a Kolsch and an Alt.

Kolsch
1.25lb 2-row
12oz Belgian Pilsner
.5oz Automatic
45 minute boil
.15oz Challenger @45
.5tsp Irish moss @15
.15oz Hallartau @5
Alt
1.25oz 2-row
13oz Munich light 8L
2oz Special B
.4oz Aromatic
60 minute boil
.15oz Challenger @60
.2oz Hallartau @30
.5tsp Irish moss @15
.2oz Hallartau @5

Both came out about 1.040-1.050

Pitched half a vial of Wlp-036 in each gallon and sat them on top of the basement stairs where they fermented at about 68° overnight.
Now sitting on the basement floor about 10° colder.

Small batches are great, I get to play around with different flavors
and all the ingredients only cost me like 10 bucks!

 

[guitarguy6]

I'm looking to get into 1 gallon batches and was wondering if you guys are doing no sparge biab or are fly sparging or perhaps some other technique. Is there a database somewhere of recipes designed for 1 gallon batches or does software like Beersmith do a decent job of scaling recipes? Do you have any pale ale or ipa recipes you'd recommend me?

Thanks!

 

[bransona]

I'm looking to get into 1 gallon batches and was wondering if you guys are doing no sparge biab or are fly sparging or perhaps some other technique. Is there a database somewhere of recipes designed for 1 gallon batches or does software like Beersmith do a decent job of scaling recipes? Do you have any pale ale or ipa recipes you'd recommend me?

Thanks!

My favorite so far is to move the bag to a separate vessel (usually my fermenter) and sparge in there. Then just dump the runnings into your kettle. As far as scaling, the software does a decent job universally, but some (see: brewersfriend) can be WAY off on predicted color. I brewed what was supposed to be an Irish red... It's deep brown. Scotch ale came out nearly black, even though it *should have been* dark amber.

 

[lmacmil]

I've always brewed from a kit that makes 5 gallons. I want to try brewing without using a kit but don't want to make 5 gallons in case it doesn't turn out. Is the best thread for tips of brewing a small batch, i.e., 1 or maybe 2.5 gallons? (If so, I've got a lot of reading to do!)

Question 2: I am assuming the ingredients for a 5 gallon recipe can be scaled down to a smaller batch size. Do the home brewing supply companies sell the individual ingredients in smaller quantities or does one just have to get out the measuring cups & spoons and scales and reduce the quantities manually?

Thanks.

 

[ChocolateMaltyBalls]

If you buy online it's usually by the pound, local homebrew shops will measure out exactly (by weight). If you have brewing software it's pretty easy to scale a recipe from 5 gal to whatever size you want.

 

[ba-brewer]

I have never used it but Homebrew supply has a recipe builder that looks like you could order smaller quantities. Northern Brewer and Austin home brew supply sell 1 gallons kits.

If you brew often enough I would say buy some base malt and a few specialty malts by the pound then weight out the quantities you need. I think it might be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Lepetitnormand]

If you have a local brew shop they will get you hooked up.

I shop at my nearest one which happen to be austin home-brew and have no issue to have grain by the 1oz increment give or take the balance measuring error.

 

[Azbrewboy77]

I wanted to do a 1 gal pale ale with dried sweet orange peel & was wondering how much to put in ? Just did an American wheat & used .2 oz at flame out

 

[Pyg]

Anyone have a good 1 gallon blonde recipe, either extract or AG.
SWMBO is a corona drinker, and I dont want to make 5 gallons of a clone.
Figure I could test a blonde on her!
(Yes I understand the innuendo in that last sentence!)

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Figure I could test a blonde on her!

Goodluck, mine keeps saying no to the blondes I bring her...

I'd go with Centeniel blonde from the recipe database or NHC 2012 gold medal winner MissVickie

 

[phug]

I wanted to do a 1 gal pale ale with dried sweet orange peel & was wondering how much to put in ? Just did an American wheat & used .2 oz at flame out

Sounds about right. Most give gallon recipes call for an ounce

 

[Azbrewboy77]

Thnx I appreciate the info

 

[TaylorT]

Oops, missed an entire page of replies before posting... Carry on!

 

[ohiobeer29]

Will probably start doing two gallons a bba stout and a dipa