1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[VagueSkunk]

Thanks. There just so happens to be a cake shop right across the street from the local homebrew shop so I will hit them up today
Also, i noticed that the 2 gallon Mr. Beer fermenters are just $10. Anyone have experience with these? They look to have a nice, wide opening for easy cleaning and have a spigot. The lack of an airlock is a bit odd, but one just just drill a hole for that.

 

[jimdkc]

Looking for some cheap fermenters for small batches. I'm seeing that Orchard Supply Hardware has 2 gallon paint buckets for something like $3, but their listing doesnt say that they're food grade (they're designed for paint after all...). Should these be safe or should I keep looking? I want something cheap and plastic, dont feel like messing around with glass if possible. Thanks!

Go to a grocery store that has an in-house bakery. Ask them if they will save some 2-gallon buckets for you. They package bulk frosting, glaze, fondant, shortening, etc... in them.

EDIT: OK... I see I was beaten to the punch on this! There was an eBay vendor that had a reasonable price on 3 Two Gallon buckets with lids, but I can only find overpriced ones now!

 

[deanoaz]

The unwarranted derision that we small-batch brewers face is one of the reasons for the existence of this thread. Frankly, I feel no need to share with any of my suppliers what size batches I'm brewing!

When I need to get malt grain for my partial mash, 1-gallon mash in, the small amounts give me away. I don't want to go back to the supplier who tried to make me feel like an idiot for my batch size. When I got the grain for my present, first batch, I found a great supplier who supported me, but I think he has now gone out of business, so I think I may be back to square one.

 

[deanoaz]

This is very true. I think it extends from the cost of the equipment. Basically if you aren't willing to put down the money for a 5 gallon all grain + kegging system, you aren't a true homebrewer. I experience the same thing shooting clays with my pump shotgun. It doesn't even matter that I can out shoot 90% of the shooters, I just am not a serious shooter because I am not carrying an over under shotgun.

Being from AZ, do you have a supplier who sells grains in small quantities?

 

[jimdkc]

Also, i noticed that the 2 gallon Mr. Beer fermenters are just $10. Anyone have experience with these? They look to have a nice, wide opening for easy cleaning and have a spigot. The lack of an airlock is a bit odd, but one just just drill a hole for that.

Mr. Beer fermenters are fine for small batch brewing! I regret having thrown mine out when I switched to "real" brewing.

The design of the Mr. Beer fermenter is such that you don't need an airlock. The top edge of the mouth has small notches on the edge that allow the release of gas. Notice that the lid is NOT gasketed to make an air tight seal. This is by design.

 

[jimdkc]

When I need to get malt grain for my partial mash, 1-gallon mash in, the small amounts give me away. I don't want to go back to the supplier who tried to make me feel like an idiot for my batch size. When I got the grain for my present, first batch, I found a great supplier who supported me, but I think he has now gone out of business, so I think I may be back to square one.

Buy larger quantities, at least of your base grains, and get some air tight storage containers. Especially if you have a way to crush your own grain. Un-crushed grain has a pretty long shelf-life.

Edit: Or buy online... I generally prefer to support a local business, but if they're not gonna support you...

 

[jpoppinmoneyunit]

When I need to get malt grain for my partial mash, 1-gallon mash in, the small amounts give me away. I don't want to go back to the supplier who tried to make me feel like an idiot for my batch size. When I got the grain for my present, first batch, I found a great supplier who supported me, but I think he has now gone out of business, so I think I may be back to square one.

My LHBS guy gave me the same look when I was purchasing my grains ha. But, he has ceased to give me the same look because I keep coming back for more. So, a sale is a sale. Hopefully your guy will do the same but don't give up!

Also, buying more grains if you can mill at home is a great idea too.

 

[Carkis]

I brew 1-2 gallon batches, sometimes Mr. Beer and sometimes 1 gallon fruit juice wine. The Mr. Beer instructions say to sprinkle yeast and leave it. Some online tutorials say to shake the yeast in vigorously (even after aerating the must). Is it generally better to sprinkle and leave it or to shake/ stir in the yeast? Does shaking it damage it?

 

[jimdkc]

Sprinkle and leave floating or shake will both work. Shaking does not harm the yeast at all, and adds oxygen to the wort, which yeast needs in the early stages of fermentation.

I prefer to hydrate my yeast, then pour it into the already-oxygenized wort. If the yeast packet had rehydration instructions, follow them. If not, here are some good instructions:

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/rehydrating-dry-yeast/

 

[TonyKZ1]

Inoticed that the 2 gallon Mr. Beer fermenters are just $10. Anyone have experience with these? They look to have a nice, wide opening for easy cleaning and have a spigot. The lack of an airlock is a bit odd, but one just just drill a hole for that.

I use my LBK's for one gallon batches quite often, plenty of headspace so no need of a blowoff tube and the way they're designed they don't need an airlock either. However I still use my 1G glass jugs too, as I like to watch the fermentation process.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Being from AZ, do you have a supplier who sells grains in small quantities?

Hey Dean, glad to hear from you again. Yes, any of the LHBS stores that we have here in town will sell grains in small quantities. We are blessed to live in a town that has a lot of stores and I have been to a 5 of them. My favorite is the one down in Gilbert at Baseline and McQueen (Brew Your Own Brew, Gilbert). Those guys have achieved a good balance of the things that I want in a brew store. Here is a quick review of the stores I've been to.

Brew Your Own Brew Scottsdale - Super convenient for me, clean, organized. Really super duper nice helpful employees. Downside like the both the BYOB stores don't like the post packaged hops and unrefrigerated dry yeast.

Brew You Own Brew Gilbert - Location makes me think the product is fresher due to more exposure to the market. Again great nice non-Aholeish staff. Downside same as the other BYOB store.

Brewers Connection Tempe - Huge selection of LOTS of products. Huge store. The guy I talked to was great. Downside, grain and hops seemed like an after-thought (dis-organized).

Hops And Tannins (Formerly Anthem) - Quality ingredients. I really believe when this guy sells me Citra that I'm getting Citra. Also, you could get awesome hard to find beers from this place. Ridiculously passionate about homebrew, which brings me to the downside. The owner is super opinionated and pisses me off every time I go there. I really like the guy, but I brew the way I want to and anyone who doesn't like it can kiss my rear. I always hope an employee is there rather than the owner. The other thing, Is this place open closed? I don't really know. Supposedly they moved????

The other store - I can't really say anything nice, so I won't say anything.

 

[NSMikeD]

By the way, the one place my decision to go the 1 gallon path didn't go over well was at my local brewing supplier. I think it was because he was only set up for 5 gallon brewers. He basically made me feel like I was stupid.
CHEERS!

:smack:

I don't know how one can be the business and not be aware of how popular one gallon and mini-Biab is becoming.

I was pleasantly surprised that my local HBS not only carried one gallon supplies for me to get started, they were very helpful, down to double grinding small batches of grain for me with a smile. There are supplies I can easily get online, but I prefer to make the trip to the HBS and discuss what i am doing and pick their brains for input, even if it costs me a few dollars. more.

They don't push the larger systems on me as they totally get why small batch is right for me. Now, there are times they pick my brain on what I'm finding works better which I am sure they will pass onto other small batch customers.

I guess that is why they have been in business all these years.

 

[robbinstw]

One really nice thing about doing a 2.5 gallon batch:
you can buy a 2.5 gallon jug of water at the grocery store,
and when you're done you don't have to clean it: just throw it away.

 

[Singto]

I have only just started brewing and I started with 1 gallon recipe, if I screwed it up it was a cost factor and experiment but the next day I figured I still got grains might as well make my own recipe and now I got 2 gallons IPA that will be totally different even thinking off doing a dry hop on 7 day.Now I'm thinking I got nearly 2 lbs of Morris otter pale ale and Munich 1 grains , with some carared, caramunich what can I do?????

 

[AZBeer]

:smack:

I don't know how one can be the business and not be aware of how popular one gallon and mini-Biab is becoming.

I was pleasantly surprised that my local HBS not only carried one gallon supplies for me to get started, they were very helpful, down to double grinding small batches of grain for me with a smile. There are supplies I can easily get online, but I prefer to make the trip to the HBS and discuss what i am doing and pick their brains for input, even if it costs me a few dollars. more.

They don't push the larger systems on me as they totally get why small batch is right for me. Now, there are times they pick my brain on what I'm finding works better which I am sure they will pass onto other small batch customers.

I guess that is why they have been in business all these years.

Yeah, this makes no sense to me. Thankfully the guys at my local Brew Your Own Brew are really cool. Never once tried to talk me out of small batch brewing, never talked it down. They have always been really helpful.

 

[violinguy]

Funny...

So I'm sitting at my desk and I keep hearing these weird gurgling sounds. I can't figure out what it making these odd sounds. I'm thinking it's the fridge refilling the ice trays or some other pipe thing. Then it occurs to me. It's a batch I brewed yesterday fermenting - spewing gas from the blowoff tube. At least I know it's working

 

[Uncruliar]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and new to all grain brewing. I have had two brew days so far and both times I have missed my target OG, which was 1.051 for both of the recipes I used. First time the mash temperature was all over the place, too hot and too cold at different times and I achieved an actual OG of 1.038. Second time I managed too keep the temperature between 64.7 - 65.5 Celsius for 90 minutes but the actual OG was still only 1.042.

I am mashing in a 3 gallon stock pot. Following suggestions from a small batch recipe that I found I have been putting the pot in a pre-heated oven to maintain the temperature.

I am hoping that someone might be able to suggest a way that I can get closer to my target OG.

 

[Schultzicd]

Uncruliar,

I had the same problem with my first few brews so I have just started adding a half to a quarter pound more base malt to my 1 gallon brews. I know this is a completely unscientific method, but it has done the trick.

 

[NSMikeD]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and new to all grain brewing. I have had two brew days so far and both times I have missed my target OG, which was 1.051 for both of the recipes I used. First time the mash temperature was all over the place, too hot and too cold at different times and I achieved an actual OG of 1.038. Second time I managed too keep the temperature between 64.7 - 65.5 Celsius for 90 minutes but the actual OG was still only 1.042.

I am mashing in a 3 gallon stock pot. Following suggestions from a small batch recipe that I found I have been putting the pot in a pre-heated oven to maintain the temperature.

I am hoping that someone might be able to suggest a way that I can get closer to my target OG.

Don't always trust recipes. There are a several home brew software options that you can plug in the recipe to make sure it's valid. Was your volume into the fermentor correct - boil rates vary for each brewer and affect gravity.

Grain crush size and PH can affect the mash efficiency


and as schulticd suggests, if you are consistently low, increasing the grain bill (or adding DME at the end) will get you where you want. Consistency in your efficiency is a blessing - even if it's a little low.

 

[BykerBrewer]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and new to all grain brewing. I have had two brew days so far and both times I have missed my target OG, which was 1.051 for both of the recipes I used. First time the mash temperature was all over the place, too hot and too cold at different times and I achieved an actual OG of 1.038. Second time I managed too keep the temperature between 64.7 - 65.5 Celsius for 90 minutes but the actual OG was still only 1.042.

I am mashing in a 3 gallon stock pot. Following suggestions from a small batch recipe that I found I have been putting the pot in a pre-heated oven to maintain the temperature.

I am hoping that someone might be able to suggest a way that I can get closer to my target OG.

Hey Uncruliar,

I definitely understand the frustration of missing your Target OG as I did by quite a bit my first few batches as well. There are a number of factors that could have resulted in the lower than expected OG that you recorded. Ultimately, however, hitting your target OG is going to come down to consistency in your brewing process. You will need to take good notes, find a procedure that works for you, and stick to it (usually... its homebrewing... experimentation is a lot of fun). Since I have done this, I have consistently been able to hit my OG within a couple points. Also, I am unsure where you found this recipe, but you need to adapt each recipe you brew to your own system using batch sizes and efficiency (unfortunately, some recipes you find online do not provide the necessary information to do this, but many do). You could have done everything else perfectly, but if the recipe is not adjusted for your system, you run the risk of producing a beer far from what you had planned. It may take a couple brews to determine your efficiency, so don't worry about missing your OG the first time. Just take good notes and adjust for next time.

That said, the following should provide a decent starting point for more consistently hitting your target OG... I would first check that the volumes you are using for your calculations are right for your system and process. If you are doing an 60 minute boil, boil a measured amount of water for 60 minutes to determine your boil off rate. This will tell you how much wort you need to have in the boil pot before you even start the boil (your preboil volume), and then you know you will have the right volume at the end of the boil. This will help ensure you are hitting your volume. If you consistently are hitting the right volume, you can rely on the value you obtain for your efficiency. If you know your volumes and your efficiency, you can hit your target OG with a much higher degree of regularity.

Two other factors to keep in mind once you have your process down (there are others... i.e. mash pH) that immediately pop into mind to more consistently hit your OG are:

1. During your mash, make sure your water : grain ratio is consistent from brew to brew. I (usually) use 1.75 quarts for every 1lb grain in the recipe for my mash and then sparge the rest to obtain my desired preboil volume.

2. Ensure your grains are sufficiently and consistently crushed. A fine grind will result in a different mash efficiency than a course grind.

For your average brewday, hopefully this will provide a good starting point for you to more consistently hit your target OG. As I said, it will take a couple of batches to determine your efficiency and to gain the familiarity with your system that it takes to consistently hit your target OG, but once you do, it's a lot of fun! As you get more into the hobby and experiment more, you will find you need to make changes to that process (either just because you want to try something new, cause your using different/unique ingredients, because its a super high gravity beer, or any one of a hundred other reasons), but thats part of the fun of homebrewing, you have free reign. That said, put as much or as little of what I have to say to practice, just don't expect to consistently hit your OG till you know your system and have fun with it!

Cheers!

 

[Uncruliar]

Thanks for those pointers. Since my last post it has occurred to me that, for my second brew day, I ended up with a pint more in my primary than I had intended. Obviously for the same amount of sugar in the wort that will reduce the OG. I imagine that it could be quite significant as 1 pint is about an extra 12% in a one gallon batch. I was following some guidance from elsewhere on these forums which suggested 1 1/4 quarts water per pound of grain in the mash and then 2 quarts water per pound for the sparge. I wonder how that compares to what other people are using? Presumably I would need a longer boil to reduce the volume down to the amount that I want in my primary.

 

[ericbw]

Thanks for those pointers. Since my last post it has occurred to me that, for my second brew day, I ended up with a pint more in my primary than I had intended. Obviously for the same amount of sugar in the wort that will reduce the OG. I imagine that it could be quite significant as 1 pint is about an extra 12% in a one gallon batch. I was following some guidance from elsewhere on these forums which suggested 1 1/4 quarts water per pound of grain in the mash and then 2 quarts water per pound for the sparge. I wonder how that compares to what other people are using? Presumably I would need a longer boil to reduce the volume down to the amount that I want in my primary.

Yes, it can be tricky to get to the right volume. I usually end up with less after the boil and have to top it off, which is easier to do right.

I usually mash with about 1 1/4 Q per pound (most people say between 1.25-1.5 is good). I calculate my total boil volume, then subtract what will stay absorbed by the grain (about .1 gallon per pound). I sparge with whatever is required to get to my boil volume.

For a gallon, my system boils off about 1 gallon per hour, so total volume for the boil should be 2 gallons (8 quarts).

With 2.25 pounds of grain (1.055 OG), at 1.25 Q per pound = 2.8 Q MASH

Absorption (left in the grain after you drain it) is about .1 gallon per pound, so that's ) is .23 gallons (about a quart).

First runnings should be about 2.57 quarts.

Subtract the first runnings from your boil volume to get your sparge amount. 8 - 2.57 = 5.43 quarts SPARGE

That's how I do it, and it's been pretty consistent for me. I do have to top up at the end (usually a quart), so I probably boil off more like 1.2 gallons per hour. Like I said, it seems easier to me to boil down below what you want, then top off, rather than ending up with extra.

 

[jimdkc]

Uncruliar,

I had the same problem with my first few brews so I have just started adding a half to a quarter pound more base malt to my 1 gallon brews. I know this is a completely unscientific method, but it has done the trick.

This will work if your only concern is OG, but to maintain the character of your recipe, you should probably scale the rest of your grain bill proportionally.

If you are using brewing software, you can adjust your efficiency to a lower setting and it should scale your ingredients for you.

 

[badlee]

I just bottled a gallon(UK) of kornol(Norwegian raw ale) only two and a half days after brewing.
OG was 1.065 and FG after 36 hours was 1.005.
If that is not surprising enough,the Kveik (Norwegian ancestral yeast) formed THE most compact cake I have ever seen in 7 years of brewing. It took me 10 minutes to be able to swirl it up to harvest it.

 

[jimdkc]

I just bottled a gallon(UK) of kornol(Norwegian raw ale) only two and a half days after brewing.
OG was 1.065 and FG after 36 hours was 1.005.
If that is not surprising enough,the Kveik (Norwegian ancestral yeast) formed THE most compact cake I have ever seen in 7 years of brewing. It took me 10 minutes to be able to swirl it up to harvest it.

I've done some reading on Raw Ales, and I'm intrigued! Do you have a 1-Gallon recipe?

 

[badlee]

Well,I wanted to go 50/50 pils munich,but had bugs in the grain.
So I went with 60% pils, 30% pale,5% each cara-ruby and cara-gold.
I have no juniper so subbed in kaffir lime leaves and mash hopped to about 10 IBUs with pellets(Columbus).
I mashed at 69.5c, but might push it to 72 next time.
I had to heat the wort back up,as it cooled to 27c and I wanted to pitch at 30c.
Used 100% well water which is soft-ish.

 

[Uncruliar]

Subtract the first runnings from your boil volume to get your sparge amount. 8 - 2.57 = 5.43 quarts SPARGE

So, if you have a bigger grain bill then you use more water to mash and less to sparge? I can see that means that you end up with the right pre-boil volume. How does it affect efficiency? What I had seen elsewhere was more grain = more mash water and also more sparge water = obviously too much volume. I certainly think that I will give your method a try.

Also I had been told simply to pour my sparge water through my grain. I have since found out about letting the grains steep in the sparge water for a while so I will be trying that too next time.

Yesterday I bottled my first brew. It is an amber ale that I got from http://www.thekitchn.com/collection/beerschool-521. While it was in the fermenter I thought that it looked way too dark for an amber but it was a lot lighter in the syphon tube. I guess that I will have to wait to see what it looks like in the glass. Feeling very impatient to drink it now.

 

[BykerBrewer]

So, if you have a bigger grain bill then you use more water to mash and less to sparge? I can see that means that you end up with the right pre-boil volume. How does it affect efficiency? What I had seen elsewhere was more grain = more mash water and also more sparge water = obviously too much volume. I certainly think that I will give your method a try.

Also I had been told simply to pour my sparge water through my grain. I have since found out about letting the grains steep in the sparge water for a while so I will be trying that too next time.

Yesterday I bottled my first brew. It is an amber ale that I got from http://www.thekitchn.com/collection/beerschool-521. While it was in the fermenter I thought that it looked way too dark for an amber but it was a lot lighter in the syphon tube. I guess that I will have to wait to see what it looks like in the glass. Feeling very impatient to drink it now.

Uncruliar,

You have to take into account grain absorption. So, more grain in your recipe does require more total water. And I would advise sticking to a grain to mash water ratio that works for you... If you do, then yes, more grain = more mash water. You can try steeping the grains in the sparge water if that works best for you. I would, however, keep in mind that the more you play with variables in your brewing process the harder it is going to be to hit your numbers from batch to batch.

Also, no worries on the color of the beer. It is common for the beer to look darker in the carboy then in the glass. Let us know how it turns out!

Cheers!

 

[Uncruliar]

Uncruliar,

I would, however, keep in mind that the more you play with variables in your brewing process the harder it is going to be to hit your numbers from batch to batch.

Cheers!

At the moment I am very much experimenting with a view to working out a method that works best for me. Once I have worked out how to get my best efficiency then I will start aiming for consistency from batch to batch.

 

[deanoaz]

Brew Your Own Brew Scottsdale - Super convenient for me, clean, organized. Really super duper nice helpful employees. Downside like the both the BYOB stores don't like the post packaged hops and unrefrigerated dry yeast.

Brew You Own Brew Gilbert - Location makes me think the product is fresher due to more exposure to the market. Again great nice non-Aholeish staff. Downside same as the other BYOB store.

Brewers Connection Tempe - Huge selection of LOTS of products. Huge store. The guy I talked to was great. Downside, grain and hops seemed like an after-thought (dis-organized).

Hops And Tannins (Formerly Anthem) - Quality ingredients. I really believe when this guy sells me Citra that I'm getting Citra. Also, you could get awesome hard to find beers from this place. Ridiculously passionate about homebrew, which brings me to the downside. The owner is super opinionated and pisses me off every time I go there. I really like the guy, but I brew the way I want to and anyone who doesn't like it can kiss my rear. I always hope an employee is there rather than the owner. The other thing, Is this place open closed? I don't really know. Supposedly they moved????

The other store - I can't really say anything nice, so I won't say anything.

Sorry, haven't been on for awhile. Have you ever tried What Ales Ya in Glendale (maybe "the other store")?