1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[jimdkc]

I’m curious, those doing 1 gallon batches, what are you using for fermentation vessels? And are you just bottling? I don’t know of any kegs that small except the 5L minikegs. I tried those before and didn’t have alot of success with them. I’m not sure if the party pigs are still around and I forget what size those were.

For fermenting, I have a lot of 1 gallon jugs. I have a couple of these 1.4 gallon Little Big Mouth Bubblers:

And, I lucked out and found a couple of large jars with plastic lids similar to the Little Big Mouth at an Old Time Pottery store. I only saw them once, bought them, and haven't seen anything like them since. I bought 4 of them, 2 - 2.6 Gallon (10L), and 2 - 3.2 Gallon (12L) gallon.

I also have 3-, 5-, and 6.5-gallon glass carboys. I like to primary 3 gallon batches in a 5-gallon carboy, then secondary in a 3-gallon.

I dabbled with 5L minikegs. More trouble and expense than they're worth! I have some 1.75-, 2.5-, and 3-Gallon Ball-Lock Kegs. These small kegs are quite expensive. But, I do mostly bottle. (I've always actually enjoyed bottling... not sure why people don't like to do it!)

 

[Leezer]

+1 to the Little Big Mouth Bubbler, loved it when I was doing one gallon batches. Wish they made one twice that size for 2G batches. Just bought a couple 1.75 gal ball locks but haven’t had a chance to try them yet.

 

[cajunbrewer14]

I'm wanting to do a 1 gallon batch on the cheap.

I was thinking

1 pound of amber dme
.2 ounces of cascade hops for 60 minutes
and some sort of ale yeast

Will this work?

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

That will work. ABV will be around 4% after you prime if you’re bottling.

 

[bernardsmith]

I know that this is very contrarian but boiling DME for an hour will waaaayyy overcook the extract. Might it not make more sense to boil the hops in water for however long you want to boil them and then simply add the boiling hopped water to the malt? (If you argue that you need a lower pH water to more fully isomerize the hops then add a drop or two of lemon juice). The malt itself should be all but sterile so boiling it to kill LAB or wild yeast is not the issue, and the production of an "amber" malt is in and of itself an end product and is not as if you had to boil the wort to concentrate the sugars to obtain better efficiency. Efficiency has been taken care of by the extract manufacturer. Just add less water if you want a higher starting gravity.

 

[Griffin495]

Or boil for 15 minutes and increase the hops to reach your targeted IBUs

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Over in a different topic (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/super-simple-amber-ale-extract-brew.653301/) I offered this:

• 15 minute boil
  
• 1 gallon water,
  
• 1 lb Amber DME,
• 35 IBUs of Cascade at 15
  
• 7 grams of Cascade @ 0
• 2.5 grams US-05
  
  
  

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I know that this is very contrarian but boiling DME for an hour will waaaayyy overcook the extract.

I'm not convinced that it's contrarian - it's more likely that it just isn't talked about. 15 minute boils go back to at least June 2013: http://beerandwinejournal.com/15-minute-pale-ale/, and there are a number of homebrew stores that have a couple of kits based on this concept.

Might it not make more sense to boil the hops in water for however long you want to boil them and then simply add the boiling hopped water to the malt? (If you argue that you need a lower pH water to more fully isomerize the hops then add a drop or two of lemon juice). T

It might - but it's a very non-standard technique (boiling the hops in water) with a often scorned base malt (DME/LME). Much 'safer' to brew using wort a/b (aka Palmer Brewing Method) with an OG of 22 (or 44)

The malt itself should be all but sterile so boiling it to kill LAB or wild yeast is not the issue, and the production of an "amber" malt is in and of itself an end product and is not as if you had to boil the wort to concentrate the sugars to obtain better efficiency.

Pasteurization is easy to achieve as a side effect of boiling for hop isomerization.

Basic Brewing Radio in 2018 has done a number of "no boil" hop experiments (for example: April 23, 2018 - No-Boil Juicy Pale Ale). And there are likely to be others who are doing similar time / temperature variations (probably in the range of 15 to 30 minutes at 170 - 200 F).

 

[RPh_Guy]

I disagree with your anticontrarianism.

Guessing most extract brewers boil it (again).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I disagree with your anticontrarianism.

Guessing most extract brewers boil it (again).

Agreed that most extract brewers boil it (again) for at least 15 minutes and those who brew with kits will often boil as long as 60 minutes. If the kit gives them a good brewing experience, is the boil time a problem?

Gallon batches are great for "quick & quaffable" beers - delightful summer time beers can be made in less than an hour with a 1 lb light DME & a oz of Citra hops (per gallon of water). No need to boil, just achieve pasteurization and heat enough to get some bitterness from the hops.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I like to be contrarian, but I boiled my SHaME beer for 60 minutes with .5 oz. of Nelson Sauvin and then tossed in the other half ounce of hops at flame out. Calling it Walk of Shame Scottish IPA since I used 1728.

 

[Griffin495]

I like to be contrarian, but I boiled my SHaME beer for 60 minutes with .5 oz. of Nelson Sauvin and then tossed in the other half ounce of hops at flame out. Calling it Walk of Shame Scottish IPA since I used 1728.

Let us know how it comes out. That is one of the hops I've been wanting to try for a long time since my wife loves white wine.

 

[TwistedGray]

Got a Thai Ice Tea Cream Ale going now in two one-gallon fermenters. I had to split it off into two; about 1.5 gallons in total.

 

[bgm1961]

Do any of the online places sell 1 or 2 gallon all grain of Partial mash kits?

I used to be an avid homebrewer from 2011-2014, but fell out of the hobby due to moving to a small apartment and a life change. I'm still not active, but brew at least one small batch every year just to stay in practice and keep in touch with the hobby.Well, the time has come again to brew my annual "proficiency batch", but unlike past years, I don't even have time to convert a 5 gal recipe through Beer Smith into a 1 gal, then drive out to my nearest HBS to buy the ingredients as is my normal routine.

Thus I'm hoping that small batch brewing has become popular enough for any of the online places to carry small batch kits (preferably for one or two gallons). And oh, I'm not interested in extract... then would be no point as my purpose is to simply stay in practice with grain brewing during this phase of my life.

So is anyone aware of any online retailers that offer small batch kits?
Thanks!

 

[RPh_Guy]

https://brooklynbrewshop.com/collections/beer-making-mixes

https://www.boxbrewkits.com/collections/recipe-kits

...or just buy grain, hops, & yeast from any online homebrew store. 2lbs of base malt & 0.5-1oz of hops is all you need.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

https://brooklynbrewshop.com/collections/beer-making-mixes

https://www.boxbrewkits.com/collections/recipe-kits

...or just buy grain, hops, & yeast from any online homebrew store. 2lbs of base malt & 0.5-1oz of hops is all you need.

I agree with this strategy. If you were worried about only having a single malt, you could get something like Munich that has a lot of character.

 

[KiwiBruce]

This post was well worth reading over...In fact it's been quite a spirit booster. I was very ill a few years back and had to cut back on my beer consumption...drastically, (is a good word)...I had to lose a lot of weight and cut back my drinking to 4, YES four beers a week...I stopped brewing, I just couldn't see brewing 5 gals of something really good and have it just sit for months while I tipple away at it 4 beers at a time...
But this would give me a new lease on brewing...one and a half gal...12 beers drunk over 3 weeks and then on to the next great brew...falls not far away and I could start with a dark beer or even an Irish Stout...Joy Joy JOY!

 

[cajunbrewer14]

This post was well worth reading over...In fact it's been quite a spirit booster. I was very ill a few years back and had to cut back on my beer consumption...drastically, (is a good word)...I had to lose a lot of weight and cut back my drinking to 4, YES four beers a week...I stopped brewing, I just couldn't see brewing 5 gals of something really good and have it just sit for months while I tipple away at it 4 beers at a time...
But this would give me a new lease on brewing...one and a half gal...12 beers drunk over 3 weeks and then on to the next great brew...falls not far away and I could start with a dark beer or even an Irish Stout...Joy Joy JOY!

Same here minus medical issue. Some weeks I may only drink 3-4 beers. It takes me 6 months to drink 5 gallons. Then I can’t brew. So I’m going to 1.5 gallon batches

 

[KiwiBruce]

I'll go find my brewing log and dig up my Irish...need to do a scale down, but this was one of the best stouts I ever brewed...I will post the scaled down recipe.

 

[Westwind7]

I have been brewing partial extract kits 5 gallons,and I want to make a 1 gallon batch but have no idea how to either cut ingredients from a 5 gallon kit,which I wouldn't really wanna do anyways. I was thinking cutting a mr beer kit between two 1 gallon fermenters,

any ideas on that?

any ideas on making 1 gallon batches?

Thanks

Why not just buy a one gallon kit from say, Brewer’s Best?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Why not just buy a one gallon kit from say, Brewer’s Best?

2012 post.

But hey, welcome to the forum!
I started with (all grain) kits too but for me they quickly lost their appeal. I like to adjust recipes to my taste, mill my own grain, etc. etc.

Cheers

 

[KiwiBruce]

Kits are a great "dip your toes in the water and try it out" deal. Slowly you get ready to jump in...not the deep end, just the "half grain and half extract" shallow end...then you get up the guts to go off the diving board "All Grain" and brewing is exciting and great...then one day you look in the mirror and your an "Old Fat Fart" and the diving board starts to lose it's appeal. You look back and say to yourself..."The shallow end, half and half, may not have the thrill of jumping off the diving board...but they were still pretty damn good!"...so why would I get out of the pool and just stick my toes in again? In a 1 to 1.5 gal batch my grains would only be for taste and color... the "work" would be carried by the malt extract , and I still have almost all the range and variety that I used to have with "all grain"
Kits are for Kids...silly wabbit!

 

[TwistedGray]

Stout time

 

[jimdkc]

You know... a 5 gallon kit divided into quarters would work for a 1-1/4 gallon batch... or 1 gallon that's 25% stronger!

Then you could brew it again... Maybe with different hops. Or different yeast.

Then you could brew it again... and again...

Lots of experimenting possibilities.

EDIT: I bet a 5 gallon kit divided in thirds would work well for 1.5 gallon batches, too...

 

[InspectorJon]

For what it is worth, my small batch story:

I started brewing back in the late 1970s. Bought a book and plastic trash bin to ferment in and a few brewing equipment things I found a 5 gallon glass Alhambra water bottle and used mostly what was available in the kitchen to make extract brews. A few turned out good; several had weird flavors I did not like. We did not understand sanitation well. The bad flavors discouraged me and I quit brewing. Over the years I expressed to my wife that I would like to buy some better equipment and try this again.



Fast forward 40 years. SWMBO bought me a small batch brewing kit from Man Crates last Christmas. The Centennial SMASH turned out great. The yeast is US-05 for anyone that ends up here searching for that tidbit. After brewing the first batch I started researching small batch brewing on the interwebs, including this thread, and decided to try a BIAB second batch. It turned out good and I tried some more. Feeling adventurous I found a 28 barrel (882 gallon) Double Brown recipe from Biess and scaled it down to 1 gallon. It worked! I made 9 small batch beers before stepping up to 4 gallon batches using my old 5 gallon glass carboy. I’m 13 finished batches in and have not had a bad one yet. The small batches gave me a lot of experience while producing a volume of beer that I could drink without spending a lot on ingredients. I think I will cut back on batch size from 4 gallons because I don’t need several cases of beer lying around waiting for me to drink them. That is just me.

With planning I can use the carboy that came with the kit to make a 1.3 gallon batch which equals 2 six packs. My next brew attempt will be to make a 1.3 gallon California Common using methods described in this Warm Fermented Lager thread. I will then use the yeast from that to pitch into a 2.5 gallon Doppelbock. Small batch is good for me.

Here is my small batch version of the Briess Good Humans double brown recipe that I like. It is stepped up and might better be described as a Baltic Porter (8-9%). I got 8% and was unable to get it to dry out as much as the recipe calculator predicted.


Double Brown Trouble
LB
3 2 row pale malt
.6 brown malt 70L
.4 Vienna 3.5L
.4 Munich 10L
.2 Briess Victory Malt 25L
.1 Caramel Malt 80L
.05 Black Malt 500L (Used Black Barley)

Grams
5.67 Amarillo (8% AA) Pellets 60 min
8.5 Willamette (4.8% AA) Pellets 30 min
8.5 Cascade (6.6% AA) Flame out
8.5 Willamette (4.8% AA) Flame out

Procedures:
9½ quarts water heat to 164º. Add 4.75 LB malt bill (I use a bag). Mash at 156ºF for 75 min (maybe mash lower for better attenuation and I think 1 hour mash would be fine). Drain and squeeze the bag. 9 quarts wort into 60 minute boil. 1.5 gallons post boil – cool to 70º. 1.3 gallon into fermenter. 1 gallon into secondary. (I would skip the secondary now.) Adjust starting mash water volume according to your equipment to end up with 1.5 gallons post boil.

 

[InspectorJon]

For what it is worth, my small batch story:

This system doesn't seem want me to edit the above post so here is some more info on the above recipe.

My small batch version of the Briess Good Humans double brown recipe. I like it a lot. It's kind of like an imperial stout. It is stepped up from the Briess grain to mash water ratio and might better be described as a Baltic Porter (8-9%). I got 8.4% and was unable to get it to dry out as much as the recipe calculator predicted but I like brown and on the sweet side.
My Results:
OG: 1.090 FG: 1.026 IBU: 38 SRM:26

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Let us know how it comes out. That is one of the hops I've been wanting to try for a long time since my wife loves white wine.

I just had the first finished beer from this batch. I like the hop flavor and subtle aroma very much, but am not getting the white wine flavor that Nelson Sauvin is named for. The flavor and aroma remind me of Chinook, but I bittered with this hop and the bitterness is not like Chinook, I find it soft and pleasant, but still potent like Northern Brewer.

 

[Griffin495]

I just had the first finished beer from this batch. I like the hop flavor and subtle aroma very much, but am not getting the white wine flavor that Nelson Sauvin is named for. The flavor and aroma remind me of Chinook, but I bittered with this hop and the bitterness is not like Chinook, I find it soft and pleasant, but still potent like Northern Brewer.

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I brewed a one gallon batch of pale ale with all Neslson yesterday. 92% 2-row and 8% Crystal 60. Debating on whether to dry hop it or leave it as is. Around 5.3 ABV and 40 IBUs.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I brewed a one gallon batch of pale ale with all Neslson yesterday. 92% 2-row and 8% Crystal 60. Debating on whether to dry hop it or leave it as is. Around 5.3 ABV and 40 IBUs.

Today I had another one of these. I used a snifter glass rather than a tapered pint glass and also the glass wasn’t frozen like I do with my pint glasses. The slightly warmer temp plus the constricted mouth concentrated the aroma right after I poured the beer. I definitely got a white wine aroma with this beer, also pine.

I’m not sure if I would dry hop your beer. Normally, I would say, why not, but another flavor I get with this hop is a sort of tongue numbing thing. I don’t find it unpleasant at all, but I feel like there’s a flavor there that I could be genetically undisposed to tasting. If your taste buds aren’t like mine then tread lightly. I have the same experience but to a lesser degree with Galaxy and Cascade hops, so perhaps if those two are hops that taste super strong to you then don’t. But if you’re like me and say, I don’t see what everyone is so excited about with this Galaxy and Cascade then maybe put it in.

 

[Scturo]

So I’ve joined the club this week. Was using London Fog Yeast for s beer and figured I’d use the yeast on s gallon of apple juice to see what happens.