1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What about that huge headspace!?! Oxidation?

My "hop sampler" batches (six packs) are not around long enough to develop off flavors due to oxygen exposure. The good ones remain good for a couple of weeks. The bad ones get dumped quickly.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

What about that huge headspace!?! Oxidation?

Hopefully it is not an issue. I will likely not open the fermenter until I am ready to bottle and just give fermentation some extra time to finish.

These ones better? My Friday night plans changes and what is a guy to do...but brew some more beer?? The Hallertauer vs Hersbrucker shootout. (I will admit that the German hop naming convention confuses me.)

The motivation for these batches were 1) I am planning to brew a few Belgian beers this year and wanted to try out some common hops 2) I have some harvested WLP530 that I want to build up and 3) I wanted to see how I liked WLP530 in a Single-style beer (I loved it in a Dubbel last year). WLP530 can be an aggressive fermenter, so hopefully I have enough headroom in these. I will swap to a bung and airlock once fermentation starts to slow.

These are just 1 lb Pilsner DME, 3.5 quarts of water pre-boil (to target 3 quarts post boil), 20 min boil with 0.5 oz hops at 20 min, and 0.5 oz hops at 2 min. The other batches were the same with just using Pale Ale DME instead.

 

[ba-brewer]

Hopefully it is not an issue. I will likely not open the fermenter until I am ready to bottle and just give fermentation some extra time to finish.

These ones better? My Friday night plans changes and what is a guy to do...but brew some more beer?? The Hallertauer vs Hersbrucker shootout. (I will admit that the German hop naming convention confuses me.)

The motivation for these batches were 1) I am planning to brew a few Belgian beers this year and wanted to try out some common hops 2) I have some harvested WLP530 that I want to build up and 3) I wanted to see how I liked WLP530 in a Single-style beer (I loved it in a Dubbel last year). WLP530 can be an aggressive fermenter, so hopefully I have enough headroom in these. I will swap to a bung and airlock once fermentation starts to slow.

These are just 1 lb Pilsner DME, 3.5 quarts of water pre-boil (to target 3 quarts post boil), 20 min boil with 0.5 oz hops at 20 min, and 0.5 oz hops at 2 min. The other batches were the same with just using Pale Ale DME instead.


View attachment 665651

I have a collect of seasonal yeasts that is starting to get challenging to keep current. I thought instead of doing full batches I would start doing some small batches to verify the yeast is true instead of full sized ones. The first two were a simple bitter with a single hop addition. Was actually surprised how good the first two came out. I did a 20min boil of 1.5gal and split it between two fermenters. Sure makes for a quick brew day.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Goose Island Sweet Porter....

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Cracked open a Hefeweizen from a gallon brewer. One week carbonation. More clove then banana. However, banana finish. I have a way to go in brewing an exceptional beer.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

First 48. Most active brew I have made to date. Maybe a blow off tube is necessary. Keeping tabs on that. Goose Island Sweet Porter.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Maybe a blow off tube is necessary. Keeping tabs on that.

So far, I haven't needed blow-off tubes when I brew 1 gal batches in Little BMBs.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

So far, I haven't needed blow-off tubes when I brew 1 gal batches in Little BMBs.

Me either. I love this BMB. Just checked it. All is well. Bubbling and swirling like mad! Hope it turns out well.

 

[BongoYodeler]

So far, I haven't needed blow-off tubes when I brew 1 gal batches in Little BMBs.

Me either. When I do 1 gallon batches I typically add the wort right up to the line just above where the temperature strip is on the above Pic. I think that's right around 1.25 gallons. Never had a blow out yet. I usually use US-05 and ferment at around 63 degrees F. until most of the extremely active fermentation subsides.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Me either. When I do 1 gallon batches I typically add the wort right up to the line just above where the temperature strip is on the above Pic. I think that's right around 1.25 gallons. Never had a blow out yet. I usually use US-05 and ferment at around 63 degrees F. until most of the extremely active fermentation subsides.

Love 1 gallon brewing!

 

[OnePlate]

Maybe a blow off tube is necessary. Keeping tabs on that.

You probably won't need a blow-off. I frequently fill my Little BMBs to the top of that last ridge or sometimes a bit further and I only sometimes need a blow-off and that's because I use yeast with large krausens, such as Voss or Wyeast 2565. It's amazing how much beer you can fit in those little things. 12 full bottles is easily doable.

 

[ba-brewer]

wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes yeast is another that might be hard to do without a blowoff tube.

 

[McKnuckle]

Hey, did you steal my fermenter? And my beer?!

Here's an oatmeal stout trial recipe in the works. WLP004 (Irish ale) is pretty much done with active fermentation after only 3 days.

Little BMB FTW!

 

[Leezer]

I didn’t realize they came with a spigot. I love my Little BMBs , but a spigot sure would be handy.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I didn’t realize they came with a spigot. I love my Little BMBs , but a spigot sure would be handy.

I noticed that too. I don't believe that was an option when I bought my three. They do seem to be located a bit higher than I would have preferred, at least they look a bit high to me.

 

[McKnuckle]

I've only bottled from mine once so far, but the spigot height was fine. You can let it ride until the last bottle, then just prop up the opposite end and gently tilt it to fill. When finished, all the crud is left behind and only a splash of beer. I initially played around with fitting a pickup tube on the inside, but simple proved best in this case.

They call this the "siphonless" BMB, BTW.

 

[Immocles]

Dry hopped my mosaic pale ale. This is why I need one of those fancy little bmbs....

 

[Immocles]

Just racked that pale ale over to my ukeg. I now understand why mosaic is so popular. Wow. And crystal clear as well.

 

[Buick Beer Gardens]

Hefeweizen and brown ale doing its thing.
View attachment 663505

Wow! The Hefeweizen has been carbonating for just shy of two weeks. Been in the frig since last night. I offered a bottle to try to my daughter and her boyfriend. I wanted an opinion. They both said the beer was crisp and the best Hefeweizen they have had. He polished off two more in short order. It's a good feeling.

 

[MentalThinking]

I absolutely adore the look of those LBMB's - though when I went looking to see if any Canadian retailers stocked them, I came up empty. I don't suppose anyone in Western Canada has got a hookup?

I also found some (admittedly old) posts from a few different homebrew sources that talk about LBMB like they're accidents waiting to happen - can anyone here who uses them for their one gallon brews attest to the current iteration's value?

I'm looking to start brewing for literally the first time come spring, and I'm doing my research before I get started - the plan is to keep it simple and do stovetop BIAB. I've read a great deal on the topic - here and elsewhere - and I'm positive it's the best method for me.

I'm thinking I'll brew, ferment, and then bottle directly out of the fermenter to keep my equipment and space requirements to an absolute minimum. I'd love input from other space starved brewers as I get ready to gear up!

 

[McKnuckle]

Large glass vessels filled with gallons of beer (heavy!) are all an accident waiting to happen. I have seen the same warnings about earlier BMBs, but they're all associated with the large ones. I can't see that being an issue with the little one. I've only got 2 brews in it so far, but it's the easiest small fermenter I've used. The properly sealing lid, wide opening, integrated airlock, screw-on cap, and spigot - especially the spigot - make it a breeze to use.

Yes, you use it as a primary, let the beer finish and settle, attach a bottling wand with a short length of hose to the spigot, and off you go directly into bottles. Weigh out priming sugar with a 0.1 gram scale, and tip it into each bottle individually with either a small funnel or a folded piece of paper.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I absolutely adore the look of those LBMB's - though when I went looking to see if any Canadian retailers stocked them, I came up empty. I don't suppose anyone in Western Canada has got a hookup?

I believe that the LBMB are a Northern Brewer exclusive. I have seen a Mr Beer version that is similar. Fermonster has a 1 gal fermenter, but I think it maxes out at around 1.2 gals. Maybe better than a 1 gal jug, but not as nice as the 1.5 gal LBMB.

I'm looking to start brewing for literally the first time come spring, and I'm doing my research before I get started - the plan is to keep it simple and do stovetop BIAB. I've read a great deal on the topic - here and elsewhere - and I'm positive it's the best method for me.

I know this is the "1 gal" thread, but I am a huge fan of 2 to 2.5 gal batches. I do 2.5 gal stove top BIAB using a 5 gal kettle and a 3 gal Fermonster. I also have some 10L/2.6 gal kegs, but bottling a smaller batch is not too much work.

 

[MentalThinking]

I know this is the "1 gal" thread, but I am a huge fan of 2 to 2.5 gal batches. I do 2.5 gal stove top BIAB using a 5 gal kettle and a 3 gal Fermonster. I also have some 10L/2.6 gal kegs, but bottling a smaller batch is not too much work.

I'm likely going to stick with one gallon, not because I disagree with you, but because space is limited - both for fermenting and later for storing the bottled brews, refrigerated or otherwise. One gallon also allows me to try all the tasty recipes I've come across while doing my research

Plus, I'm trying to eat healthier and generally be more active these days, and while picking up homebrew as a hobby isn't likely to *help* that effort, limiting my pipeline is likely to make me more conservative in my consumption.

... maybe. Haha.

 

[McKnuckle]

I exercise 6 days a week, and drink one pint per day. So I hear ya. It's far too easy to sample your homebrew all the time, especially if it's on tap!

I brew 2.5 gallon batches which get packaged in kegs of the same size, but I also try out recipes with a 1 gallon target volume. I bottle those in 500 mL swing-tops, so I'll get 6-8 per batch which is perfect. This way if I have a dumper, it's no great loss. And there's something around the house to take to BYOB restaurants as well.

 

[ba-brewer]

I have a 1gal fermonster, they are easy to clean and you can get them ported to have a spigot. The non ported version has a build in dimple to make adding one later easier. The lid o-ring is a bit tricky to get in the groove.

 

[MentalThinking]

I have a 1gal fermonster, they are easy to clean and you can get them ported to have a spigot. The non ported version has a build in dimple to make adding one later easier. The lid o-ring is a bit tricky to get in the groove.

Honestly, this is probably what I'll go for - I love the size and look of the LBMB, but easy cleaning, less weight, and plastic that is most definitely not going to shatter if I drop it is probably the best option. That and I have no interest in ordering a product from the states if I don't have to.

Do you find it works well for 1 gallon batches? I know it doesn't have quite as much extra headspace as the LBMB, but it seems fine, on paper.

 

[user 263363]

I don’t know what the rules are link wise around here, but I just saw amazon has 1.5 gal mr. beer glass fermenters with spigot for 17.99. They look just like the LBMBs.

 

[MentalThinking]

I don’t know what the rules are link wise around here, but I just saw amazon has 1.5 gal mr. beer glass fermenters with spigot for 17.99. They look just like the LBMBs.

I found them - though oddly not when I specifically searched for them, they showed up in a 'related' option, haha - but the seller doesn't ship to Canada, so that's a no go. Pity, because almost every single Canadian fermenting option in the size I want doesn't seem to come with a spigot

I found a two gallon BrewDemon conical that looks lovely, but I definitely don't have the space for it. The one gallon Fermonster is available to me, but only without the spigot. Canadians drink a lot of beer! I'm sort of disappointed at the lack of options I'm finding for gear.

 

[ba-brewer]

Honestly, this is probably what I'll go for - I love the size and look of the LBMB, but easy cleaning, less weight, and plastic that is most definitely not going to shatter if I drop it is probably the best option. That and I have no interest in ordering a product from the states if I don't have to.

Do you find it works well for 1 gallon batches? I know it doesn't have quite as much extra headspace as the LBMB, but it seems fine, on paper.

I have not done a full 1gal batch in this about .8gal I think. The picture is with 1gal of water inside, I was able to add another pint of water before it spilled over the edge. I would start with a blow off tube if I filled it up to 1gal until I knew what to expect from a given yeast and recipe.

 

[McKnuckle]

It's super easy to find a container to ferment 1 gallon batches in. The trick comes if you want a "proper" fermenter, with a sealable lid, airlock compatible, and the elusive spigot. The Mr. Beer setup is annoying because it really has a faucet, not a spigot; a hose won't attach easily to it, and it has no locked OFF setting.

The BrewDemon actually has a seam right down the center of the cone where the tap is. I had one, and it leaked there. Another donation to the homebrew junk pile.

One of the simplest fermenters for 1 gallon is just a 2 gallon bucket with lid. You can easily drill a hole and attach your own spigot if you like.