1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[jimdkc]

I've had good luck pitching a half-pack of dry yeast per 1 to 1.3 gallon batch. I then fold over the pack, clip it closed and save it in the fridge for the next batch (this is against all advice... but I've not had any issues doing it!)

If I'm going to be brewing the week after bottling, I'll save the yeast after racking the beer off for bottling or kegging. I pour a cup of distilled water into the fermenter, swirl and save it in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week. At brew time, I let it come to room temp, pour off most of the clear liquid, give it another swirl and pitch.

I haven't gone beyond 3rd generation (yet!), but that means I get up to 6 batches from 1 pack of yeast.

I plan on starting to brew some lagers, and I'll probably use a full pack of dry yeast per batch.

 

[bwible]

I was just pointing out that yeast drives up cost more (relative) when brewing smaller batches.

What does a grain bill for a one gallon batch look like? 2.25 pounds of grain and one ounce of hops? Average grain price is about 1.80 a pound so 2.25 x 1.80 is 4.05. 2 for hops. Dry yeast is $5, liquid yeast is $8. So 11.05 with dry yeast, 14.05 with liquid yeast. A gallon should give you (10) 12 oz bottles. So thats 1.10 or 1.40 a bottle. That actually is better than you can buy it for or real close.

I use liquid yeast because I brew English beers. I like to brew what I can’t buy easily. When I brew 3 gallons, its 6.5 pounds times 1.80 is 11.70. And I need 2 oz of hops that I won’t use all of but I need 2 different varieties. So thats another 4 for 15.70. If I use dry yeast it goes to 20.70. Liquid yeast goes to 23.70. 3 gallons is 30 bottles, so for me its .69 a bottle with dry yeast or .79 a bottle with liquid yeast. I can’t buy it for that.

I’m not telling anyone to step up or anything - but this is why I settled on 3 gallon batches years ago. 30 bottles is a case and a six pack.

At a one gallon level, the yeast cost difference is .30 a bottle. At a 3 gallon level the yeast cost difference is .10 a bottle. So I don’t care and I use what I want. Both kinds of yeast can be re-used to lower the cost of the next batch.

I think the math gets better with 5 gallon batches, but I won’t go through it - as I think many here say.

Costs can be further reduced by buying grains by the sack (which I do) or hops by the pound (which I don’t do).

 

[OnePlate]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

 

[Immocles]

I've had good luck pitching a half-pack of dry yeast per 1 to 1.3 gallon batch. I then fold over the pack, clip it closed and save it in the fridge for the next batch (this is against all advice... but I've not had any issues doing it!)

If I'm going to be brewing the week after bottling, I'll save the yeast after racking the beer off for bottling or kegging. I pour a cup of distilled water into the fermenter, swirl and save it in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week. At brew time, I let it come to room temp, pour off most of the clear liquid, give it another swirl and pitch.

I haven't gone beyond 3rd generation (yet!), but that means I get up to 6 batches from 1 pack of yeast.

I plan on starting to brew some lagers, and I'll probably use a full pack of dry yeast per batch.

I do very similar. 1/3 of a pack when using fresh yeast and save at least two small mason jars from most brews. I don't put any distilled water into the fermenter though, just leave the yeast on the beer. I've had luck directly pitching these jars into future batches a couple months later with no starter, as well. I think the furthest out I went was ~3 months. In a few weeks I will be brewing a dunkelweizen with 3068 yeast from last August. I'm a bit leery about that, but I have a backup plan as well.

I also haven't gone beyond the 3rd generation. I get skittish at that point about it haha. But I do think it would be perfectly fine.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

Thanks! This matches a lot of what I have read wrt five gallon batches and from what I read, it looked like the techniques would scale down without problems.

 

[mashpaddled]

I was just pointing out that yeast drives up cost more (relative) when brewing smaller batches.

What does a grain bill for a one gallon batch look like? 2.25 pounds of grain and one ounce of hops? Average grain price is about 1.80 a pound so 2.25 x 1.80 is 4.05. 2 for hops. Dry yeast is $5, liquid yeast is $8. So 11.05 with dry yeast, 14.05 with liquid yeast. A gallon should give you (10) 12 oz bottles. So thats 1.10 or 1.40 a bottle. That actually is better than you can buy it for or real close.

I use liquid yeast because I brew English beers. I like to brew what I can’t buy easily. When I brew 3 gallons, its 6.5 pounds times 1.80 is 11.70. And I need 2 oz of hops that I won’t use all of but I need 2 different varieties. So thats another 4 for 15.70. If I use dry yeast it goes to 20.70. Liquid yeast goes to 23.70. 3 gallons is 30 bottles, so for me its .69 a bottle with dry yeast or .79 a bottle with liquid yeast. I can’t buy it for that.

I’m not telling anyone to step up or anything - but this is why I settled on 3 gallon batches years ago. 30 bottles is a case and a six pack.

At a one gallon level, the yeast cost difference is .30 a bottle. At a 3 gallon level the yeast cost difference is .10 a bottle. So I don’t care and I use what I want. Both kinds of yeast can be re-used to lower the cost of the next batch.

I think the math gets better with 5 gallon batches, but I won’t go through it - as I think many here say.

Costs can be further reduced by buying grains by the sack (which I do) or hops by the pound (which I don’t do).

An easy work around here is when you buy a liquid strain put a small amount in a starter to build up to what you need for the current beer and put the rest in a mason jar with wort. Once the mason jar ferments out keep it in the fridge. Next time you need yeast pour off some of the beer, transfer out some of the yeast from the jar to a starter and refill the mason jar with fresh wort. That will keep a clean culture available to you at all times for the cost of six ounces of wort per batch which, accounting for wort in the mason jar and your starter is what, fifty cents for the entire batch?

 

[jimdkc]

I do very similar. 1/3 of a pack when using fresh yeast and save at least two small mason jars from most brews. I don't put any distilled water into the fermenter though, just leave the yeast on the beer.

The water just allows me to swirl the yeast from the bottom the fermenter and pour it more easily. Kinda works like a mini-wash...

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Even a 1 gallon batch of beer will grow enough yeast for three typical strength batches. Storage of slurry is simple and takes no special equipment. Same with making a starter (using the shaken-not-stirred method.) Aside from the initial cost and a few grams of DME if you need it for a starter, yeast can be pretty much free indefinitely.

Looks like this topic (started yesterday, a couple of days after your reply) also may be helpful to anyone brewing < 5 gal batches: Can I salvage an opened package of liquid yeast?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[BongoYodeler]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

Was wondering the same thing.

 

[OnePlate]

I doubt there would be enough headspace, especially if you use a yeast strain that produces large amounts of krausen.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I doubt there would be enough headspace, especially if you use a yeast strain that produces large amounts of krausen.

FWIW, the TILT FAQ states that "... 95% of the device is submerged in the beer."

Still looking for people who have actually done this:

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[HardyFool]

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

I've thought a lot about doing this since I'm lazy and don't want to manually take refractometer samples every day, and my current problem with it is its purported loose accuracy - if I'm gonna drop $100+ on a gizmo, I'd hope it'd be within +/- .002 vis a vis gravity, with minimal calibration

That said, if it works on larger systems, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on a smaller scale. The kräusen height, in my experience, is a bit smaller on my 1 gallon batches than 5 or 10 gallon batches, so if that doesn't mess up the readings on larger systems, it should work just as well for us, and obviously there's enough room for it to float around in even a quart-sized batch

And the tilt looks like ~100mL-200mL, but that's conjecture; you can reverse engineer it from the specs since it's a cylinder if need be

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

That said, if it works on larger systems, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on a smaller scale.

Problem is that not everything "scales down" from 5 gal to 1-ish gal batches (for example, floating hydrometers in a carboy).

You observations are reasonable and are worthy of further thought. That being said, still looking for people who have actually done this:

Little BMB + TILT for SG measurements in "1 gallon" batches?!?

Anyone here actually doing this?

If so, how much wort/beer does the TILT displace?

Still able to brew 1.25 gal in the Little BMB?

 

[RevA]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

 

[HardyFool]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

Sadly I can't directly comment on the core of the question, which is - can you brew two (identical in recipe) batches back to back and have them taste the same? Because I haven't done so (yet)

But I can say that my efficiencies have been within, surprisingly, 1% since my most recent set of upgrades many months back (with one exception at 5% - it was a low gravity mild, so...maybe that's a factor?), which is to say: I think wort production is reasonably repeatable if you, as I do, keep your process simple (I suspect batch sparging with a single sparge dose helps with consistency), and are flexible with your boil times (most beers I like call for, or allow, a single ~60 minute addition, so I can give or take 10 minutes to hit the numbers should my boil rate be a touch high or low)

However, god only knows re: fermentation. Pitch rates remain tricky for me, to the point where I just calculate what fraction of a smack pack or White Labs vial to pitch, and eat the cost each time (no US ales generally, or I'd use US-05 like all the time), oxygenation is somewhat imprecise (I have yet to install an inline flow rate meter, though tossing in an aquarium pump til equilibrium is reached would be great for consistency - though if memory serves I've read that that takes about an hour), and you'd need a thermowell to really have stable, consistent fermentations, all of which is doable but, as the kids would say, extra af

Then, there's packaging. Again, I don't trust priming sugar enough to call it batch-to-batch consistent, so you're stuck cold crashing and/or fining, racking to keg, carbonating (highly consistent if your keg temps are), and bottling or serving draft

Should you do all that, I think you'd be good. Again, I think wort production wouldn't be the issue, but fermentation and packaging would be where I suspect you'd quite simply have to drop some cash on gear (if you don't have those things) to get consistency. But hey, if your basement is +/- 1 degree, and you prime with the exact same amount of sugar, maybe you'd have nearly as good consistency!

And should I brew two identical beers back to back (I'm workshopping a Kölsch, so it's a distinct possibility if I'm ever happy with it), I'll give 'em a taste side by side (maybe even triangle), and toss it on here

 

[HardyFool]

Oh, and if you're concerned at all about hops, no it probably doesn't matter (except quite possibly in a sour with a, if memory serves, ~5 IBU rule-of-thumb limit), but I have a .01g scale, which you definitely need if you want to treat ~1-2 gal of distilled or RO water anyway, which is overkill even for the amount of hops in a gallon batch

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Someone mentioned that it is not really possible [for them] to brew consistent batches on a small scale.

It's a third party claim, so I'll accept their claim that they can't do it.

Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

In terms of measuring ingredients, scales exist for measuring small amounts of dry ingredients accurately. Water volumes can also be measured accurately in various containers.

Measure hops in grams, rather than ounces, to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

I find that I am able to consistently brew gallon-ish batches of beer that I enjoy. And when I brew the same recipe again, I consistently get an enjoyable batch of beer.

 

[RevA]

It's a third party claim, so I'll accept their claim that they can't do it.



In terms of measuring ingredients, scales exist for measuring small amounts of dry ingredients accurately. Water volumes can also be measured accurately in various containers.

Measure hops in grams, rather than ounces, to improve the accuracy of the measurement.

I find that I am able to consistently brew gallon-ish batches of beer that I enjoy. And when I brew the same recipe again, I consistently get an enjoyable batch of beer.

Thanks, I use my reloading scale that measures in 10ths of a gram so I'm fairly sure I could put the same amount of hops into a batch. Kinda figured it is one of those cases of if you don't do it the way I do, it can't be consistent.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

I brew my 1 gal batches for experimental purposes, so I am not generally striving for consistency or great beers, but I can see the challenges...

If you want to make great and consistent 1 gal batches, you have to focus on quality just like a large batch brewer, with less room for error. Measuring ingredients is a start. Getting water volumes near exact is another. Then you need to apply the same principles to make great small batches: temp control, controlling oxidation, water chemistry/pH, fresh ingredients, etc.

When I am looking to brew quality small batches, I turn to my 2.5 gal batch size. I am willing to devote my fermentation chamber to one or two 3 gal fermenters. The biggest reason is that I have a pair of 2.6 gal kegs and I can do closed transfers into the keg. I have always struggled to get quality bottled beer. Oxidation is often a problem and consistent carbonation the other.

This thread has given me some ideas to improve the quality of my bottled beers, so it might push me to move some of my hoppy beer experiments to 1 gal or less batches: Limiting oxidation: effect of purging headspace O2 in a bottle conditioned IPA

 

[BongoYodeler]

I'm curious about something. I've been brewing one gallon batches for about six years, but almost never brew the same recipe back to back, often I will only repeat a recipe when I drank the last bottle of that specific batch. Someone mentioned that it is not really possible to brew consistent batches on a small scale. Does anyone have info on whether one can really be consistent on a small scale, where a fraction of an ounce of Hops can make a huge difference in IBU's?

I recenty brewed the same recipe on three consective days. The only thing I changed was the hops used in each. I bought 10 lbs of base grain (2-row) and used 3.33 lbs in each of the first two and 3.50 lbs in the third as there was a shade more than 10 lbs in the bag which I didn't actually weigh initially. I briefly thought about using only 3.33 lbs of the final 3.50 but decided to throw it all in.

Numbers for each:
SG: 1.050, 1.049, 1.051
OG: 1.064, 1.062, 1.064
FG: 1.014, 1.014, 1.014

So, they were all quite close, and likely within the margin of error considering the manual process of biab as opposed to a more automated brew process.

The hopping amounts and times were the same for all three, as was the dry hopping amounts and days.

The color appeared to be very close between all three, but I'll know better when I pour them side-by-side.

They were bottled on three consective days and in the same order they were brewed. I'm shooting to open a bottle of each on or around the 2 1/2 week mark of being bottled, which is the weekend of May 9/10.

 

[HemanBrew]

Idea for small batch brewer's to take SG measurements without oxidation.

Do a "side batch" from the same wort so that you can make fg measurements from there without oxidizing the main batch. And you get some more beer (and you can compare how much the oxidation effects the final beer).

I have done this few times now.

And when the side batch has reached its FG I can compete it to the main batch to make shure it is all fermented completely.

Anyone else done this?

Any thoughts?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Any thoughts?

Looks like an interesting approach for those who ferment with one gallon carboys.

 

[Antonio Martinez]

Looks like an interesting approach for those who ferment with one gallon carboys.

I do something similar with a extra hydrometer & flask I have so I get constant gravity readings. No airlock. Plus it takes less volume since I'm only using enough to float the hydrometer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I do something similar with a extra hydrometer & flask I have so I get constant gravity readings. No airlock. Plus it takes less volume since I'm only using enough to float the hydrometer.

Do you have photos you can share?

 

[Antonio Martinez]

Do you have photos you can share?

I don't have anything fermenting at the moment as I just bottled up a batch. What I do though is pull a sample after I have added, oxygenated, and mixed the yeast and add this to the hydrometer flask and place it in the ferm chamber with my fermenter. When the hydrometer sample reaches my anticipated fg I give it a couple days to be sure there's no change and then package.

 

[OnePlate]

I use a refractometer. Simple, no waste, effortless final gravity estimate via online calculator.

 

[Shawnstve]

I’m new to this, and starting out with 1 gallon batches. I really like the smaller size. Might want to do some 2-3 gallons at one point to get more out of a specific recipe I really like or something. But for now, I’m enjoying the versatility. I have two batches going right now. A simple porter and a low hop IPA or high hop pale ale. (It’s right on the cusp of both). Anyway, it allows me to try different recipes and see how much I enjoy all this without feeling like I’ve gotta guzzle so much beer to be able to have room for the next batch. Lol!

also for the hydrometer issue of loosing so much of your beer. I have been sanitizing it and checking the gravity right before putting in fermenter, then since it’s sanitized, drooping that liquid back in. Seems like it’s working so far. Although I saw on northern brewer they have a hydrometer you sanitize and then leave in the carboy... that looks awesome! But it’s pricy!

 

[DaleO]

My suggestions were more along the lines of bringing together a sub-community of people with a common interest; properly scaled recipes, smaller equipment, etc... just an idea.

I would be interested in that! Currently only brewing 1 gallon BIABs because it allows me to brew more frequently.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Although I saw on northern brewer they have a hydrometer you sanitize and then leave in the carboy... that looks awesome! But it’s pricy!

If you are referring to TILT, this is an interesting read: TIL that Tilt Hydrometers don't fit in 1 gallon carboys

There appears to be a hydrometer that will float in a one gallon carboy - whether or not one can read it with all the crud that's often on the top of the carboy during fermentation is the next question.