1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

[mygar]

Hey guys, I brewed my first 1 gal batch this morning and used a 1 gal carboy as a fermenter. I understand my primary fermenter should have been around 2 gal. I do have a 3 gal carboy... should I rack to that and prevent a blow out? The beer is hefe and I currently have a blow out hose set up

 

[Immocles]

When I brew small batches, I only use the 1G glass jugs. I fill them up a bit above the "ONE GALLON" writing and always start with a blow off. With a hose set up, you'll be okay unless it gets completely clogged or the stopper is actually sitting in the top of the beer. I'd ride it out the way you have it set up.

 

[HardyFool]

I do a number of things, like using converted 6qt (1.5 gal) Cambros, which I often undershoot to 1.25 gallons these days. The Big Mouth Bubblers are also like 1.3 gallons or something like that, so you can do that as well. Beyond getting an oversized fermenter (and you only really need a spare .2 gallons or so), yeah, use a blowoff tube and then replace that with an airlock

 

[mygar]

Ok thanks guys ... this is what looks like now...about 2" krauzen at this point

 

[Immocles]

Everything looks so shiny and clean! haha

I think you'll be fine. Krausen will invade the hose and the jar will get gunky and brown, but that's the point. I usually stick the hose straight into the stopper, but as long as its airtight, that set up should work as well

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I usually stick the hose straight into the stopper,

And one less thing to clean/sanitize with the approach you're suggesting.

 

[mygar]

Everything looks so shiny and clean! haha

I think you'll be fine. Krausen will invade the hose and the jar will get gunky and brown, but that's the point. I usually stick the hose straight into the stopper, but as long as its airtight, that set up should work as well

Well it's all new. And I'm a little OCD about things so it probably will look close to that as time goes on haha

 

[bleme]

Hey guys, I brewed my first 1 gal batch this morning and used a 1 gal carboy as a fermenter. I understand my primary fermenter should have been around 2 gal. I do have a 3 gal carboy... should I rack to that and prevent a blow out? The beer is hefe and I currently have a blow out hose set up

I think it was Brad Smith (creator of BeerSmith) that prefers to fill up his fermentors and use a blow-off because it blows a lot of the trub out and he believes that makes a cleaner, clearer, faster beer. There are lots of ways to get from point A to point B in this hobby. Part of the fun is figuring out what works best for you.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

For future readers, there's related information on the current topic in the other link: Beginners Beer Brewing Forum and 1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW, the Basic Brewing Radio July 30, 2020 episode ("Hop Sampler, Galaxy and Centennial Blend") has a good summary of their "hop sampler" process.

 

[mashpaddled]

Ok thanks guys ... this is what looks like now...about 2" krauzen at this pointView attachment 692034

This is generally what I do although I typically use a twelve ounce bottle instead of a mason jar. For most beers this will be a perfectly fine set up although hefe strains are especially vigorous and you'll likely see a lot of krausen blown out. Keep an eye on the density of krausen in the hose. If it gets too thick and clogs the pressure will have to go somewhere. The stopper will blow out with some force and make a mess. At least this mess is contained and not flying up a wall or onto the ceiling.

 

[mygar]

This is generally what I do although I typically use a twelve ounce bottle instead of a mason jar. For most beers this will be a perfectly fine set up although hefe strains are especially vigorous and you'll likely see a lot of krausen blown out. Keep an eye on the density of krausen in the hose. If it gets too thick and clogs the pressure will have to go somewhere. The stopper will blow out with some force and make a mess. At least this mess is contained and not flying up a wall or onto the ceiling.

Some foam came out as expected. Nothing the Mason jar could not handle. This the 4th day and just some regular burping. Removed the blow off hose and just using the 3 piece now. So all good

 

[mygar]

Hi I am planning to brew again tomorrow. My first ever batch, I just poured my wort through a strainer sitting on top of a funnel into my carboy. I do have a siphon... is it better to rack than the pour? What do most 1 galloners do?

 

[Joshua Hughes]

Hi I am planning to brew again tomorrow. My first ever batch, I just poured my wort through a strainer sitting on top of a funnel into my carboy. I do have a siphon... is it better to rack than the pour? What do most 1 galloners do?

Pour what? The finished beer to a bottle? Don’t do that

 

[mygar]

Pour what? The finished beer to a bottle? Don’t do that

Uh maybe i was not clear. I was asking... should i pour wort from my kettle thru a strainer/funnel into my carboy... or use a siphon? Which is best or most commonly done?

 

[Joshua Hughes]

I use a strainer and pour. You get areation that Way to help yeast. I would not use a siphon for that

 

[HemanBrew]

Thumbs up for pouring (after cooling)

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

With Little BMBs & 2 gal pails, I just pour it in - the dry yeast strains that I use don't require aeration. For narrow neck (1 gal) carboys, I use a (properly sanitized) funnel. When I use a one gal carboy, it's a six-pack test batch - so I don't filter trub.

 

[slurms]

After many brews using my "batch sparge" method (i.e., pouring wort+grain through colander into another kettle after the mash, put grain back into first kettle, pour sparge water into it and let it sit for a bit, combine and boil), I've tried my luck with BIAB.

I made the bags on my own but are a bit too narrow for the pot I'm using. Probably not the worst thing in the world. However, I was dumb this morning and just lowered the bag full of grains into the strike water... Of course it's a fine crush so no water could penetrate the playdough outer layer of the grain, the only part of the lump of grain that got wet.......

Ended up just dumping the grains into the pot and using a whisk to stir and break up any clumps. This is the thinnest mash I've ever seen and just hoping for the best. I'm not too concerned here given that many people use BIAB with the full boil volume (and a thinner mash most likely), but I guess it just goes to show that a small change in your process can mess with your head. Anyway, at least there will be some sort of beer in the end.

 

[Samudell]

After many brews using my "batch sparge" method (i.e., pouring wort+grain through colander into another kettle after the mash, put grain back into first kettle, pour sparge water into it and let it sit for a bit, combine and boil), I've tried my luck with BIAB.

I made the bags on my own but are a bit too narrow for the pot I'm using. Probably not the worst thing in the world. However, I was dumb this morning and just lowered the bag full of grains into the strike water... Of course it's a fine crush so no water could penetrate the playdough outer layer of the grain, the only part of the lump of grain that got wet.......

Ended up just dumping the grains into the pot and using a whisk to stir and break up any clumps. This is the thinnest mash I've ever seen and just hoping for the best. I'm not too concerned here given that many people use BIAB with the full boil volume (and a thinner mash most likely), but I guess it just goes to show that a small change in your process can mess with your head. Anyway, at least there will be some sort of beer in the end.

When I start slowing dumping my grains in the bag, I use a whisk to mix in and don't have any issues with dough balls.

 

[slurms]

When I start slowing dumping my grains in the bag, I use a whisk to mix in and don't have any issues with dough balls.

That's what I normally do, but I guess I just had a brainfart or something. Oh well.

Though, this time I decided to crush the grains finer (smallest the mill goes) since I knew I'd get better extract efficiency. Normally I get 70%, this time I got ~85%. So this 5.5% ABV is turning closer to 7%. Not that I truly care, but I was trying to do a British IPA so I wanted to keep the ABV down towards 5ish. Heating up to boil as I type, so maybe I'll just boil less and leave more trub in the kettle before transferring to cut down the sugars.

 

[Immocles]

Yeah, that'll happen when dialing in a new process. My stovetop 1G batches are always a bit higher than my 2.5-4G brews. I did something similar with my mill. I was getting a slightly lower % for a few consecutive brews and noticed the plate had slipped slightly. Retightened and gave it an extra half turn and jacked my efficiency by an unexpected amount. That was a hefty porter....

 

[HardyFool]

I used to pour into a funnel with a built-in strainer, but that took forever to get through the filter, so for a while I'd just dump the whole thing in, maybe leaving behind the last few oz and the hop "lees" - these days, I use a kettle with a ball valve and pump, which is LIT, but until you break out the power drill and weldless valve kit, dumping straight in is a totally legit move, and there's heated debate but the trub probably won't make a detectable difference until you're making the GOOD ****, and even then

 

[mygar]

I did my second batch (myself) this morning ... 1 gallon. So the learning lessons I took away from my first batch were:

1. Measure your initial vol correctly
2. Have extra boiled/sanitized water at room temp at hand.. until you have your system figured out anyway...
3. And if doing extract dont hold bag over steam too long when stirring in lol.

So second batch... I made sure I measured correctly my initial water vol of 1.25 gal .however still almost 3 cups short of 1 gal. So my boil off rate little higher than expected. But since I had sanitized water ready... no big deal. Seems I measured correctly my first batch?

Also... I am going through my bottled 5 gal batch (very first ever with help) quicker than expected... my wife likes it... and with myself and family coming over tomorrow... well this keeps up.. oh no... will run out soon.

So next batch up will be 2.5g octoberfest I think.

Cheers!

 

[Stas StoLat]

While I have 17 and 40 gallon fermenters, I have enjoyed paring down to a 3.5-4 gallon fermenter. Life has changed for me and big parties occur less often so the small batch experience was an outgrowth of making too much beer (IKR?). I too, have come to truly enjoy the small scale for a couple reasons. First if a kit is on sale I can grab it at a discount and just use it with less water. The result is higher ABV and adjust the hops to taste. Second, is that a bag of grain lasts a long time. Third, a standard packet of yeast generally ferments the wort in two days (and even a day with if you recycle the yeast). Cold crash the over night and bottle day 3, no secondary. I can turn around a pils on Sunday and stout on Wednesday. The result is now that I have more beer than I can drink, but I have 6 different beers rather than one or two to share.

/Cheers to the small batch!

 

[mygar]

I'm due to bottle a one gallon batch soon... right from primary carboy. Last time I did this I tried to tilt the carboy to create a well.. I'm thinking i disturbed the sediment more to my liking and some went to the bottle. Do you guys create a well also.... or not?

 

[slurms]

Do you guys create a well also.... or not?

I'll do this when I rack from the primary into what I bottle from (bucket or carboy). I'd suggest if you are doing this (especially bottling directly from the primary), see if you can get it slightly tilted before hand so any sediment can settle out. Just, you know, be careful and don't knock the primary over...

And of course, once you see some sediment getting sucked up, stop filling. Chances are that bottle won't be full so you probably don't want to cap it anyway. Use that for finding the FG or just drink it if you want.

 

[HemanBrew]

I bottle from the primary using hopsock on siphon (in). Works good

 

[Elric]

I'm due to bottle a one gallon batch soon... right from primary carboy. Last time I did this I tried to tilt the carboy to create a well.. I'm thinking i disturbed the sediment more to my liking and some went to the bottle. Do you guys create a well also.... or not?

Tilt the carboy an hour or so before you plan to bottle so that what you disturb has time to resettle. Also helps to make sure to move it as gently as possible so there is less disturbed to begin with.

 

[mygar]

Ok thanks guys. I did the suggestions offered above and will begin bottling soon. Seems like a good wood working project would to be to make a little tilt stand