1g-3g recipe ideas

[STL_Lucas]

I'm starting to move into All Grain and putting a few recipes together for some 1g - 3g batches. The idea is to brew more often with less cost and less beer. Why less beer you ask? Because I can't brew a 5 gallon batch every week and find a way to drink it all without giving it all away. Smaller batches = more brew time.

What I want to do is plan different recipes with similar yeast and/or hops so I don't waste them or let them go bad. Obviously if I'm going to brew two 3 gallon batches or a few 1 g batches I'm going to have some left over yeast and hops so I'm trying to find beers that will be different but use the same yeast and/or hops, specialty malts etc. That being said what are a couple combos that would pair well but be different so i can make some more efficient use of fresh ingredients and less waste? Thanks!

 

[stonecutter2]

Try various SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hops) combinations - Either same hops across all recipes or same malt with different hops.

Crystal 40 + Cascade hops
Crystal 60 + Cascade hops

or...

Crystal 40 + Centennial hops
Crystal 40 + Cascade hops

This means you get variety in small batches to compare the combinations - and you're not making so much that if you're not a huge fan, you have to give it away much.

 

[stonecutter2]

You could also vary your all grain technique to see the effects on the final product - try different rest periods, or skip certains rests.

I will also add that when i do 1 gallon batches, I tend to actually do 2 separate gallon batches because then you can cut a dry yeast packet in half and use 1/2 in each gallon, instead of wasting 1/2 of the packet, taking the chance using the 2nd half will get spoiled/infected, or overpitching.

 

[STL_Lucas]

Thanks guys this is exactly what I was looking for. With the yeast that was exactly what I planned to do was to make similar batches to split the packet with. Great idea on the smash as well. Seems like a really good idea to try different hops on the same grain bill. Thanks again and any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ddrrseio]

nice!

i do a lot of 3/4gal batches. i chose this size so i can ferment in gallon glass jugs with a #6 stopper. i also have a taylor syrup tank that i turned into a gallon keg, but you could, of course, still bottle normally.

a SMASH or any single hop IPA is a great choice for this size. i will also test small variations in more complex grain bills or hop bills to dial in my recipes in parallel rather than in sequence. it's hard to compare two batches that are made weeks or months apart, but it's very easy to compare two that you made the same day!

in case you are already not washing or otherwise growing/saving your own yeast, you should do this. adding $7 in yeast to $2 in grain makes for some expensive beers. it's very easy to estimate your pitch using some teaspoon fractions.

 

[Mike4Rye]

There are quite a few british isle beer styles you can make starting with a mash of all maris otter. You can then split the mash into smaller boil kettles and steep specialty grains, use different hop schedules, or even boil some of it down to a syrup for a wee heavy.

Using the same base malt and hops you could better identify just how your technique or specialty grains affect the final beer.

Also, if you ferment 3/4 gallon in a 1 gallon jug you can bottle it in a growler and a bottle or two to seriously save effort during bottling. You should be able to drink it fast enough that it won't go flat.

 

[STL_Lucas]

Awesome! Thanks the for the tips guys. I'm ordering some stuff tonight to start doing some smash brews and I definitely plan on trying out the yeast washing and re-using!

 

[Calichusetts]

I did Smashs for the first 30 or so brews. Going through the different malts and companies at first, then through the main hops, then with other grains (10% munich, 20% munich, vienna, caramel 20, 40 , etc) I was a lot of work but I learned so much. The first recipe I ever created is still one of my best and a crowd pleaser.

I am currently doing some light pale ales and single hop series to test all the NZ hops. Doing my second next week and another in about 3.

All 1-gallon.

 

[STL_Lucas]

Thats awesome Calichusetts. It's hard to decipher the different flavors when you have 6 grains and 3 hops in 1 beer. I really like this smash concept to start learning what tastes are what.