.75 gallon batches?

[gruntingfrog]

I'm thinking of getting several 1 gallon jugs to use for test batches. I'll probably be making 3 quarts of wort (to leave a little head space) and using a blowoff tube. I won't be using a secondary simply so I don't have to buy twice as many jugs.

I'm wanting to do some experimenting, but don't want to make a full batch if it's no good. I'm creating the recipes (extracts with steeped grains), then using ProMash to scale them down to .75 gallon batches.

I'll be using liquid yeast (most likely white labs) and pitching one fifth of the vial for each batch.

I figure I can do 5 mini batches in one long brew day and have some serious fun experimenting.

Has anyone tried this?

 

[the_bird]

I'm in the process of trying this, but not with batches THAT small. I made a regular 5 gallon batch and split it equally into a pair of 3 gallon carboys, then doing things like adding maple syrup and/or fruit to half. Still experimenting, trying to learn how to do different things more quickly than if I did (and had to consume) 5 gallons at a time, but making enough where if it's GOOD I'll have enough around for a little while. Personal preference, I suppose.

 

[gruntingfrog]

I just figure, if it's good I can turn around and brew a full batch.

 

[Beer Snob]

I just figure, if it's good I can turn around and brew a full batch.

Why dont you make something you know you will like? With batches that small by the time you taste one.... next week you wont be able to resist... then by the time you know it you'll be down to one bottle and it will just be starting to get good.

 

[Monster Mash]

There is a lot of work involved in what you want to do for just a couple glasses of beer. You should just brew 5 gallons of a beer you know you like. I learned my lesson a long time ago so now the smallest batch I brew is 15 gallons and I brew 25 gallons of my most popular beers.

It takes the same amount of work to brew 1 gallon as it does 25 gallons....

 

[gruntingfrog]

I want to do this for the same reason I experiment with cooking.

I'm talking about experimenting with odd ingredients. Like making a belgian ale with rosemary, or an irish stout with cinnamon. Sometimes you run across something that nobody else has tried that works! In cooking, I've made hamburgers with lemon peel in them (let me rephrase, I made a hamburger with lemon peel in it). Just like I wouldn't make 24 lemon hamburgers without making sure that one worked (it doesn't, BTW ), I don't want to waste the ingredients (read: money) on 5 gallons worth of grain and hops.

I'm also looking at making 3 or 4 versions of the same beer substituting one ingredient or amount in each so I can easily see the difference this ingredient makes. By making small batches, I can make my experimental beers while still keeping my main brewing setup going with stuff I like... so I don't run out of stuff to drink. That would make me . hehehe

 

[Beer Snob]

Don't get me wrong... I like your idea... just think one gal will go really fast... how about 3 gal batches. They have 3 gal carboys and you can use a standard 5 to use as a primary. Just my 2 cents The bummer is for a while at any rate, making a batch taste exactly like a previous one is a hard job. So when you find the one you want to repeat... it's not impossible, but is certainly challenging till you gain experience. Things always happen.... temperatures are not the same... that sort of thing.

 

[Beer Snob]

Hey by the way, thats how the author in Designing Great Beers explains to get to know ingrediants.... change one thing at a time

 

[gruntingfrog]

I see your point Beer Snob.

Maybe one gallon is too small. It would be nice to have more than two beers per test, and I know it's hard to recreate until I gain more experience, but I was simply thinking...

1 gallon jug = $5
3 gallon carboy = $20

Multiply this by 5 experimental batches... Well you get the idea.

Maybe I'll just reduce the number of batches I run at any one time.

 

[Beer Snob]

Was just thinking also.... for instance making a one gal batch with rosemary... if you loved it, I suspect that in making a 5 gal batch it is not simply a matter of multiplying the amount of rosemary by 5.

 

[gruntingfrog]

Yeah, I was just thinking that myself. It's not necessarily a linear conversion.