I'm currently brewing one gallon batches. I really want to delve a bit deeper into homebrewing and I'm finding that one gallon is kinda difficult logistically. I currently don't take hydrometer readings primarily because hydrometer readings take a fair amount of product per reading. The more I'm reading this forum though, the more I realize not taking OG/FG readings is a bad idea. I'm in an apartment so I don't have the space for a 5 gallon brew system and honestly I don't drink that much beer (yet). I realize I'm probably going to move to a 5 gallon system at some point when I do have the space and when I get better at brewing and I am confident enough to share with others but for now I think I still need to work in smaller batches. So I've been thinking of getting either a three gallon carboy or 4 one gallon carboys though I'm not sure which one is a better idea. The three gallon offers an advantage of effectively more bang for my buck timewise and hydrometer readings taking less of a dent out of my total beer. The 4 one gallon allows me to go wild with SMaSH beers or just more variety in general (which is important to me because I rarely drink the same beer twice in a row) but I'm in a similar situation as I'm in now with hydrometer readings taking a lot of beer. I'm kind of torn between the two ideas.. What do you all think?
One carboy vs. multiple smaller carboys?
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Both? But thats kind of the cop out answer.
I'm normally in that 3G range ( love the 3G siphonless fermonster!), but still do like to experiment with 1G batches. More often than not, I have my 3G fermenter, and at least one jug of beer fermenting ( Plus a mead and/or cider aging). I rarely want an entire case of stout/porter/additional flavored beers and those take up my 1G jugs. On the small batches, I take refractometer measurements for OG, and hydrometer for FG. I've gotten it down to 8 bottles + a partial one that I use to make bread.
If cost is an issue, I think some cheap store bought wines still come in 1G jugs. You get wine, plus a fermenter forever. I used to run into apple juices that came in glass jugs as well. Toss some yeast in and you have yourself a hard cider, plus a jug.
At some point, you're gonna make a one gallon beer that you desperately wish you could make more of. Thats when the 3-5G fermenter comes in handy. I don't ever regret having a 3G fermenter.
I'm normally in that 3G range ( love the 3G siphonless fermonster!), but still do like to experiment with 1G batches. More often than not, I have my 3G fermenter, and at least one jug of beer fermenting ( Plus a mead and/or cider aging). I rarely want an entire case of stout/porter/additional flavored beers and those take up my 1G jugs. On the small batches, I take refractometer measurements for OG, and hydrometer for FG. I've gotten it down to 8 bottles + a partial one that I use to make bread.
If cost is an issue, I think some cheap store bought wines still come in 1G jugs. You get wine, plus a fermenter forever. I used to run into apple juices that came in glass jugs as well. Toss some yeast in and you have yourself a hard cider, plus a jug.
At some point, you're gonna make a one gallon beer that you desperately wish you could make more of. Thats when the 3-5G fermenter comes in handy. I don't ever regret having a 3G fermenter.
Beernik
Well-Known Member
If hydrometer sample size is the driving issue, you could consider a refractometer. It’s just an eyedropper sized sample. You have to make corrections for FG, but it’s workable.
I guess the main questions are:
1. How bad are the size restrictions?
2. How long until you have space to go bigger?
The biggest expense in homebrewing is equipment. The more sizes you go through, the more money you spend on it. If the space for 5-gallons is a year or two down the road, I wouldn’t step up to something in between.
Or another option is to only step up to a 3-gallon brew sized BK. It would give you the flexibility to do a 3-gallon beer fermented in three 1-gallon carboys and wouldn’t be too oversized for doing 1 or 2-gallon brews.
I wouldn’t do back-to-back-to-back brews to fill a 3 gallon carboy for fermenting. I got fairly efficient at double 5 gallon brew days. A triple brew day seems tedious.
I guess the main questions are:
1. How bad are the size restrictions?
2. How long until you have space to go bigger?
The biggest expense in homebrewing is equipment. The more sizes you go through, the more money you spend on it. If the space for 5-gallons is a year or two down the road, I wouldn’t step up to something in between.
Or another option is to only step up to a 3-gallon brew sized BK. It would give you the flexibility to do a 3-gallon beer fermented in three 1-gallon carboys and wouldn’t be too oversized for doing 1 or 2-gallon brews.
I wouldn’t do back-to-back-to-back brews to fill a 3 gallon carboy for fermenting. I got fairly efficient at double 5 gallon brew days. A triple brew day seems tedious.
I would think 4 one gallon carboys take up more room than the five gallon....
I’ve done many 1 gallon beers and meads and you always get 8.5 bottles. Not always but mostly. Why not just use that half bottle to do your hydros? You can still use it for bread or beer cheese!
A 3 gallon would allow you to do a primary and split into 3 secondaries with different fruits, hops, or whatever. An option.
But as mentioned above if you plan on doing it at some point, do it. Buy once cry once. But remember if you want to do 5 gallon batches you want a 6 or 6.5 carboy. 5 gallon carboy is better for 4 gallon batch. You can do 4.5 if you don’t mind a messy blow off tube.
I’ve done many 1 gallon beers and meads and you always get 8.5 bottles. Not always but mostly. Why not just use that half bottle to do your hydros? You can still use it for bread or beer cheese!
A 3 gallon would allow you to do a primary and split into 3 secondaries with different fruits, hops, or whatever. An option.
But as mentioned above if you plan on doing it at some point, do it. Buy once cry once. But remember if you want to do 5 gallon batches you want a 6 or 6.5 carboy. 5 gallon carboy is better for 4 gallon batch. You can do 4.5 if you don’t mind a messy blow off tube.
Yeah that's true. I guess the only thing is the actual brew day (pots, actual kitchen space, etc.) not being able to accomodate a 5 gallon brew.
I thought that homebrewers were very decidedly against refractometers because everyone uses a hydrometer so I didn't really consider it. If that's not the case though, I do think that's a massive game changer for me in favor of the 1 gallon brew kit for now and then eventually making the jump to 5 gallon when I have more space.
As for the size restrictions, my kitchen is pretty small both counter and cabinet space wise but we're probably going to be moving to a larger place within a year (hopefully).
Beernik
Well-Known Member
I went to a refractometer for a long time after breaking 4 hydros in a row.
Most brewers don’t like refractometers because they measure sugar (Brix) not specific gravity. It’s a fairly easy conversion for Brix to OG. However, the FG measurement is complicated because water & alcohol have different densities. You need a calculator like this to get the FG:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/
If the main thing you care about is knowing when fermentation is complete, Brix & SG measurements perform equally well.
If you do get one, you want one that’s automatic temperature correcting.
Most brewers don’t like refractometers because they measure sugar (Brix) not specific gravity. It’s a fairly easy conversion for Brix to OG. However, the FG measurement is complicated because water & alcohol have different densities. You need a calculator like this to get the FG:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/
If the main thing you care about is knowing when fermentation is complete, Brix & SG measurements perform equally well.
If you do get one, you want one that’s automatic temperature correcting.
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
For many brewers, there appears to be a "sweet spot", brewing a combination of 2.5 gal (at packaging time) and "1 gal"-ish (at packaging time) batches. So roughly a 24-pack and roughly a 12-pack.
One gallon carboys are a good way to get a six-pack plus a couple of bottles.
Two gallon food grade buckets (and maybe NB's "Little BMB") have the space to brew a 12-pack.
One gallon carboys are a good way to get a six-pack plus a couple of bottles.
Two gallon food grade buckets (and maybe NB's "Little BMB") have the space to brew a 12-pack.
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Brew the biggest size batch you are comfortable with. A bigger batch is more work, but not much extra. The bigger the batch, the more economical it is with respect to your time and effort. A 6.5 gallon fermenter (for a 5 gallon batch) does not take up too much room, but you may want to go with something smaller.
I can boil 4 gallons on my stove (in a 5 gallon pot). I can do extract or partial boil on my stove.
Use a refractometer, it gets close for OG, but for FG you need to use a calculator as the reading is no-where close to the actual.
I can boil 4 gallons on my stove (in a 5 gallon pot). I can do extract or partial boil on my stove.
Use a refractometer, it gets close for OG, but for FG you need to use a calculator as the reading is no-where close to the actual.
Stormcrow
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I've enjoyed fermenting three gallon batches in three one gallon carboys for the sake of experimenting. Now that I've got a a couple of recipes dialed in though, I wouldn't mind fermenting batches I'm not going to mess with anymore in a larger single fermenter. Less headache that way.
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