One Gallon All Grain brews to kill time!

[pulseyou]

Background info!
My friends and I jumped into all grain brewing after a few extract batches a years ago. We currently have a 5 gallon in primary. Plan is to brew another 5gallon batch on bottling day (2 weeks from now). We usually brew at my friends house on an outdoor burner.
Here's the problem, I don't wanna wait 2 weeks.
Here's my thought: one gallon brews at my small apartment while we wait.
I've done a little research on this site and found tons of people who consistently do all 1 gallon batches. This excites me.
So I guess I have a few questions/thoughts and would love feedback from anyone who has tried this as well!
A scale for hops seems like a must. When scaling down recipes hops are bound to come out in weird numbers.
How big should my "brew kettle" pot be? When I do 5 gallon batches I have an 8 gallon brew kettle and usually start with 7gallons preboil volume and boil off about 1.5 gallons/hour.
I dont have any interest in BIAB even if it's easier. I would really like to take these 1 gallon recipes as basically "preparing" for an actual 5 gallon brew with the same recipe.
I plan on rigging a 2 or 3 gallon cooler for my mash tun. Anyone does this? This should be more than enough for all but the most extreme grain bills.
I plan on batch sparging most recipes.
Anyone used beersmith for 1 gallon brews? On a quick glance I didn't see any equipment profiles that matched anything similar. But I could just create a new one I'm assuming?

I had tons more ideas and thoughts but they are escaping me now. Basically this could be a sweet way, while I am waiting for another "big" brewday, to practice a recipe or a style. For example 1 gallon brews of SMASH beers to get to know the hops/grains. I'm excited.

Converse away! I'm friendly I promise.
Cheers!

 

[mb82]

Convert your units to grams and it is much easier to get Hops dialed in.
My kettle for my smaller batches is 3 gal.
Since I BIAB I can't help with with the mash tun.
I am a brewtarget user so I can't help with the beersmith, other then I made my own equipment profile for my 1,1.5,2.5,3 gal batches.

For me 1 gal batches are great for when I am in the mood to brew but have an ample supply of beer sitting on hand. Yeah it takes nearly the same amount of time as a larger batch but I still get to go through the motions and I get yet another beer to add to the fridge.

 

[BGBC]

This is basically the same route that I took. I usually brew at a friend's apt (5g extract batches), but wanted to brew more and have more control over the process so I started doing small batches in my own apt. I do BIAB in a 16 qt SS pot, 1.25 gal batches fermenting in 2 gal frosting buckets. I'm still trying to dial in my water volumes, but that pot size has been perfect for ~2 gallon boils. I like the frosting buckets because a) they were free, and b) you can fit a little extra volume in there to yield you a full 12-pack.

There are definitely brewers who've rigged up small coolers as tuns. Check out the main 1 gallon for a bunch more info: 1-Gallon Brewers UNITE!

I agree on converting the hop schedule to grams. I use this scale: Ozeri Scale

 

[ssult1]

I have made 2 gallon BIAB on my stovetop with my 5 gallon brewpot. Works quite well and end up with a little under 1 case of beer. Brewtarget is great because you can set up custom equipment profiles. Once your profile is dialed in you can hit your numbers more consistently.

 

[ron,ar]

I have done a few 1 gallon batches, I like doing it but it brings it's own set of problems. The biggest issue for me, besides breaking down a 5 gallon recipe is the need to know both boil off rates and volumes. If you boil too long you lose too much volume as I did the first time. How long to boil is a big issue as it affects hops utilization as well as volume loss. It's real easy to lose too much volume when you are boiling just 1 gallon.
I made an MLT out of a 2 gallon igloo water jug, works good for 1 gal batch. It is just a smaller version of my 10 gallon can with a manifold.
My next brew day is going to be 4 or 5 one gallon batches. I plan to mash approx 11 lbs of 2 row, ending up with 6.5 gallon preboil volume. Then I want to split it into as many as 5 different batches, each with different hops/schedules and different yeasts. I have not put this to recipes yet but as I have 4 burners I think it will be either a great brewday or a disaster in the making. I use 1 gallon glass milk jugs for fermenters so I end up with a little under 1 gallon finished.

 

[pulseyou]

Yes I fully expect to need a few brews to dial in on my system for volumes. But at least they are only 1 gallon batches while i am figuring out the kinks! Picked up a 2 gallon rubbermaid cooler today for $8!

 

[sumbrewindude]

1.5g brewer here.

1) Hops/dry yeast/small volumes switch out to grains. A LOT easier to deal with, and you can get a cheap grain scale for not much money at all. I use one from Harbor Freight I think I paid 15 bucks for it. Works great.

2) Make the brew pot a 4gal one. If you never intend to go over 1gal, a 3gal pot will work fine, but if you go to more than 1.5gal of finished wort, you'll need the larger pot (especially if you do 90min boils). Not a terrible thing to have more space, but fighting foam when you're at the brim isn't a good time on Momma's stove. FWIW, 1.5gal finished, 2.34gal boil volume @60min, and accounting for heat expansion makes for a full 3gal pot. Yay new 5gal pot!

3) I use a 5gal rubbermaid cooler for a mash tun. I would have used a 3gal one, but the 5gal was 16 bucks and the 3gal was double that. I'm cheap. I didn't bother with a conversion, I just line the inside with two 5gal paint strainer bags (elastic over the threads on top) and that filters out everything perfectly. I use the stock spigot; gets warm but it's not terrible. To deal with all the extra space not used I put a piece of aluminum foil in over the mash. Holds temp fine, only a few deg drop over an hour. Clean up's a breeze; just pull the bags and dump them, and then rinse the cooler. No stuck sparges either - if the flow slows just lift the bags and you're back in business.

4) Can't help with Beersmith, I use BrewTarget. Profiles are easy enough to make, though, and you should "wet" run the new pot anyway to see where everything ends up.

Hoping to step up to a 2.5gal brewing in a bit with the 5gal pot now. I love brewing and all the styles, but the SWMBO is starting to like my HB, and that means two people are enjoying it instead of just me.

Smashes are awesome. They're actually my favorite to make right now, but I find myself usually tossing in an ounce or two of 40-60L to make an APA out of them. Not a true Smash, but it's because of them that I've really gotten a chance to start nailing down what I want. Man I need to update my sig...

 

[C-Rider]

I use 2 gallon paint buckets from HD, a 5 gallon Colman cooler and a 4 gallon pot.
I do 2 gallon batches, well really 1.9, and I get three 6 packs per brew
I'm BIAB guy and I make my own recipes so I don't have to scale down anything.
Boil off rate is more to do w/your pot size and intensity of boil than volume

 

[Calichusetts]

I mash in the oven to hold the temp perfectly...2.5 gallon mlt, 3 gallon boil kettle