Scaling Down

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

I currently have the equipment to do 5 Gallon Batches. I've gotten to do just a few brew-days so far on it (less than 5). Given my limited time for major brew-days (kids, two jobs, etc.), but wanting to brew - MORE - I'm deciding on scaling down to 1 Gallon batches.

I currently have everything I'd need for a 5 gallon batch. What would I need to do 1 Gallon batches though? Are 5 gallon ale pails and carboys good to use for 1 gallon batches? (Pretty sure I've heard their not, but not 100% sure). Should all I need to do is pick-up 1.5-2 Gallon carboy? And everything else would be the same?


My hope with scaling down, is that I can brew more beer, it'll be overall less expensive so mistakes aren't as "catastrophic" and not massive drain-pours, it'll let me brew more to get more experience, better, be able to try a lot more, and be able to actually drink it more (with IPAs I tend not to drink the 5 gallon batches quickly enough).

Thanks all!

 

[stieg000]

I occasionally do 1g experimental batches using 1g glass apple juice jugs I got from my local "natural foods" type of store. They require a different size stopper than an eyrlynmyer flask, I think 6.5, if I recall right. Other than that I'd suggest getting the small auto siphon.

 

[zonkman]

+1 on getting the 1 glass gallon jugs from the supermarket. I picked up a bunch for Whole Foods, with excellent apple juice inside (graff! cider!) for something like $7.99. Works great. I'm also scaling down to diversify. Note: depending on what yeast you use and whether you wash it for re-use, small batch brewing can be more expense per gallon.

A 5 gallon fermenter can be fine for a 2.5 gallon batch. CO2 pushes out the O2. I wouldn't open it much after primary fermentation is complete though.

Recipes can pretty much be divided by proportionally.

 

[Bender_Braus_Brewing]

The LHS has some of those small jugs, I think they might be 2Gallon Carboys, they look similar to growlers but (obviously) larger. Next time I'm in I'll have to check to see what they are exactly.

Will I be fine mashing in a regular 5/10 Gallon mash tun? Same with my boiling kettle being a 6 Gallon?

I don't do yeast starters, I use yeast packets. So that might get a bit more expensive in that sense then I suppose.

 

[zonkman]

If you keep using a big pot, be aware of the volume you'll loose during the boil (due to larger surface area). Also, it might be hard to maintain a stable mash temperature.

 

[Setsumi]

When I was faced with time presure I scaled UP. I brew less but bigger batches, went up from 25l brewlenght to 60l brewlenght. 3 x 20l kegs. Yes it means a lot of the same beer but I like Eglish bitters and can always dry hop for variety. When my club has a comp with a style that I am comfortable with I brew a small batch out of my regular schedule. Sanitation and acceptable grain rations should keep beer from drains....

 

[kh54s10]

My question is how much time do you expect to save by doing one gallon instead of 5? The processes are essentially the same.

If you brew one gallon batches, in order to get the same amount of beer that you would get from a 5 gallon batch you would have to brew 5 times.

If you are worried about catastropic massive drain-pours you are doing something wrong. I have brewed about 460 gallons and have poured out only about 7 gallons. One was really sweet - I used half of it for cooking.

 

[stieg000]

When I was faced with time presure I scaled UP. I brew less but bigger batches, went up from 25l brewlenght to 60l brewlenght. 3 x 20l kegs. Yes it means a lot of the same beer but I like Eglish bitters and can always dry hop for variety.

Agree.. Definitely easier to keep beer around by scaling up. 10g batch only takes 45min longer than 5g. Can easily split 4 ways with stove side additions, different yeast and or secondary additions. They might not be exactly to style but you'll get plenty of drinkable beer. Many styles age well too.

If you keg you could even hold off dry hopping until just prior to tapping each keg. Can bag hops and hold them using either a loop welded inside of the lid or stringing a string it through the lid.

 

[Kent88]

I'm going to share a little about my experience making small batches. Not saying that my way would work for you, just trying to give you more to think about.

I started brewing 2.5 gallon batches with hopped malt extract, after about 5 batches I went to more traditional 1-gallon extract batches. I was in an apartment without much room and I didn't drink a lot of beer before I started making my own so I wanted to try a wide variety of styles. I was pretty happy with my 1-gallon batches for a while.

But since then I've switch to all-grain and partial-extract 3 gallon batches. My 1-gallon equipment is mostly ignored (I tossed my 2.5-gallon LBK during a move), except for they're the only jugs that are the right height to fit in my lager fridge. I got tired of putting in all that effort for 10 bottles of beer, and by that time I had pretty much figured out what varieties of beer I liked. Also, being that the styles I like mostly use a little bit of bittering hops at the start of the boil, buying an ounce of hops and hardly using a quarter of it felt wasteful. Now that I am brewing 3-gallon batches I'm wasting less hops. I also can share more of what I make with a couple people and still have some for myself.

Now I'm thinking about getting a couple of 5-gallon carboys so I can start making sours. I figure that if I'm going to invest that much time in some beer (the styles I think about making take 18 months to 5 years, depending on who you ask), I better make enough to make it worth my effort.

 

[allanmorgan]

You can also get a 1 gallon kit from brooklynbrewshop.com that includes the 1 gallon carboy, airlock and blow off tube for $20. I started off doing 1 gallon batches to get familiar with brewing and then moved on to 5 gallon batches.

Edit: I also have a 2 gallon fermenter, that I bought from Mr. Beer, that I'm happy to ship off you you. I used it maybe a half dozen times. It is clean and in excellent shape. PM me if you are interested. This is what I'm talking about: https://www.mrbeer.com/beer-making-kits/brewmax-kits-160

 

[ericbw]

1 gallon glass jugs are great. I would get a MINI auto siphon because full size is too big.