Secondary Fermentation on 1 Gallon Batches

[Mitch S]

I've been mainly brewing one gallon batches as of late to A) Get better at the whole brewing process B) Try different styles and C) Reduce the impact 5 gallons has on my house/keep wife happy. My question relates to secondary fermentation. I've been transferring every batch to a secondary almost immediately after fermentation slows/stops. On my recent batch, I lost maybe 1/4 of a gallon (probably less) when my siphon clogged. With that much loss, I may get 6 beers in total out of this batch. My question is going to a secondary even worth it on 1 gallon batches? It's nice getting real clean beers out of it but is it worth losing 2-4 beers?

 

[TwistedGray]

Going to secondary is rarely worth it on any size batch. If you want to clear up the beer there are other options such as finning with gelatin, cold crashing (should easily fit a 1 gallon carboy in your fridge), or simply leaving it sit for a little longer to naturally clear.

(edited to add) If you are bottling straight from the fermenter consider getting a bottling bucket to transfer to first. That might help setting down the trub and whatever else you're pulling into bottles.

 

[davidabcd]

I agree. I personally haven't noticed any improvement in flavor or clearness when comparing. Also, with no secondary, there's the added benefit of not disturbing the beer with that additional activity.

 

[IslandLizard]

Yup, secondaries are generally not needed, or even wanted. They are a main cause of oxidation and infection. Leave in original (primary) fermentor until done, even 8-12 weeks is fine. Then cold crash in refrigerator (with or without finings) for a few days to a week or so, to let most yeast drop out so you have clear beer.

Minimizing your losses is very important when doing small batches.
It's even more important since you can't put a gallon of wort/beer in a gallon jug and leave enough headspace for krausen without blowing lots of it off. Between headspace and yeast/trub cake, it'll only yield 6-7 pints anyway, max.

For example, if you need to, take gravity readings a drop at a time with a refractometer (using a correction formula to account for the presence of alcohol) instead of losing 3-4 oz in a hydrometer tube each time.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Minimizing your losses is very important when doing small batches.
It's even more important since you can't put a gallon of wort/beer in a gallon jug and leave enough headspace for krausen without blowing lots of it off. Between headspace and yeast/trub cake, it'll only yield 6-7 pints anyway, max.

For example, if you need to, take gravity readings a drop at a time with a refractometer (using a correction formula to account for the presence of alcohol) instead of losing 3-4 oz in a hydrometer tube each time.

I wonder if we need to split "small batch" into two groups:

1) brewing with a small carboy to maximize number of bottles out of a fixed size carboy

2) brewing to a desired result (6-pack, 12-pack, 24 bottles / case) and sizing the equipment to achieve the desired outcome.

Spending money on refratometers, time on calibration, etc is one way to use hobby time and money. On the other hand, ...

Two gallon food grade pails are a great way to "scale up" from one gallon boils to brewing a 12-pack. And just like is done with "5 gallon batches" (measuring the outcome, not the size of the fermenter) , there is some amount of wort to allow for hydrometer measurements, wort left in siphons, etc.

 

[IslandLizard]

^ +2 on using 2 gallon pails. Double the amount of beer for pretty much the same effort and time. And still easy to handle, ferment, and store.

I don't think we need to split small batch brewers into sub groups. What's a "normal" batch size for one can be considered small for the next person. For brewers doing 10-15 gallon batches routinely, a 5 gallon batch is small.

For those who do 1 gallon batches and enjoy that because of the process, variety, just to have a few homebrews once in awhile, or for any other reason, hat off to them.

I used to do 2.5 - 3 gallon batches usually by splitting the 5-6 gallons of wort at some point, after lautering, during, or after the boil. That way I got more variety or could try 2 different takes on a beer. That was fun and I didn't get stuck with 5 gallons of some Rosemary Cucumber Saison, which still lasted way too long. Now that half batch of Watermelon Saison became really yummy after 2 years in bottles. And crystal clear as I've rarely seen a homebrew.

 

[Mitch S]

This is all very helpful. Moving forward, I plan to look into finnings (gelatin/Irish Moss). I had good results on my last 5 gallon batch with secondary, considering I scorched it and found burned residue in the trub. I do plan to go back to 5 gallon batches with what I find is enjoyable and also what others like. 1 gallon brews are what I consider R&D.