No, i’m not using milk jugs, although there are times they come in hand for measuring things.
Living in Colorado, the winters can be pretty brutal for someone with nerve issues that fire up in the cold. For this reason, and because I love to brew beer, I have made the decision to try brewing one gallon batches of a bunch of different beers over the course of the winter.
I figure brewing up small batches will allow me to try a few different styles and recipes. By doing small batches I can find out what brews I like the best. Additionally, my kids can help me brew a few batches.
I have collected a number of items to assist in my small batch brewing process so I can brew inside.
My current Small Batch Equipment list:
3 gallon Pot
1 Induction Plate
All my standard brewing tools.
I will have to see how the family feels about the smell of brewing beer while it is boiling and creating the elixir of the Gods, wort.
Are there anymore small batch afecianados in the forum that have experience brewing this way. HInts, tips, and tricks are welcome.
May the Gods watch over thee, may they provide you with the Constitution to drink beer to your delight, May the Gods erase any headache you may have after drinking homebrews all day.
I do a lot of 5-liter one-vessel BIAB batches … so not much bigger than a gallon after packaging losses.
A couple of thoughts:
If you let your oven warm up till it hits about 150-160 then turn it off, you can stick your kettle in there to mash.
I’ve yet to find an immersion chiller small enough for 1-gal batches; you can do no chill, or ice water in the sink, or stick it in the freezer to chill.
I’m very fortunate that my wife (and brewmistress) likes the smell of the wort!
You’re on the right track with the 3-gallon pot. I saw a nice sale on a good 2-gallon pot, which I thought would be a good size, but it’s just a touch too small for the micro-batches that I occasionally do.
For an immersion chiller, you’d probably have to make your own (I’m considering doing this, myself) but it doesn’t really take too long to chill in the kitchen sink. I take a small aquarium pump with suction cup feet and stick it on the side of the sink to circulate the water, which seems to accelerate chilling a bit.
I love Drewch’s idea for mashing in the oven! That’s brilliant!
I boil on the stovetop (sounds like you won’t be, since you mentioned an induction plate) so I will stick a piece of aluminum foil on the microwave / hood combo to prevent excessive condensation from forming on and (possibly in) the unit when boiling with the larger kettle. The large kettle is tall enough that it’s very close to the microwave, and I’ve heard anecdotes about microwave / hood units being damaged while boiling the wort.
I do BIAB and I’m trying to think if there are a lot of differences when doing a 1-gallon batch. I don’t think there really are.
You can mitigate this by adjusting the recipe to a 30-minute boil. Yeah, you’ll use a bit more hops for the same bitterness, but it’s still fractions of ounces for a 1-gallon batch. And it’s pretty easy in most brewing software.
It’s a very old concept. When I read about it nearly 30 years ago it had already been around for years. I’ve done it quite a few times. It’s a part of my 20 min mash/20 min boil technique.
Yeah, not everything in old books is good advice. But also take into account how ingredients gave changed. Back then it’s likely you could only get 6 row. Specialty malts, like Munich, either didn’t exist or were unobtainable for homebrewers.
What I like in the current times is that with all the software available out there, you can take old recipes and enter them into Brewers Friend or Brew Father and see what happens. I have learned that by taking the OG and FG along with ABV I can adjust the recipe to match up with current grain bills. It is rather enjoyable creating recipes.