How to Brew 1 Gallon Batches of Beer - Ben's Homebrew

[brentdnowicki]

1. Can I use a one gallon glass jug to for primary fermentation?

2. I own a copy of The Joy of Home Brewing, using your techniques and the recipes in my book by reducing the recipe to make a one gallon batch; Will this produce a good final end product?

[threxix]

Ben any ETA on when the site will be back?

[wlaukaitis]

Is your site going to be up soon?

[EvilNoz51]

You have a lot of potential for DMS issues with only a 15 minute boil. Its ok if you are doing straight extract, but being that you are doing a mini-mash (or worse a full mash) you don't drive off the compounds that produce DMS. You can get beer that tastes like creamed corn.

Also, the 15 min hop addition is different than a 60 minute one. While it does add bitterness, a 15 min addition adds more flavor than a 60 min addition. Safe with hop forward recipes, bad for others (i.e. hef)

[drksnapple]

Hey Ben I've been looking to pick up a 1 gallon kit but your site has been down for the last few days. Any ETA on when it will be back up?

[wlaukaitis]

@drksnapple 

[fr1kk]

Hey there. Great video. I have some questions for you!

1) You're the first person I've ever heard say you only need to boil for 15 mins. Why is that? I love the idea, I'm curious why you can do it with 1gal and not 5gal?

2) Does a 1gal take less time for primary fermentation?

Thanks!

[benshomebrew]

@fr1kk

Because there's more volume with 5 gallons and you need more hops to extract the alpha acid content for bitterness. With 1 gallons, if you add half an ounce then you only need to boil for 15 minutes to extract the alpha acids from the hops.

[galanisj]

how many gramms of yeast do you use?

[benshomebrew]

@galanisj

Usually 6, more if it's a lager.

[skinsman209]

Looks good. Im definitely trying this out. I'm also interested in the citra pale ale. Is there a video for that brew?

[benshomebrew]

@skinsman209

No video for that one because once you brew one, it's the entire process for all of them, in regards to brewing. I'll be adding more ingredient kits to the site soon. Be sure to check it out!

[skinsman209]

@benshomebrew thanks for the reply. one more question. do you use whole grains of malt or crushed malt? and is there a difference when using whole or crushed? sorry for the stupid question but im new brewer..

[ruggend]

@benshomebrew This looks great! I love the idea of 1 gallon batches. I need to buy this kit. What is the amount of grain you put in this for steeping? Doesn't look like very much.

Thanks,

[benshomebrew]

@ruggend It all depends, usually 1/4-3/4 lb of grain

[Benysaj13]

Do you add the same amount of yeast as you would the for a 5 gallon batch? I'm going to make a couple of lagers in a gallon amount, so that they'll fit in my fridge for fermentation.

[benshomebrew]

@Benysaj13

For lager beers I do. You need a lot of yeast for lagers. Ben's Homebrew has some lager kits as well, you can check those out, too!

[jmohno]

what about adding 1/4 oz of hops instead.and boiling 10 min longer.15 min to boil wort doesnt seem like it would break down the starches ? seems the norm is to add 1 oz hops per 5 gallon batches.wouldnt you want to use a 1/4?then?

[benshomebrew]

@jmohno

When you're using dry malt you don't have to worry about converting starches, it's already been done. As far as hop quantity, you can add as much or as little as you want . . . it all depends on the alpha acid content and how much bitterness you'd like in the beer.

[jmohno]

was that one pound of grains too? for your crystal malt grains?

[benshomebrew]

@jmohno

No, for the 1 gallon batches they only use anywhere between .25-.75 lbs of grain.

[djscalo]

That is a great vid mate! Makes sense and now I know I can brew a more advanced grain style beer. Im still on the can kits and was put off grain brewing because of all the extra's but this looks easy. Do u have the recipe? I still dont know how much and what kind of grain&hops to use for brewing?

[daikaiju20]

is there a second video with secondary ferment and bottling? looks like a three gallon bucket used? thanks for this great idea!

[benshomebrew]

@daikaiju20

No, no secondary fermenation, it's not necessary. The bucket used was 2 gallons.

[GinSoakedStranger]

great idea...especially seeing as you can do one hop addition for flavour, aroma betterness.  Just wondering how much specialty grain you used?

[tlgrimmy]

This kit seems more up my ally than the 5 gallon batches. I was curious if the beer quality is equal to that of the 5 gallon kits. Are there any disadvantages to a 1 gallon kit aside from smaller batches?

[MrRatrix]

I really like your video. Is there a web site that gives some 1 gallon recepis for beer...

[stbl83m]

SO how can it stay without being a pasta with malts etc... whn u boil it... ????

[Mrius86]

How did it turn out?

[nenahbball]

He never aerated the yeast in the wort.

[benshomebrew]

It's not necessary with dry yeast. They come packed with big glycogen levels and nutrients so all you have to do is either a direct pitch or you can rehydrate it in some warm water. It's up to you.

[nenahbball]

good thing to know. I guess that is why you are a professional

[paleowarrior1]

thinking of trying a small batch myself, how much malt and grain would you have to reduce to make a 3 gallon batch? I'm having trouble finding any info on this.

[benshomebrew]

For 3 gallons I would recommend using 3-4 lbs liquid or dry malt and then add specialty malts. That should put you right around the 1.050 + range.

[paleowarrior1]

have you tried fermenting beer in the one gallon jugs you sell on your website? If so, what did you use as the closure? I like that your webstore has this smaller equipment, I couldn't find it anywhere else.

[benshomebrew]

I wouldn't recommend brewing in the 1 gallon jugs. You need head space because the beer is going to foam up about an inch or two. That's why the kit comes with a 2 gallon bucket. After primary fermentation you can use the 1 gallon jugs and then use a #6 rubber stopper and air lock for the closure.

[paleowarrior1]

yea, sorry, I forgot to mention it as a second fermentation, when it's calmed down a bit. I was planning on getting the 2 gallon bucket as well. Thanks for the information.

[benshomebrew]

Yeah, you can definitely use them for secondary fermentation.

[beerimpact]

You could use Fermcap-S but I cant find it on Bens site .Fermcap can also help prevent boil overs you only need a drop or two for a 1gallon batch.

[benshomebrew]

@beerimpact

It's now available. Just search it on the website.

[texabamabrackish]

Did a recipe for 2.5 gallons of Dark Mild. But didn't take into account the mass of my whole leaf hops and lost a good bit of wort to them. Ended up at 1.031 for a OG. Not too bad. Will be a nice session beer as we get into autumn here. Thanks again for the video!

[texabamabrackish]

Thanks for the great video. I'm going to try my first small batch tomorrow. I'm thinking 2 or 2.5 gallons. I have some homegrown Fuggle hops that I want to see just how well they stand on their own, but I know there's not enough to do justice to a full 5 or 6 gallon batch. Probably do a low gravity mild or bitter. Do you need to half the yeast amount? Or pitch the same amount you would for a full batch? Cheers! Chip aka Texabamasota.

[benshomebrew]

If you are doing 2-2.5 gallon batches I would just use an entire packet of yeast. If you were doing 1 gallon then I'd recommend 6-7 grams of dried yeast for ales and a complete packet of dried lager yeast for lagers.

[Sonar37]

Excellent video!!! I have been brewing 2 and 1/2 gallon batches on my stove for quite a while now and I can't agree with you more its the only way for the small home brewer to go. My question is about the hops though. (Question) Can I get away with only the bittering hops at 2-1/2 gallon batches and only boil for say 30 minutes? what do you think?

[benshomebrew]

Sonar,

You can do that. I do that with the one gallon boils. I'll add say, 1 oz and boil for 15 minutes and that gives me enough IBUs for the style and it gives flavor, too. You may have to add an extra 1/2 oz or so depending on the style of beer you're making.

[unfun72]

nice job.

[benshomebrew]

I'm really enjoying small batches.  I can make ales and lagers and bottling is a snap. Start to finish is only about 45 minutes. Can't beat that. And it does give you a great opportunity to experiment more.

[brewyourown4life]

another great video, good job ben. I like the idea of smaller batches , especially when experimenting with a recipe. smallest i've done is 3 gallon