I am still a few weeks away from doing a full AG brew but am starting to acquire my ingredients and other bits for each brew. I have going for a few basic recipes for pale, wheat and porter. I want to do a batch of each and then tweek a little before upscaling to 5 gallons.
I would do a 1 gal mash in an insulated stock pot, boil on the hob, use a cold water bath to chill and ferment in a 5l bottle/demijohn.
I plan to divide all elements of my recipes by 5 but am not sure what to do about yeast. How much should I pitch?
Has anyone got any tips on 1 gal batched for developing recipes?
advice needed on small developmental batches
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Wolfy
Re: advice needed on small developmental batches
There are many places you can get tried-and-true recipes without needing to develop your own from scratch - these forums, other online sources and various books.
I've found that the work and effort involved for small-scale batches is not that much different from doing full 23L batches, and so I tend to 'experiment' with those now days. Also (and I know this might sound strange) but technique, knowing your equipment, efficiency and getting all things 'right' on the day play as much of an important part of making 'good' beer than the actual recipe that you use - and you can really only do that will full batches.
But to answer your question, if you are dividing everything else by 5, do the same with the yeast, however the MrMalty pitching calculator can give you a very good idea of how much yeast you would need - given the volume and gravity of your wort.
I've found that the work and effort involved for small-scale batches is not that much different from doing full 23L batches, and so I tend to 'experiment' with those now days. Also (and I know this might sound strange) but technique, knowing your equipment, efficiency and getting all things 'right' on the day play as much of an important part of making 'good' beer than the actual recipe that you use - and you can really only do that will full batches.
But to answer your question, if you are dividing everything else by 5, do the same with the yeast, however the MrMalty pitching calculator can give you a very good idea of how much yeast you would need - given the volume and gravity of your wort.
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Goat
Re: advice needed on small developmental batches
i do 1gal all grain batches
and use dried yeast
the whole packet
and use dried yeast
the whole packet
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swheatbeer
Re: advice needed on small developmental batches
The recipes I am starting with are pretty much 'tried and tested ones' but I really want to (for want of a better word) 'mess' around with different hops and ratios of grain types. I am fully aware I am not going to be making anything new or unique. I think there is so much to learn and even though there is loads of theory in books etc I want to see for myself what happens when you change 'x' for 'y' and add more of 'a' and a bit less of 'b'.
I dont really want to be trying things on 5gal runs because I dont have the space and cost is an issue too. Right now I dont have a fermentation temp control set-up so I cant rely on the right temp for 5gal batches but can fit 1gal in my fridge
I managed to pick up a grain mill for less than 40quid so I can buy bulk(ish) grain and crush fresh in small quantities and I keep hops in the freezer.
I totally agree with you thoughts on knowing your equipment being so important. Once I get my recipes more defined I can polish them off on the 25l runs.
Right now I am barely even a novice but I want to get to the bottom of every aspect of the brewing process, I am a wanabee geek. I want to create my own yeast bank. I would like to get a microscope and analyse the yeast, count it, and check for mutations. if I could (if I had a bit of land) I would grow my own grain and malt and grown my own hops.
In some ways I want to be very good at brewing as much as making very good beer. Its funny but so many people have said it across forums and in books that its not that difficult to make beer that is better than you can buy in shops and pubs. While it is easy to make good beer its easy to get bits wrong which is why most of my AG to date has had varying off tastes, haze, off target FG and often lacking in any aspect of quality
I dont really want to be trying things on 5gal runs because I dont have the space and cost is an issue too. Right now I dont have a fermentation temp control set-up so I cant rely on the right temp for 5gal batches but can fit 1gal in my fridge
I managed to pick up a grain mill for less than 40quid so I can buy bulk(ish) grain and crush fresh in small quantities and I keep hops in the freezer.
I totally agree with you thoughts on knowing your equipment being so important. Once I get my recipes more defined I can polish them off on the 25l runs.
Right now I am barely even a novice but I want to get to the bottom of every aspect of the brewing process, I am a wanabee geek. I want to create my own yeast bank. I would like to get a microscope and analyse the yeast, count it, and check for mutations. if I could (if I had a bit of land) I would grow my own grain and malt and grown my own hops.
In some ways I want to be very good at brewing as much as making very good beer. Its funny but so many people have said it across forums and in books that its not that difficult to make beer that is better than you can buy in shops and pubs. While it is easy to make good beer its easy to get bits wrong which is why most of my AG to date has had varying off tastes, haze, off target FG and often lacking in any aspect of quality
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boingy
Re: advice needed on small developmental batches
Nothing wrong with being a brewing geek, as long as you post your results on here so we can cherry pick the good bits and avoid the failures!
It's ages since I brewed a small experimental batch but I was unable to resist dave-o's cheap and easy wit so I currently have a 2 gallon batch of that in the FV. I have to say it was a right PITA to brew because I am so used to my normal 8 gallon batch size. I should just have spent the extra few quid and brewed a full batch, especially as it is smelling great.
With small batches it can be hard to measure hops accurately, it's harder to keep the heat in the MT and the fixed losses like dead-space become significant. On the upside, everything goes that bit quicker because the heating time is shorter. A good compromise when experimenting is to do one big mash and then split into multiple batches for the boil. So you start from the same wort but vary the hopping schedule.
It's ages since I brewed a small experimental batch but I was unable to resist dave-o's cheap and easy wit so I currently have a 2 gallon batch of that in the FV. I have to say it was a right PITA to brew because I am so used to my normal 8 gallon batch size. I should just have spent the extra few quid and brewed a full batch, especially as it is smelling great.
With small batches it can be hard to measure hops accurately, it's harder to keep the heat in the MT and the fixed losses like dead-space become significant. On the upside, everything goes that bit quicker because the heating time is shorter. A good compromise when experimenting is to do one big mash and then split into multiple batches for the boil. So you start from the same wort but vary the hopping schedule.