So since I moved into a small apartment a year ago my batch size has been getting smaller and smaller so I am able to do full boils and have more control over the process. I just noticed Norther Brewer has one gallon kits and am wondering if anyone has used these or others that are available online? Also it doesn't have an ingredient list like their other kits so does anyone know what they include? I have been putting together my own recipes but I tend to end up with leftover specialty grains or hops which go to waste. Also I use extract.
I just got the Brooklyn Brew Shop kit because I too moved into a tiny apartment and can't have my 5 gallon equipment. Mine came with an ingredient mix so I used that. So far, so good. The nice thing is that its a LOT easier to do all-grain batches if you want to move into that- though extract would work fine too. I wish I could be of more help on the NB kits, but I've not used them specifically. I like mine though. I need to get a better scale to more accurately measure ingredients. I think having brewing software or using Hopville is key because hops and the darker grains don't scale exactly liner-ly (if that's a word). Also: when the inevitable happens and someone says "don't do 1 gallon batches because it's the same amount of work" just ignore them because it's a lot less work and time.
Lol agreed about the work "more work". The amount of work really isn't an issue with me and trust me that it would be more work doing large batches in a small space. I will check out the kit you mentioned as well. I am now wondering if the NB kits are all grain or extract because I'm not sure if it said. Look on Amazon or even at Target for a kitchen scale and it will work great.
Re: "work". I always assume those brewers make 20 gal batches, as it is the same work as making 5 gal. Re: NB kits. I did not see where they say, but their "1 Gallon Small Batch Starter Kit" shows a bag of DME, so I would say these are extract kits.
A 1G fermentor's footprint isn't that much different than the footprint of a MrBeer keg (2.45G). Why settle for less?
My first three batches were one gallon kits from a Canadian company similar to brooklyn brew shop. It was fun but there were a couple of things I didn't like. First off in the ones I got, just came with pre-crushed pre mixed grains, and they didn't tell you what kind of grains you were using. Plus with the one I got you had to sparge using a wire mesh colander, which seemed to take awhile. I do BIAB brewing now with 2 gallons, and even with the increased volume, not doing that sparge step it seems to go faster. Also looking at the northern brewer kit, depending on what you already have you might be able to build you own similar kit for much cheaper. I mean if you already homebrew, you probably I would assume already have a bottle capper and some caps and some sort of way to fill bottles, and probably some airlocks. So really all you are getting is a 1 gallon fermentor. Used 1 gallon jugs can be found pretty easily online for a few bucks. So if you could do that you could make your own 1 gallon recipes and save yourself a bunch of cash.
Thanks for the advise and input. Looking back I should have phrased all of that very differently (beer will do that to you). I have been homebrewing for a couple of years and used to use a full boil 5 gallon set up. Since I moved to my apartment I have slowly been scaling down the size of my batches to be able to achieve a full boil on my electric stove. I have done 1/1.5 gallon batches on my own but I thought these kits would save me some hassle. Guess I'll just have to give it a shot!
what do you end up with, a 6pack? do you still use a full pack of yeast or do you try to save a portion of it?
Yea 1 gallon seems like it would be easier than 5. For one thing it boils faster and you need a much smaller pot. If you are just buying the recipe kits I would say go for it, my main point was that if you were buying the kit with all the equipment, you probably already have most of it and it wouldn't be that hard to find a used one gallon jug on say Craigslist or kijiji for under $5.
When I was doing 1 gallon batches I was ending up with up to 9-10 bottles at the end. I was using dry yeast, pitching half of it, and then since a package of dry yeast is only like a couple of bucks, throwing the other half away.
Yeah I don't end up with much at all it's more just for fun with the process. I do already have all the equipment so that all works out well and won't cost me anything. I make small batches of cider on occasion so I just bought some wine jugs and use those.
1 gallon batches is something I have been thinking about so I can experiment for essentially 20% of the cost. I also don't particularly care about the time because I would do it while watching football WOOHOO! Wife would LOVE that. lol I just figured I would get a 1 gallon carboy and cut recipes by 1/5th
Haven't tried them, but the Northern Brewer 1 gallon kits are a lot cheaper than the 1 gallon kits I've seen at Whole Foods also, did you see that Williams brewing now has 1.75 gallon corny kegs, they're like $80 but probably take up as much room in a fridge as a gallon of milk
That's pretty awesome about the small kegs. I actually have a Party Pig which is about 2 gallons and works amazingly well. After a week or two in it the quality or my beer was noticeably better than bottled.
You can also convert 5L mini kegs to CO2. Exact explanations at Northern Brewer's forums (http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?t=61167), and also you can buy empties at Midwest if they aren't sold in your neighbourhood (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/mini-keg.html).
I brew mostly small 1 gallon batches. You can make your own recipes by configuring beer-smith. Small batches turn out real well. I have done so with mead and cider. It's alot of fun and you have a few options when you are doing so. You can check out my blog here, my small batch brews have turned out anywhere from horrible to amazing. It's all in the recipe. http://smallplacebigbrews.blogspot.com/
I know there was a discussion over here of the Brooklyn recipe book: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/brooklyn-brew-shop-book-recipes-338870/ I also remember there being a discussion on HBT about it, but I think I unsubbed from the thread a long time ago, and my work blocks their search.
My amazing wife bought me for Father's Day, a few years ago, a 1 gallon (Brooklyn Homebrewing kit) and finally made a batch of homebrew with my brother-in-law. It was Chocolate Maple Porter and I was shocked how delicious it was!! Life is funny, I got him into good/craft beers (he used to pound 6-12 packs of Miller Lite) now he is hophead and loves Belgians! He has brewed over 15 batches of homebrew with his pastor and friends. My sister and brother-in-law bought me for my birthday 2 more homebrew beer ingredients (Everyday IPA and Dark Belgian). I can't wait to give them a go.
Hello everyone, I started my first homebrew Saturday night with a NB 1 gallon White House Honey Ale. My girlfriend's brother bought us a 1 gallon starter kit for our bdays. I have to say I'm impressed w the kit and happy to know I have 12 , not 52 bottles to deal w. I'm feeling good about this round so far. I'm surprised by how dark the ale is too. I know honey ales can be all sorts of styles but I was expecting a golden color. I'm pumped about trying NBs other kits , namely the Barleywine, Honey Porter, and Black IPA.
I do small batches as well (1 gallon, 2 gallon, or sometimes I split 5 gallon kits into two 2.5 batches) due to space limitations. I usually do my own recipes (BIAB) these days but I have used Northern Brewer 1 gallon kits in the past, and they turned out pretty decent. They are usually extract + steeping grains. To find out the exact ingredients for each kit, just click on the "additional information" tab, then the "Recipe and Instructions - click here" link.
Just so you know, when it is all said and done, you'll probably end up with only eight 12 once beers once you've bottled your 1 gallon batch. Extracts tend to come out darker than all-grain recipes.
By the way, you should also look into NB's 3 gallon BIAB kits. (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/all-grain-biab-kits) I recently split their "De Belge Farmhouse IPA" into two 1.5 gallon batches, and used a mix of Saison Dupont and Orval dregs for the yeast. Came out really excellent.
I'm guessing you used to brew larger batches and still have the necessities (ie: 5 gallon carboy/bucket)? If so, you could get away with 3 gallon batches. I use two cheapo 5 gallon pots. One for mash/boil and the other for the sparge water. I mash right in my oven. Move the rack to the lowest you can, remove the 2nd rack (if necessary) and my pots juuuust fit under the heating element. I put my oven temp setting on low and it keeps the oven at about 200 degrees, which if i put a pot of 150 degree mash, the mash doesn't move more than 1-2 degrees at most (this weekend it didnt move 1 degree).
Thanks for the heads up on the BAIB. I intend to go through a half dozen extract kits to get down the basics before moving up to something more involved. So the BAIB may be the next thing for us to try. I'm assuming you do these 3 gallon batches in a 5 gallon carboy. Is it not an issue to have that much (2 gallons) of space. I realize that the valve prevents oxygen from coming in but there will be some trapped in before sealing for fermenting , right?
No, I brew the batches back to back and use this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/3-gallon-glass-carboy.html
Od_sf, You were right. We came out with 8 bottles. There was more beer in there but there was a lot of sediment. I was trying to avoid sucking it in the siphon. I swigged a bit of the beer in the fermenter. Good balance of sweet and bitter so far.
