I'm totally against one gallon batches

I hear ya, I think one gallon batch brewers should be wiped off the face of the earth personally.

 

I understand why people don't like 1 gallon batches, the biggest being they aren't as cost effective but I think the criticisms overlook why they are usually done which is space or inexperience. There is a reason Brooklyn Brew Shop has those one gallon kits, tiny New York City apartments. I do them cuz I don't brew that much and when I do I usually only do IPAs and then I drink them fresh. Also the equipment to do a one gallon is equipment I already had so my only expense has been a one gallon jug, airlock, and ingredients. Soon I'll move to 3 gallons but 5 is just more than I want to brew at a time and space wise I have figured that a 5 gallon carboy would be just too much to handle moving up and down stairs and stuff. Another plus for me is cold crashing the 1 gallon jug is much easier to do in my regular fridge and I want to keep doing it as I've noticed how much better the beer is with cold crashing. I've even contemplated when moving to 3 gallons just using 3 one gallon jugs, I could play around with different yeasts or dry hopping doing that.

 

As of about 18 months ago I brew between 1.7 to 2.1 gallons on every batch, down from 3 and 2.5 gallons in the past that still left me with 11 cases of beer to drink in my cellar. Small batch brewing is indeed a lot of effort for a small quantity, but it's more than a 12-pack and enough for my low appetite, and now I only have 8-9 cases of homebrews sitting on the shelf so I'm making progress.

 

The way I see it, I'm not making beer to save time or money, I'm doing it because it's fun. I started with 5-gallon batches because that's what all the kits are designed for, but now I'm moving toward doing 2.5-3 gallons at a time so that I can brew more often. Much like dmtaylor, I now have a basement full beer - in my case, pretty mediocre beer from my first attempts. For anyone who is learning to brew, perfecting a recipe or tackling a new style, I think there's a lot to be said for doing smaller batches. 1 gallon is a bit too small for my tastes, but I don't see why people can't do it if they're having a good time.

 

I wouldn't say I'm totally against one gallon batches, but they've never made that much sense to me either. To go through the entire process to net not much more than a six pack of beer seems like borderline torture. That said, I, like others in this thread, have downsized my process over the years. I used to brew 5 and 10 gallon batches but between brewing and cellaring (aka collecting) I ended up with more beer than I could drink in a reasonable amount of time. These days I'm brewing 3 gallons, it still helps scratch the brewing itch but I'm not accumulating beer anymore, which is helpful.

 

I've never consider downsizing my batch size (5 gallons) because I don't brew any more than 3-4 times per year. I enjoy those few times that I brew and the resulting beer, but I like to purchase different beers in between those batches so that I have some variety that way instead of using 1-gallon batches for the variety.

 

Interesting comment, because I have the exact same opinion when it comes to 5 gallon batches. Seriously, if you’re going to spend all of that time brewing, why not get some “skin in the game” and move up to the barrel range?

Sorry for the sarcasm... I’m a happy 1-gallon brewer and I’ve never understood the “1-gallon hate” that I sometimes hear.

Small batches work for me, though, mainly because I like variety. I don’t have the chance to drink beer as often as I would like, and the last thing I want is 40-50 bottles of the same exact thing sitting in my cellar (unless it is St. Bernardus Abt 12 – everyone has their weaknesses...). If I produced that much beer every time I brewed, I’d never get the chance to drink anything else.

Oh, and I like to brew experimental stuff: I feel much less guilty only pouring 7-8 (as opposed to 40+) bottles down the drain when I get it completely wrong.

 

I understand where the OP is coming from - you're not saving a ton of time (in heating and cooling, mostly...) and you get a much smaller output.
However, I won't tell everyone not to do them - I kinda wish I though about that in my little apartment that I started brewing in - my brew equipment and output rapidly took up what little space I had.
I also occasionally brew small for experiments and so forth. My first all-grain was 1 gallon, to get the hang of the extra procedures. I've done a few others since, experimenting with recipes I don't know if I'll like, or procedures and so forth I don't really feel comfortable with. 1 gallon costs so much less, that if I have to dump a batch, I don't feel like I'm wasting that much money compared to a 5 gallon dumper.

 

To each his own! Nothing at all wrong with one gallon batches if that is what you like! I can brew my one gallon batch in about three hours, and can experiment a lot easier from brew to brew than with a five gallon batch.

 

They're useful for small test batches to test hops/yeast you haven't used before

 

I'm super new to home brewing, and I've only done 1 gallon batches (2 total so far). You have a lot of good points. It's a lot of work, and waiting for not much pay out. The cost is disproportionately more expensive compared to 5 gal batches (cost of ordering ingredient kits). And if you do move to 5 gal, you have to buy more buckets / car boys. I haven't started any 5 gallon kits yet. I have a couple more 1 gallon kits to finish before I move on. But I will say that on my first couple batches I made a few beginner goofs (especially on my first batch) and I'm glad my mistakes were confined to just one gallon instead of 5. It has been nice to do these small batches to get my feet wet, work on my technique, and learn the terminology and methods. In my humble (and very limited) opinion, you are right. But, I don't know if we should just slap a label on one gallon batches and say they aren't worth it.

 

I don't think there's much wrong with 1 gallon batches. I personally don't brew them, because I keg everything I can, and I usually end up brewing randomly on a weekend, and getting in 2-3 batches the weekend while I have everything out and going.

That said- there are some pluses. While the level of error is higher, I do think it allows someone to find styles they like, and find techniques they enjoy the results from, without putting a ton of extra work, or expense into the hobby. Someone might not be sure of something and one gallon is pennies compared to 6-7 gallons of something you might hate.

If I had the ability and desire, I would certainly attempt to brew an extra gallon of something or a similar grist and try out something new like a new hop, or a new yeast, or even a difference in dryhopping something. Goes against the whole just one gallon rule, so not the same work for the lesser reward, but still.

Some people only need one gallon and it last then long enough for another batch to be made. IMO, if you took someone who brewed 5 one gallon batches a month, versus the guy who brewed one 5 gallon batch a month, I'd bet in a year the guy doing the smaller batches, with the same work and goals towards great beer, would be the better brewer.. no?

Practice makes perfect, and experience is everything in this hobby.

 

I understand what @inchrisin is saying here; 1 gallon batches yield such a low volume of beer for the effort.

I have been hombrewing for 20 years and for 19 of those 20 years I have solely brewed 5 gallon batchs. Last year I made a number of 3 gallon batches since I had too much homebrew around from my 5 gallon batches and 3 gallons seems liked a nice compromise solution: a goodly amount of beer for the effort. I plan to make a half dozen 3 gallon batches in 2015.

I know that some homebrewers use the Mr. Beer fermenter to brew 2 to 2.5 gallon batches; maybe that is a good option?

Cheers!

 

I only brew 4-5 times per year so I went to 10 gallon batches. Love it.

Whatever works though, I can totally see why people do it. If'n you're enjoying yourself then you're doing it right.

 

The proponents for 1 gallon batches make some well-meaning & nice arguments . . . but they are wrong. Brew big or go home. Drinking in moderation increases your lifespan. Here's the American Heart Association's take on the subject. Moderate consumption of alcohol increases HDL (the good stuff) and decreases the incidence of heart disease (don't believe me? check out the link!). So under optimum conditions a one gallon batch will spin off ten 12 ounce pours . . . that's brewing a minimum of once every ten days for good cardiovascular health (heaven forbid if you share a brew). Brewing that often is stress inducing, you really want to hit the 5+ gallon mark so you can have some chill time .

It pains me to point out other's faults, but I will shoulder the burden if I can help one brewer stay out of the ICU. Live to Brew - - - Brew to Live .

 

^yep!

Brew big!!!

I understand the reasons for 1 gallon batches for beginners, but still recommend 3 gallon minimum to newbies and lobby them to just go 5 or more from the get go.

I like brewing 10 gallons+ and sometimes splitting into 5's with different yeasts, hops and other ingredients so I have variety but less work.

I also like doing 20 gallon batches.

I rarely do less than 10 gallons at a time and when I do it is typically cider, mead or wine; and those are typically done in 3-5 gallon batches depending on how much of the finished product I want to have.

 

Maybe it's just me but the act of brewing is therapeutic. I've never looked at it like it's torture or pulling teeth (even clean up), and I think part of that is because I only brew 1 gal batches. I agree in the beginning it was definitely harder to scale everything down but I personally love it. I've created 5-6 different recipes and I'm constantly brewing and tweaking. Part of it is probably perfectionism and part of it has to do with I don't want a bunch of mediocre home-brew taking up space in my garage. I enjoy drinking a different beer every night, so making a 6 pack of a certain style makes more sense for me. Not sure I understand the purpose of this thread? As long as more people are home brewing who cares how they do it?

 

.The MrB fermentor is 'rated' for 2.125G; however ... it's large enough for a 2.45G (9L; 4 six-packs) batch size.

Other advantages ...

1. Low cost ($10)
2. Full-wort stove-top boils in year-round climate controlled conditions
3. High aspect ratio fermentor fits easily inside a 48-QT rectangular cooler. Temperature controlled by swapping out a bottle or two of frozen water once or twice a day.
4. No air-lock to clog
5. Wide-mouth ==> easy to clean

---
MrB got it's deservedly bad rep b/c the extract was awful and the portions were small.
IMO ... the kit is designed as a low-risk ... one-off novelty for that beer-drinking guy on your gift list.
OTOH ... good sanitation ... solid process ... and a fermentor filled with quality ingredients makes you some good beer.

 

I don't give a shit if someone brews one or twenty gallon batches. I brew two ways. One is 2.5 gallon batches on my stove. The other is ten gallon batches with a couple of other guys (so about 3.3 gal each). I like to brew a lot so I like the smallish batches. Five gallons by myself is a lot of beer.

For example I brewed a hefeweizen today and was able to drink a home brewed iPa, sour, brown, black IPA, and maybe an imperial stout later. If I brewed bigger batches, then I wouldn't have that much variety.