Hello all I just wanted to stop in and day hello. This is my first ever post here in the BA forums. About a year ago I did my first Mr.Beer kit and was not very impressed. I've recently gotten into the craft beer movement quite heavily and my girlfriends father began home brewing and I got the bug. She just got me the brooklyn brew shop every day ipa kit and I was highly satisfied, but can't seem to stop thinking about brewin the next batch. Unfortunately I live in a small apartment with my girlfriend and do t have room for a 5 gallon system so I will be sticking with one gallon batches for now. I can't wait to learn so much from the great guys and gals here. Hope you all have a great day! Brew on! -luke
Hey Luke, welcome! I've done plenty of 5-gallon batches on a stove top when my wife and I lived in a ~500 sq. ft apartment a few years back. It just has to be an extract kit. If you have a 3-gal pot, you can do the boil in there on your stove, and then top off with water to the 5 gallon mark before you pitch your yeast. Boil-overs can be a pain to clean off the stove, but just wanted to let you know that 5-gallon batches can be done in a small apartment
Hey Lukas thanks for the reply! That makes me very happy haha. I think I'm going to get a couple more one gallons under my belt before I upgrade my equipment. I highly doubt it will be long tho. I tend to be all or nothing with my hobbies
For what it's worth, I did a five gallon batch on the stove using two pots before... I just split everything evenly
Welcome to this great hobby, Luke. Keep reading this forum and you'll soon figure out how you can keep improving on your beer-making process. One gallon batches can lead to two-gallon batches, which can lead to three, etc., and they'll all taste great regardless of size. You can only drink so much.
I actually prefer to do 1-2 gal versions, especially when starting out. It gives you more practice and exposure to a wider range of styles... Plus it's less beer to drink if it turns out bad!
How to Brew by John Palmer is consistently recommended. Online version is available for free (http://www.howtobrew.com/), but book is a great resource to have on hand. It got me started.
Desperation drives ingenuity. Is that how that goes? Anywho, you'll find that a lot of your equipment can stack inside of more equipment. You have to wait for it to dry, but otherwise, a mash tun doesn't have to take up a lot of extra space and can second as an excuse to have a large cooler for parties. If it's a cubical cooler, you could easily fit a pot, a fermenter, and numerous other brew supplies inside of there. I'm not sure what your storage situation looks like, but you can always get creative.
Well, it doesn't have to be extract, but it'd makes things a shit ton easier in a small apt, don't you think? Especially since it's his first brew and all, and he's doing a 1-gal batch.
Yea I do 2.5 gallon batches in my kitchen using a 4 gallon pot and BIAB. For the most part to get 2.5 gallons I typically have to add water to the pot after the mash is done or during the boil. But it gets me about 24 bottles of beer which is a nice amount for me. I have done 1 gallon batches and they usually only got me around 9 bottles. By the time I am finished 24 bottles of something I am usually tired of it anyways. Plus I found with the bigger batches it is much easier to maintain your mash temp on the stove.
Brewing Classic Styles has a good intro to extract brewing and then a lot of recipes (one for every "style"). After recently taking a look at the beginning of the book, I think this is a better intro to brewing vs. "How to Brew". Both books are worth having especially since they are so cheap.
I really like brewing classic styles. Even when I don't follow their recipe for a beer it is helpful to use as a reference for things like mash temperatures.
