1 gallon demi-john

[noby]

I was recently given 5 1-gallon glass demijohn's, from someone clearing out the attic and was just wondering what to do with them.
I don't really want to brew 1-gal batches, although i may try the odd experimental batch.
Is there any harm in dividing, say the secondary, to 5 separate containers?

[brewmonkey]

Why not try to experiment with yeast. Brew 1 five gallon batch and then pitch five different yeasts to see which you like best?

[noby]

not a bad idea. I'm still a novice, so I would like to experiment a bit with flavours, to see what i like.
I thought about doing a 2G batch, and maybe dry-hopping one for comparison

thanks for the suggestion.

[sullydavid]

I use 1 gallon containers for propagation of yeast and starters. I think dividing a gallon recipe into 5 jars would be more work (sanitizing) that I would be willing to go through.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by sullydavid
I use 1 gallon containers for propagation of yeast and starters. I think dividing a gallon recipe into 5 jars would be more work (sanitizing) that I would be willing to go through.

It may be more work, but you are not going to be doing it all the time. Do once for the each yeast and see what you like. As Noby also pointed out, you would be able to experiment with dry hopping, maybe in just one or use a few different ones.

A lot of larger breweries have a pilot system where they brew on a smaller scale to experiment with new products or even adjust some old ones before they go on the big system.

I would think part of the love of craft beer is that you can experiment and change things around.

[toneyc]

I use one gallon jugs for making meads, ciders, and cysers, and other things that I'm not sure I would like. I made a one gallon batch of the chocolate mead posted here last year.

:)
Toney.

[fretlessman71]

Hey toney... how did your chocolate mead turn out? Has it aged yet?

[sullydavid]

I absolutely agree with BM about trying the different yeast strains. I think that is the best way to see what differences the yeast themselves provide. But I would never use the 1 gallons unless I was doing some experimenting. In that case I would just get another carboy.

Maybe that is why I can barely find any room on the floor in my beer storage room to walk anymore, got more carboys than I can store :)

[fretlessman71]

Are you close to Nashville? Maybe you'd like to get rid of a few.... :)

[toneyc]

Fret, it is still aging in the one gallon jug. It almost looks clear enough to bottle. I'll give it another month or two, then bottle it and let it sit for another month or two. I've got some little .33L EZ cap bottles that I've kinda been wondering what to do with and this seems like a good thing...

:)
Toney.

[fretlessman71]

I'm doing a similar thing... All "beer" shall henceforth be bottled in longnecks ONLY, and my first batch of mead will be bottled in any odd shaped bottle (like Guinness, Anchor, etc). Let me know how it tastes when you bottle it; I'm going to brew a 5 week version in a month or so.

[toneyc]

A five week version? Tell me more!

:)
Toney.

[Caffinehog]

These would be fantastic for wine or vinegar, too. Or if you have that one beer that you rarely want, but sometimes get a craving for, just brew a gallon.
They'd be good for pilot batches, learning yeast strains, or, if you're willing to split your wort before boiling, exploring hop boil times, or just different hops.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by toneyc
A five week version? Tell me more!
Ask and you shall receive.... (http://www.skotrat.com/skotrat/recipes/mead/recipes/18.html)

I emailed the guy, and he said that the low honey bill is what makes it so fast. Tell me what you think!

[Tweek]

Im going to give that a try. Think ill leave out the black tea and just add some grape tannin though. Thanks Fret.

[noby]

Originally posted by Caffinehog
These would be fantastic for wine

Don't think i want to go down that road yet. A friend of mine brews wine alright, so I'll probably hang on to a couple and give him the rest.

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by Tweek
Im going to give that a try. Think ill leave out the black tea and just add some grape tannin though. Thanks Fret.

Can you get grape tannin at the homebrew store? And how much would equal what you'd get from a tea bag?