When it comes to home brewing, there’s a lot of ways to start out. Most kits you see out there are 5 gallon kits. Why? Who decided that 5 gallons should be the standard for making home brew? Sure 5 gallons works fine, but what if you wanted to make a smaller batch? What if you just wanted to try a recipe out before committing to a huge 5 gallons of it? The answer is to just make a 1 gallon batch.
I have made 1 gallon batches for mead many times. I find it easier to do because it’s smaller. I get a batch done in a couple minutes and it’s a great way to quickly make mead. 1 gallon yields about 4 bottles, so you’re still getting a good amount of mead.
I haven’t been able to find any 1 gallon home brewing kits, so I decided to make a list of supplies to buy if you wanted to create your own. The good news is that it’s less expensive and you only have to buy a few things.
1 Gallon Home Brewing Kit
Here’s what you need to get:
- 1 Gallon Jugs (Get two, one for primary, another for transferring into for secondary)
- Small Auto Siphon (smaller version of the auto siphon that will work in 1 gallon jugs)
- Hydrometer
- Bung
- Airlock
- Carboy Brush
- Bottle Capper / Corker (For beer or mead)
- Bottle Caps / Corks (For beer or mead)
- Beer Bottles / Mead Bottles (For beer or mead)
This should cover all your needs of home brewing 1 gallon of either beer or mead. This is the minimum to start brewing 1 gallon batches.
Brewing 1 Gallon Batches
You have 2 choices when brewing 1 gallon batches, either find recipes that are created for brewing 1 gallon or take a typical 5 gallon recipe and just modify the ingredients for 1 gallon.
The problem with brewing 1 gallon batches is that there aren’t as many 1 gallon recipes. Like I was saying earlier, someone out there decided that 5 gallon batches would be the standard. Because of this, there aren’t as many 1 gallon recipes out there.
If you are interested in making a 1 gallon batch of mead, check out:
I will be making more 1 gallon recipes soon, so stay tuned.
If you are interested in whether you should start with 5 gallons or 1 gallon, check out this post.
Happy Brewing
Starting with 1 gallon batches is an easy way to jump into brewing. It’s less money, faster, and easier to clean. Not only is it great for someone who isn’t sure if they like home brewing yet, it’s also a great gift to give to someone.
-Tate
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