One Gallon Batch Questions

[winesleeper]

I see a lot of wine recipes for a one gallon batch. Why just one gallon? Do you make them to try different recipes? Do you long term age this small amount in the gallon jug or do you bottle it to (4 or 5) 750ml bottles? Or do you just drink it from the gallon jug after ageing? How long can you keep a opened gallon of wine before it goes bad? So the primary fermentation needs to be how much, so after racking you end up with a gallon? I think it would be a great way to try different types of wine. Just need to understand the process before starting. How to you guys do it?

 

[Elmer]

I make 1 gallon batches of wine that I am not sure I am going to like or want to experiment (skittle, chocolate/raspberry, green tea, crab apple, welches {ick!}, blue/Pom, & apple)

I usually leave the wine in the 1 gallon jug with airlock until it clears than bottles. You could drink it out of the 1 gallon jug but will create airspace, so you would have to drink a gallon rather quickly before it would oxidize


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[WVMountaineerJack]

Yes, right, good, yes again. A lot of times you might only have enough for a gallon or you want to make an experimental batch, if its a good batch then you wish you had made 5. Also if you post a recipe its kind of standard to post it as a gallon batch size then people can easily expand on it by just mulitipying everything by however many gallons they want to make. THe problem with gallon batches is that you loose porportionally more when racking than you would with a 5 gallon batch. We dont treat a single gallon batch any different then a bigger batch when it comes time to rack or age, its still wine after all. WVMJ

 

[vernsgal]

You're braver trying different things with 1 gal. Then when it's aged if you like you can make more, if you don't like no big loss. There's our monthly 1 gal wine of the month club open to all. See past and present:
December: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/december-2013-wine-month-club-42266/
January:http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/january-2014-wine-month-club-42739/
Febuary:http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/february-wine-month-club-43429/

 

[winesleeper]

Will my 7.9 gallon fermenting bucket work for the primary fermentation on a one gallon batch? I have several 4L wine bottles/jugs I can use for racking and ageing. Thinking about getting in on the March gallon wine of the month club.

 

[cintipam]

I have gotten several food grade buckets free just by asking at the bakery in grocery stores. They range from 2-5 gallons in size. Krogers has been very helpful for me in that regard. I ask nicely, and sometimes I get the lids with the bucket, sometimes not, but you don't really need the lid anyway. Sometimes they tell me to come back on a certain day, and if so I make sure to do so.

Hope this helps

Pam in cinti

 

[BernardSmith]

As a teacher my disposable income is small and so if I want to make a mead buying 15 -20 lbs of a varietal honey is beyond my budget so I will make one gallon batches and usually wish that I could have made five gallons but for wines such as elderflower or gooseberry or elderberry I go for five gallons.

 

[the_rayway]

Your large primary will work fine - it will just feel a bit silly Try your local stores for something around the 3 gal mark and it will feel a bit better.

I highly encourage joining the WOTM 'Club'! March is quickly approaching!

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Bernard, there are many possibilities out there for a teacher to find a small grant to set up a couple of hives for educational purposes, talk to your state beekeepers group and tell them you are a professor and want to help out the bees. WVMJ

As a teacher my disposable income is small and so if I want to make a mead buying 15 -20 lbs of a varietal honey is beyond my budget so I will make one gallon batches and usually wish that I could have made five gallons but for wines such as elderflower or gooseberry or elderberry I go for five gallons.

 

[wineforfun]

I have gotten several food grade buckets free just by asking at the bakery in grocery stores. They range from 2-5 gallons in size. Krogers has been very helpful for me in that regard. I ask nicely, and sometimes I get the lids with the bucket, sometimes not, but you don't really need the lid anyway. Sometimes they tell me to come back on a certain day, and if so I make sure to do so.

Hope this helps

Pam in cinti

This is exactly what I have done.