Thursday, October 28, 2010

DIY 1 Gallon Primary

I've been working on being able to brew one gallon recipes, and I decided to make my own primary fermenting tank for these small batches.
Originally I had planned to do all fermenting in the one gallon jugs I had bought, but realized there wasn't enough excess volume to accommodate the frothy yeast activity. In brewing a one gallon batch of amber ale, I attached a blowout to handle this, and I was glad I did. But I wanted a better solution. Here's what I did:

I got a 6-8 quart capacity clear plastic container from a local restaurant supply store. I need two holes drilled. A one inch hole near the base to install a spigot, and a 5/8 inch hole in the lid to attach an airlock.

Drill a small starter hole near the bottom.

My concern with drilling the hard plastic container is that the action of the drill will cause the container to crack. To avoid this, I taped the area I planned to drill.

Medium pace with a 1 in. drill bit.

I made a small starter hole, and then went to work with the one inch drill bit.

Ready for a spigot!

I made sure not to drill too fast in an effort to minimize the risk of cracking, and had no trouble drilling through.

It holds water, but will it hold beer?

I attached the spigot. No leaks!

The 5/8 in. hole fits a #2 bung.

Next came the 5/8 inch hole in the lid. This was easier, since the lid was a soft plastic. The tape here was unnecessary.

Fully assembled!

Hooray! I've completed my first home brewing DIY project.

Next up: A one gallon batch of an English nut brown. Yum!

1 comment:

  1. Ingenious! I'm very impressed with your craftiness. I also like thinking about how beer brewed in these smaller containers will be much easier to handle than the GIANT carboy typically used.

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