It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these updates, so I thought I’d take a few minutes on my lunch break to share what’s been brewing — literally!

Two weekends ago (11/2/13) I had an enormous brew day where I brewed 5 gallons of bock (my co-worker, Derek, appropriately called it “NernBock”), 5 gallons of cider, and 1 gallon of a mini-bock (AKA, “NernBock Jr.”), which I collected from the spent grain.

This was my third all-grain batch and I’ve really been enjoying the whole all-grain process! I’ve also been thinking to myself, “WHY did I ever start with EXTRACT BREWING?!?”

Okay! Okay. There are some advantages to extract brewing — shorter brew days, focus on procedure, smaller boiling kettle size, etc… — but I think I would have preferred to start with a 1 gallon BIAB setup, like this one. To me, the true enjoyment of brewing comes from making beer from the raw source: the grain!

Not to mention that one of the  biggest hassles of homebrewing is having enough storage space for the equipment. A 1 gallon setup would have eliminated that issue.

I’m just thinking back to my days when I lived in Tallahassee, as a graduate student. I so badly wanted to start brewing, but didn’t because: (1) I lived in a small apartment, and (2) I didn’t have the spare $100 to drop on a 5-gallon batch starter kit.

Just think, I could have started this blog 3 years earlier!

Anyway, if you’re thinking about getting started into the hobby of homebrewing, I’d recommend starting with a 1 gallon setup, then upgrading from there.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, feel free to leave a comment. I’d like to hear what others think about 5-gallon extract brewing.

Cheers!
Ian

P.s. If you’re interested in the 1-gallon brewing process, I found a great book called ‘True Brews‘ by Emma Christensen, which focuses on the 1-gallon brewing process for beer, cider, kombucha, and more.