Is primary fermentation still effective in small (1 gallon) batches? I would like to experiment with different melomels
Small batches
- Thread starter daniel.c.smith163
- Start date
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Yes, one gallon batches work, but for the time and effort to prepare it, and then having to wait 1-2 years, I really want more than 4 bottles. I'm too lazy to do all that for a gallon except for some really experimental oddities.
Your tolerance for all that work per bottle will wane with experience. My "experimental" batches now tend to be 10-12 gallons. All that labor just isn't worth it if you'll be out of mead after just a few bottles (or a couple of cases, in my case). 
My first batch was 2 gallons. I felt like how you guys have said. So little once it's ready to drink. I started with 5's right after that. I have yet to make anything over 6 gallons to date. Now I make a 5 or 6 gallon batches and then split it to go in two different directions at some point so I can A/B different ideas.
I just bottled my 19th 1 gallon batch. Medsen Fey is right - if you have the space, five gallons is better, because with one gallon batches, you end up spending months to produce a batch you can drink in a week. That said, I have found that working on a smaller scale means the cost per batch is a lot lower, and leaves me feeling free to experiment - if it's awful, I've wasted $20-$30.
