I am using a 1 gallon carboy, in fact I have 2 of them. If i start buying 5 gallon kits, I assume I can divide them up by 5 but how long will the extract last? How should I store it and the hops? I assume just divide everything by 5. Would I be correct or should I think about another way. I truly do not have room in my small apt. to have a 5 gallon set up plus my wife wants me to stick with the gallon size.
Correct, divide by 5= 1gl recipe. Store your hops in the freezer in an air tight container. Store your yeast in the fridge. The extract is best before it is 6 months old.
You might look into getting a brew bucket from our host. 6.5gl bucket is about $16
Easiest way to divide up the ingredients of a five gallon kit, to one gallon size, is by weight. A $20 scale from Walmart will give tare weights in pounds, ounces, and grams.
Gram units are nice for dividing a package of hops. An opened pack of hop pellets can lose flavor rapidly. Freezing or vacuum sealing will keep them fresh the longest.
I don’t mean to be the naysayer here, but…
If you’re talking about brewing a 5-gallon kit and splitting it into 5x 1-gallon fermenters, then go for it.
All grain kits should be splitable. All the base malt and specialty grains come together in one bag though. (This is true for their 3-gallon AG kits, I’ve never bought a 5-gal) Assuming you get it all evenly distributed, I see no reason you can’t portion for smaller batches.
For extract kits though… If you’re talking about measuring 1.2 lbs of LME from a 6 lb jug, to turn a 5-gallon extract kit into 5 brew days, then I would expect a sticky mess. I also doubt the longevity of open extract, even in the fridge. DME can be portioned, but I say no to LME.
