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Author Topic: Scaling recipes  (Read 2744 times)

Offline chuckc1

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Scaling recipes
« on: March 11, 2014, 10:34:11 am »
Quick question from this newbie about recipe scaling. I bought the ingredients for the Cincinati Pale Ale featured in the John Palmer "How To Brew" book. Heres the question, since I am doing 2.5 gal batches and this recipe is for a 5-gal batch, I halved everthing. Was this correct? I have seen some information for going the from small to large but very little for large to small. Thanks to all! Man this is just too much fun!!!!!

Offline Stevie

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2014, 10:37:08 am »
It will get you close enough, maybe dead on.

Offline erockrph

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2014, 11:45:56 am »
The only thing that doesn't scale is your boiloff rate. If you boiloff 1 gallon in an hour for a 5 gallon batch, you will still boil off 1 gallon (or maybe a little more) for a 2.5 gallon batch in the same kettle.

In other words if you would normally start with 6 gallons preboil, then boil off 1 gallon to get to 5 gallons, you should start with 3.5 gallons preboil to get down to 2.5 gallons, not 3 gallons.

Hop utilization may be a bit better in this case as well, but it should be close enough where you wouldn't need to mess with it.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline chuckc1

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2014, 12:01:12 pm »
Thanks for the input. Also, thanks to all of you that have helped the last times I have posted. I am convinced that home brewers are the most helpful and friendliest group. As a newbie on some other forums, I have been left feeling stupid for asking what others felt was an obvious answer.
The questions I have posted here may have also been an obvious answer to another, but no one here ever, made me feel dumb for asking. Thanks to all of you.

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2014, 12:07:45 pm »
Thanks for the input. Also, thanks to all of you that have helped the last times I have posted. I am convinced that home brewers are the most helpful and friendliest group. As a newbie on some other forums, I have been left feeling stupid for asking what others felt was an obvious answer.
The questions I have posted here may have also been an obvious answer to another, but no one here ever, made me feel dumb for asking. Thanks to all of you.

It's one of the things that makes this forum so good. We all started somewhere, and we all still learn.
Jon H.

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2014, 12:35:14 pm »
Thanks for the input. Also, thanks to all of you that have helped the last times I have posted. I am convinced that home brewers are the most helpful and friendliest group. As a newbie on some other forums, I have been left feeling stupid for asking what others felt was an obvious answer.
The questions I have posted here may have also been an obvious answer to another, but no one here ever, made me feel dumb for asking. Thanks to all of you.

It's one of the things that makes this forum so good. We all started somewhere, and we all still learn.

+1 it's a big part of why i love this forum.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline Stevie

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2014, 12:46:30 pm »
No flame wars or trolling here.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2014, 12:47:04 pm »
Obvious answers escape me quite often...
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline rodmanxxx

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2014, 01:36:07 pm »
Ya sometimes you run into a new situation that you never seen before & all that info you have read in the past causes overload in the noggin. Then you ask here & somebody will calmly answer your mind boggling question. Amazing really
It's all fun and games until somebody loses a liver.

Offline fmader

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2014, 03:48:39 pm »
This forum is great. Great people and great advice. I like obvious questions... I can practice and get better at answering them!  :P
Frank

Offline erockrph

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2014, 09:38:09 pm »
Think of this forum as your not-so-local homebrew club. :)
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline Steve L

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2014, 03:59:25 am »
The only thing that doesn't scale is your boiloff rate. If you boiloff 1 gallon in an hour for a 5 gallon batch, you will still boil off 1 gallon (or maybe a little more) for a 2.5 gallon batch in the same kettle.

In other words if you would normally start with 6 gallons preboil, then boil off 1 gallon to get to 5 gallons, you should start with 3.5 gallons preboil to get down to 2.5 gallons, not 3 gallons.

Hop utilization may be a bit better in this case as well, but it should be close enough where you wouldn't need to mess with it.
+1. I also do 2.5 gallon batches and routinely lose about a gallon in a 1 hour boil. I actually scale my batches down to 3 gallons though to be sure I get a full 2.5 in the fermenter. I usually leave a bit of break material in the brew pot and lose a couple of quarts in the process. I always get some break in the fermenter but I'm not a fan of putting it all in there (although it probably doesn't hurt anything :) )   With this process I usually have a preboil amount of 3.75 gallons. It might be a cool idea to start a " half batch " thread for us dedicated 'one case at a timers'. Seems to be a lot of questions in this arena, I know I sure have had a bunch :D
Hope this helps.
Corripe Cervisiam

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2014, 11:02:15 am »
My current batch size is 3.67 end of boil gallons, which yields about 3.33 primary gallons and 3 finished gallons. I built an entire brew house and kegging setup around this batch size.   I even built a custom kettle that has the proper geometry for this batch size.   I found that 3 finished gallons is big enough to share, but small enough to allow me to brew on a regular basis. 


Offline erockrph

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #13 on: March 12, 2014, 11:59:34 am »
My current batch size is 3.67 end of boil gallons, which yields about 3.33 primary gallons and 3 finished gallons. I built an entire brew house and kegging setup around this batch size.   I even built a custom kettle that has the proper geometry for this batch size.   I found that 3 finished gallons is big enough to share, but small enough to allow me to brew on a regular basis.

Agreed. I think I like to brew more than I like to drink. I only have about 5 beers a week. By brewing 1-case batches I get to brew once or twice a month without amassing a stockpile of beer that I'll never finish drinking. I have enough for my own consumption, some extra to share, and every 3 or 4 batches is something that I can cellar for extended aging.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Scaling recipes
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2014, 08:03:42 am »
Thanks for the input. Also, thanks to all of you that have helped the last times I have posted. I am convinced that home brewers are the most helpful and friendliest group. As a newbie on some other forums, I have been left feeling stupid for asking what others felt was an obvious answer.
The questions I have posted here may have also been an obvious answer to another, but no one here ever, made me feel dumb for asking. Thanks to all of you.

I suspect with one guess I could pick the forum and the particular poster who made you feel stupid for asking questions.

As erockrph points out, halving the recipe is pretty much dead on except you need to keep the boil off rate constant. The only thing I would add is that your boil off rate may actually increase if you are using a large pot for five gallon batches as you would a 2.5 gallon batch. Greater surface to volume ratio allows for greater boil off. However, just keep it constant the first time and see how much you are short wort volume after the boil. That will let you know whether the boil off is fairly consistent or if you need to change that number.
Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing