[matt.ballard.587]

Hello
im trying to convert a 5 gallon recipe into a 2 gallon recipe. But the question i have  what would happen if i didnt cut the specialty grains by 50%
for example.
70/ scottish ale
Calls for 1# of crystal(40)
.5 lb honey malt
.25 lb crystal(120)
Pale chocolate 3 lb

[Stevie]

Where's the base malt?

[matt.ballard.587]

The base malt for the original recipe is english pale ale lme  4.75 and munich lme .25 each in pounds

[Stevie]

So you want to make a small batch scaling the lme but not the specialty malts. You could do that, but it won't be the same. Honestly, 3lbs of pale chocolate in a 2 gallon batch sounds gross to me. I think the beer would end up muddy and sweet.

[majorvices]

Think of specialty grains as seasonings or spices for your chilli. Now. what would happen if you halved the recipe of you chilling but kept the chili powder, cumin and salt the same as a full batch?

[matt.ballard.587]

Ok im starting to understand.   Thanks for the information