2 1/2 gallon batches

My LHBS store has many different extract recipes to choose from when shopping, but everything is in 5 gallon batches. If I wanted to do any of these in 2 1/2 gallon batches would I just cut all of the ingredients in half? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I’m buying the right amount of ingredients.

dtduffy said:

My LHBS store has many different extract recipes to choose from when shopping, but everything is in 5 gallon batches. If I wanted to do any of these in 2 1/2 gallon batches would I just cut all of the ingredients in half? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I’m buying the right amount of ingredients.

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I think yes, but just think if you make an awesome batch and only have a case of it...you'll be like " DAMN THIS IS GOOD...OH HECK IT'S ALL GONE!"

It depends. If the recipe kit has a dry "spice packet" or any kind of pre-mixed flavoring packet (like many seasonals do) then it would be risky to try and use only half of the packet in a 2 1/2 gallon batch. You may end up with an inordinate amount of one spice, non of another, etc. Barring any problems with equally splitting all the ingredients, it should be pretty easy to do a half batch.

This begs the question, are you doing a small batch to experiment with something?

If you're buying a kit you might as well make the whole batch and just keep half of the bottles in a cool, dark location for a later date.

On a related note:
If splitting batches, what should one ferment in? is a typical Ale Pale, or 6.5 gallon carboy ok? or should I ferment in a smaller vessel?

The answer is really YES when brewing 2.5 gallon batches you split everything in half...except the yeast, it's best if you pitch the whole thing.

I do a ton of 2.5 gallon AG brews in my loft, usually when the weather turns cold and I don't want to brew outside.

I do a lot of Experiments, test recipes, or beers that I know I won't need/want more than a case of.

I sometimes use an unmodified 2 gallon cooler for a lot of my small btaches it holds up to 4 pounds of grain.

I just us a folding steamer in the bottom along with a grain bag. Just break off or unscrew the center post.



One of these, it helps to lift the grain bag above the spigot to keep the drainig from getting stuck.







I posted a lot of info in the mr beer thread that you may find helpful.

I posted some all grain small batchrecipes here, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/785533-post702.html

ANd a bit of a primer on AG with pics here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/738927-post659.html

But I mostly use my regular 5 gallon cooler mash tun which holds 14 pounds of grains...and 14 pounds of grain for a 2.5 gallon batch can be a mighty big beer.....


One of our memebers chubbykid had plans for a minikeg mashtun http://www.chubbykidhomebrew.com/Home/equipment



THe basic brewing radio guys are big fans of tiny batch brewing...3/4 gallon (1 6pack) in a 1 gallon winejug fermenter.

They demo the 6-pack IPA here

[ame]http://en.sevenload.com/shows/Basic-Brewing/episodes/PERGFAJ-01-12-06-Basic-Brewing-Video-A-Six-Pack-of-IPA[/ame]

and they also have done barleywines as well.

I ferment my 2.5 gallon batches in all manner of things, I have a 3 gallon better bottle, I also use 3 gallon water jugs, AND my old Mr Beer keg (it's perfect because you can even lager in your own fridge with it when you are starting out.)

You can even ferment a 2.5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy if you want, though I would say a 6.5 gallon carboy is a little too much headspace for my confort.

Hope this helps....any more questions feel free to ask....

Very interesty thread Revy. I pretty much have everything I need except for the 3gallon carboy!

You may need to adjust your hop additions. Most hop amounts for 5 gallon batches are assuming partial boils. I am assuming you would do a full boil for a 2.5 gallon batch so you would get much better hop utilization.

I recently did a 2.5 gallon batch and had to cut down the hops below half the amount to match the bittering units for the recipe.

You might want to play with some brewing software for this. I use BeerSmith it automatically makes these adjustments when you scale a recipe or change the boil volume.

Good luck!

I Was thinking of doing 2.5 gallon's of Edwort' haus pale ale. I have the extract version which is bottle conditioning as we speak. Seems like a good easier starter brew.....any thoughts? thanks.

I would also use software to adjust your hop additions.

2.5 gallon batches are really fun to do. I just did an experimental wheat a few weeks ago, it came out great but if doing a full batch I would cut back on the cascades I added for flavoring. It's the little things like that that's nice about smaller batches. Dang, I really wish I still had my Beer Machine!

Love the mini AG setup there Rev!

Thank you everyone for the replies. I was just thinking about doing 2 1/2 gallon batches because I'm fairly new to the hobby and I would really like to try a bunch of smaller batch recipes to see what I enjoy and what I don't.