Scaling down, smaller primary? Totes my goats.

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mtbfan101

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Hey everybody,

First of all, I have become SO appreciative of this website. Every single question I need answers to, I have been able to search the forums and find answers that have exceeded my expectations!

Now to my question. I have a 5 gallon mash tun, so I am limited to how much grains I can use, especially for 5 gallon batches. I was wondering if it was possible for me to scale down higher gravity recipes to 3 gallons and use my 5 gallon carboy as a primary? If so, would I be able to let it sit in the carboy for extended period of time(month plus) with that much head space?

Thanks a lot,

Pat
 
You can defintely do that without much issue. If you have spare cooler around you could mash some grains seperately in it and just have two sparges. I do it all time. It is works well for me with higher gravity batches.
 
Another option is to do a modified BIAB. Use half the water in the cooler to mash with. Heat up the other half in your brew pot during the mash. When the mash is over, lift bag with grains out of cooler and put in to brew pot for your sparge. Lift, add all wort together and boil. This assumes you have a >5 gallon brew pot.
 
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