Questions about 3 Gallon AG

I know that I should be brewing larger batches, but I want to try a few 3 gallon AG recipes before investing the cash on new equipment.

My last few batches have been tasty partial mashes. I have a 5 gallon mash tun (a cooler conversion) and a 4 gallon brew pot.

I have read a few articles about 3 gallon all grain brewing, and I was thinking of giving it a shot. However, I have a few questions since all the articles I read were for brewers without a mash tun.

1. For ingredients and amount of water used at each step, would I just use 3/5 of what a 5 gallon all grain recipe calls for?

2. Would I use an entire tube of the White Labs liquid yeast or would I use 3/5 of it. If I use 3/5 of it, can I save the rest for another batch and mix it with another tube of the same type of liquid yeast when I brew my next batch?

Thanks,

tired

I am an all grain brewer and I brew 3 gallon batches quite regularly. Yes, you just scale everything down except the yeast.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I only do 3 gallon All-Grain brewing since I brew on the kitchen stove an its hard to make larger batches due to the amount of water needed for 5 gallon batches. As was said just scale the grains down and use the whole amount of yeast. With the smaller size of the batch I don't think you would have to make a starter, (I don't).
Good Luck

use this to scale down your recipes

http://hbd.org/recipator/


good luck with your 3 gallon AG I've been thinking of doing the same thing lately....though I haven't done a PM yet so I'll probubly try that first

Thanks for the info and the calculator link. It is good to know that I am not alone in wanting to do a 3 Gallon AG brew.

I think that I am ready to order the ingredients, but I just realized I have no idea how much water to use to end up with 3 gallons.

How much should I add to the Mash Tun?

How much should I sparge with?

Do I add any more water after mashing or after boiling?

Thanks again,

tired

I just completed my 4rth AG in the last 4 weeks. All batches 3 gallons. All done in the kitchen. Just shout if you have questions.

I never thought I'd enjoy brewing in the kitchen, but for test batches, this works great.

How big of a cooler does it take to mash for three gallons?

For most beers, a 3 gallon cooler will do. For bigger beers (imperial stouts, double IPAs, etc.) you will probably need a 5 gallon cooler.

I've checked out the calculators and the spreadsheet. Both taught me a lot (which I should have learned before taking the leap towards AG). However, I have a few questions before I brew my first 3 Gallon AG:

I am making a Brown Ale with about 5.7lbs of grain:

1. I am using a 5 gallon converted cooler, how much above my target mashing temp do you think that I should heat the water to before putting it into my mash tun with the grains?

2. My target is 3 Gallons of brew. According to calculations, I will need 3.38 Gallons of water due to boil off. So, should I use 3 gallons of water in the Mash Tun and then sparge with .38 gallons?

Thanks again,

Tired

tired said:

2. My target is 3 Gallons of brew. According to calculations, I will need 3.38 Gallons of water due to boil off. So, should I use 3 gallons of water in the Mash Tun and then sparge with .38 gallons?

Click to expand...

I'm learning this process also so I don't have great answers but you forgot to account for water lost due to grain absorption. Most numbers I have seen seem to suggest 1/2 quart per pound of grain will be absorbed.
I think you need to use ~1.5*#s of grain quarts of water for your mash or about 2 gal in your case.
You will lose about 3 quarts (.75 gal) to the grain.
So your sparge water should be target boil water - (mash water - grain absorption)
3.38 - (2 - .75) = 2.13 gal
I've seen mash water ratios every where from 1.0 to 2.0 quarts/# but most people seem to use between 1.25 and 1.5 quarts/#.
I haven't done my first AG brew yet I have just been studying up on the techniques in preparation. I plan on brewing AG as soon as I empty a few more bottles.
Craig

CBBaron said:

I'm learning this process also so I don't have great answers but you forgot to account for water lost due to grain absorption. Most numbers I have seen seem to suggest 1/2 quart per pound of grain will be absorbed.
I think you need to use ~1.5*#s of grain quarts of water for your mash or about 2 gal in your case.
You will lose about 3 quarts (.75 gal) to the grain.
So your sparge water should be target boil water - (mash water - grain absorption)
3.38 - (2 - .75) = 2.13 gal
I've seen mash water ratios every where from 1.0 to 2.0 quarts/# but most people seem to use between 1.25 and 1.5 quarts/#.
I haven't done my first AG brew yet I have just been studying up on the techniques in preparation. I plan on brewing AG as soon as I empty a few more bottles.
Craig

Click to expand...

Craig:

I just did some more reading based on your advice, and it looks like you just saved me from messing up my first AG.

Thank you,

tired