Converting to full boil

Hi All,

I have a recipe I brewed last year with a partial boil, 5 gallon batch. I want to convert this to a 2.5 gallon full boil. I found that I have received better results with the full boils. That said, how do I convert this recipe "down" to size while keeping the same flavor(s) and aroma(s)?

Current Recipe:
SG: 1.064
SRM: 48.3
IBU: 21.9

Malt:
Light DME 5.40#
Crystal 60L 0.75#
Roasted Barley 0.50#
Black Patent Malt 0.25#
Chocolate Malt 1.00#
Milk Sugar 0.50#

Hops:
Kent Goldings 1.00 oz 4.75A

With that recipe you should be able to keep everything exactly the same

Thank you for your input. So just lowering my DME to hit my target gravity I should be fine (which I believe would be around 2# of DME)? I would have to do nothing with the steeping grains?

Beersmith showed a cut in half if i used it correctly. I am new to this so take it as you will

If you are scaling down a recipe size you scale down the recipe ingredients the exact same. Half the final volume = half the starting grains, hops, and extract.

It is like if you were making half a batch of cookies. You wouldn't just half the flour, or you would end up with cookies with too many nuts/chocolate chips on them. Unless, of course, that is what you wanted!

Your original 5g:
Malt:
Light DME 5.40#
Crystal 60L 0.75#
Roasted Barley 0.50#
Black Patent Malt 0.25#
Chocolate Malt 1.00#
Milk Sugar 0.50#

Hops:
Kent Goldings 1.00 oz 4.75A

Your 2.5g:
Malt:
Light DME 2.70#
Crystal 60L 0.375#
Roasted Barley 0.25#
Black Patent Malt 0.125#
Chocolate Malt 0.5#
Milk Sugar 0.25#

Hops:
Kent Goldings 0.50 oz 4.75A


I hope this helps and makes sense!

EDIT: You are saying "convert to full boil"; are you wanting a final batch size of beer to be 2.5g when it is in the carboy, or are you wanting it to be 5g, and wanting to just boil 2.5g and add the remaining water to get it up to the full volume? Want to make sure I am giving the right advice!

Tall_Yotie said:

EDIT: You are saying "convert to full boil"; are you wanting a final batch size of beer to be 2.5g when it is in the carboy, or are you wanting it to be 5g, and wanting to just boil 2.5g and add the remaining water to get it up to the full volume? Want to make sure I am giving the right advice!

Click to expand...

I am wanting the final in the carboy to be just over 2.5g as I want to boil, I believe from promash it says ~3g, so that my final beer will 2.5 gallons. Where in the past I have a partial boil, about 3.5, and then added more water to it in the carboy to make 5g.

oach said:

I am wanting the final in the carboy to be just over 2.5g as I want to boil, I believe from promash it says ~3g, so that my final beer will 2.5 gallons. Where in the past I have a partial boil, about 3.5, and then added more water to it in the carboy to make 5g.

Click to expand...

To make a 1/2 batch, just cut the ingredients in half. Boil 3 gallons. It'll be fine.

Yup, do the half everything ingredient batch. Just like baking.

Oh yeah halve everything. I misinterpreted your question, sorry about my confusing response before.

On another thought on halving everything... because you aren't halving the water. You will get better hop utilization because you don't have as high a concentration of all the other components in the solution.

According to quick calcs on Hopville:

1 oz of 4.7% AA boiled 60 min in an average of 3.25 gal to make 5 gal of 1.065 wort -> 11 IBU

.5 oz of 4.7% AA boiled 60 min in an average of 2.75 gal to make 2.5 gal of 1.065 wort -> 16 IBU

Probably not a big deal on this recipie, but on a big IPA, a full boil could make a big difference...

Thank you all for your input. I am now ready for my Christmas Eve brewing