Should I scale down boil time when I scale down a recipe?

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rjester

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I want to experiment with some different recipes with smaller volumes. I'm thinking of brewing 1 gallon batches before moving to 5 gallon batches. The recipe is a partial boil. Scaling the partial boil volume down results in less than 1 gallon boil volume. Should I still boil my wort for 60 minutes?

My first guess is that I should shorten the time so I don't boil off all of the liquid. I guess I could increase the boil volume, but wouldn't that change the character of the recipe?
 
just curious...why would you want to do this? you're just going to end up with a tiny bit of beer you can drink in a weekend...

i've thought about brewing 5 gallons and splitting into 5 - 1 gal batches for yeast experiments, but don't see the reasoning in brewing less than 5 gallons.

you can do a 2 gallon partial boil and just top off to make 5 gallons. cooling the wort is easier, you can top off with cold water, and you still get a full batch.
 
rjester said:
I want to experiment with some different recipes with smaller volumes. I'm thinking of brewing 1 gallon batches before moving to 5 gallon batches. The recipe is a partial boil. Scaling the partial boil volume down results in less than 1 gallon boil volume. Should I still boil my wort for 60 minutes?

My first guess is that I should shorten the time so I don't boil off all of the liquid. I guess I could increase the boil volume, but wouldn't that change the character of the recipe?
A shorter boil time will not extract the hops bitterness you look for so you actually have it backward. A higher volume full-length boil will get you closer to the taste profile than a shorter boil - less volume. If you do shorten the boil volume/time, you'll want to increase the hops.
 
DeathBrewer said:
just curious...why would you want to do this? you're just going to end up with a tiny bit of beer you can drink in a weekend...

I'd like to get to the piont that I could formulate my own recipes. I just wanted to experiment with different ingredients without having to buy enough for 5 gallons and have it turn out bad.

I'm choking down 2 cases of bad beer now, but since I made it I'm going to drink it.
 
i see. i suppose that makes sense, but i'd still recommend picking a style you like then getting some tried and true recipes before finding what you like, getting a feel for it, and designing your own. you're still going to be spending the same amount of time brewing, albeit a little less cost. good luck on the next one!

:mug:
 
You should pick up the latest issue of Brew Your Own, it has a really good article about brewing on a small scale (one gallon batches). Its the one with the Mug of beer on the beach on the cover.

Cheers
 
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