Cutting a Recipe in Half

Hello:

There seems to be a lot of great info in the forums ... that's encouraging!

I'm totally new to this and have been doing some reading before I embark on my first brew. I'm reading 'How to Brew' right now and am zeroing in on a kit to buy.

I'm eager to get into the hobby but don't want to brew a lot of beer each time. It seems like most recipes I've see are for 5 gallon batches. The kits seem to be geared to this amount as well. Is it pretty straight forward to cut the recipe in half for a smaller batch, or will recipes not turn out right? Does the capacity of the equipment matter?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,


Paul

At least for me. The guy at the local home brew shop knows I only brew "half batches" (2 1/2 gallons) because I recieved a Beer Machine for Christmas and now that I use recipes other than the "Beer Mixes" that come pre-packaged from their company I can brew better beer and greater variety.

I'm not a pro but the best way to do it is to find or search for recipes on the web that are "taylored" to the volume you like. Or, there are some web sites and cheap software to help calculate recipes. Finally, you could always by the whole recipe, split the recommended weights or volumes and brew it like that. Good luck...

I like the smaller batches for right now (space etc) I'm sure that after time, sucessful brews and a few "stellar" batches that run out fast, I will graduate to larger volumes.

hey there posburn...you should check this site out...

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator

plug in the ingredients then you can use the "resize recipe" to specify what size you want...


I've done 2 5 gallon batches and i've decided I want to start doing 3 gallon batches BC i don't really drink ALL that much plus it means I get to brew more often! and I can do full boils...i don't know everything about it makes since to me..

oh yeah and you should try finding recipes online...makes it easier to resize...

should cost about the same as if you were resizing a kit you know?

check out the recipe database for some good ones or if you want PM me with a style your considering and I'll look through my book for you

good luck! take it easy

Thanks for the advice. That's exactly what I was looking for. Also that's one reason I'd like to do smaller batches ... get to brew more often!

Thank you both for the help.

no problem...thats what this place is here for

take it easy