easy 3 gallon all-grain batch

Seems like a good way for a beginner to all grain to get started. Also live in a small apartment, no way to use outside burner just electric range. Just wanted some opinions.





http://www.classiccitybrew.com/homebrew.html

I do that all the time for the same reason. Today I converted Jamil's Oatmeal Stout into a 2.5 gallon recipe and have it sitting in the primary right now. I just use a standard 6.5 gallon bucket as a primary and a 3 gallon glass carboy I got for free as a secondary.

I used the WLP013 only because I had an ESB in the primary and tossed this onto that cake. I would normally use Safale S-04. I did have a bit of a problem with this and ended up with 4 gallons or runnings and had to do a 90 minute boil to get it down to the volume I wanted.

The secret is to use good brewing software. Then you can pump down the grain bill and adjust the hops to get to the correct IBU. Sometimes I'll fudge the numbers a bit so I can get to a nice even grain bill. I do not use the scaling option in the software. It ends up making bills of strange amounts.

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Jamil's Oatmeal Stout
Style: Oatmeal Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 2.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.61 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 35.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 35.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.75 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 72.96 %
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7.68 %
0.38 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5.84 %
0.38 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 5.84 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 3.84 %
0.25 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 3.84 %
0.80 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 35.8 IBU
1 Pkgs London Ale (White Labs #WLP013) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 6.51 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 8.46 qt of water at 165.5 F 154.0 F

adx said:

IBeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Jamil's Oatmeal Stout
Style: Oatmeal Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 2.50 gal
Boil Size: 3.61 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 35.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 35.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 6.51 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 8.46 qt of water at 165.5 F 154.0 F

Click to expand...

I see where your boil size says 3.61 gallons which I know is the preboil volume, I can't find where you get that on beersmith. and also do you only mash in the drain and not sparge on this recipe I mean 8.46qt. is only 2.115 gallons. which isn't enough for your 3.61 gallons. I am confused can you explain?

You have to setup your equipment properly in Beersmith to get the boil size settings. I find that I loose about 1 gallon in a 60 minute boil on my stove top. Also, for some stupid reason Beersmith only shows sparge volumes on it's "brew sheet" output. I'll double check my notes tonight, but I think it calculated ~2.5 gallons of sparge water for this batch.

Remember that you lose about .1 gallon of water for each pound of grain in the mash. So for this recipe that makes the 1st running somewhere around 1.5 gallon (~2 gallons - .6 gallon). Then, I should have thought about it and only sparged with 2 gallons for a total ~3.5 gallons. Instead I went with Beersmith's figures and sparged with 2.5 gallons to get my total of almost 4 gallons. Nothing an extra bit of boiling couldn't take care of. I was busy listening to the Steelers game anyway.

I'm doing about the same thing but I have the capacity for a 4 gal AG.