smaller batches

Is it acceptable to follow a make a 2-gallon batch from a 5-gallon recipe by simply dividing recipe ingredients by 2/5 ratio?

--Anthony

Yes but you will find it's easier to just brew a 2.5 gallon batch and split everything in half. AND 2.5 gallons is 1 full case of beer.

I do a ton of 2.5 gallon AG brews in my loft, usually when the weather turns cold and I don't want to brew outside.

I do a lot of Experiments, test recipes, or beers that I know I won't need/want more than a case of.

I sometimes use an unmodified 2 gallon cooler for a lot of my small btaches it holds up to 4 pounds of grain.

I just us a folding steamer in the bottom along with a grain bag. Just break off or unscrew the center post.



One of these, it helps to lift the grain bag above the spigot to keep the drainig from getting stuck.







I posted a lot of info in the mr beer thread that you may find helpful.

I posted some all grain small batchrecipes here, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/785533-post702.html

ANd a bit of a primer on AG with pics here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/738927-post659.html

But I mostly use my regular 5 gallon cooler mash tun which holds 14 pounds of grains...and 14 pounds of grain for a 2.5 gallon batch can be a mighty big beer.....


One of our memebers chubbykid had plans for a minikeg mashtun http://www.chubbykidhomebrew.com/Home/equipment



THe basic brewing radio guys are big fans of tiny batch brewing...3/4 gallon (1 6pack) in a 1 gallon winejug fermenter.

They demo the 6-pack IPA here

[ame]http://en.sevenload.com/shows/Basic-Brewing/episodes/PERGFAJ-01-12-06-Basic-Brewing-Video-A-Six-Pack-of-IPA[/ame]

and they also have done barleywines as well.

I ferment my 2.5 gallon batches in all manner of things, I have a 3 gallon better bottle, I also use 3 gallon water jugs, AND my old Mr Beer keg (it's perfect because you can even lager in your own fridge with it when you are starting out.)

You can even ferment a 2.5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon carboy if you want, though I would say a 6.5 gallon carboy is a little too much headspace for my confort.

Hope this helps....any more questions feel free to ask....

Welcome to HBT!

Yes, it is pretty easy to do although most folks divide in half and make 2.5 gallons. The only thing you don't divide is the yeast, use the whole packet.

Also, if the orginal 5 gallon recipe calls for a partial boil, you want to make adjustments to your hops (a little less than half) since you will now be doing a 'full' boil and getting better hop utilization. There are some great online calcutors to help with this. BrewersLair, hopville, tastybrew, etc.

Good luck! I have moved to 2.5 gallon batches exclusively now and worked quite a few of the kinks out. Let us know how it turns out!