Converting 5 gallon recipes to 2 gallon?

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shaundesjardins

shaundesjardins

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Any tips on coverting a 5 gallon extract recipe to a 2 gallon version?

I have a few small carboy I bought used locally and would like to use them to make a few 2 gallon batches.
I have a bunch of 5 gallon recipes I'm willing to try, I just need to converted to 2 gallon versions.
 
try downloading Beersmith it has a tool that you can use to scale recipes and even convert to all grain or PM brews

it my be one of you better brewing investments !!!
 
Maybe I'm missing something here, but wouldn't you just need to use 40% of the ingredients for 5 gallon batches?
 
Don't convert to 2 gallons, do what many of us do and brew 2.5 gallons...it's obviously easier to cut the ingredients in half...and 2.5 gallons is one case of beer...I have put a lot of info on here myself about brewing 2.5 gallon AG batches on my stove, including using the mr beer keg for a fermenter...look in the mr beer sticky, and als search "small batch brewing" or "2.5 gallons" if you use the advance search, and look for posts by me with those key words, you will find a lot of info...

Have fun...

:mug:
 
Revvy said:
Don't convert to 2 gallons, do what many of us do and brew 2.5 gallons...it's obviously easier to cut the ingredients in half...and 2.5 gallons is one case of beer...I have put a lot of info on here myself about brewing 2.5 gallon AG batches on my stove, including using the mr beer keg for a fermenter...look in the mr beer sticky, and als search "small batch brewing" or "2.5 gallons" if you use the advance search, and look for posts by me with those key words, you will find a lot of info...

Have fun...

:mug:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
I'll try 2.5 gallons. My little carboys should be big enough. I'll test them with tap water to see exactly how much they hold.
I'll check out those threads for more info too.
 
Cheeto said:
look here they have a few option for PC software on a MAC
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately this would require me to purchase a copy of Windows which I can't justify. I've dabbled with BootCamp and VMWare with a friend's CD and it worked pretty well. Just can't justify the purchase of Windows.
 
Revvy said:
Don't convert to 2 gallons, do what many of us do and brew 2.5 gallons...it's obviously easier to cut the ingredients in half...and 2.5 gallons is one case of beer...I have put a lot of info on here myself about brewing 2.5 gallon AG batches on my stove, including using the mr beer keg for a fermenter...look in the mr beer sticky, and als search "small batch brewing" or "2.5 gallons" if you use the advance search, and look for posts by me with those key words, you will find a lot of info...

Have fun...

:mug:
Click to expand...

Will the Mr. Beer take 2.5 gallons? I thought the first batch I brewed, from their ingredients, was around 2 gallons. It did look like there was enough headspace to easily take more.

Also, to the OP, I think there are a couple of Mac compatible programs available, Beer Alchemy and Beer Tools Pro.
 
Two main things to watch out for:

- If you scale down the quantities of all your ingredients, but then fill the same size kettle with the same amount of water when you boil, you will be boiling a more diluted wort and then topping up with less water later on. This will affect your hop utilization, so you will get more bitterness. To keep everything the same, either scale down your boil volume along with everything else, or reduce your bittering hops to account for this (you can do these calculations by hand, but brewing software makes it way easier).

- If you scale down the quantity but then pitch a full vial of yeast, you'll get different fermentation results. That's unlikely to be a bad thing, though: in fact pitching a full vial of White Labs or Wyeast into 2 gallons is about the same pitching rate as if you made a yeast starter, which is a good idea in any case and will most likely improve your brew.
 
If you're going to be adjusting recipes or formulating your own recipes, I strongly recommend investing in brewing software - I personally use BeerSmith and love it. It's only about $22 and well worth it in my opinion. You can convert from AG to PM or Extract, change batch sizes, play around with different techniques like Late Extract Addition, First Wort Hopping, etc.

I am still pretty much a noob but the software has really helped me understand the brewing process and ingredients and allowed me to move up to partial mashing.
 
shaundesjardins said:
Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately this would require me to purchase a copy of Windows which I can't justify. I've dabbled with BootCamp and VMWare with a friend's CD and it worked pretty well. Just can't justify the purchase of Windows.
Click to expand...

Check out BeerAlchemy. It's a native Mac application.
 
Use the Beer Recipator. Nothing to download, so you can access on your Mac. For the most part, using half or two-fifths will work, but you may want to verify. You can find an online calculator for yeast pitching amounts.

The Beer Recipator - Home
 
Shawn Hargreaves said:
Two main things to watch out for:

- If you scale down the quantities of all your ingredients, but then fill the same size kettle with the same amount of water when you boil, you will be boiling a more diluted wort and then topping up with less water later on. This will affect your hop utilization, so you will get more bitterness. To keep everything the same, either scale down your boil volume along with everything else, or reduce your bittering hops to account for this (you can do these calculations by hand, but brewing software makes it way easier).

- If you scale down the quantity but then pitch a full vial of yeast, you'll get different fermentation results. That's unlikely to be a bad thing, though: in fact pitching a full vial of White Labs or Wyeast into 2 gallons is about the same pitching rate as if you made a yeast starter, which is a good idea in any case and will most likely improve your brew.
Click to expand...


Uh...we're not talking about topping off, we are talking about making full boil 2.5 gallon batches, usually all grain on a stove top....

And there is nothing wrong with over pitching in this case, except the fermentation usually takes off...In fact I just did a 2.5 gallon strong belgian ale with a starting grav over 1.090 and used an out of date vial of belgian ale yeast...and it took off like gangbusters...

Yes the mr beer can take a 2.5 gallon batch...

And once again I'll say it, I don't wanna sound like a search nazi, BUT, I have posted a ton of info on this site about small batch brewing including answering ALL these questions...if you just do an advanced search for some of the key words and posts by me...you will find everything you need...including recipes...

I have been writing an article on small batch AG with a Mr beer hopefully for BYO or ZYmurgy, so that's why I have posted info on my experiments and stuff I have learned on here.

:mug:
 
But Revvy, if we constantly used the search button there would be no new threads for you to respond to!!! I'm sure it's all been covered on here SOMEWHERE! Might as well just disable the POST NEW THREAD button.

Come on, admit it, you love it!

:mug:
 
Grist scaling is linear, since gravity contribution is a function of the amount of extract in a given volume of liquor. A pound of malt contributes a given amount of extract per gallon. Period.

Hops utilization can change dramatically with changes in volume, however, and there is no way a piece of software can predict it. There are simply too many variables to consider, none of which can be known or predicted by the software. Like kettle design, surface:volume ratio, heat source, etc.

You can try linear scaling of hops amounts in the first few batches. If they come out with different bitterness and flavor/aroma profiles than the originals, you have a place to begin troubleshooting. I do not recommend trying to scale recipes with which you are not familiar; you'll have extreme difficulty troubleshooting anything you can't tell by your palate.

Have fun!

Bob
 
Revvy said:
And once again I'll say it, I don't wanna sound like a search nazi, BUT, I have posted a ton of info on this site about small batch brewing including answering ALL these questions...if you just do an advanced search for some of the key words and posts by me...you will find everything you need...including recipes...
Click to expand...

search nazi :D

but, Revvy's right (see my signature). The search feature is your friend, not your enemy! :mug:
 
NQ3X said:
.... I do not recommend trying to scale recipes with which you are not familiar; you'll have extreme difficulty troubleshooting anything you can't tell by your palate.
Click to expand...

I agree with this if you're trying to make a beer for competition, etc., but for the average homebrewer who just wants to try something new, I really don't think the small differences in the software calculations will matter. In my case I like to brew small batches of new recipes that I find.
 
secinarot said:
I agree with this if you're trying to make a beer for competition, etc., but for the average homebrewer who just wants to try something new, I really don't think the small differences in the software calculations will matter. In my case I like to brew small batches of new recipes that I find.
Click to expand...

I've not noticed a problem in any of the small batches I've made...but then again I use beersmith's scaling feature...but I always double check the ibu's...I make a note of it @ 5 gallons...and if it's not the same at 2.5 I tweak til I get it...same with gravity and color...

It's not really all that difficult...if it's a 1.060 SG beer with 25 Ibus and 20srms at 5 gallons then it should be 1.060, 25, 20 at 2.5 gallons as well...

BUT I know from experience with tweaking small batches, it is easier to calculate the hop quanities in grams rather that ounces...if it comes out as .3875 ounces that MAY be kinda hard to measure, even on my digital scale...but converted to grams it's fine.

.3875 ounces = 10.9854402 grams...so I'd round it to 11 grams...
 
Revvy makes a great point. Small batch brewing is very unforgiving to "eyeball" measurements. Be sure to get a scale.
 
jkarp said:
Revvy makes a great point. Small batch brewing is very unforgiving to "eyeball" measurements. Be sure to get a scale.
Click to expand...

Target has great cheap digital scales (like 20 bucks) Makes sure it can handle a decent amount of pounds (for handling grain) and does both grams and ounces, and can zero out...I use little ceramic olive oil bowls and/or ramikins to separate out my hop additions.
 
Revvy said:
Target has great cheap digital scales (like 20 bucks) Makes sure it can handle a decent amount of pounds (for handling grain) and does both grams and ounces, and can zero out...I use little ceramic olive oil bowls and/or ramikins to separate out my hop additions.
Click to expand...

I have a scale that will handle 4.4lbs (2kg) will this be adequate for my future brews that will eventually be all grain?
Just wondering.
 
shaundesjardins said:
I have a scale that will handle 4.4lbs (2kg) will this be adequate for my future brews that will eventually be all grain?
Just wondering.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I think mine only goes that high as well...you just have to measure your grain in increments...4 pounds 2 row, and 3 pounds two row...etc and dump into a bucket like I do...
 
Revvy said:
Yeah...I think mine only goes that high as well...you just have to measure your grain in increments...4 pounds 2 row, and 3 pounds two row...etc and dump into a bucket like I do...
Click to expand...

Oh ok.
I was hoping to keep the scale I already have since it works quite well.
Looks like I'll be keeping it.
 

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