5 gallon extract kit in 2 gallon fermenter?

[shanej1595]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums and this is my first post! I'll get straight to the point haha. I really want to get a red stripe clone extract kit, since I'm brand new at this I don't want to get the mini mash or anything. Anyways, the kit calls for 5 gallons, but the fermenter that I have is only 2 gallons. Is there a way for me to convert it to 2 gallons? Like should I do the math and just use part of the extract? Would this affect the qualitiy of the beer if I got it to an exact conversion? I could get a 5 gallon carboy, but this was a gift and I want to use the crap out of it before upgrading if that makes sense. I don't want my significant other to feel like she didn't get me a "good enough" gift. Call me a romantic or what you will hahaha. Any advise you guys could give is greatly appreciated. I'm happy to have found this forum, and proud to be a part of this online community. Everyone seems very nice and polite, unlike a lot of other forums.

Thanks in advance,

Shane

 

[chickypad]

Yes recipes can be scaled to any size- just use 2/5 of all the ingredients including hops.

 

[SEABrewer]

Keep in mind that scaling your recipe to exactly 2 gallons will leave you no headspace for krausen, etc. during primary. You probably should factor in about 20% (maybe more if you're expecting a vigorous fermentation) of your fermenter volume for headspace, which means you probably should scale your recipe for around 1.5 gallons of wort.

Note that the above advice is baed on my experience with airlocks. It's possible that using a blow off tube would change things a bit, but u think you'd still need some headspace.

Probably the best way to convince your SO that you need to scale up without her getting upset is to make great beers that you frequently run out of due to small batch sizes.

 

[SEABrewer]

Oh and make sure you scale your hops and yeast accordingly as well.

 

[shanej1595]

Thanks for the advice yall. SAE your advice on how to convince her to upscale would work, IF she wasn't allergic to beer hahaha.

 

[bigken462]

20 bucks at a LHBS for a 6.5 gallon plastic primary, and 5 bucks at Lowes for a racking bucket and you're in business for a 5 gallon batch. Tell her it was a "after Black Friday sale" and that you saved 50% to get her a pretty shirt. You got brew, she's got clothes, both are happy. lol

 

[JohnSand]

BrewDemon and MrBeer fermenters both have about 3 gallons of volume. I have used them for 2.5 gallon batches without overflow. If you make a high gravity brew, you'll have more krausen, but anything under 1.070 should be fine. Extract kits for 5g often consist of two 3.3lb cans of extract and some grains and hops. It's not hard to split them in half, especially if you have a scale that reads in fractions of ounces. I've done this several times. In fact, in 22 batches, only one used a 6.5g fermenter, all of the rest were in small fermenters, including several 4 and 5 gallon batches.

 

[evrose]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums and this is my first post! I'll get straight to the point haha. I really want to get a red stripe clone extract kit, since I'm brand new at this I don't want to get the mini mash or anything. Anyways, the kit calls for 5 gallons, but the fermenter that I have is only 2 gallons. Is there a way for me to convert it to 2 gallons? Like should I do the math and just use part of the extract? Would this affect the qualitiy of the beer if I got it to an exact conversion? I could get a 5 gallon carboy, but this was a gift and I want to use the crap out of it before upgrading if that makes sense. I don't want my significant other to feel like she didn't get me a "good enough" gift. Call me a romantic or what you will hahaha. Any advise you guys could give is greatly appreciated. I'm happy to have found this forum, and proud to be a part of this online community. Everyone seems very nice and polite, unlike a lot of other forums.

Thanks in advance,

Shane

Buy a 5 gallon bucket and lid from Home Depot. Costs about $5. No need to upgrade to a carboy.

 

[SEABrewer]

Thanks for the advice yall. SAE your advice on how to convince her to upscale would work, IF she wasn't allergic to beer hahaha.

Even better. Use the 2 gal fermenter to make her some cider, meaning you need another (bigger) fermenter for your beers.