Recipe Scaling

[GParkins]

I'm not sure if this is the right topic to pose this question, but it seems pretty close. I'm in the later stages of upgrading my rig from a propane-fired 5-gallon keggle and rubbermaid cooler mash tun system to a 3-kettle electric HERMS system with 30-gallon kettles. I have a number of recipes that I've been successful with using the 5-gallon system, and I have a couple of pieces of software that should be able to handle scaling OK.

My question is: are there any other considerations to scaling a recipe from 5 gallons to 1/2 bbl besides what happens behind the curtain in either Beersmith or Beer Alchemy?

 

[kh54s10]

You will probably have to do a few brews to dial things like predicted efficiency settings in the software. I hope to have a similar problem in the not too distant future.

 

[GParkins]

Good catch. I also have to run some tests to determine my new equipment loss figures. I think that running a new thermal mass calculation is kind of moot, since the mash temp will be pretty tightly controlled by the HERMS.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

From what I've read....hop additions don't scale on a linear basis as far as hop utilization. I'd read up on that. I think the article I read was affiliated with beersmith.

Also, I read somewhere that the roasty malts don't scale in a linear manner either.

 

[GParkins]

Thanks, @Hwk-I-St8 . I'll look into that as well.

 

[chickypad]

In my experience using 4 different systems/profiles with Beersmith the software seemed to be pretty good at scaling the hops correctly (I always do a straight oz/gal for late additions and let it scale the bittering addition for the recipe). As mentioned you'll want to get your new profile correctly dialed in. I think the point about dark malts is a good one but I think it relates more to efficiency than actual batch size. Let's say you get really poor efficiency and need to significantly increase your grainbill you may end up using a very high lb/gal of roasted grains. Same with someone with really high efficiency, the total roasted grain/gal may get so low that it seems weak. Kind of makes sense as most of the yield from very dark roasted grains is probably not dependent on mashing, so you should also look at total roasted grain per gal in the original recipe. In my case efficiency was pretty stable across my different systems so I never really had to account for that and just let it scale by percentages.