Stepping into all grain with 2.5 Gallon Batches

[machinehead131]

I want to start brewing 2.5 gallon batches all grain. I assume you just scale down 5 gallon recipes and halve everything.

Here is my equipment.

7 gallon brewpot
5 gallon igloo converted cooler as mash tun

Are the procedures any different for 2.5 gallon batches?

I am not sure what to for sparging or how much water to use or anything like that...

How much pre boil volume should there be in the pot?

Say I wanted to brew Ed's haus pale ale,

"8 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt
2 lbs. Vienna Malt
0.5 lb. Crystal 10L Malt

Mash
Single Infusion mash for 60 minutes at 152 degrees.
I batch sparge in a 10 gallon water cooler with a stainless braid manifold. Click here for great info on Batch Sparging.
Dough-in with 3.5 gallons of water. After 60 minutes, add 5 quarts of 175 degree water and begin vorlauf. My system only takes about 2 quarts before it clears up, then it's wide open to drain in the kettle. Have another 3.25 gallons of 175 degree water ready for the next batch sparge. You should then get 6.5 gallons to your kettle for the boil."

So for this recipe I would do:
4lbs 2 row
1lb vienna
.25 crystal 10

Dough in with 1.75 gallons of water
After 60 min add 2.5 quarts of water and vorlauf
get another 6.5 quarts at 175 for batch sparge.

Is all this right?

 

[wildwest450]

Do yourself a favor and download a free trial of beersmith, it will do all the work for you. It will flawlessly give you every number you need for a perfect beer. I wouldn't brew without it.

 

[McGarnigle]

What you have seems about right. You're doing 1.33 qts/gallon mash, etc. What I'm not sure about is evaporation rate, which is basically your question about pre-boil liquid in the pot.

Do you have any idea of how much you lose to a 60 minute boil, based on prior batches? You'd want to use that and work backwards. I suspect you may have proportionally more boil off than the recipe assumes...half the volume doesn't mean half the surface area.

If nothing else, keep notes so next time you'll no what your 'system' does for you.

 

[machinehead131]

So say I have a recipe in beersmith, all I have to do is press the scale button and follow those directions. When you sparge is there anyway to calculate how much sparge water to use?

 

[permo]

Do yourself a favor and download a free trial of beersmith, it will do all the work for you. It will flawlessly give you every number you need for a perfect beer. I wouldn't brew without it.

+1 Beersmith has revolutionized all grain brewing for me. I store my grain and mash tun in my basement, at 60 degrees. Beersmith takes this into account and adjust my strikewater temp accordingly. It's a well thought out and well designed too.

Download it, try it, love it, buy it...and brew all the tasty beer you can handle.

 

[bigin31]

You want your pre boil volume to be about 4 gallons. Put four and a half gallons of 160 degree water in mash tun. Dough in. Let mash for 60 minutes. Slowly drain off one gallon. (Should be clear by then) Pour that gallon slowly back on top of the mash. Turn your spigot wide open and drain into your kettle. Should get pretty close to 4 gallons. Then boil away. I do 2.5 gallon batches also but use a different technique. Your grain bill should be pretty close to mine though. Use 5 to 6 pounds of grain for each batch and 1 to 1.5 total oz hops and you will make some damn fine beer.

 

[bigin31]

Oh. I also have never used a calculator. I do all of it freestyle and just see what I get in the end. I have NEVER had a bad grain bill.

 

[cheesecake]

Beer smith is worth the money. i also emailed bmw and ahs and they will seperate the grains instead of mixing them in the bag so you can order the kit and divide the grains and everything else yourself.


I plan on doing 2.5 gallon batches myself but im going to do the stovetop brew in a bag method