AG virgin has quantity Q

[ukeboy]

Hi,
I've tried a few kits and fancy taking the plunge to have a go at all grain. I'm not a big drinker( and I'm a Geordie , the shame...) so I'm going to start with smaller , 1/2 gallon batches. But since Most recipes are for bigger batches do I just scale down all the ingredients, say divide water, grain, hops by 4? Or do the proportions change by different rates. Is there a formula I can use? Any help appeciated

[killer]

To be honest it's almost not worth your while doing half a gallon.... You still have to mash, boil etc... You are talking about 5 hours work for 4 pints of beer.
I've never done less than 10L.

The answer to your question is, pretty much, yes. Divide the recipe quantities by 4 if you are brewing 4 times less etc. etc.. Though you might have difficulty weighing very small quantities of hops unless you have a small scales.

I would strongly recommend going with BIAB for your first couple of tries. It's quicker and very convenient plus there will be minimal equipment required. Have a search on here if you are not familiar with BIAB.

[Normski]

Hi ukeboy
A simple answer is yes, just divide the recipe, but it’s a lot of work for just 4 pints.
That’s why most recipes are for 5 gal. And most equipment etc are all 5 gal.
It’s well worth making even your 1st batch 5 gal.
Even if you dont drink loads, it will keep, especially if you bottle it.

[ukeboy]

Thanks for that, I meant 1 to 2 gallon batches, 1/2 gallon hehe, can't type never mind brew. What does BIAB stand for?

[killer]

BIAB is Brew In A Bag.

Check out the forum underneath this one on the main page.
It is a way to do all grain brewing in a single vessel.
You basically take your grain, stick it in a bag made of fine material (e.g voile), mash in your pot, then pull the bag out (drain the bag), chuck in the hops and boil...
You skip the sparge step in regular 3 vessel grain brewing.
You can buy cheap 19L pots which will allow you to brew about 10L comfortably.
You can also check out www.biabrewer.info which is dedicated to BIAB brewing.

[ukeboy]

thanks for that, appreciate your help

[guypettigrew]

Hi ukeboy. Welcome to the best home brew forum!

Even if you brew 2 galons you'll only get 14 or so pints at a maximum, after losses in the mash tun and boiler. Possibly only 10 pints.

Are you sure you want to brew such a small amount?

Beer keeps well, whether you bottle or keg it.

If you brew 5 gallons and only drink it slowly it will still keep for ages.

Guy

[jimp2003]

Having just done my first small AG batch (1 gallon) today as an experimental effort, I would say that I would not bother with such a small quantity for something I knew I would definitely want to drink. I would say that 2 gallons or 10 litres would be more worth the effort.

At the end of the day its up to you of course and there is definitely something to be said for less than 5 gallons so you can try more new things and not all beers benefit from being kept for a long time (very hoppy pales for example).

Welcome to the forum and good luck with the AG brews!

Jim

[Rookie]

I think 2 1/2 gallons would be a good amount, you'd only have to devide a recipe in half and wouldn't have to deal with measuring out really small amounts of hops and yeast like you would for a gallon or less.