Just purchased "Brewing Classic Styles"

[jruffatto]

on some HBT user recommendations. I see that the recipes are designed for a 6 gallon boil but my brew pot is not large enough. To start off my brewing endeavors I've been using the Brewer's Best kits which boil 2.5 gallons and add 2.5 more gallons of water to the fermenter after the wort is cooled. What do I do at this point? Is there a way to convert these recipes?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

on some HBT user recommendations. I see that the recipes are designed for a 6 gallon boil but my brew pot is not large enough. To start off my brewing endeavors I've been using the Brewer's Best kits which boil 2.5 gallons and add 2.5 more gallons of water to the fermenter after the wort is cooled. What do I do at this point? Is there a way to convert these recipes?

IIRC, most have the conversion notes with the recipes.

 

[jmkratt]

There's a section in the book that explains how to brew smaller batches, can't remember where off the top of my head, but it's definitely addressed.

 

[weirdboy]

FYI the recipes do not target 6 gallon boils, but 7 gallon boils, 6 gallons post-boil, 5.5 gallons going into the fermenter, and 5 gallons after fermentation is complete.

 

[jmkratt]

FYI the recipes do not target 6 gallon boils, but 7 gallon boils, 6 gallons post-boil, 5.5 gallons going into the fermenter, and 5 gallons after fermentation is complete.

Yep, this is true

 

[Grinder12000]

Even 5.5 gallons seems like a lot.

jruffatto - the easiest thing to do is just male partial batches - near the back of the book I believe there is an easy way (or is that partial mash . . hmmm) ANYWAY - just make a 2.5 gallon batch and then dilute with the rest and everything will turn out fine.

Don't make it harder then it actually is. As you get more experience you can start tweaking. You are not going to make an award winning beer right off but you can make VERY good beer.

The recipes in the book are fine for cutting in half. Not a big deal at all. If you are using extract I would pour 1/2 in and save the rest for 15 minutes left in the boil. If you pour all in at the beginning the batch will be darker but still taste good.

remember - relax, and be patient - beer takes time - I just did a batch of 6 grain amber and as I was bottling it it was bland and boring. 3 weeks later fully carbed it was pretty good, another week and it's much better.

Can't wait for NEXT week

 

[jruffatto]

Even 5.5 gallons seems like a lot.

jruffatto - the easiest thing to do is just male partial batches - near the back of the book I believe there is an easy way (or is that partial mash . . hmmm) ANYWAY - just make a 2.5 gallon batch and then dilute with the rest and everything will turn out fine.

Oh so I can still boil all the ingredients just with 2.5 gallons or whatever will comfortably fit in my brew pot?

 

[grover69]

on some HBT user recommendations. I see that the recipes are designed for a 6 gallon boil but my brew pot is not large enough. To start off my brewing endeavors I've been using the Brewer's Best kits which boil 2.5 gallons and add 2.5 more gallons of water to the fermenter after the wort is cooled. What do I do at this point? Is there a way to convert these recipes?

Like other posters have mentioned, there is a section where he talks about how to scale these recipes to partial boils, as he is aware that most beginners don't own a keggle, also partial boils are easier/quicker to chill without a chiller. All the recipes I believe are 7 gallon boils, with 6 leaving the kettle and 5.5 gal left over for bottling taking account all the losses due evaporation and fermentation.

I believe its all covered in the chapter before the recipes start, don't have the book here with me so I don't know the chapter number. He goes through the process using his IPA recipe as an example.

The basic breakdown as I remember it is, cut the boil water volume in half. Then using some formulas for the gravity of LME/DME/steeping grains cut the gravity in half for the boil, add all the hops from the recipe to your boil, and add your remaining extract at the end.

This formula allows you to use the exact recipe amounts from the book for a partial boil and get close to the same IBUs from the amount of hops in the 7 gallon recipe the book provides.

 

[jruffatto]

Also, a brew store employee was telling me about a mac/pc computer program for beer recipes, is that something that would convert recipes?

 

[ArcaneXor]

Also, a brew store employee was telling me about a mac/pc computer program for beer recipes, is that something that would convert recipes?

Don't know about the Macintrash, but Beersmith is very handy to have on a PC. With it, you can figure out hopping adjustments and things along those lines easily if you do partial boils.

 

[Erythro73]

Beersmith can scale the recipes AND convert from All-Grain to Partial Mash to Extract...

 

[GRHunter]

+1 on the BeerSmith.

 

[PT Ray]

If you want to make 5 gallon batches just use 83% of the ingredients. Steep the speciality grains, use that wort for the 60 minute boil and hop additions, add the extract at the last few minutes. Roll as usual from there.

 

[EricCSU]

I would recommend reading the book prior to making one of the recipes. There are several sections which answer questions that will inevitably come up.

That's what I did at least.

Eric

 

[jmkratt]

I would recommend reading the book prior to making one of the recipes. There are several sections which answer questions that will inevitably come up.

That's what I did at least.

Eric

Agreed.

Zamil also posts 5-gallon versions of the same recipes on various podcasts, magazines, etc. If you google it you might find one.

 

[jruffatto]

Thanks for the info all...I'm going to make one more Brewer's Best recipe, a Belgian and then try a Steam recipe that was made for me by someone at my local brew store...after that I think I'm diving into the book

 

[grover69]

Thanks for the info all...I'm going to make one more Brewer's Best recipe, a Belgian and then try a Steam recipe that was made for me by someone at my local brew store...after that I think I'm diving into the book

Good idea, but don't be worried, I am sure the recipes from the book will turn out fine, probably better since the ingredients will be fresh as you purchase them when you are ready to brew, as opposed to kits, where who knows how long that stuff has been sitting on the shelves.

BTW pages 34-38 of brewing classic styles has the info on recipe conversion to partial boil.

Good Luck.

 

[jruffatto]

Good idea, but don't be worried, I am sure the recipes from the book will turn out fine, probably better since the ingredients will be fresh as you purchase them when you are ready to brew, as opposed to kits, where who knows how long that stuff has been sitting on the shelves.

BTW pages 34-38 of brewing classic styles has the info on recipe conversion to partial boil.

Good Luck.

cool, thanks

 

[jturie]

That is one expensive book....it convinced me to do full boils, so I went out and bought a 40 qt brewpot and a 50 ft wort chiller. Oh well, I'll need those items for All Grain anyway....as soon as I build my MLT.

 

[Grinder12000]

If this is your first batch I was not make a Belgian (but you have the kit already). The reason is that you will need to wait a while until it comes into it's own. It'll probably need a month or two before it starts to taste really good.

Start easy, Ambers, browns, stouts and so forth. BTW - that book has GREAT recipes!

 

[jruffatto]

If this is your first batch I was not make a Belgian (but you have the kit already). The reason is that you will need to wait a while until it comes into it's own. It'll probably need a month or two before it starts to taste really good.

Start easy, Ambers, browns, stouts and so forth. BTW - that book has GREAT recipes!

The Belgian will be my third batch...I'm drinking the IPA right now and the Kolsch is about a week and a half from being ready to drink, hopefully. But thanks for the tip, it's a good thing I can pass on to any first-time brewers I might run across in the future.

 

[SumnerH]

If this is your first batch I was not make a Belgian (but you have the kit already). The reason is that you will need to wait a while until it comes into it's own. It'll probably need a month or two before it starts to taste really good.

Hmm. I picked a Belgian strong as my very first brew precisely _because_ you need to wait a while for it. I did a pale ale second, and a hefeweizen third.

That way I had 3 beers ready almost simultaneously out of the gate.