[Need Confirmation] Scaling Down Recipe

[Jordan Logo]

Hello All,

I am scaling down this recipe posted by Clawhammer Supply for a BIAB Method:
https://www.clawhammersupply.com/blogs/moonshine-still-blog/lazy-hazy-summer-session-ipa

In order to do so all I did was put in all their information on Brewer's Friend and then changed my batch size to 3 gallons. When I did so the program stated I'd need 5.48 gallons as my starting amount of water, but unfortunately I'm doing this in a 5 gallon kettle.

Couldn't I just mash in at ~2.5-3 gallons of water then just sparge the grain with the rest of the water, or would that mess things up?

 

[IslandLizard]

This is a BIAB system, yes?
Sure, 2.5 gallons of water should be fine for most 3 gallon batch mashes. How many pounds of grain do you have?

You can use as much water that will fit your kettle with all the grain in it, but there are limits. The mash can't be too thick or you get problems. 1 quart of water per pound of grain is the lowest you want to go, IMO, it's ultra thick. 1.25 quart per pound is very manageable, 1.5 is great IMO.

Use a BIAB calculator that will tell you how much grain can be mashed in an x gallon kettle. You still need a little headspace (say an inch or 2) so you can stir it well.

After the mash is done, dunk (agitate) the bag for a minute or so in a bucket with sparge water to make up the missing volume, while rinsing out the sugars from the bag of grain. Then let it drain and drip out for a few minutes. You could split that into 2 sparge dunks, but probably won't be needed. You could squeeze the bag after each drain if you want to eek out some more wort.

 

[ThenFalcon]

Yes, you can mash with 2.5 - 3 gallons and then do a dunk sparge with the rest. I get a bit more efficiency by doing a 10 minute dunk sparge vs. a full volume mash. What is your boil off rate?