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Scaling Recipes, Getting Started

zaklee

Apprentice
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
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Location
Long Beach, MS
Hey folks. I'm very new to the all-grain process having competed my first batch last weekend working from a kit. I want more options and less cost so I've been looking into Beer Smith in hopes of weening myself from those kits.

This community here has posted so many great recipes. Thank you all. For sake of time, I'd like to brew 10 or 12 gallon batches instead of 5 or 6 gallon. I have a 25 gal. kettle and a 14 gal. Rubbermaid mash/lauder tun suitable for single infusion, batch sparge recipes. I also have two 8 gal. kettles for heating water.

I guess my primary question is how to best scale a 5 or 6 gallon recipe to a 10 or 12 gallon batch? Is this a case of simple multiplication or is it more complicated than that? Is there a conversion tool in Beer Smith that I just haven't found yet?

If you all have any other ideas or thoughts about how I should proceed, my process or anything else to keep it fun and relatively simple for a newbie, please share.

Thanks,

zak   
 
Well, alright then. Found the tool to scale recipes for equipment. Sorry for posting the question before conducting more research...

Still love to hear from you all about setup, process, etc.
 
Zaklee (LOL, I have to laugh, good user name!)
Anyhoo, I just want to say congrats. If I'm going to put in the time, why not 10 to 12 gallons. Right on! I'm just trying to find some AFFORDABLE 20+ gallon pots for sale. (got a 17.5 gallon mash tun built). I just wanted you to know that somebody envies your 25 gallon kettle ;D
 
My 25 gallon kettle is an aluminum Bayou Classic crawfish boiler. Picked it up from a guy near New Orleans along with a 34 qt. pot, 5 kegs, 4 CO2 regulators (2 brand new) a decent burner and a couple other misc. pieces for $200. Beauty of liv'n in the South (the crawfish, I mean)

If only I could figure out how to keep my fermentation temps below 84 deg... Summer brews are sometimes kinda nasty.
 
zaklee said:
I guess my primary question is how to best scale a 5 or 6 gallon recipe to a 10 or 12 gallon batch? Is this a case of simple multiplication or is it more complicated than that?

Multiply by two. for 5 to 10 and 6  to 12 respectively.

Honestly:
Unless you are in competition and trying to duplicate so regional "style" or rip off some one else's beer with a "clone" (neither of which have I ever bothered with),  there's no reason not to just make  up your own recipes.
I do most of my beers on the fly (literally: on the fly as I'm ordering ingredients, I'll see something I'd like to try and I get it)  using a generally predictable collection of hops that I know work & play well together and which I like along with a similarly predictable selection of base and specialty grains which I also know work and play well together.

Once in a while I expand that envelope with different things.  With this approach I get to try new grains and hops in an environment where I already have a good feel for what I ought to expect  which allows the new component to stand out a little proud. 
The new addition either becomes part of my  ever evolving palette of brewing ingredients or  I  reject it.

Play with your ingredients.  I think it's lots of fun.


 
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