Back to Shopping at NorthernBrewer.com

3 Gal AG

Mashing
#1

Hi,

I’m looking for some advice. I have been an extract brewer for almost 2 years. I would like to try AG but I don’t want to shell out for a large kettle and propane burner yet. I would like to make 3 gallon batches on my electric stove.

Can large recipes be scaled down accurately using Beer Smith or some other calculator?

Is AG difficult to do on an electric stove?

Do I need a smaller carboy or would a 5 Gal be okay?

I know NB has BIAB kits but I’m looking to experiment and thought 3 gal. batches might make it easier.

Thanks
BJ

Small (2 or 3 gallon) batch brewing (2017)
#2

Scaling down is not a big deal, just multiply everything by .60 (3/5). Bear in mind that for a three gallon batch you will have to begin boiling about four gallons and have at least a five gallon pot. That may still be asking a lot of a home electric stove. Maybe there are some electric stove brewers out there with more specific information. A five gallon carboy should do fine as a primary fermenter.

#3

You will be fine. I have done 5 gal batches in the past on our glass top electric stove. It will just take a little longer to start boiling.

#4

+1 to what’s been said. I do 3 gallon batches of beers I know my wife won’t like and ferment in 5 gallon carboys. I do have a couple of 3 gallon carboys for the beers I decide to secondary, but those are getting to be fewer and fewer.

Beersmith will do the calcs for you if you want to avoid math 8)

#5

Northern Brewer actually just started selling a BIAB three gallon starter kit with everything you’ll need. I do 2.5 gallon batches because that gets you about a case of beer and I do them on my gas stove with the pot completely covering one burner and part of another. I also leave the lid half on to help with heat retention and thus the boil but leaving enough room for the steam to escape. I write all my recipes in Beersmith and if you plug in a 5 gallon recipe there is a scale down tool on there that will do it for you. I’d just round the numbers to make it easier on you when purchasing.

#6
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/biab ... %2Ba%2Bbag
#7

Even doing an AG batch, you can make a concentrated boil and then top off to the 3 gallon mark. You will see a loss of efficiency. But the money spent is fairly low.

Or, you could some a partygyle stye of brew. Make your 1st beer a IPA. Then add some an extra pound of 2-row and some dark grains to make a porter/stout.

#8

I have been looking into the exact same thing.

I have been messing with Hopville.com to sale things down with my own math. But oddly, when I scale down the hops int he recipe my IBUs are too low. Is that a flaw in hopville?

#9

I do three gallon batches on the stove. When we bought a new stove a few years ago my wife suggested that we get one with an over sized burner which does pretty good bringing nearly 4 gallons up to a boil, better than the old stove with regular size burners all around.

#10

I do 3 gallon batches and when I switched to all grain, I bought a 32 qt megapot and an outdoor gas burner. The std 4 burner stove deforms with the 32 qt megapot and 4-5 gallons of water. Ruined a burner that way. Btw, a great 5 gallon kit that makes a nice 3 gallon beer is the breakfast stout. Cut the oatmeal a bit. I was hoping BTV would do an ep with all 3 hosts taking off the shelf 5 gal kits and making them into 3 gal BIABs.

#11

I started out with a larger scale 46l AG set up. Now I’m looking to scale down a bit as well. I do still have my gas burner, so even though I have considdered stove top, I can’t imagine choosing it over the open flame.

I’d say the electric stove top will work, but why not pick up a turkey friar set. They really are not too expensive.

#12

Thanks for the responses and advice. I will probably get a burner, but hold off on the large boil kettle till next year.

BJ

#13

Thanks for the responses and advice. I will probably get a burner, but hold off on the large boil kettle till next year.

BJ

Back to Shopping at NorthernBrewer.com