Can BIAB be scaled down to tiny batches?

I just watched a Brewing TV epsiode on brewing-in-a-bag (BIAB). They took 7lb (3.2KG) of grains, and 5 US Gallon (19 Litres) of water. After mashing they had 4 US Gallons (15 Litres) of 1.052 gravity wort. After a 60 minute boil they had 3 US Gallon (11 Litres) at 1.060 gravity to ferment.

I have never tried brewing with grain so would like to give it a go. However I live in a small apartment and only have a 5 litre cooking pot. Would scaling this down to just 21% of the batch size work? (i.e. 660 grammes of grain and 4 litres of water - probably yielding only 2.4 litres of 1.060)

I was also thinking, to speed the cooling and increase the batch size I could dilute the batch with cold water to get about 3.5 litres at 1.042.

Topic biab small-space small-batch recipe-scaling homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

Yeah you can scale it down as much as you want . Stove top brews are very easy to manage. The only thing to keep in mind is your efficiency, on a stove top and with a smaller amount of water it can be difficult to perfectly manage your mash temp, because smaller volumes respond more quickly to heat. But with a good thermometer with an alarm (10$ digital meat thermometer from a supermarket) and a bit of love you can definitely do it. As far as the cooling/cutting with cold water your only concern is infection. If you boil that water ahead of time and put it in the fridge (in a sterilized container) you will minimize the risk, but you can never totally eliminate it when using a post-boil additive like that. Distilled water is your best bet in that situation.

What kind of brew are you planning?

Cheers!

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