Lowering the ABV of a stout recipe

[NeedsMoreHops]

I am planning to brew the Sensible Mole Dark Lantern tomorrow as I promised to do a christmas brew for my father-in-law and he is a fan of stouts (I am not yet, but hopefully tasting this will help).
As 7% is higher than I would like, I am planning to reduce this to approx. 5% by using 70% of the malt bill specified in the recipe. Is this a reasonable approach or should I adjust each grain by a different amount?
Also, the hops are all bittering, so I will probably just use up ones I have knocking around (liberty and/or willamette). Presumably this is reasonable as the grains wouldl overpower any hop flavour?
Cheers

[seymour]

I am planning to brew the Sensible Mole Dark Lantern tomorrow as I promised to do a christmas brew for my father-in-law and he is a fan of stouts (I am not yet, but hopefully tasting this will help).
As 7% is higher than I would like, I am planning to reduce this to approx. 5% by using 70% of the malt bill specified in the recipe. Is this a reasonable approach or should I adjust each grain by a different amount?

You're right, that's about all there is to it. I prefer to think of grainbills in terms of percentages (as opposed to pounds, grams, etc), so that each recipe is scalable to any strength or volume you like. After you make your reduction calculations, simply plug your new recipe into your favourite brewing software or free online brewing calculator to double-check it would come out like you expect.

...Also, the hops are all bittering, so I will probably just use up ones I have knocking around (liberty and/or willamette). Presumably this is reasonable as the grains wouldl overpower any hop flavour?

Both Liberty and Willamette would be good bittering hops for a stout, and should still come out similar to Sensible Mole's intended result. However, I wouldn't make the generalization that dark, complex grains always overpower hops flavours/aromas. I think old-fashioned India Porters and new-fangled Black IPAs prove you can make dark ales profoundly hoppy too. But in this particular recipe, I agree with you, the hops are meant to provide just enough bitterness to offset the malty sweetness and that's it.

[NeedsMoreHops]

Excellent! Thanks for the quick respose Seymour. I'm all set for tomorrow then