i have a 30 qt pot.3/4 gal dead space below valve.but cant really use entire pot to top because of boil over.i want 5.5 gal at end of boil.because of boil loss will end up with quite
less than 5.5.heres my question.can i add say a gallon of already boiled and cooled water to my fermenter to make up to my 5.5 gal?
You sure can. Just remember that you are diluting the wort, so your gravity will be lower when you add the water. Make sure you know how much water to add to get your anticipated gravity.
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Boiling top-off water isn't really necessary. Standard water or especially bottled water doesn't have anything unsanitary that can affect fermentation negatively.
though i have 10-gallon and 15-gallon kettles, i've been adding 1 gallon of ice cold water at the end of chilling (immersion chiller and the "cold" tap water is around 85 deg.) to get down to pitching temp. i haven't had any problems. the reduction in hop utilization is so minimal that it's not noticeable.
You can minimize the dead space below the valve by tipping the kettle when you drain.
You could also use two pots to boil, and blend them together at the end.
adding water at end of boil
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