Starting gravity vs. finished gravity?

Q2XL · 06-04-2009, 06:09 PM

I am brewing a barleywine right now. My pre-boil gravity was supposed to be 1.103, I ened up with 1.088.

My finished gravity is supposed to be 1.120. the recipe calls for a 60 minute boil.

My question is this. If I boil longer, say 75 mintues, will my finished gravity be closer to the 1.120 or farther away?

Limited Visibility · 06-04-2009, 06:12 PM

I would think it would be closer to your desired gravity because you would be concentrating the wort even more with a longer boil

beeraroundtown · 06-04-2009, 06:12 PM

closer, boiling removes water concentrating the sugars. I'm not sure how long it will take though.

TheChemist · 06-04-2009, 06:40 PM

It might take awhile, and it will make your wort darker as the sugars caramelise and melanoidins form, as well. Your other option is to toss in some brewers sugar to augment your gravity, and keep your boil as is. It's like heaping in pre-alcohol!

rsmith179 · 06-04-2009, 06:50 PM

Your best bet is to have some DME on hand when brewing all-grain, especially with a barleywine like that. You want to make sure that you have the correct OG to ensure that your hop utilization is correct for the recipe. If you undershoot the pre-boil gravity, simply add some DME in order to bring it up to the desired gravity.

You can definately boil longer, however, you're going to end up with less of a finished product. Adding DME is definately the way to go....

Q2XL · 06-04-2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmith179

Your best bet is to have some DME on hand when brewing all-grain, especially with a barleywine like that. You want to make sure that you have the correct OG to ensure that your hop utilization is correct for the recipe. If you undershoot the pre-boil gravity, simply add some DME in order to bring it up to the desired gravity.

You can definately boil longer, however, you're going to end up with less of a finished product. Adding DME is definately the way to go....

I am 30 minutes into the boil. Can I add the DME now?

BreckBastion · 06-04-2009, 07:02 PM

Yes. If you have DME add it now

Q2XL · 06-04-2009, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreckBastion

Yes. If you have DME add it now

About how much for approx 5.75 gallons in my kettle right now?

BreckBastion · 06-04-2009, 07:30 PM

How many gallons are you going for?
For a 5 gallon batch I am coming up with using an extra 2lbs of extra light DME and you will have a preboil of 1.103

usurpers26 · 06-04-2009, 07:47 PM

Or just do the math to determine how long you need to boil...assuming you had 6 gallons of preboil volume.

preboil SG * preboil vol = 88 * 6 = 528

528 / final volume = OG (120)

final volume (including cooling loss) = 4.4 gallons

Now just plug in your boil off rate to figure out how long you need to boil for to boil off 1.6 gallons.