Boil Volume Question

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YouHadMeAtASL

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The recipe calls for a 2 gallon volume for steeping and boiling. My question is: won't I be left with ~1 gallon of actual wort at the end of the 60 min boil? Am I really going to add 4 gallons of water to "top it off"?

Recipe:
American-Style Barleywine

5 gallons
12 lbs Light Malt Extract Syrup
1lb British Crystal 50-60L
0.5lbs British Carastan 45L
1.3oz Magnum 60 min 16.7%AA = 21.7AU
2oz Cascade 30 min 6.6%AA = 13.2AU
1 oz Centennial 2 min 9.1AA = 9AU
Wyeast American Ale (75% app. attenuation)

OG: 1.085
FG: 1.021
 
I doubt your stove will burn off a gallon in a hour and if it does....no biggie. If your stove can handle more water at a boil go for it. It'll be fine, your essentially making concentrated wort and adding water.
 
Yep, boil as much as your stove can handle.

If it calls for a 2gal boil and you actually boil 4gal, it's better.

The more you can boil, the better your beer, typically.
 
Recalculate your IBUs and hop additions, if going up in boil size, they will change. Especially when doubling your boil size.
 
Just make sure you can boil 4 gallons on your stove before you start. Not all stoves are created equal, and don't assume yours is up to the task if you don't know for sure. It's easy enough to test. Also you want to have at least a couple of inches of space between the top of your water/wort and the top of your kettle for when the boil gets really rolling and/or when it tries to boil over. So don't fill your kettle up to the very top just to get four gallons - you'll wind up losing it.
 
Recalculate your IBUs and hop additions, if going up in boil size, they will change. Especially when doubling your boil size.

Is there a quick way to recalculate this? I'm guessing I may need more hops due to more volume in the boil.

I decided to go w/a 3gallon boil, along with around .25 gallons for the sparge.

Thanks for the help.
 
Just make sure you can boil 4 gallons on your stove before you start. Not all stoves are created equal, and don't assume yours is up to the task if you don't know for sure. It's easy enough to test. Also you want to have at least a couple of inches of space between the top of your water/wort and the top of your kettle for when the boil gets really rolling and/or when it tries to boil over. So don't fill your kettle up to the very top just to get four gallons - you'll wind up losing it.

+1, and take it from someone whos done it.... cleaning up wort that you burn onto your stovetop sucks b@lls. If you do happen to spill some, stop immediately and wipe it up as best you can.
 
One quick question, I heard that you should steep in a lower volume then add water for the boil. Is this right? Or should you steep in a larger volume as well?
 
What would happen if he started the boil at 4 gallons, and kept adding water as it was boiling off? I usually start at around 4 gallons because I have a 5 gallon pot, but it seems I end up with around 2 gallons at the end. Would adding water throughout the course of the boil help achieve an end product closer to that of a true full boil?

Not trying to hijack the thread, but it seems at least somewhat relevant
 
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