Holy Crap!! That's a lot of Wort!

I just think the instructions are incorrect. As I sit here enjoying a beautiful June afternoon, brewing away, I am questioning the volume of wort I am currently bringing to a boil. Here's what we have:

Midwest Simcoe Select IPA
10lbs Golden Promise
16oz Crystal 50/60
8oz Carapils
80z Munich 10
(3oz Simcoe hops)

The sheet says mash @ 1.25 qts per LB.
That's 15qts. Done
Sparge .5 gallon per lb
That's 6 GALLONS! Done

I have a pot filled with 28qts of wort. This is supposed to be a five gallon batch! The boil time is 60 minutes.

Is this right or have I messed something up.

The other midwest kits I have made (some with just as much wort) have all turned out great with the gravities right in line. I just think this is going to affect the hop utlization.

Suggestions? Comments?

looks right here. may be a little over on your pre-boil volume but it shouldn't affect it to badly, do you know what your boil-off rate is? if so you can adjust total boil time by the desired time to concentrate your wort a little before u add the first hop addition. say an extra 15-20min maybe

That sounds fine to me. I normally start with almost 7 gallons of wort for a 5.5 gallon batch. Depending on what kind of environment you are in you will have different evaporation rates. Take some notes on preboil and post boil volumes and calculate you percentage of boil off. I use beersmith fot the math. But RDWHAHB! everything is going to be ok.

Yeah, it's not too far off the mark. I normally start with just over 7 gallons of runnings, and end up with about 5.25 gallons in the fermenter. I have a rather wide kettle, and a fairly dry climate.

Yep, it's pretty close. As you get used to your setup you can adjust your volume up or down to account for boil-off.

This is one reason why you need a 9-10 gallon pot to do a full boil for a 5 gallon batch.

jldc said:

Yep, it's pretty close. As you get used to your setup you can adjust your volume up or down to account for boil-off.

This is one reason why you need a 9-10 gallon pot to do a full boil for a 5 gallon batch.

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bs.....i use a 7.5g for fulll boils for 2yrs now. i might have a boil-over every 4-5 batches and thats just from getting distracted for a second.

I use an 8gal pot for 5 and 5.5gal batches. For a 5gal batch, my boil volume is 6.41gal.

I boil around 7.5 gallons to start with.. for a 5 gallon batch.

eriktlupus said:

bs.....i use a 7.5g for fulll boils for 2yrs now. i might have a boil-over every 4-5 batches and thats just from getting distracted for a second.

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I'd rather *NEVER* have a boil over for any reason, including being distracted.

Sounds right I had 3.25 gallons as my pre-boil volume for my 2.5 gallon batch of IPA this weekend...

Bobby_M said:

I'd rather *NEVER* have a boil over for any reason, including being distracted.

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+1. I consider "a boil-over every 4-5 batches" to be an unacceptable rate of failure!

I used a 7.5 gallon kettle for a time, and found it very unpleasant...never a boilover, but it was a constant threat.

BlindLemonLars said:

+1. I consider "a boil-over every 4-5 batches" to be an unacceptable rate of failure!

I used a 7.5 gallon kettle for a time, and found it very unpleasant...never a boilover, but it was a constant threat.

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I had my first boil-over this weekend on a 5.5 gallon batch in a 10 gallon kettle and I didn't like it at all. It was a 90 min boil and I had added the first hops addition and most of my hops boiled over. I eye-balled it and added some more hops, but what if I like this batch? How do I reproduce it?

I like big brew kettles. You are welcome to smaller kettles and no-foam additives and so forth.

jldc said:

I like big brew kettles. You are welcome to smaller kettles and no-foam additives and so forth.

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I use a big kettle, and Ferm-Cap as well. Between the two, there is zero chance of a boilover, and I'm freed up to do other things during the boil. Cleanup, prep my fermenter, keg or bottle a prior batch...or my favorite of all, sip a pint while floating in the pool.