I'm going to brew my fourth extract batch tomorrow, the Northern Brewer West-Coast Imperial IPA. In my previous batches I've kept adding water to the boil kettle to compensate for the amount of water being boiled off, should I continue this? Basically every time the water level dips below the 2.5 gallon mark, I raise it back up.
Adding water to kettle?
- Thread starter Jarov
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I would just boil with as close to the amount of a full boil that your pot can handle then just top off in the fermenter with what you couldn't fit.
If your making 5 gallon batch, fill kettle with 6.5 or whatever your boil off rate over the hour is EG 5 + 1.5 gallons.
If your making 5 gallon batch, fill kettle with 6.5 or whatever your boil off rate over the hour is EG 5 + 1.5 gallons.
Won't that add an unexpected amount of bitterness? The recipe calls for a 2.5 gallon boil with an IBU of around 100. My boil kettle tops off at exactly 5 gallons, but I'd have to compensate for over boiling on the hop additions and the amount of extract going in, which is a little over 9 lbs and 2 lbs corn sugar. That doesn't leave me much room at the start of the boil, maybe 3-3.5 gallons at the highest.
I do 3.5 gallon boils in my 5 gallon SS BK/MT. Whether it's AE or PB/PM BIAB. I typically get 1/2 gallon boil off. So I top off with 2 ice cold gallons of local spring water in the fermenter after wort chill. And everything goes through a dual layer fine mesh strainer into the FV.
heckabrew
Well-Known Member
what temp do you chill to before adding the "ice cold" water? what temp is your wort when you pitch the yeast? Don't mean to hijack the thread, I'm just curious about the temps.
drainbamage
Keep HBT weird.
I just do 2 gallons in the boil, add to another 2 gallons of chilled water in the carboy, and top off to the 5 gal fill line from there.
I try to chill to about 90-100*, add to the chilled water, then pitch yeast and take gravity readings around 70*.
heckabrew said:
I try to chill to about 90-100*, add to the chilled water, then pitch yeast and take gravity readings around 70*.
Ideally,I chill the wort down to 70-75F in an ice bath in the kitchen sink. I keep a couple jugs of spring water in the fridge a day or two to get really cold. After topping of & stirring roughly for 5 min to mix & aerate a bit more,the wort is usually about 64F. That's if I do it right between the wort chill & top off. Ale yeast loves that temp. Also the WL029 ale/kolsh yeast I used in two batches of hybrid lager. It has an ideal range of 65-69F,so my method worked great.
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