Amount to boil, and boil time

Getting ready for my first batch- I notice the 5 gallon recipe that came with my kit (extract w/ crushed grains) only calls for a 1.5 gallon boil, 30 minutes. Questions:

1. I was planning on doing a 3 gallon boil, as the impression I've gotten so far is the more volume you can boil in the kettle the better. Is it no problem to increase to 3 gallons?

2. If I do increase the volume to 3 gallons, should I increase the boil time as well? I thought 30 minutes seemed a little short compared to all other recipes I've come across. I was thinking at least 45 min, maybe a full 60. Is this ok?

Thoughts?

The amount of time you want to boil is basically based on two things: 1. how much bitterness, flavor, and aroma you want out of your hops and 2. driving off DMS.

So, the volume you are boiling has no effect on the boil time. Keep it at 30 minutes and you'll be just fine.

Volume really won't dictate the length of the boil.

I am curious though, is the extract a hopped extract? If not what type of brew is it? I only ask because the length of the boil will really change how hops are used.

Been a while since I've done an extract kit, but I'll take a stab at this.

I used to steep my grains for 30 mins at 160, collect the runnings and boil up to 3 gallons (more if my stove could handle the volume) for a full 60 minutes. I remember too only adding about 1/3 of the extract initially and adding the remainder at around the 45 minute mark. Hop additions were based on the recipie.

Hope this helps.

sdufford said:

Getting ready for my first batch- I notice the 5 gallon recipe that came with my kit (extract w/ crushed grains) only calls for a 1.5 gallon boil, 30 minutes. Questions:

1. I was planning on doing a 3 gallon boil, as the impression I've gotten so far is the more volume you can boil in the kettle the better. Is it no problem to increase to 3 gallons?

2. If I do increase the volume to 3 gallons, should I increase the boil time as well? I thought 30 minutes seemed a little short compared to all other recipes I've come across. I was thinking at least 45 min, maybe a full 60. Is this ok?

Thoughts?

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A lot of kits dont do a boil, per se, for its true intended purpose. Extracts are pretty well sterile (which malt sterilization is part of a reason one might be so inclined to boil), and hops just need to be utilized (more boil or more volume increase this).
You are correct in assuming that the more volume you boil, the better off you are. It allows fancy chemical changes in the protein blah blahs so that you get a more finely tuned beer. So if you can, boil the whole volume (remember if you are doing a full boil for a full hour, you will lose some volume, somewhere around a gallon depending on your system). One thing to keep in mind, however, is hop utilization. Bigger volume and longer boil time utilize more alpha acids, and will make the beer more bitter. If you go from 2 gallons to 5 for a full hour, consider dropping 25% of hops to maintain expected flavor.
You say you will do 3 gallons, which is just fine. In that case, even with the longer boil you would like, I wouldn't really change much in the way of recipe content. It should all come close to target anyway with such small changes.
In any case, it should all turn out to be a quality product! good luck!

BuonAnno said:

I am curious though, is the extract a hopped extract? If not what type of brew is it? I only ask because the length of the boil will really change how hops are used.

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It is just plain extract, with 1 1/2 oz of Hallertau pellets to be added at the beginning. The recipe is for an Amber Ale. It also says hold at a "gentle" boil, which was odd because I thought it needed to be rolling and vigorous.

If you plan on lengthing the boil and increasing the boil size, I wouldn't add all of the hops at the start still otherwise you'll overshoot the intended IBUs. Add what you need to get the same IBUs and I'd just add the rest at flame out for some extra aroma.

dcp27 said:

If you plan on lengthing the boil and increasing the boil size, I wouldn't add all of the hops at the start still otherwise you'll overshoot the intended IBUs. Add what you need to get the same IBUs and I'd just add the rest at flame out for some extra aroma.

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Pardon me..."flame out" = very end of boil?

I wouldn't mind a few extra IBUs actually...

sdufford said:

Pardon me..."flame out" = very end of boil?

I wouldn't mind a few extra IBUs actually...

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That it does.

BTW, what is the estimated OG and IBUs for this?