Wort/Boil Qty

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slim2043

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I keep running into this same problem and would like some feedback from the HBT community on what's going on here. I am on my 3rd batch of beer. So far an Amber an IPA and a Porter. All batches we have done a full 5 gallon boil in a10 gallon pot. We use a bayou banjo propane burner. We have brewed all recipes as extracts w steeping grains. We have pretty much followed directions as written or as prescribed by our LHBS. So fare have had to add at least 1.5 Gallons and as much as 2.5 gallons to our final wort because we lost a lot of h2o in the boil. Is this normal? Are we brewing the beer at too high of a temperature? Are we boiling too much h2o should we boil 2.5-3gal instead of full 5? Any tips tricks or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Tim
 
I loose 1.5 gallons per hour on my setup and another .5 - 1 gallon to hop absorption and hot/cold break trub.
So I start with 6.5-7 gallons in a 60 minute boil.

Edit: You will loose some water to grain absorption too if you are steeping. Estimate 0.135 gallon per pound.
 
Boil off rate is generally said to be 1 gallon per hour, lots of factors can go into this but with a 10 gallon pot I would see more than that could be likely. More surface area of water boiling would cause greater evaporation rates.

It seems as though if you have the space to boil the full 5 that is what you should be doing, I don't know if it is suggested to possibly start with greater than the 5 gallons to calculate for the boil off and end closer to 5 gall or not, I would think about boiling 6 to 6.5 gallons since you have the 10 gallon pot and end closer to your target 5 gallons. (This would also lengthen the process a bit because boiling would take a bit longer, and cooling would take a bit longer with less cool water being added)
 
slim2043 said:
I keep running into this same problem and would like some feedback from the HBT community on what's going on here. I am on my 3rd batch of beer. So far an Amber an IPA and a Porter. All batches we have done a full 5 gallon boil in a10 gallon pot. We use a bayou banjo propane burner. We have brewed all recipes as extracts w steeping grains. We have pretty much followed directions as written or as prescribed by our LHBS. So fare have had to add at least 1.5 Gallons and as much as 2.5 gallons to our final wort because we lost a lot of h2o in the boil. Is this normal? Are we brewing the beer at too high of a temperature? Are we boiling too much h2o should we boil 2.5-3gal instead of full 5? Any tips tricks or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Tim
Click to expand...

If you are trying to do a "full boil" then you need to start with a total volume that accounts for the boil off which as previously stated should be between 1-2 gallons per hour. This is dependent upon the vigor of your boil, humidity and to some degree the width of your kettle as a greater surface area can contribute to how much evaporation you experience.

So...... If you expect a full 5g in your primary you start with 6-7 gallons pre-boil volume. If you are only starting with 5 gallons then you will always be adding top off water defeating the purpose of full boil brewing:)
 

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