Okay, So I've been creeping around this forum, among a few others, for a little while now. I just bought a beginner kit from a living social deal from Annapolis Home Brew and I upgraded it with a few other things (bottling bucket, thief, 6.5 gal glass carboy). I'm going to attempt my first brew, a brewers best Robust Porter kit.
Now for my question, the instructions with brewers best says to boil 2.5 gallons of water. Steep my specialty grains for about 20 mins, then add the LME to the wort. Off to the side it says "Brewers tips - the volume of wort boiled affects hop utilization. Boiling more than 2.5 gallons will increase the IBU's and they will decrease if wort volume is less than 2.5 gallons. The IBU's for this recipe are calculated for a 2.5 gallon boil."
I have the ability to do the entire 5 gallons at once (a 12 gallon stainless pot and pressure cooker we use to steam crabs), and I've read on here that the bigger the initial boil the better. But I'm assuming I should just follow the instructions so I don't throw the bitterness off too much.
Any input/tips would be much appreciated.
Now for my question, the instructions with brewers best says to boil 2.5 gallons of water. Steep my specialty grains for about 20 mins, then add the LME to the wort. Off to the side it says "Brewers tips - the volume of wort boiled affects hop utilization. Boiling more than 2.5 gallons will increase the IBU's and they will decrease if wort volume is less than 2.5 gallons. The IBU's for this recipe are calculated for a 2.5 gallon boil."
I have the ability to do the entire 5 gallons at once (a 12 gallon stainless pot and pressure cooker we use to steam crabs), and I've read on here that the bigger the initial boil the better. But I'm assuming I should just follow the instructions so I don't throw the bitterness off too much.
Any input/tips would be much appreciated.