1st brew: some questions

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jamnw

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I've been lurking/reading for a few months.

I am using an unhopped extract kit from
True Brew, "Bavarian Hefeweizen".
OG= 1.045 - 1.049
FG= 1.008 - 1.012
Hop Bittering = 5

The instructions do not say to "rehydrate" the yeast, but after reading on here, I plan to.

It says to boil 1.5 gal water to put the extract and hops in. I have a 32 quart SS pot.

*Is there any reason why I can't put more water in there? Reasoning is that is very little water on the bottom of my pot. Just seems like it might be more likely to scorch.
I had planned to use 3 gal.

It says to boil the 1.5 gal with 1 can of extract and hops for 30min, then remove from heat, and add the second can and the second bag of hops, stir until dissolved and boil again for 15 more minutes.


I realize this IS their recipe, but any suggestions are welcome.


My next question is regarding StarSan. Should I mix it with plain old tap water?

Also: I plan to use purchased spring water for this batch.
 
No problems with rehydrating the yeast....just use sanitary process. Boil with as much water as you can. Mixing starsan with tap water is just fine.

Get out there and brew!
 
I'm guessing the instructions are written for people who may have smaller pots around the house. Each addition can cause a boil over if your pot is too small. So I think that is why they are suggesting removing from heat each time. I'd think it should say at least 1.5 gallons. If the recipe is ultimately for a five gallon batch I would boil as much as you can in your pot (without getting so much that you have the dreaded boil over) and then top off when finished.
 
You can add more water if you want to, but it will increase your hop utilization so you're going to have a higher bitterness than what is targeted. it won't be over the top or anything, but the balance may not be the same. you can use this to adjust your boil size and move around hops to get the same bitterness if you want:
http://beercalculus.hopville.com/recipe

also, if you're planning to top off anyway, theres no need to rehydrate yeast as you'll be rehydrating them when you pitch. just wait 30mins or so before mixing it up.
 
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