RiffMagnum
Well-Known Member
Do you guys make any adjustments if the kits you're using (most of them do) say the recipe is for 2.5 gallon boils, but you are doing a full 5 gallon boil?
Full boils with extract kits?
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Dunerunner
Well-Known Member
No. You are essentially doing a full volume boil, you might want to do 6 or 6.5 gallons depending on your evaporation rate.
RiffMagnum
Well-Known Member
Whew. Good to know. I did a little over 6 gallons with my first batch and it came out right at 5 gallons after the boil.
Dunerunner
Well-Known Member
Rock and Roll!! 
RiffMagnum
Well-Known Member
Rock and Roll!!
I guess i was speaking more towards hop adjustments and the like rather than adjusting the volume of water.
pentachris
Well-Known Member
I did my first batch about 3 weeks ago, and it was a full boil using a kit with partial boil instructions. Based on what I'd read, I dialed the hops down (used Beersmith to figure the amount), and added all the LME at the beginning. I don't think late additions are necessary when doing full boil.
RiffMagnum
Well-Known Member
Where exactly do you go on beersmith to figure this type stuff? It seems you have to pay for their software, but i'm kinda retarded when it comes to this.
BeerSmith is free for something like 21 days. You could download it, try it out, and then purchase it if you like it. I tried many programs and sites before purchasing BeerSmith, and it's by far my favorite.
You could also try hopville dot com. You can create an account for free, make as many recipies as you like, and donate if you really like it.
Boardndave
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Is there an easy way to determine your evaporation rate?
Dunerunner
Well-Known Member
Some of the brewing software does provide pre-boil data, but generally in the 1 hour boil, at average humidity of 30-40% you will lose 1 gallon in a vigerous boil. ProMash tells me .88 galons!
No need to adjust your hops. Hop additions will be determined by the style of beer you are brewing.
Are you reading The Joy of Homebrewing or How to Brew? Both great starter books that will take you from extract brewing on your stove through all grain brewing.
Cheers!
yeah, that's pretty much it, although the difference in the hops isn't much so i just don't worry about it. hopville.com has a free recipe calculator that can help you figure out how much to dial it back.
if you want to know how much to start with, fill your pot with water and boil for an hour. Measure the amount of water before and after and that's how much you will lose so add that to your 5 gal that you want to have when you're done.
Technically speaking, your wort will have a lower pre-boil gravity which can result in an elevated hop utilization rate. How much will depend on the specifics of the recipe. That said, I wouldn't go through the trouble of recalculating unless I was brewing a clone recipe. I enjoy some variation.
I've never dialed down my hop additions doing full boil. Not enough difference to make it worth my while. Maybe that's just me though! I also do all my LME at the beginning of the boil. Easier than worrying about a 2nd hot break and sanitizing it...etc at the end. Color isn't that much different for me either...so I do what's easiest.
