Boil size

I have a 22 qt SS pan. How many gallons could I comfortably boil without worrying about boil over?

Most recipes I see are for 2.5 gallons. Is there any harm if I boil 3.5 or 4 gallons with same ingredients?

You'll have slightly more bittering at higher volumes. I like to keep my boil volume around half the kettle capacity, it doesn't eliminate boil-overs, but it gives you more time to react.

I think that david 42 means you have the potential for more bittering, since you will be less diluted. Of course, the more you boil, the more trouble it is to cool. AGers do a full boil, so that is optimal for flavor and sanitation, but that is also why they have invested in "wort chillers" to cool so much liquid quickly. The longer it takes to cool, then the more chance of contamination.(theoretically)

You don't want to steep your grains in anything over 1.5 gallons. That said, you can always add water to get to your total boil volume.

The additional bittering comes from the increased hop utilization due to the lower gravity of your boil; if you have it, brewing software will help you calculate the right amount of hops.

Personally, if I am following a recipe, I use the amounts listed in the recipe since it was designed with those volumes in mind.

Why only a gallon and half of water for steeping? I've been using about 2 1/2 gals. lately. My theory (only my thinking) that I would get a greater efficiency from the grains, much like that of hops on full boils. I must be mistaken. Explaination please, sir.

rcbrew said:

Why only a gallon and half of water for steeping? I've been using about 2 1/2 gals. lately. My theory (only my thinking) that I would get a greater efficiency from the grains, much like that of hops on full boils. I must be mistaken. Explaination please, sir.

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Steeping with more than 1.5 gallons can cause additional tannin extraction leading to off flavors. Also, unlike hops, grains don't really have a "utilization", so the extra water would not contribute much benefit.

If you are getting good results with 2.5 gallons, by all means keep on going; but 1.5 for steeping is the rule of thumb.

TheJadedDog said:

Steeping with more than 1.5 gallons can cause additional tannin extraction leading to off flavors.

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Ooooh I never knew that either. I've done at least 10 batches of extract+grains where I steeped in the full 5 gal each time. Never really noticed any tannin flavors in my beer though. Keeping the steeping water below 170 helps I'd imagine.

Ideally you should partial mash at the same viscosity as AG batches. It ranges from about .75 to 1.5 qts/pound of grain. If you are actually steeping and not partial mashing it probably doesn't matter much what volume of water you use as long as you aren't too hot.

I've recently heard of people making "sun tea" in the fridge when doing extract with specialty grain batches. I keep thinking that I'll try it sometime but have been doing PM exclusively lately.

Thanks for the tip........Since I steep on an electric range, it would be a lot quicker to raise the temp of 1.5 gal vs. 2.5 gal thus shortening the time spent. I have not noticed a tannin problem, but anytime I can shorten the time babysitting the temp of the steep, the better.

i had a 20 qt(5 gal) pot when I was boiling on my stove and i was putting 3.5 to 4 gallons in there never had a boil over.

1.5 gallons won't hold temp as long as 2.5 gallons, so you may need to babysit a little after all!

My first beer was a boil over. Kind of funny now. I always use more water and less hops. My new brewing method is two pounds specialty grains steeped in 2 &1/2 gallon water for 30 or 40 minutes , sparge rinse with about 6 cups water, 7 pounds liquid extract and two maybe three oz. of hops in about a 3+ gallon boil. Cool in sink for a few minutes then pour over a few pounds of ice in primary. Add water to make 6 gallons, stir and pitch yeast. It works for me.

instead of steeping in the brewpot, couldnt one use a separate pot then add it to the brewpot after?

mot said:

i had a 20 qt(5 gal) pot when I was boiling on my stove and i was putting 3.5 to 4 gallons in there never had a boil over.

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Yeah, me too. I kept a good eye on it though. My stove got really hot by the end of the boil so I moved outside.