Picked up a few new toys today (w/ questions)

:rockin:

I was out in Ontario getting some tires for my mountain bike and decided to stop by www.Morebeer.com's retail store. Very nice store with enough stuff to make me want to move closer.

Anway, in order to justify the trip and gas expense.. I picked up a Heavy Duty Kettle with a spigot and thermometer on the front as well as Wort chiller. I also got a few misc things like a picnic tap and keg charger for taking my kegs to parties and a Nut Brown Ale extract kit.



Now that I have the 8 gallon kettle and chiller... I have a question that might lead to more. A search came up with a lot of random things.



What is the advantage of doing a full 5 gallon boil over say a 3 gallon boil?

Is there a difference in making 3 and pouring it into a carboy and topping it off vs. just having a 5 gallon boil going into a carboy? (We currently just do extract brewing)

Can you help me justify to my gf, who I live with, before she finds it, an 8 gallon heavy duty kettle and wort chiller are kinda hard to hide at the moment?


:rockin:
thanks
jake

Full boil will save potential $$ on hops, as you'll get more effective utilization of the bittering compounds. Probably you'll use the same amount, but for less time. Check your recipes before you do a full boil with hops designed for 2 or 3 gallon boils.

Good Score. Congratulations.

tell her an 8 gallon kettle brews beer that gives you a 12 inch tongue and the ability to breath through your ears... that oughta work!

Am I the only one concerned that he won't be able to do full boils in an 8 gallon kettle? I had a 10 gallon that I had to watch like a hawk. Boiling 6 - 7 gallons in an 8 gallon kettle to me is asking for a boilover.

Not to be a downer or anything

I recently seen a picture, I think it was from Biermuncher, he had a fan placed above the kettle. That gave me the idea to use a fan, it is the best tool to have if your only using a 8 gallon kettle. The fan turned on will prevent the boilover, at least it has for me. And all im using is a camping tent fan, runs off D cell batteries. Perfect, thanks BM if that was you.

We currently do 3 gallons in an economy 5 gallon kettle and once the boil is going I take the lid off and it's never boiled over once.

The guy at the store said to put in 6-6.25 gallons of water in for a 5 gallon boil. That should leave plenty of space for boiling.

I don't understand the hops and time change in a full boil vs. extract kit meant for 3 gallons.?? (probably shoot that question over to extract forum)

thanks,
Jake

I boil 7 gallons in my 8 gallon kettle with no boil overs, but it takes vigilance in watching and staying close to turn down the heat or spraying with water.

Am I missing something here? Where did this mysterious number of seven gallons come from? Sounds to me like the OP is doing 3 gallon extract batches, and wants to move to five gallon batches. Are you really figuring that he is going to get that much boil off?
I had been doing full boil extract batches split between two pots, and never saw that much boil off...

Kilted Brewer said:

Am I the only one concerned that he won't be able to do full boils in an 8 gallon kettle? I had a 10 gallon that I had to watch like a hawk. Boiling 6 - 7 gallons in an 8 gallon kettle to me is asking for a boilover.

Not to be a downer or anything

Click to expand...

I frequently do a full boil in a 7.5 gallon pot. You can't boil quite so vigorously, but once you have the heat adjusted you can walk away. If you're really nervous, you can just add your last runnings to the boil near the end after you've boiled off most of the water. That being said, I'd love to get my hands on a 15.5 keg or 15 gallon kettle.

Jake,
as to the hops issue, you get better hop utilization when you are doing a full boil, from what I remember from my reading, has to do with the density of the liquid that you are trying to disolve the hop oils into. You also will end up with far less "kettle carmalization" in a full size batch, than you will in a partial boil, so your beers will be lighter in color, and truer to the recipe in flavor. As to the amount that you were told to boil, that is closer to what I would expect from my experience, is put in about 6 - 6.5 gallons, and boil it down to five, but then, I am still a noob, so what do I know...

Sorry for that folks. I just know I had to watch my 10gallon kettle like a hawk. And yes, I would frequently boil off anywhere from 1.5 - 2 gallons and sometimes more an hour. 8 gallons in a 10 gallon pot only left maybe an inch from liquid level to the rim of the kettle. Sounds like you'll be fine though, so carry on.

rabidgerbil said:

Am I missing something here? Where did this mysterious number of seven gallons come from? Sounds to me like the OP is doing 3 gallon extract batches, and wants to move to five gallon batches. Are you really figuring that he is going to get that much boil off?
I had been doing full boil extract batches split between two pots, and never saw that much boil off...

Click to expand...

I know in my last two brews with an hour long boil you will have that much boil off, which is what most folks boil in order to get 5 gal of wort.

+1 on the 7 gal boil in an 8 gal pot. I do it too, but that first half hour is harrowing.

You get better hops utilization with a lower gravity wort, so you may want to reduce the bittering hops by approx 25%. If you post the recipe, one of us can run it through some brewing software for you and give you more specific advice. The lower gravity wort is because all of the extract is dissolved in 6.5 gallons to start, instead of 3 gallons or so. That means that you aren't using water to top off, so the SG of the starting wort is lower. Also, because you won't be adding top off water, you may need to consider how to cool 5 gallons of hot wort. Most people would use a wort chiller for that size boil but I've heard that it's possible to use an ice bath, if you have a large enough tub and enough ice. I see that you have a chiller- this information is provided for others who may not consider how to cool the wort quickly.

I always recommend boiling the largest amount you can. You'll get better hops utilization as well as less carmelization and darkening of the wort, for a better tasting beer in my opinion.

I posted in Extract brewing the question but it's been moved and appears to have dissappeared completely.

Lets say I use this recipe, how would I change it for doing a 5 gallon boil? Starting with about 6.25 gallons of water.

Nut Brown Ale (morebeer.com)

OG 1.055 - 1.060

8lbs Ultralight LME

8oz Crystal 60L
8oz Caravienne
4oz Victory
4oz Chocolate

1oz Glacier Hops 60 minutes
1oz Willamette Hops 5 minutes
1oz Willamette Hops 1 minute

1pkg Whirfloc 20 minutes

What is the boil size that the instructions give you? do you have the AAUs of the hops? I can run it through my software as a "guestimate", but it'll be better if I know the original boil size, and the aa% of the hops, to give you the best answer.

I assume this is a partial mash, since you're using victory malt. So, you can steep all the grains in 2.5-3 quarts of water at 153 in a grain bag for 45 minutes or so. Then rinse the grains with 170 degree water for the sparge. You can sparge with 3/4 of a gallon of water, then add water to get to 6 gallons (or whatever your boil volume will be). Bring that to a boil, and then add the extract and start your hopping after the boil starts.

With a 3 gallon boil, and the glacier at 5.6 AAUs, you'd get 13.5 IBUs. With a full boil, you'd get around 20 IBUs. I actually think 20 IBUs is much more appropriate for that recipe anyway, so you may not want to adjust the hopping at all, depending on the AAUs of the glacier hops.

I'm unsure what partial mash is??

I'm using extract kits that use 3 gallons roughly of wort, poured into 2 gallons of cold water in the carboy. For the most part I always end up with 5 gallons of beer and once 5.5 gallons in one batch.

I normally use this procedure;

1. Steep grains in water for 30 minutes beginning when the water gets poured into the kettle. 3 gallons to start.

2. turn off heat at boil and put in extract

3. turn on heat and stir, replacing lid until the boil begins

4. Add hops

5. follow instruction for any further hop additions till end of boil

6. cold ice bath in sink

7. pour into fermenter with 2 gallons of cold water already in fermenter

8. add yeast

9. airlock and vodka

Done.