Partial Boil Extract Brew

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sfla

Grand Pooba
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Is their any benefit to boil more of the water then the recipes suggest?

For example if it says to boil 3 gallons add extract and then top off to 3.5 gal, is it better to top off to 4 if my bot can do it w/o a boilover?
 
i think so...never been a big fan of the brewing concentrate and then adding water to dilute method...with proper equipment, you should be able to brew your batch size all at once and is the purest way to brew in my opinion

That said, unless your adding something like double the volume in water (like taking 2.5 gallons of wort and adding 2.5 gallons of water to make 5 gallons), I doubt you'll be able to taste the difference and after all, that is all that matters...but I can tell the difference when people dilute with large volumes, so I just don't do it (unless I have to in order to hit my OG)
 
The more liquid you can get into the boil the better. A full wort boil is alway ideal even with extract brewing. You'll get better hop utilization and will also minimize or even eliminate the "extract taste" that is often accompanied by batches that boiled in a more concentrated state. It sounds like you don't have the room yet for a true full wort boil, but the closer you can get to it the better.
 
The hardest part is getting the heat to boil the liquid. I have to get the water up to 212 Fahrenheit to boil, and my stove is barely cutting it with the 4 gallons and change I can get into the current pot (with 2 burners going under the pot as well). A larger pot may give me more surface area on the two burners, but I think the additional volume of water will be a larger hurdle.

Living in an apartment right now with no real place to do it outside otherwise I would a burner and a larger pot.
 
I hear ya there. Stoves do present more of a challenge in that respect. I'd recommend giving it a try the next time around and see how long it take and how tough it is.
 
Turkey fryer + 9 gallon kettle + propane tank = $120. I just picked this up last week and did my first full wort boil (with extract). This is probably the best equipment upgrade an extract brewer can make. Of course, I highly recommend an immersion wort chiller too. It seems hard to cool 5 gallons of wort to 70˚ in an ice bath. You can build your own wort chiller for about $50.
 
I have had this same problem and when I once did a 4 gallon boil, I barely rippled the surface. A vigirous boil is really important for your hops and breaks. You might consider boiling the most amount of water you can vigorously rather than have a week larger boil.
 
I have had this same problem and when I once did a 4 gallon boil, I barely rippled the surface. A vigirous boil is really important for your hops and breaks. You might consider boiling the most amount of water you can vigorously rather than have a week larger boil.

Agreed..............
 
Turkey fryer + 9 gallon kettle + propane tank = $120. I just picked this up last week and did my first full wort boil (with extract). This is probably the best equipment upgrade an extract brewer can make. Of course, I highly recommend an immersion wort chiller too. It seems hard to cool 5 gallons of wort to 70˚ in an ice bath. You can build your own wort chiller for about $50.

This sort of thing is gonna be my next brewing purchase. I have seen one of the 7.5 gallon pots w/ a 5500 BTU burner for $60, and last year around January the nearest target had them as low as $30 to clear out stock. Still have to find a place to use it w/out the neighbors thinking I am running a meth lab in the apartment :)
 
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