boil over after hop addition

So my real problem is that I only have a 7.5 gallon kettle and I am starting with 6 - 6.5 gallons which doesn't leave much room. That aside I was wondering if say 5 minutes after the first hop addition I were to have a boil over how would it affect the ibu's in the end.

Not much unless you lost a lot of liquid and hops.

Have a second pot that can hold a gallon of your wort and keep it at a simmer. Add that gallon after 20 minutes of boil or slowly as it evaporates. It's not ideal but it works just fine.

I only ever see a huge rise in volume if I add hops before the hot break. There's no perceivable difference after the hot break. So I don't think you have anything to worry about if you can control the initial foaming before the hot break. If you're doing a 60 minute boil and have 60 minute hops, just wait for the hot break to add them and start your timer. The 1-2 minutes extra boiling will have a negligible difference on your end volume.

If you're concerned, just get some Fermcap. That stuff works wonders. 1-2 drops is all it takes! My stupid starters would always boil over on the stove, but with Fermcap I have no problems at all.

Fermcap might be a good thing for you to use, Jared36...it's inexpensive and would prevent your possible problem from happening....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/lets-talk-about-foam-control-drops-aka-fermcap-59261/

ETA: mojotele hit it first, sorry for the repetition. Got distracted by actually have to do some work...

BendBrewer said:

Not much unless you lost a lot of liquid and hops.

Have a second pot that can hold a gallon of your wort and keep it at a simmer. Add that gallon after 20 minutes of boil or slowly as it evaporates. It's not ideal but it works just fine.

Click to expand...

+1 I have an eight gallon kettle and have the same problem. I got sick of trying to "baby" the boil to prevent boil overs so I started boiling about a gallon on the stove in the kitchen. I add it back to the main kettle as I get the space.

I have the same size kettle and I'll second Fermcap. When it comes time to add the hops, I turn the heat way down, put in a few drops of FermCap and toss the hops in. No more boil over. Once it settles down I ramp the heat back up and we're gravy.

Thanks for the quick responses and advice! Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to get a bigger kettle but until then I can use some of the advice given. Thanks everyone!

Just so you know, even a 10-gallon pot will boil over with 6.5 gallons of rapidly boiling wort - although you do stand a better chance.

that said - YES - go get some Fermcap -that stuff is awesome!

Yup, I'm a convert to the fermcap crowd as well, I finally got my last boilover off of my glass stovetop after months of cleaning (and apologizing!).

Not a single boilover in the Fermcap era for me!!