volume question

okay, what do i do now. i am brewing batch 2 as we speak, and i am at about 6 gal at 20 min into the boil. lost about a quart then, which means i'll still be at least about 5.5 gal at the end of the boil. should i just figure i got a little more beer and take it, or boil the extra 45- 60 min that i'm guessing itll take to get back down to 5 gal. its an oatmeal stout kit from midwest. just 1 oz of hops, and dark extract. normally id not worry, but the fact that its an oatmeal stout, am i going to lose all the potential chewy goodness because i thinned it out too much?

If you are at 5.5 at end of boil, that's ok. The volume will shrink when it cools, as the liquid will contract. If your fermenting vessel can only do 5 gal, it is easier to leave more break/hops material in the kettle if you don't have to get every drop out.

RDWAHAHB

oh yeah, i was onto my third hb when i got that far. its all good, i got a pretty good amount to evaporate, and while it cooled it continued to evaporate. i guess i was less concerned about the volume of finished beer, and more about it being watered down. my sg was 1.046, which was what the kit said (1.042-1.046) and i think i left about a beer worth in with the hops and hot break. but its in the primary now. i had a taste of the hydrometer sample, and it was really good, a little thin maybe, but the taste was good. might have to experiment next time to get the chewy mouthfeel.