Amount of Wort For 5 Gallons

So... seein' that I am new to this... a guy I know said that I have been brewing my batches of wort way too small for 5 gallons of beer.

I brew 2.5 gallons of wort and then add that to 2 gallons of cold water already in a 6 gallon carboy. Then top off the carboy to 5 gallons.

He says that he brews 5 gallons of wort for 5 gallons of beer. Then adds the wort to a 6 gallon brewing bucket, and then tops off to 5 gallons.

He seems like a know-it-all. Not one of my buds but a mutual friend of a friend. If he's a member here... oh well. LOL. But I doubt he is.

Anyways... that seems like a lot of wort for 5 gallons.

What are you'se guys thoughts on this? I'm not changing the way I do stuff... I am enjoying my beer and having fun brewing it. Also glad I found this forum too!

Gary

i put 5.25 gal in the fermenter for a 5 gal batch, i design my recipes accordingly. if doing a full boil, i start with enough wort to account for boil off. if doing a partial boil, i boil 4 gal, and top up to 5.25 in the fermenter. not sure if that's what you're asking, but i hope that helps.

All grain or extract?

That's a pretty standard way of doing it for extract brews if you don't have a pot big enough for full boils. Your "friend" is doing closer to a full boil, but not quite. You'll get some evaporation while you boil, so a full will usually be 6-6.5gal for a 5 gallon batch without topping off.

Anyway, you're both right. You will still make great beer boiling 2.5 gal and topping it off to 5. Some benefits of doing a full boil, however, are less caramelizing of the extract (lighter colors) and more efficient extraction of hop bitterness. If you like your beer, don't change a thing!

NB77... that does help! Exactly what I was lookin' for. Thanks!

thughes... I am still using extracts. No idear what my "friend" uses.

Pop... Thanks... I will start experimenting with full boils and switching to all grain after I get some more wort under my belt.

When the guy told me what he was doin' compared to what I was doin'... it just came off as "you're doin' it wrong". So I blew him off. Then got to thinkin'... wonder if other people do that too.

Glad I asked!

Thanks guys!

Gary

GASoline71 said:

I will start experimenting with full boils and switching to all grain after I get some more wort under my belt.

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Gotta be really careful when putting hot wort under your belt... I've made a few brews that were so good I could have done the same to.

PoppinCaps said:

Gotta be really careful when putting hot wort under your belt... I've made a few brews that were so good I could have done the same to.

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So much good info here and all you cats are good people too! I signed up for a membership.

Thanks again!

Gary

GASoline71 said:

So much good info here and all you cats are good people too! I signed up for a membership.

Thanks again!

Gary

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awesome! that's what we're here for!