5 gal. or 3 gal. boil better?

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The Govna

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I recently purchased a 36 qt. aluminum turkey fryer. So, I have enough room to boil all 5 gallons of wort. Is it better to boil all 5 gallons or boil only 3 and add water at the end?
 
The closer you can get to a full boil, the better. You will get better Hop utilization, and the Wort won't caramalize as easily.
 
The closer you can get to a full boil, the better. You will get better Hop utilization, and the Wort won't caramalize as easily.
...that is unless you do small boils, use fewer hops, and use the late addition method...you won't carmelize that way either...BUT with a full boil you will need a wort chiller...;)
 
Extract brewers also often use kits, and the increased hop utilization can throw off the kit recipe. I have one more extract kit left, and I'll probably do a 3 gal boil even though I could do a full boil. It also saves propane.
 
I have a chiller and I've never used a kit, so sounds like the consensus is 5 gal. boil, huh?
 
I have a chiller and I've never used a kit, so sounds like the consensus is 5 gal. boil, huh?

I'm not getting that from the replies so far, and there are tons of other issues - but if you got a nine gallon boiler and you have a chiller, then you might as well use them and see how things turn out.
 
Just a heads up, this time of year in most parts of the country, the tap water is running warmer and a chiller alone will not bring you to pitching temps. For example...if the tap is running at say 70, the chiller will bring you in to the 90's. I usually ice bath the kettle once the chiller loses effectiveness.

You could boil and chill 4 w/ the chiller, and then add a gallon of pre-boiled and chilled / frozen water, or boil all and ice the kettle, it's really up to you.

Mike
 
Just a heads up, this time of year in most parts of the country, the tap water is running warmer and a chiller alone will not bring you to pitching temps. For example...if the tap is running at say 70, the chiller will bring you in to the 90's. I usually ice bath the kettle once the chiller loses effectiveness.

You could boil and chill 4 w/ the chiller, and then add a gallon of pre-boiled and chilled / frozen water, or boil all and ice the kettle, it's really up to you.

Mike

Maybe true with an IC but my CFC chills to the temp of the tap with even low tap flow.
 
There really should be very little difference between a partial and a full boil if you use the late extract addition method - what you want to do is boil at about the OG of the beer (i.e. if your expected OG is 1.048, add just enough extract to reach 1.048 for the boil, then add the rest of the extract 5 minutes or so before the end of the boil). If you're picky, adjust for evaporation. This way, you get identical wort utilization and avoid caramelization of the extract.

Ultimately, it's a matter of preference. If you have the ability to do both, just go with what's easier or with what tastes better to you.
 
There really should be very little difference between a partial and a full boil if you use the late extract addition method - what you want to do is boil at about the OG of the beer (i.e. if your expected OG is 1.048, add just enough extract to reach 1.048 for the boil, then add the rest of the extract 5 minutes or so before the end of the boil). If you're picky, adjust for evaporation. This way, you get identical wort utilization and avoid caramelization of the extract.

Ultimately, it's a matter of preference. If you have the ability to do both, just go with what's easier or with what tastes better to you.
I agree!!! :rockin:
 
Thanks all. I'm going to get supplies tomorrow. So, I'll try teh 5 gal and see what happens!
 
Just an FYI. A wort chiller is not absolutely needed for full boils. I do full boils without one, I just use an ice bath and I can easily get down to 75 within 20 minutes. Another issue to consider with full boils is aeration. A full boil removes basically all the oxygen from the wort as opposed to a partial boil which is usually topped off with a few gallons of oxygen rich water. I use the olive oil method and aeration has never been an issue for me.
 
Olive oil method? What's that?

The idea is to use olive oil in place of aeration. Yeast uses oxygen to turn unsaturated fatty acid molecules into monounsaturated fatty acid molecules in order to grow and reproduce. Therefore, someone had the brilliant idea of "hey, let's just f*cking dump a crap-load of monounsaturated fatty acid into the fermenter and make oxygenating the wort not required!" One of the brewers using this method says he pitches 4500 liters of yeast onto an industrial fermenter, and 300mL of olive oil, so not much is needed at the home brew level.

Whoo boy that's a long discussion that I tried to read up on. Never figured out if it was a legitimate option or not. I mean, it is obviously, but the math originally suggested was off (something like a millionth of a ml of oil is needed the guy said, which isn't accurate when you reverse the math) some people said, and that a drop or so was sufficient.

Of course, there was already a discussion on this.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=47872&highlight=olive

And this... But get out your thinking cap for the OP link.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=57627
 
I've used olive oil for 6 full boil batches now. 1 drop is sufficient for a 5 gallon batch. I do full boils with absolutely no aeration and the beer ferments out to the desired gravity in a reasonable amount of time with no off flavors. This is all :off: sorry.
 
There was an article in Brew Your Own Magazine back in May 08 that discussed using olive oil instead of aeration. The author basically left it up to each individual brewer as to what is the best method. They both seem to have the same consistent numbers as far as yeast growth. Check it out. Definitely a good read.
 
Thanks for the info. That is some fascinating stuff. I tend to want to stick with the traditional methods. Nothing wrong with stirring your wort to get it aerated, I say. I want the yeast to use any and all oxygen anyway so that the result will be oxygen free beer.
 
Back on topic - are you saying if you only use a 3 gallon pot for boiling you should only user about half of your extract UNTIL about 5 minutes left in the boil??

What about HOPS and the Steeping grains ???
 
There really should be very little difference between a partial and a full boil if you use the late extract addition method - what you want to do is boil at about the OG of the beer (i.e. if your expected OG is 1.048, add just enough extract to reach 1.048 for the boil, then add the rest of the extract 5 minutes or so before the end of the boil). If you're picky, adjust for evaporation. This way, you get identical wort utilization and avoid caramelization of the extract.
What is magical about boiling at the OG? Why not just throw in half of the extract until the last 5 minutes, or for that matter why not put it all in for the last 5 minutes? I know that boiling longer should be better but I don't know why. These are all serious questions from a noob...
 
What is magical about boiling at the OG? Why not just throw in half of the extract until the last 5 minutes, or for that matter why not put it all in for the last 5 minutes? I know that boiling longer should be better but I don't know why. These are all serious questions from a noob...

When taking a full boil recipe and reducing the boil, the problem lies not in the extract but in how much of the acids get extracted from the hops. The denser the wort the lower the utilization of the hops. If you keep the OG the same, the utilization will be the same. If it isn't, then the hop schedule would (theoretically, at least) need to be adjusted.
 
I was wrestling with this myself. I'm looking at my 15 gal pot & my Morebeer Barleywine extract kit. 2 questions come to mind:

1. Does anyone know if the hopping is designed for full or partial boil?

2. If designed for a partial boil, should I stick to a partial boil or try to recalculate the hopping for a full boil (or do a full boil with all the hops)?
 
Back on topic - are you saying if you only use a 3 gallon pot for boiling you should only user about half of your extract UNTIL about 5 minutes left in the boil??

What about HOPS and the Steeping grains ???

Hop usage is different as you get more IBU's in late addition (Beer Smith can calculate this for you - very nice).

Steeping grains I don't know about, but I am interested in this as I plan on doing a kit from Northern Brewer soon that has steeping grains. I normally do late addition in just a 1 gallon boil. Will the steeping be affected in such a small amount of water? For reference it would be 0.75lb of grain.
 

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