Complete newbie... help me.

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jdphillips73

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You have better hop utilization with a full boil. You can cut your water back a bit but I would not only brew up 1 gallon and add 4 more post boil. If your careful with the boil you should be able to do a full boil. Just as the wort comes to a boil it will get very foamy and it will try to boil over until the surface tension is broken. So keep an eye on the pot as you get close. You can reduce the heat as needed to prevent boil over. You should consider some version of brewer not software so you know how much water you need to begin with.

Fermcap-s is a silicon liquid you can add to the pot to reduce surface tension and help prevent a boil over.

Make sure you boil any top off water to prevent infection.

Good luck!
 
First off, Welcome to HBT and homebrewing in general.

I would really recommend following the instructions of your kit for this first brew in order to get the feel of things and really witness what the process is all about. Unless you really want to go for it its all up to you.

That being said, if you want to do a full boil volume you need to start with enough wort to end up with 5 gallons. An hour boil generally (this changes for each brewers system) boils off about a gallon. so you would be at 6 gallons minimum in your pot. It's possible to do but you have to be very diligent when the hot break happens just before you get to a rolling boil. It will foam up like crazy and happen in the blink of an eye. So having a water bottle of cool water handy to spray it down and a something to stir the wort (not the foam) will help. Boil overs are a real mess.

Other than that, the only thing that really changes is your hop utilization. The higher the gravity the wort the lower utilization you get out of your hop additions. Essentially you need less to get the same bitterness with a full boil. How much is specific to the brew. Brewing software can really help you understand and figure out what is happening. I like brewersfriend. If you continue into this hobby and star playing around a bit with one of those programs.

a decent compromise is doing maybe a 4 gallon boil to leave you some room in the pot and using less top up water.

whatever you decide to do heers and good luck
 
If you can swing it I would cancel or return that 7.5 gallon pot and get a 10. If you plan to do 5 gallon batch full boils that is just barely big enough. I boiled about 5 batches in a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot and all but one boiled over even when I knew it was going to happen.

As to the advantages or full boil it is hop utilization as already stated.

BTW if you are doing a full five gallon batch you start the boil with 6.5 to 7 gallons so that you end up with 5 in the fermenter.
 
If/when you do boil over (if not this batch, it will eventually happen) it's no big deal. Just more scrubbing on the outside of your purdy Blichmann.

Looks like the kit came with dry yeast. Watch this video on rehydrating dry yeast. I do this every time.

 
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I use a 20qt pot and boil ~3.5 gallons Plus its probably the limit my poor electric stove can do haha.

You look like you got some good equipment to start with (that pot especially).
 
If/when you do boil over (if not this batch, it will eventually happen) it's no big deal. Just more scrubbing on the outside of your purdy Blichmann.

Tell that to the wife (if you are married) when the wort pours all over the stove and down the sides and across the floor.

Or if you use propane. Where else does the boil over go when it pours down the side of the pot.... I have a well stained porch floor.
 
I've had many boilovers on the stove and yes SWMBO is not a fan but that's a reason to buy a nice propane burner!

Although rehydration is not necessary, it's a method that is super simple and a preference of mine.
 
Yes you can direct pitch dry yeast. But it is generally considered a better practice to rehydrate first. It give the yeast their best chance to make the beer as good as it can be.
 
If you can swing it I would cancel or return that 7.5 gallon pot and get a 10. If you plan to do 5 gallon batch full boils that is just barely big enough. I boiled about 5 batches in a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot and all but one boiled over even when I knew it was going to happen.

As to the advantages or full boil it is hop utilization as already stated.

BTW if you are doing a full five gallon batch you start the boil with 6.5 to 7 gallons so that you end up with 5 in the fermenter.

I took your advice and called. they luckily hadn't ordered it from the factory yet, and I got the 10 gallon. Thanks for the heads up it was only 50 dollars more and can be used in a full grain system latter with a a false bottom. Not that I know how to do any of that, but at least I wont have to rebuy the pot.
 
I took your advice and called. they luckily hadn't ordered it from the factory yet, and I got the 10 gallon. Thanks for the heads up it was only 50 dollars more and can be used in a full grain system latter with a a false bottom. Not that I know how to do any of that, but at least I wont have to rebuy the pot.

Good move. You won't regret the larger size and it will be easier to sell if this hobby is not for you. :D
 
Good move on the 10 gal pot. Even better move to ask ahead of time. :)

Follow the instructions to a T, and take note of volumes, especially boil off, any deadspace or trub you leave behind. If you wind up with 4.5 gallons in the fermenter or 5.5 gallons, no big deal, it will impact the ABV slightly one way or the other. Next time around, you'll know exactly how much to boil.

I'm betting you will be surprised at how the good the finished product is.
 
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