Urgent Missed post-boil volume

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snathanb

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This is going to be quick because I have wort waiting to transfer to my fermenter...

I used the priceless BIAB calculator.. everything was spot on for the mash... but after 60 minute boil.. my ending volumes were too high... by somewhere between .25 and .5 gallons after cooling to 75 degrees.

I've got a 5 gallon glass carboy.. and a 7 gallon brewing/bottling bucket.

Should I just transfer just 5 gallons into the carboy? Put in all the bucket?

Not sure what I should do here.. I've got a few minutes while the trub in brew kettle settles post whirlpool for opinions...
 
Yes, use the bucket. You really need a bigger carboy for a 5 gallon batch. A 5 gallon glass carboy is better suited for secondary, if you ever have the desire to do one.
 
Like botigol said, just use your 7 gallon bucket. Having .5 gallon isn't bad. You'll end up losing close to that with trub lose.
 
would i be crazy to say he just boil off more volume?

edit: damn just read where you already cooled, ehhhh still might work if its that big an issue.
 
Spilt the brew and toss in different yeast in each fermentation. See what the results are...
 
So, I've been trying to figure out why my post boil volume was so high... the priceless calculator says that I should have lots 1.3 gallons of water after an hour of boiling... but I lost under 1 according to my post-mash and post boil measurements (which are etched in quarter-gallon increments on the side of my kettle).

I think I was way too conservative with my boil... I was worried about it boiling over, so it was boiling just enough to classify as boiling.. As a result, I ended up with half a gallon too much water and missed my OG. (Should have been 1.046 and hit 1.042) I have DME and should have corrected it. Live and learn. :)
 
Looks like your boil off rate was lower than you input into the calculator. Thankfully this is an easy fix in the future.
 
Measure as you progress during your boil and avoid the fire drill .... j/k

Priceless has no idea how hard you like to boil :)

Extra beer, I fail to see a problem here, move along people. :)

I second this. .25 to .5 gallon is not bad. That's the advantage of using 7-8 gallon fermenters for 5 gallon brews, if you do miss, you got plenty of room. Next time either boil harder/longer, or use less water.
 
Looks like your boil off rate was lower than you input into the calculator. Thankfully this is an easy fix in the future.

First off.. .thank you so much for you work on the calculator.. it is awesome.

That's very likely a rookie mistake on my part... I didn't input anything into the boil rate. I assume the 1.2 I saw there was calculated as a function of the kettle size, diameter, etc. Now I know better :)
 
I second this. .25 to .5 gallon is not bad. That's the advantage of using 7-8 gallon fermenters for 5 gallon brews, if you do miss, you got plenty of room. Next time either boil harder/longer, or use less water.

Agreed.... i was afraid to boil longer this time due to the hop schedule.. (OMG what happens if the hops I added at the last one minute get boiled longer... etc)

I'll probably do both next time.. use a little less water and boil a little harder.
 
First off.. .thank you so much for you work on the calculator.. it is awesome.

That's very likely a rookie mistake on my part... I didn't input anything into the boil rate. I assume the 1.2 I saw there was calculated as a function of the kettle size, diameter, etc. Now I know better :)

There's an estimation in the top right, the 1.2 is just what matches my kettle.
 
And nothing wrong with a soft boil past hot break. Just a waste of energy and potential downsides, unless boil off is the goal(Barleywine, etc)
 
FYI, extending the boil is easy, you just boil the "boil" hops longer and schedule your late or finish hops with flame out.

Ah, good to know.

So, using this recipe as an example.. I had various hops to add at 60, 30, 15, 10, 5 and 1 minute (and hops to add during secondary). Where would the demarcation be between the boil hops and the finish hops?
 
Since I'm new to the board.. just wanted to followup and thank everybody who took time to chime in with advice. Much appreciated!

The airlock is happily bubbling away this morning. :)
 
Ah, good to know.

So, using this recipe as an example.. I had various hops to add at 60, 30, 15, 10, 5 and 1 minute (and hops to add during secondary). Where would the demarcation be between the boil hops and the finish hops?

The additional time would need to be between 60 and 30 additions if possible
Just keep records of you boil off rate and adjust in the future.
 
Just an FYI for next time, make sure you take volume readings before you start the boil. That way you'll have a good idea going in if you need to make adjustments. If you have more than anticipated, boil until you hit your anticipated pre boil volume, then add the first hop addition and proceed as usual.
 
Well, the app is being stupid and I can't edit my post above. Just noticed where you hit your numbers up to the boil and it was a boil off rate issue. Disregard my comment above, but keep the info handy should you need it in the future.
 
So... brewed batch number two today, identical recipe. I was a little over volume after mash/squeeze.. so I added 20 minutes of boil time pre-hopping.. and boiled much harder... and went half a gallon under. Hit 1.052 on a 1.046 recipe. Boiled up half a gallon of water on the stove, added it in... and retested right at 1.046 @ 60 degrees. Success!
 
Ah, good to know.

So, using this recipe as an example.. I had various hops to add at 60, 30, 15, 10, 5 and 1 minute (and hops to add during secondary). Where would the demarcation be between the boil hops and the finish hops?

You might want to make changes to your hop schedule as those hops added at 30 will add little to the flavor as it will be boiled out and become mostly bittering hops. If you want the bitterness, add more at 60. If you want more flavor, add hops at the 15 or less.

I've read that most hops give up their bittering (isomerize hop oils) within 30 minutes so those would have to be considered boil hops. 15 would be on the border, 10 or less would be finishing hops. If I wanted lots of hop aroma, I would move some of those hops to dry hopping, adding them after the fermentation was complete and leaving them 3 to 10 days before bottling.
 
You might want to make changes to your hop schedule as those hops added at 30 will add little to the flavor as it will be boiled out and become mostly bittering hops. If you want the bitterness, add more at 60. If you want more flavor, add hops at the 15 or less.

I've read that most hops give up their bittering (isomerize hop oils) within 30 minutes so those would have to be considered boil hops. 15 would be on the border, 10 or less would be finishing hops. If I wanted lots of hop aroma, I would move some of those hops to dry hopping, adding them after the fermentation was complete and leaving them 3 to 10 days before bottling.

Thanks for your thoughts! Since I'm fairly (ok, very..) new, I was just strictly (and blindly) following the hop addition schedule that came with the prepared all-grain kit I purchased. Learning from experienced folks the why behind the schedule is excellent, thanks again!
 
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