5 Gallon Extract Question

[beerman2013]

I have noticed through online retailers like Northern Brewer that on their extract kit instructions it mentions boiling of 2.5 gallons of water for the mashing and addition of extract, then adding the remaining water to bring to 5 gallons when adding to the fermenter. Has anyone done this and how does the taste vary from say doing all 5+ gallons at one time?

 

[theck]

I used to brew this way before I got into all grain. Just how I was taught to, not sure if there are issues or problems with brewing this way or not. I never noticed anything off but I never brewed the same using 5 gallon in the boil. I have to say it is easier to get it down to pitching temp with the addition of cold water.

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[FensterBos]

There are some pro and cons doing a 2.5 boil and a 5 gallon boil, but all-in-all, you won't see a significant different in the beer with both methods.

My only recommendation is if you go with the 2.5 boil route that you make sure you get the chlorine out of the top off water. I've boiled off chlorine in the past and then put the top off water in the fridge for later use; you can also use bottled water too.

 

[beerman2013]

Thanks for the info!

 

[theck]

Ya I always topped off with distilled. Again how I was taught. You can also toss them into the fridge to get nice and cold. Think once I hit 80 to 90 degrees I'd dump in the bucket toss in the cold water and the temp would be perfect pitching.

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[grem135]

I have done the 2.5 gallon boil and full boil... you need to recalculate your hops if you do a full boil or your beer will not be balanced due to better hop utilization with the larger water amount. look up late extract addition for your partial boil extract recipes.
Campden tablets will get rid of chlorine and chloramine. Chloramine is used by many water company's and does not boil off like chlorine does.

 

[FensterBos]

I have done the 2.5 gallon boil and full boil... you need to recalculate your hops if you do a full boil or your beer will not be balanced due to better hop utilization with the larger water amount. look up late extract addition for your partial boil extract recipes.
Campden tablets will get rid of chlorine and chloramine. Chloramine is used by many water company's and does not boil off like chlorine does.

How long does it take for the campden tablets to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine? I've never used that process before; seems easier than getting three to five gallons boiling for twenty minutes.

 

[unionrdr]

I found that local spring water works better for my PB/PM BIAB beers. I use the same 5 gallon SS kettle I started with. After the mash & sparge,I wind up with 3.5 gallons boil volume on average. Partial boil works just fine for me. I laso started adding the hops loose in the boil & straining all into the fermenters after the kettle has had time to settle out in the final stages of the ice bath.

 

[theck]

How long does it take for the campden tablets to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine? I've never used that process before; seems easier than getting three to five gallons boiling for twenty minutes.

Think you need to get the water hot it to dissolve it. I put it in my water before I bring it to temp before mashing. Usually use a half then the other half, but think 1 does 5 gallons. Never did it to room temp water.

 

[FensterBos]

Think you need to get the water hot it to dissolve it. I put it in my water before I bring it to temp before mashing. Usually use a half then the other half, but think 1 does 5 gallons. Never did it to room temp water.

So it only needs a minute for the chlorine/chlorinafilmninnne to be removed when using campden tablets?

 

[BigFloyd]

Campden removes chloramine. One tablet will treat 15 gallons, so just use 1/2 a tab. Add at the beginning, either mash or boil (for extract). I usually will put the 1/2 tab inside a ziplock and gently crush it before tossing it in.

Partial boil vs. full boil is most often determined by what equipment you have and where you want to brew. You can do a 2.5 gallon boil on the kitchen stove with a smaller pot (32+ qt), chill it in an ice bath in the sink (down to about 85*F) and then top it off with 2.7 gallons of bottled water that you've already chilled very cold. That should give you a wort temp in the low 60's which is primo for pitching most ale yeasts.

For a full boil, you need a bigger kettle (8 gallon is the bare minimum, 10g is much better) and a wort chiller.

 

[unionrdr]

My 5 gallon kettle equals 20qts. 32+ would be a bit big for on the stove brewing,imo.

 

[Yooper]

How long does it take for the campden tablets to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine? I've never used that process before; seems easier than getting three to five gallons boiling for twenty minutes.

It takes seconds. Crush the tablet (or 1/2 tablet, whatever you need for the amount of water you are using), and stir it well to totally dissolve. Stir the water, and you can use it right away.

You want one tablet per 20 gallons of water.

 

[BigFloyd]

My 5 gallon kettle equals 20qts. 32+ would be a bit big for on the stove brewing,imo.

LOL. You're right. I messed on that number as I was thinking about the minimum full-boil kettle. Doh!

 

[theck]

I tablet for 20 gallon geeze I've been overdoing it I guess ha... Any side effects for too much? Haven't noticed anything in taste, maybe.

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[BxBrewer]

There are many more cons to partial boiling than doing full boil with extracts. We all probably have started out doing partial boils hoping were somewhere close to the SG at the end. One of the biggest cons of a partial boil is not knowing your full gravity during the boil. I find it a little hard to adjust the gravity after the wort is chilled and top off water has been added to the fermenter.

Like I've said we have all been there. I used to do it that way too.

 

[grem135]

It only needs a minute to treat with campden. I use it for all brewing water including my starters. Water does not have to be warned up.

 

[BigFloyd]

I tablet for 20 gallon geeze I've been overdoing it I guess ha... Any side effects for too much? Haven't noticed anything in taste, maybe.

If you add enough Campden (potassium metabisulfate), you can inhibit yeast from reproducing (especially in the presence of potassium sorbate), but it's a much bigger amount than one tab in 5 gallons.

 

[theck]

Just found out that it also produces sulfates. Some people are allergic to it, me I get headaches from it sometimes one of the reasons I can't stand wine.

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[E_Marquez]

I have noticed through online retailers like Northern Brewer that on their extract kit instructions it mentions boiling of 2.5 gallons of water for the mashing and addition of extract, then adding the remaining water to bring to 5 gallons when adding to the fermenter. Has anyone done this and how does the taste vary from say doing all 5+ gallons at one time?

Mostly it seems, it comes down to size of your equipment

No no no.. the beer equipment..

5gal boil needs a 6.5 or larger size pot (or for me 6.25 gal boil so I end with 5 gal of wort post boil volume, means an 8 or 10 gal pot)... most new extract brewers I read about start with a smaller pot, that kind of restricts them to a smaller boil.

5gal boil means trying to cool a lot of mass... hard to do with a simple 25ft wort chiller... the tool most newer brewers might likely have.

And then there is the science of hops utilization in smaller boil and then diluting that wort with top off water.

 

[unionrdr]

My hop utilization with partial boils is just fine. The way I've ben doing it proved out when I started using beersmith2. I do pb/pm biab in my 5 gallon kettle with 3.5 gallon boil volume. So I don't think it's as critical as most people think.