Adding more water than the directions call for

[Hello]

I've been on a search frenzy for a little while this morning and I want to know if my extract brew kit calls for 2 1/2 gallons of water in the brew kettle then can I use 3 gallons instead? Either way, I have to add water to the wort after cooling to top off to 5 gallons, so I wondered if this would matter any or change my OG.


I just purchased beer smith and although it is catered towards all grain brewing, it gave me pause to think about boil off. I've yet to measure my wort after a 60 minute boil. I think a 2.5 gallon boil after 60 minutes ends up being just over 2 gallons. I never gave it any thought though and I probably should have. Knowing this, I want to end up with roughly 2.5 gallons of wort and to do that, I figure I would start with 3 gallons first but I am worried it will change the OG. If it does then should I really care?

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, Use as much water as you can get away with in your boil pot, the more water you start off with the better, if you can do a full 5 gal boil even better, just remember you have to be able to cool it.

It should not change your OG as that should be taken after top off water is added, ether way you still end up with 5 gal in the fermenter.

Cheers

 

[Homercidal]

If you are brewing from a kit, you just need to top off with enough water to make the final volume. If the kit makes a 5 gallon batch, top off til it reaches 5 gallons. The kit should be put together to give you the proper gravity at that volume. Nothing but water will evaporate during boil, so you can put back any extra water that boiled out.

 

[Beergazzi]

I try to keep my boil at 3gals, I keep a pot of boiling water next to my boil to keep it at 3gal (I'll start above 3 gal, but I wont boil below it).

Then I have 2 gallons of frozen bottled water (in plastic 'tupperware' containers), at flameout, I slide those two icebergs into the pot (gently!), and, BOOM...cools to 75.

 

[feinbera]

OG is determined by the total volume of boiled wort and top-off water, and the amount of sugar dissolved in the final mix. Boiling in a little less water -- e.g., starting at 3 gallons, and letting it boil off to 2.5 -- won't be a problem at all, as long as you adjust for the boil-off and top off with 2.5 gallons instead of just two.

Unless you're using *WAY* less water -- say, boiling in under a gallon when the recipe calls for boiling in three -- being off by half a gallon isn't a problem at all, as long as you account for it and use the right amount of top-off water to hit your target fermenter volume on the head.

 

[Demus]

It is true that the gravity of X amount of extract in 5 gallons will be the same regardless of how much you boiled. There are other factors to consider however. Hop utilization is affected by gravity for example. The higher the gravity of the boiling wort (less water), the lower the hop utilization. This can be countered by adding some of the extract later in the boil.
Another common problem of using partial boil/top off water is getting it to mix completely. It tends to stratify in layers of more and less dense wort. It's not a huge issue for the fermentation, but it can be a challenge to get an accurate original gravity reading.
If you have big enough pot and a chiller, a full boil is best. If you keep the issues of partial boils in mind, you can get good results with smaller/less equipment. As with everything, there are pros and cons...

 

[Hello]

My brew kettle is 20 quarts so a full boil is not happening. There is a slight rib there on that because when I was at the brew shop I told them my intentions and said that if there is a recommendation to buy the next size up kettle then I would like to do that. I was assured this was the most I'll need until I move to all grain. Bygones but still.

That said, it makes sense now and I was really over thinking that whole ordeal. I do mix quite well when I rack to the fermenter and top off. I take a gravity reading instantly in hopes that I get the reading from the best mix of the wort.

I appreciate the help from everyone. I can't wait to brew again.

I try to keep my boil at 3gals, I keep a pot of boiling water next to my boil to keep it at 3gal (I'll start above 3 gal, but I wont boil below it).

Then I have 2 gallons of frozen bottled water (in plastic 'tupperware' containers), at flameout, I slide those two icebergs into the pot (gently!), and, BOOM...cools to 75.

This is very interesting. So the thought in my mind is that you use water from whatever source, no boil but sanitize your tupperware container and freeze? I'm very interested in this technique because I don't have a wort chiller or anything yet.

 

[flars]

My brew kettle is 20 quarts so a full boil is not happening. There is a slight rib there on that because when I was at the brew shop I told them my intentions and said that if there is a recommendation to buy the next size up kettle then I would like to do that. I was assured this was the most I'll need until I move to all grain. Bygones but still.

That said, it makes sense now and I was really over thinking that whole ordeal. I do mix quite well when I rack to the fermenter and top off. I take a gravity reading instantly in hopes that I get the reading from the best mix of the wort.

I appreciate the help from everyone. I can't wait to brew again.


This is very interesting. So the thought in my mind is that you use water from whatever source, no boil but sanitize your tupperware container and freeze? I'm very interested in this technique because I don't have a wort chiller or anything yet.

Water is not from any source. Softened water should not be used. Water with chlorine, chloramine, or flourine should not be used.

An ice bath in the kitchen sink also works.

 

[Beergazzi]

This is very interesting. So the thought in my mind is that you use water from whatever source, no boil but sanitize your tupperware container and freeze? I'm very interested in this technique because I don't have a wort chiller or anything yet.

What I do is basically as follows:

I have two 2.5 gal better bottles, in one I put the amount of water my mash will require, and in the other I put in the remaining amount of water needed for my sparge/boil (plus a little extra). I add campden to them (I crush a quater of a tablet and split it between the better bottles). This eliminate chorine and chloramines.

Im not concerned about my tap water beyond that, since this will all be boiled.

I maintain the 'extra water' in a smaller pot either at boil or close to it, so that I can either add it during the boil to maintain the 3 gal, or at flameout to hit three gallons, prior to the 2 gal of ice.

I guess you could add tap water to top off, it wont reduce the temp much at all, so it should still 'pasteurize' the new water.


For the cooling blocks of ice, I buy 2 1 gallon containers of spring / distilled whatever (they should all be pure and clean), and I sanitize either tupperware or gallon freezer bags and use them to freeze the water, and then just warm the container slightly and out it comes.

You can, and I have, used the actual gallon jug to freeze in, and with a good sharp (sanitized!) knife, cut away the container to yeild a perfectly shaped jug of ice, which makes adding it to the wort easier, since it has a hande (be careful with that ice handle).

It will take a good 2-3 days to freeze solid, and any unfrozen water in the core will really reduce the cooling potential.

But this works fantastic.