I've got three partial boils under my belt and thought I would try a full boil this weekend with a 7.5 gallon turkey pot (just happened to have one never used). Is there anything tricky about it other than I was thinking maybe a little more difficult cooling the wort down. Thanks
Am I OK
- Thread starter Rascal
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You'll def need some kind of wort chiller for a full boil batch size. Not to mention,a propane burner,since many stoves don't put out enough heat to make some 6.5 gallons of liquid boil.
Daybis
Well-Known Member
Rascal, my first question, where in MS are you located?
Second, do you have an immersion chiller? That will make cooling down a large volume more quickly.
Like uniondr mentioned, you need to make sure you have a proper burner. I have tried full boils on my stovetop and it doesn't work unless you have a wide-bottomed pot.
ANother thing you might want to do before you brew with your new pot is fill it with the volume you plan to start your boil at. Then boil that water for about an hour. This way you can get an idea of what your boil off rate is going to be. Say your boil off rate is one gallon an hour and you are aiming for a 5 gallons of wort, you need to have 6 gallons of wort at the beginning of the boil.
I'd also recommend making a dip stick or putting some sort of markers on a spoon or stick. This way you know how much liquid you have in your pot.
Second, do you have an immersion chiller? That will make cooling down a large volume more quickly.
Like uniondr mentioned, you need to make sure you have a proper burner. I have tried full boils on my stovetop and it doesn't work unless you have a wide-bottomed pot.
ANother thing you might want to do before you brew with your new pot is fill it with the volume you plan to start your boil at. Then boil that water for about an hour. This way you can get an idea of what your boil off rate is going to be. Say your boil off rate is one gallon an hour and you are aiming for a 5 gallons of wort, you need to have 6 gallons of wort at the beginning of the boil.
I'd also recommend making a dip stick or putting some sort of markers on a spoon or stick. This way you know how much liquid you have in your pot.
I live in Newton. Thanks for the quick replies. On second thought I don't think I'll try the full boil this weekend. Sounds like I need a larger pot for starters. Oh well I'll stick with the partial boils on a few more kits and then try to step it up a little.
Daybis
Well-Known Member
Rascal, there's nothing wrong with doing partial boils. I do all grain with full boils, but I still occasionally brew partial boil extract batches on the stove. Both methods produce great beer!
Also, if are really careful, you could do full boils in that pot, you just have to keep a very close eye on it. For boilover insurance, I would highly recommend picking up some fermcap. This will keep you from having a boil over.
Also, you're a little further south than I am, but I'd recommend these sites to you if you are interested in meeting other brewers in MS. There's is a big homebrew club in Jackson and we have one up here in the golden triangle region.
Golden Triangle Brewers
Homebrewers Association of Middle Mississippi (HBAMM)
Also, if are really careful, you could do full boils in that pot, you just have to keep a very close eye on it. For boilover insurance, I would highly recommend picking up some fermcap. This will keep you from having a boil over.
Also, you're a little further south than I am, but I'd recommend these sites to you if you are interested in meeting other brewers in MS. There's is a big homebrew club in Jackson and we have one up here in the golden triangle region.
Golden Triangle Brewers
Homebrewers Association of Middle Mississippi (HBAMM)
Primevci
Well-Known Member
If your turkey pot is aluminum make sure you oxidize it first u can do bthis by filling it up and boiling for a hour..
That's what I use and have done lots of full-boils - both extract and all-grain - in a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot.
In addition to the fermcap (which I just started using recently) I also have a spray bottle full of water nearby that works well in knocking down any pesky froth and foam early in the boil.
Me too! I had a 30 quart turkey fryer for a couple of years and it worked out ok. I had to watch it like a hawk, until after the hotbreak, but then it was fine. Fermcap helps a lot! I started with 6.4 gallons of wort and rarely boiled over.
FYI - If you can't get fermcap, unflavored baby gas drops are about the same thing and work very well.
Even then, you will want to keep an eye on it. Cause it will boil over at exactly the same instant you look away.
Even then, you will want to keep an eye on it. Cause it will boil over at exactly the same instant you look away.
Another novice here happening to be wondering about the same thing. This site is full of great material. I see a lot of 30 qt turkey fryer get ups on craigs list and have been deciding if it'd work for a full boil.
What exactly is a fermcap and in in reference to "hot break" is this a point in the boil after all the protien breaks down?
What exactly is a fermcap and in in reference to "hot break" is this a point in the boil after all the protien breaks down?
Hot break is when the wort starts to foam up rapidly as it starts to boil. Fermcap is supposed to aid in stopping all the foam up.
Daybis said:
Those ideas are brilliant! I'm going to try my first full boil for my next batch and never even considered the amount of water I may loose to boil off, or how I could measure the amount I have remaining or have lost. GENIUS! Big time Thanks a lot for the ideas.
I read here & other places that boiling water in an aluminum BK was 30 minutes to get that oxidized coating on the inside. It was a recent thread about which BK this fella should buy.
Daybis
Well-Known Member
I appreciate it, but those ideas most likely came from some other brilliant person on this forum.
